Cen(sus)-less

I am spending this week in Kolkata, and boy oh boy, is it hot! Touching highs of 38.3 degrees, Kolkata is sizzling more than the arid, desert city of Jodhpur. The worst, the absolute energy-draining worst, is the unbearable humidity. The combination of heat and humidity has pegged the real feel in Kolkata as 53 degrees. Never in my lifetime of spending over 25 summers in my birth city have I felt such discomfort. It’s fitting that in the month that celebrates World Environment Day, we now face clearly apparent effects of global warming and climate change.

Severe heat makes one contemplate the sheer will and strength required to function in sweltering conditions and the purgatory that daily workers, labourers, traffic cops, delivery people, and all who step out in the heat, endure for a living. There is one area though where we have excelled without the obstacle of climate change, Covid, or choppy economy. In rain or storm, heatwave or torrid climes, Indians have succeeded in procreation. We are now more populous than China and have crossed its 1.426 billion population to reach our own milestone of 1.428 billion. But we will not know the accurate number till the census.

For the first time in 150 years, the Indian census is running extremely delayed. Our last collated data dates back to Census 2011. While the next one was supposed to be in 2021, here we are, two years later, still awaiting the commencement of the process, which now seems pushed to after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Over the decades, there are a few things that India has shined in; collecting massive reams of data has been one of them. Our methods of collecting data are extensive, efficient, and have served as a model for the world. Indian scientist PC Mahalanobis and the National Sample Survey spearheaded by him in freshly independent India had lessons in conducting surveys that were incorporated by the World Bank and the United Nations. And post-Independence endeavours helped further sharpen the process of the census, which first started in 1881 in British-ruled India.

What is the importance of the decennial census, you ask? Well, it impacts everything. From access to and distribution of welfare schemes and planned allocation of resources to understanding the economic capability of citizens and trends pertaining to all aspects of their lives. How much does an average Indian spend on food? How much do they save? What’s the literacy level? Can they access healthcare? Are they employed or jobless? The upcoming census is also supposed to have new questions on usage of bottled water, number of smartphones and DTH, and even the kind of cereal consumed in a household. The lack of data affects policy and its implementation at the state and national levels.

The Covid-19 pandemic delayed the survey, and three years later while life seems almost back to normal, this most important exercise is yet to start. Now coming back to our population growth, the number of people has swelled and we don’t have specifics yet. The postponement of the census negatively impacts the distribution of food and aid to the needy segments of Indian society.

Let’s not forget that the upcoming census has been engulfed in controversy due to the contentious National Population Register (NPR). While the NPR would need all Indian citizens to prove nationality, the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) would award citizenship to six undocumented non-Muslim religious minorities. Adding to the mix are the demands by some states and Opposition political parties for a caste-based census, last conducted in 1931. The politicians demanding caste census reckon it will ensure social justice. I would say that a caste-based census conducted simultaneously with the primary survey would shed light on impact and future of reservation policies in India as well. For many reasons, the census is crucial and without it, we truly don’t know where our citizens stand in the world today.

The writer is an author and media entrepreneur. Views expressed are personal