The Union government’s decision to advance the Population Enumeration phase of Census 2027 in four poll-bound States , coupled with the introduction of several new questions in the Census schedule, has prompted some former Census officials to raise concerns regarding the quality of data that is to be collected and the potential links between the Census, the National Population Register (NPR) and, ultimately, the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
The register was intended to be maintained permanently and updated by village officials, thereby providing continuity between Censuses, according to Vaghaiwalla. Mr. However, Census data is confidential and can only be used for statistical purposes. “An important innovation of this Census was the preparation of the NRC, in which all important Census data was transcribed from the Census slips. Mr.
But in 1951, Census data was used to prepare the NRC in Assam… He added that even though Census data is confidential, this doesn’t mean that the 1951 exercise of using it to prepare NRC won’t be repeated. The Register uses the same symbols and abbreviations and is a copy of the Census slips,” the 1951 report said. The official pointed out that the updation of the NRC in Assam in 2019 was not based on NPR data and required a separate data collection exercise.
Unni said, “NPR is generated under the Citizenship Act, and data is supposed to be published. Though Section 15 of the Census Act, 1948 ensures confidentiality and says that “records of census [are] not open to inspection nor admissible in evidence”, the NRC was prepared using the data, establishing a precedent of using Census data to prepare the register. A former Census official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the NPR and the Census were legally distinct exercises governed by different laws. Unni said that the decision to conduct the Census in four States ahead of the rest of the country could lead to under-enumeration of migrant workers, particularly from Uttar Pradesh.
However, he argued that postponement could deprive the State of demographic evidence relevant to claims about migration and population change.
On the government’s decision to defer the Census in Manipur, he said that conducting the enumeration without public cooperation would compromise data quality.
Because migration was relatively low during that period, “Census dates were traditionally fixed around March 1. Advancing the exercise in States that are due to hold Assembly elections may mean that several migrant workers return home to vote and are not available where they ordinarily reside.
By the time they reach their home State, enumeration there may already be over, creating the possibility that some migrants are not counted at either place,” he said.
