THE CENSUS OF INDIA (1871-1931) Significance and Effects of Ethnographic Surveys

Abstract

The paper begins by discussing the British fascination with categorizing and quantifying the population in India, which reflects a broader colonial desire for control, as articulated by scholars like Edward Said and Michel Foucault. The British used the census not just as an administrative tool but as an instrument of governance and social control. The process of enumeration was seen as part of a larger effort to define, measure, and manage different groups in society, a practice that can be related to Foucault’s concept of biopolitics.