Census: Centre must justify collecting personal data, say ex-bureaucrats
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The Census 2027 questionnaire seeking details about the respondents’ parents, spouses and number of bank accounts requires justification from the Union government, said a group of former bureaucrats on Wednesday.
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Such information should not be gathered “merely because it can be collected”, the Constitutional Conduct Group pointed out.
The questionnaire for the 2027 enumeration exercise includes 12 questions that were not asked in the previous census. These include questions seeking parents’ names, spouses’ names, permanent residential addresses, their nationality, the place where they got their Covid-19 vaccine, number of bank accounts, mobile phone, and details of Aadhaar, voter ID, passport and driving licence.
“Much of this information appears to have little relevance for generating population statistics or informing public policy,” said the group of retired bureaucrats in an open letter.
They also pointed out that some of the newly introduced questions, particularly those seeking details about the respondents’ religion and the place of birth of both parents, “could facilitate preparation or updating of the National Population Register, which in turn is associated with the proposed National Register of Citizens”.
The National Population Register is a list of all the usual residents of India. The National Register of Citizens is an exercise to create a list of Indian citizens and to identify undocumented immigrants.
Critics fear that the...