Vijayan questions Census 2027 queries on parents’ religion, birthplace
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Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Leader of Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan has criticised the reported inclusion of questions on the religion and place of birth of respondents’ parents in the Census 2027 questionnaire.
Describing the move as “deeply troubling”, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader alleged that the Union government was attempting to bring the National Population Register (NPR) into the Census process.
Vijayan said the Census should not become a “backdoor” for the NPR or the National Register of Citizens (NRC). He maintained that citizenship could not be linked to religion and urged the Centre to immediately withdraw what he called “divisive” and “sinister” questions from the questionnaire.
“Any policy that links citizenship with religion is unacceptable. The Census must not be used to divide people,” Vijayan said in a social media post. He also called on secular forces to unite against what he described as a dangerous move.
The Census 2027 questionnaire reportedly seeks details about the religion, date of birth and place of birth of both parents. It also includes an option to record the country of birth if either parent was born outside India. Several of the questions are similar to those included in the NPR schedule notified in 2020.
Vijayan cited a 2018-19 Union Home Ministry report, which had stated that the NRC would be prepared by filtering data from the NPR and that the population register would serve as a preparatory step for the citizenship register.
He recalled that the Kerala government, during the tenure of the Left Democratic Front, had decided in 2019 not to implement the NPR in the state. The decision was reaffirmed ahead of the 2027 Census, he said.
Vijayan also criticised the Congress-led United Democratic Front government in Kerala for remaining silent on the issue.
“The Congress cannot wash its hands of the NPR, having implemented it in 2010,” he said. “Will the UDF government stand up against this divisive agenda, or allow the Union government’s political agenda to move forward?”
During the previous LDF government’s tenure, Kerala had issued a gazette notification suspending all activities connected with updating the NPR in the state with effect from December 20, 2019.
The Census 2027 enumeration phase includes several new or modified questions compared with the 2011 exercise, including details relating to parents, caste, Aadhaar, voter ID, passport, driving licence and digital literacy.