We are economists and social scientists who are deeply concerned about the major implications for the Indian statistical system, of the attempt to combine data collection for the 2021 Census of India with that for the proposed National Population Register.
The Census of India, which provides a household and population listing based on anonymous data, is an essential requirement for the country and provides the statistical basis for all assessments of the conditions of the population and for necessary social and economic policies.
The Census data are also important in enabling Central and State governments to exercise their basic functions and meet their responsibilities to the people. It is, therefore, essential to ensure that the exercise of data collection for Census 2021 is absolutely safe, comprehensive and uncontaminated by any other factors.
However, there is a real danger that the concerns around the National Population Register and the fears that are growing among substantial sections that investigators can determine whether a respondent’s citizenship is “doubtful”. This possibility has already led to widespread public distrust and suspicion about the NPR, and it is not at all clear that there are any benefits from the NPR at the present juncture.
Conducting NPR along with the Census also violates Clause 15 of The Census Act 1948 that bars anyone from accessing “any book, register or record made by a census-officer in the discharge of his duty”. It also violates the provision in the same clause that “no entry in any such book, register, record or schedule shall be admissible as evidence in any civil proceeding other than a prosecution under this Act”.
We therefore demand that, in order to preserve the integrity of Census 2021, it should be completely de-linked from any NPR exercise. In any case, any attempt at data collection for the NPR should be abandoned at present.
Signed:
A. K. Shivakumar, Economist, New Delhi
A. V. Jose, Economist, Thiruvananthapuram
Aasha Kapur Mehta, former Professor, IIPA New Delhi
Abhijit Mukhopadhyay, Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi
Abhijit Sen, Former Member, Planning Commission, New Delhi
Achin Chakraborty, Institute for Development Studies Kolkata
Achin Vanaik, former Professor, Delhi University
Aditya Bhattacharjea, Delhi School of Economics, Delhi University
Ajit Karnik, Middlesex University, Dubai
Alex Thomas, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru
Amelia Correa, St Andrews’ College, Mumbai
Amit Basole, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru
Amit Bhaduri, former Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Amiya Kumar Bagchi, Institute for Development Studies, Kolkata
Anand Chakravarti, former Professor, University of Delhi
Aneesh Correa, Pratham, Mumbai
Anil Bhatti, Professor Emeritus, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Anirban Mukherjee, University of Kolkata
Anita Banerji, University of Delhi
Anita Rampal, Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti, New Delhi
Anjana Mangalagiri, Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi
Anjana Thampi, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonepat
Anup K. Sinha, former Professor, Indian Institute of Management Kolkata
Anuradha Chenoy, former Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Arindam Banerjee, Ambedkar University Delhi
Arindam Dasgupta, Professor, Goa Institute of Management
Arjun Jayadev, Professor, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru
Ashima Sood, Indian School of Business, Hyderabad
Ashok Kotwal, Vancouver School of Economics
Ashwini Deshpande, Professor, Ashoka University, Sonepat
Atul Sood, Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Avinash Mishra, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Awanish Kumar, St Xavier’s College, Mumbai
Balbir Singh Butola, Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Balveer Arora, Professor Emeritus, Centre for Multilevel Federalism, New Delhi
Balwinder Singh Tikana, Professor, University of Patiala
Barbara Harriss-White, Oxford University
Benny Kuruvilla, Focus on the Global South, New Delhi
Bharat Ramaswami, Indian Statistical Institute, New Delhi
Bibhas Saha, University of Durham, U.K.
Biswajit Dhar, Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
C. P. Chandrasekhar, former Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Chandan Mukherjee, Professor, Ambedkar University Delhi
Chiranjib Sen, Azim Premji Foundation, Bengaluru
Chirashree Dasgupta, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
D. Narasimha Reddy, former Professor, University of Hyderabad
D. Narayana, formerly Gulati Institute of Finance and Taxation, Kerala
D. Raghunandan, Delhi Science Forum
Debabrata Pal, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Debashish Bhattacharjee, Indian Institute of Management Kolkata
Debraj Ray, Professor, New York University, USA
Deepak Malghan, Indian Institute of Management Bangalore
Deepankar Basu, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, USA
Dilip Mookherjee, Boston University, USA
Dinesh Abrol, former Professor, NISTADS, New Delhi
Dipa Sinha, Ambedkar University Delhi
Gita Sen, former Professor, Indian Institute of Management Bengaluru
Guglielmo Chiudi, former Professor Sapienza University of Rome
Harsh Mander, Centre for Equity Studies, New Delhi
Hema Swaminathan, Indian Institute of Management Bengaluru
Himanshu, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Imrana Qadeer, Distinguished Professor, Council for Social Development, New Delhi
Indira Chandrasekhar, Publisher, New Delhi
Indira Hirway, Centre for Development Alternatives, Ahmedabad
Indraneel Dasgupta, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata
Ishan Anand, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonepat
Ishita Mukhopadhyay, University of Kolkata
J. Mohan Rao, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, USA
Janaki Abraham, University of Delhi
Jayan Jose Thomas, Member, Kerala State Planning Board
Jayati Ghosh, Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Jayati Sarkar, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research Mumbai
Jens Lerche, University of London
Jesim Pais, SSER New Delhi
Joe Athialy, Centre for Financial Accountability, New Delhi
John Harriss, Professor, University of London
K. K. Kailash, University of Hyderabad
K. N. Harilal, Member State Planning Board, Kerala
K. Nagaraj, Professor, Indira Gandhi Institute for Development Research, Mumbai
K. P. Kannan, former Professor, Centre for Development Studies, Thurvananthapuram
K. T. Suresh, Social Analyst, New Delhi
K. V. Ramaswamy, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai
K. Velupillai, former Professor, University of Trento, Italy
Kalyani Raghunathan, Economist, New Delhi
Kamal Mitra Chenoy, Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Kamala Menon, Educationist, New Delhi.
M. Vijayabaskar, Madras Institute of Development Studies, Chennai
Madhav K. Datar, Indian Banks Association
Mahalaya Chatterjee, Professor, Kolkata University
Maitreesh Ghatak, London School of Economics
Malini Chakravarty, Economist, New Delhi
Mampi Bose, Economist, New Delhi
Manisha Chakrabarty, Indian Institute of Management Kolkata
Manisha Jain, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai
Manoranjan Mohanty, former Professor, University of Delhi
Meena Gopal, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
Mohan Rao, former Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Mridul Eapen, Member, Kerala State Planning Board
Mritiunjoy Mohanty, IIM Kolkata
N. D. Jayaprakash, Delhi Science Forum
Nalini Nayak, former Professor, Delhi University
Nandini Manjrekar, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
Nandini Sundar, Delhi School of Economics, Delhi University
Neera Chandoke, former Professor, Delhi University
Niladri Sekhar Dhar, ADRI, Patna
Nivedita Menon, Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
P. Vijayshankar, Samaj Pragati Sahayog
Padmini Swaminathan, Independent Researcher, Chennai
Parag Waknis, Ambedkar University Delhi
Partha Ghosh, former Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Partha Saha, Ambedkar University Delhi
Parthapratim Pal, Indian Institute of Management Kolkata
Peter de Souza, Centre for Study of Developing Societies, Delhi
Prabhat Patnaik, Professor Emeritus, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Pradipta Bandopadhyay, Indian Statistical Institute Kolkata
Prasenjit Bose, Economist, Kolkata
Praveen Jha, Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Protiva Kundu, Economist, New Delhi
Pulapre Balakrishnan, Ashoka University, Sonepat
Pulin Nayak, former Professor, Delhi School of Economkcs, Delhi University
R. Nagaraj, Indira Gandhi Institute for Development Research, Mumbai
R. Ramakumar, Professor, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
Ragupathy Venkatachalam, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK
Rahul Roy, Professor, Indian Statistical Institute, New Delhi
Rajendran Narayanan, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru
Rajesh Bhattacharya, Indian Institute of Management Kolkata
Rajiv Jha, University of Delhi
Rajni Palriwala, Delhi University
Rakesh Basant, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad
Rama Baru, Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Ramana Murthy, University of Hyderabad
Rammanohar Reddy, Editor, The India Forum
Ranjit Nair, independent scholar, New Delhi
Ratan Khasnabis, former Professor, University of Kolkata
Ravinder Jha, Delhi University
Ravinder Kaur, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi
Reetika Khera, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad
Renu Khanna, Sahaj, Vadodara
Ritu Dewan, former Professor, University of Mumbai
Ritu Priya, Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Rohit Azad, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Roma Chatterji, University of Delhi
Romar Correa, Former RBI Professor of Economics, University of Mumbai
Ritu Menon, Publisher, New Delhi
Runa Sarkar, Indian Institute of Management Kolkata
S. Irfan Habib, former Professor, NUEPA, New Delhi
S. Krishnaswamy, Former Professor, Madurai Kamaraj University
S. Krithi, Tata Institute of Social Studies Hyderabad
S. Subramanian, former Professor, Madras Institute of Development Studies
Sachidanand Sinha, Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Samira Nadkarni, St Andrews’ College, Mumbai
Santosh Verma, Tata Institute of Social Studies, Mumbai
Sarmishtha Pal, University of Surrey, U.K.
Sashi Kumar, Asian College of Journalism, Chennai
Saumya Chakrabarti, Viswabharati University, Shantiniketan
Sebastian Morris, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad
Shiney Chakraborty, Institute of Social Studies Trust, New Delhi
Shiva Sikdar, University of Surrey, U.K.
Shruti Ambast, Economist, New Delhi
Smita Gupta, Economist, New Delhi
Snehashish Bhattacharya, South Asian University, New Delhi
Sona Mitra, Economist, New Delhi
Sripad Motiram, University of Massachusetts at Boston, USA
Stefano Zambelli, University of Trento, Italy.
Subhanil Chowdhury, Institute for Development Studies Kolkata
Subrat Das, Economist, New Delhi
Sudha Vasan, University of Delhi
Sudip Chaudhuri, Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram
Sudipta Bhattacharya, Viswabharati University, Shantiniketan
Sugata Ghosh, Brunel University, London
Sumangala Damodaran, Ambedkar University Delhi
Sumeet Gulati, University of British Columbia, Canada
Sumit Sarkar, former Professor, Delhi University
Sunanda Sen, Former Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Surajit Das, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Surajit Mazumdar, Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Sushil Khanna, former Professor, Indian Institute of Management Kolkata
Tanika Chakraborty, Indian Institute of Management Kolkata
Tanika Sarkar, former Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Taposik Banerjee, Ambedkar University Delhi
Uma Chakravarti, former Professor, Delhi University
Utsa Patnaik, Professor Emerita, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Vamsi Vakulabharanam, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, USA
Venkatesh Athreya, former Professor of Economics, Chennai
Vibhuti Patel, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
Vickram Krishna, privacy and technology expert, Mumbai
Vikas Rawal, Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Yoshifumi Usami, Tokyo University, Japan
Yuko Nikaido, Musashi University, Tokyo, Japan
Zoya Hasan, Professor Emerita, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi