Policy & Ethicscensus methodologylinguistic surveyanthropological surveydenotified tribes
Devy Proposes Linguistic Markers For Caste Enumeration
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On Feb. 8, 2026, scholar and linguist Professor G.N. Devy told The Hindu that linguistic and cultural markers can resolve India's caste enumeration challenges in the 2026–27 Census. He said an open-text approach combined with post-census layered analysis—using mother tongue, ancestry, lifestyle, and kinship and involving the Anthropological Survey of India—could consolidate variant caste names. He also urged explicit counting of denotified, nomadic tribes.
