In which year was the first All-India Census attempted in India?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → 1872
The first all-India census was attempted in 1872; from 1881, decennial censuses (conducted every ten years) became a regular feature.
Note 1: This question is taken from the chapter ‘Colonial Cities’ which was there in the pre-rationalised NCERT and has been deleted from subsequent editions of NCERT, including the NCERT book (2026-27).
Note 2: A same/similar question was asked in CUET (UG) in the papers below.
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
| – | – | – | 16-06 S2 02-07 S3* | – |
* A similar question.
NCERT (Pre-rationalised): “2.1 Colonial records and urban history … The growth of cities was monitored through regular head-counts. By the mid-nineteenth century several local censuses had been carried out in different regions. The first all-India census was attempted in 1872. Thereafter, from 1881, decennial (conducted every ten years) censuses became a regular feature. This collection of data is an invaluable source for studying urbanisation in India.…” |