Census 2027 totally perverted, intent dubious: Congress

The Congress on Thursday launched a sharp attack on the Centre over the proposed Census 2027, with party general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh alleging that the exercise has become “totally perverted” and questioning the government’s intent and the nature of information being collected.

Ramesh said the intent behind the exercise was “very dubious” and described some of the proposed content as “worthless, superfluous and diabolical”.

His criticism came in response to a media report stating that the government’s decision to advance the Population Enumeration phase of Census 2027 in four poll-bound states, along with the introduction of several new questions in the Census schedule, has raised concerns among some former Census officials.

According to the report cited by Ramesh, the former officials have questioned whether the changes could affect the quality of the data collected. They have also raised concerns over potential links between the Census, the National Population Register (NPR) and, eventually, the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

In a post on X, Ramesh said, “Census 2027 has got totally perverted.”

He questioned both the purpose of the exercise and the relevance of some of the information proposed to be collected.

Ramesh described the caste question as “worthless”, while arguing that vaccination-related information was “superfluous” because such datasets already exist.

He also objected to the collection of information about a person’s parents, including their names, religion and place of birth, describing these questions as “diabolical”.

His remarks come amid an intensifying political debate over the methodology and scope of the caste census component of Census 2027.

The Congress had on Wednesday raised separate concerns over the format being used to collect caste-related information.

The party alleged that the government's decision to use open-ended questions instead of a drop-down list was a “very serious flaw”. It also claimed that the format could create inconsistencies in the data and questioned whether the exercise could produce reliable results.

The Congress further alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi appeared to want the caste census process to “fail”.

The party has repeatedly demanded that the caste census be conducted in a manner that produces accurate and comprehensive data.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi have also raised objections to the current process.

The two senior leaders jointly wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the caste census issue, reiterating the party’s key demand that the exercise be conducted properly.

In their letter dated 20 August, Kharge and Rahul Gandhi expressed serious reservations about the methodology being followed for the caste census and called for changes to ensure that the exercise is conducted accurately.

The latest criticism also brings renewed attention to the relationship between Census 2027 and other population databases.

The media report cited by Ramesh said some former Census officials had expressed concerns over the potential implications of combining or linking information from the Census with the National Population Register and, ultimately, the National Register of Citizens.

The concerns relate particularly to the quality, purpose and potential use of the information gathered through the Census.

The Congress has seized on these concerns to question the Centre’s approach to the upcoming exercise, particularly the decision to introduce new questions and modify the methodology for collecting caste-related information.

The government’s decision to advance the Population Enumeration phase in four poll-bound states has added to the debate, with the Congress seeking greater clarity over the rationale behind the changes.

The dispute is likely to remain a significant political issue as preparations for Census 2027 progress, particularly over the inclusion and methodology of caste-related data and the handling of sensitive demographic information.

With PTI inputs