A Union government panel examining demographic changes has asked states to provide 15 years of religion-wise and district-wise data covering areas such as voter registrations, school enrolment, vehicle registrations, births and property transactions.
The request has created a challenge for several state departments because much of the information sought is not routinely maintained according to religious categories. The High-Level Committee on Demographic Changes (HLCDC), headed by retired Supreme Court judge Justice Prakash Prabhakar Naolekar, has sent states a questionnaire containing 35 questions.
What Data Has the Committee Requested?
The panel has asked for information covering a broad range of demographic and administrative indicators.
Among the data sought are religion-wise figures for birth registrations, including delayed registrations, school enrolment, transport and non-transport vehicle registrations, property transactions and voter registrations.
States have also been asked to identify unusual increases in Aadhaar enrolments, voter ID registrations and ration cards. Information relating to forged identity documents has also been sought.
The questionnaire seeks information separately for several religious communities, including Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Parsis and Buddhists.
Religious Structures and Demographic Changes
The committee has also asked states to provide district-wise details of religious structures established during the past 15 years, including temples, mosques and churches.
Information about whether such structures have been mapped using geographical information systems or other technology has also been requested.
The panel wants states to examine changes in the religious composition of districts, with particular attention to cities, industrial centres, border areas and tribal regions.
Focus on Tribal Areas and Migration
Another part of the questionnaire deals with Scheduled Tribe populations and changes in their religious composition.
States have been asked for studies, commission reports and other assessments concerning religious conversions among tribal communities, including district-level trends and reasons cited in available studies.
The panel has also sought information on undocumented migration, including identification, detention and deportation, forged documents and alleged links with organised crime, human trafficking and narcotics-related activity.
Why States Are Finding the Exercise Difficult
Officials have indicated that compiling the requested information could be difficult because government departments generally do not maintain most administrative records by religion.
According to reports, some information, such as birth-registration data and records relating to undocumented migrants who have been apprehended or deported, is available. However, religion-wise data for categories such as vehicles, property transactions and several other administrative services may not ordinarily exist in government databases.
This has left state governments facing the task of determining what information can be reliably compiled and supplied to the committee.
Committee’s Mandate
The HLCDC was constituted by the Ministry of Home Affairs on May 26. Its mandate is to examine demographic changes linked to illegal immigration and other specified factors and recommend measures to address them.
The committee has so far visited the Jammu region and is expected to visit Maharashtra as part of its work. Responses from state governments are still awaited.
The panel has also sought information connected with electoral rolls. Government sources cited in reports said the Election Commission had not yet supplied data requested by the committee concerning people excluded from Bihar’s Special Intensive Revision on grounds of suspected foreign nationality.
Political Debate Over the Questionnaire
The committee’s questionnaire has also triggered political criticism. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh questioned the purpose and approach of the exercise after reports about the religion-wise data request. His comments represent the Congress’s political assessment of the committee and should be distinguished from the committee’s stated mandate and the factual contents of its questionnaire.
The debate is therefore likely to continue around two separate questions: what demographic information the government needs for policy and security purposes, and how such information should be collected while maintaining appropriate administrative and constitutional safeguards.
For now, the committee’s data-gathering exercise remains underway, with states working to determine what information is available and how it can be compiled.