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6:40 PM nehal sagheer 0 Comments

Mumbai: The concerned department responsible for designing the Census 2011 form might face the heat because of the mistake – deliberately or otherwise – of not including the column for religion and mother tongue in the important document.

Stating that there might be some conspiracy involved behind the motive, Deputy Chairman of Maharashtra State Minority Commission and President of Christian Voice Abraham Mathai has requested the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to look into the matter.

“Not including the column of religion in the Census 2011 form means that we will not have details of the population on the basis of religions. This will be a sever blow to the minorities as in the absence of such data, various government schemes which are made for minorities would be no longer available for them”, Abraham Mathai says in his letter to the prime minister.

“I am unable to understand whether this is an unintentional mistake or a deliberate attempt by the bureaucracy?”, Abraham Mathai says in his letter to the Prime Minister.

Urging the Prime Minister to take measures for immediate correction, Abraham Mathai says, “Not having the separate column to identify one’s religion in the census form would mean that we are denying their existence in the country. Hence I request you to take measures so that the mistake is corrected and separate column for religion is included in the Census 2011 form.”

India, one the world’s largest countries in terms of population, has Census every ten years. The Census 2011 will be India’s 15th census since 1872. It will cost the government Rs.2,209 crore and witness engagement of 2.5 million people.

The census 2011 will mark a milestone as the government also intends to create the National Population Register (NPR), a comprehensive identity database that will facilitate the creation of a biometrics-based identity system in the country, allowing identity cards for all citizens. Also, for the first time information will be collected on categories like the ownership of mobile phones, computers, internet, having treated or untreated drinking water facility, and finger prints and photographs of individuals which will help the government formulate plans and strengthen the country’s security.The first phase, called the house listing and housing census, will be conducted between April and July this year. The second phase, called the population enumeration, will be conducted simultaneously all over the country Feb 9-28, 2011.Spread across 35 states and union territories, the census would cover 640 districts, 5,767 tehsils, 7,742 towns and more than 600,000 villages.

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