“The data must be credible and transparent…or it helps politics more than policy… Internal immigration is a great example”
Census categories about religion are mutually exclusive – is this a question? Can EWS quotas be implemented without knowing the relevant numbers? What role does the motivation to oppose “non-legal persons” have in internal migration? Should government statistical agencies be held accountable to parliament?
These and other issues, many of which are current headlines, are the strengths of population scientist and demographic statistician Ram B Bhagat, author of population and political imagination: Census, Registration and Citizenship in India. He is a former professor at the International Institute of Population Sciences. Excerpts of extensive conversations with Nandita Sengupta:
● The census has begun. First thought?
Indian colonies use census as a means of governance rather than development. Before this, there was no consciousness of minority or majority among many ethnic groups in India. The census asked about religion. It entered consciousness among the Indians. This is a way of colonizing people.
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Disclaimer
The views expressed above are the author’s own.
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