A frightening dilemma looms for India's minorities, especially her Muslims. It is the upcoming @Census2021India. @PrakashJavdekar has stated that it will be a chance both the enumerate the population AND to populate/update the National Population Register - #NPR. So? you may ask.
Well, here's the rub. The #NPR will be a register of #residents. The National Citizens register will draw on it to establish #Citizenship status on criteria yet to be announced, confirmed and clarified. The #Census and #NPR will be based at least on the foll. data set. 
That was the data set used for @censusIndia2011. In the first instance the expectation is that the data will be honestly filled in and submitted via an app. (I heard @PrakashJavdekar say that in a #PresConference on @NDTV.) Here's the dilemma
When it comes to getting on to the #NCR, since it will be based on what you submitted on the #Census2021 return, you can reasonably be expected to have to 'prove' whatever data you declared in that form.
Of course, anyone who fails to fill in the form CANNOT possibly get on the #NCR. You will be immediately declared STATELESS, a non-person. It may well encourage comprehensive enumeration in the Census, but it will also be a tool for petty officials to harass, and deny services.
The Census is a tool that traditionally has been used by Planners, Public Policy analysts and businesses to plan their offerings and target their services. It's chief strength has been #confidentiality and #anonymity. No individual is #identifiable. #NPR totally torpedoes that.
With a #DeAnonymised and total identifiable at the individual level, the scope for targeting people, families, localities, villages and towns on the basis of caste religion, occupation and migrant status is IMMENSE. There can be no commercial or welfare motive for such data.
One simple move would be to take the #Census2021, and the NPR out of the purview of the Home Ministry and place it in an independent organisation directly answerable to Parliament. The confidentiality and data protection of the NPR must be guaranteed and defined in Statute.
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