It’s marred by political gimmicks and missed priority
‘National Census-2021’, a regular decennial exercise since 1881, was deferred for the first time in history under the shadow of the chaos created by the Covid-19 pandemic, coupled with unplanned lockdown. On the other hand, under the same conditions, none of the elections was delayed. As widely reported in media, even huge election rallies and roadshows were organised. Various religio-social festivals and massive congregations continued with full fanfare, ignoring the safety protocols. Now elections for five state assemblies are underway, yet there is no mention to re-start the procedure for the deferred Census. Though, it was not more exhaustive than holding elections. Census work could also be carried out under a fool-proof protection shield and by using modern technologies. This speaks a lot about the priorities of the current dispensation.
Census is the most important task of collecting real data to shape and prioritise developmental schemes for different places and regions, and to push underdeveloped areas up and uplift the populace who lag in the race. It may be asked, if election after election and customary congregations can be held ‘safely’, what was the need to delay the census indefinitely? If the regime had upheld the significance of development, like that of the elections, no hurdle could have stood in the way. Adherence to Covid protocols for Census staff supplemented with online technics was there to pave the way.
Reports show that China and the US conducted and completed the exercise, putting behind the adverse conditions. Data obtained showed the way to modify crucial national policies. For example, China immediately corrected the population policy by abolishing the one-child norm. The US used new online and phone facilities for the safety of census operators and released crucial population data by August 2021.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of the Census is essentially non-political. It is aimed at determining the social and economic parameters of each locality and the people residing therein. It is understood that the best outcome of economic and development policies and planning, budgeting, and administration can be achieved only when projects are based on facts and figures and personal whims or sectarian interests are not the guiding principles.
Unfortunately, the powers that be aimed to club an ulterior political motive with the census. It was planned to create a National Register of Citizens (NRC), as was done in Assam, resulting in disenfranchising millions of sons and daughters of the soil living in the country for generations.
APPREHENSIONS
For the first time some new questions, like details of parents, their date and place of birth, etc. were added, apparently under unfair political motives. The questionnaire was stretched up to 31 questions, making it cumbersome. By mixing population data with the citizenry and adding irrelevant quarries regarding parents, made the exercise controversial.
However, the Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India (censusindia.gov.in/2011-common/introductiontonpr.html) defines a usual resident for the purposes of NPR “as a person who has resided in a local area for the past 6 months or more or a person who intends to reside in that area for the next 6 months or more.”
The apprehension has roots in several statements of UHM and the government in and out of the Parliament. It was repeatedly announced that NRC will follow NPR. To assure the majority population, CAA was enacted.
Though after NPR became highly controversial and nationwide protests erupted against ill-intentioned, religiously biased and constitutionally defective CAA and intended linkage of NPR with NRC, the Government tried to cover its intentions. However, prior to the ‘denials’, UH Ministry had expressed the same intentions in the Parliament several times. In 2014, the Lok Sabha was informed by Home Ministry in reply to a question, “The scheme of NPR has been reviewed and it has been decided that NPR should be completed and taken to its logical conclusion, which is the creation of National Register of Indian Citizens by verification of citizenship status of every usual resident in the NPR.”
The annual report of UHM (2018-19) stated, “Government of India has approved a scheme of creation of National Population Register (NPR) by collecting specific information of all usual residents. NPR is the first step towards the creation of National Register of Indian Citizen (NRIC).”
As was reported in the media, the BJP, in a tweet that has since been deleted amidst anti-CAA protests, had attributed a quote to UHM Mr. Amit Shah that they will implement NRIC across the country. The BJP’s manifesto had also said that the NRIC would be taken to different parts of the country.
UHM Mr. Amit Shah, then BJP chief also, had declared (December 2, 2019) in his election rallies at Chakradharpur and Baharagora (Jharkhand), “Today, I want to tell you that before the 2024 polls the NRC will be conducted across the country and each and every infiltrator identified and expelled.”
ASSURANCES
However, in an interview with ANI, Mr. Amit Shah, taking a U-turn, said: “NPR is the database on which policy is made. NRC is a process in which people are asked to prove their citizenship. There is no connection between the two processes, nor can they be used in each other’s survey. NPR data can never be used for NRC. Even the laws are different…I assure all the people, especially from the minorities, that NPR is not going to be used for NRC. It’s a rumour.”
There are further assurances that Census will be based on self-declarations, respondents will not be asked for any proof, biometrics will not be required. However, the Government is reluctant to drop unrelated questions like details of parents. So apprehensions persist; also because of the new phenomenon of rejecting their spoken words as ‘jumla’.
Keeping in view the national importance of NPR, the Government should be reminded to hold the census without further delays but with a modified questionnaire.
LARGEST SOURCE
The census is the largest single source of a variety of statistical information on different characteristics of the people residing in India. The vast diversity of the people is truly reflected from the decennial census which has become one of the tools to understand and study various parameters of the Indian population; their standard of living, the status of education, employment, the religion-wise ratio of population, and growth rate, etc. The objective of the NPR is to create a comprehensive identity database of every usual resident of the country. It should remain unaltered.
LAST CENSUS
The data for NPR was last collected in 2010 along with the house listing phase of the Census 2011. The data was updated during 2015 by conducting door-to-door surveys. While updating the register in 2015, the government had asked for details like Aadhaar and their mobile number also. In 2011 India’s population was 1.22 billion (120 Crore). Estimated population on 1 November 2022 will be 1.4 billion (140 Crore).
CENSUS 2021
Census 2021 will seek information regarding housing, type of house, availability of drinking water, facility of toilet and bathroom, mode of transport, fuel used, marital status, phone, smartphones, laptop, DTH/Cable TV connection, internet access, bank accounts of household members and so on.
The process will include an optional Android-based mobile application. The data, the officials said, would help in providing the benefits of different government schemes to the intended beneficiaries. The Registrar General and Census Commissioner had already issued a notification mentioning these questions in a form, to be digitally filled by the enumerators. The Government needs to conduct a pure Census at the earliest to clear misconceptions, especially the growth of populations as of now.
[The writer is Chairman, Forum for Civil Rights, email: [email protected]]