Thread by @sharmasupriya

Drop everything and pay attention to the very real and very scary prospect of Census enumerators facing violence in the field this summer – because of the fears around NRC and NPR.

This is not wild speculation.

#Thread

As @p_semolina reported, women collecting data for a digital literacy project in Bengal faced hostility from residents who believed it would be fed into NRC.

scroll.in/article/951523…

@p_semolina Bengal is not the only state where violence has been reported against anyone seen to be collecting data – which people presume is for NPR and NRC.

scroll.in/article/951745…

@p_semolina In Andhra Pradesh, a government official collecting data for the National Sample Survey was attacked.

"If the situation persists, this would be the first time since 1950 that a socio-economic round of NSO would be declared as a casualty."

livemint.com/news/india/gov…

@p_semolina As @ShoaibDaniyal explained, the panic over NRC could put the Census in danger too for the first time in India’s history.

scroll.in/article/951745…

@p_semolina @ShoaibDaniyal FYI: NPR data collection has been merged with the Census.

“It was done to fool the people and ensure the NPR data is collected using stealth," said Ranjit Sur, an activist of APDR.

Now the idea is backfiring.

@p_semolina @ShoaibDaniyal Hear it from Pronab Sen who heads India's Standing Committee on Economic Statistics.

"...if the Census is not done properly, then for the next 10 years, no household survey would be reliable because all household surveys rely on the Census as the frame"

indianexpress.com/article/india/…

@p_semolina @ShoaibDaniyal We are at the stage where Census enumerators might only be able to go into the field with police protection, which will defeat the whole idea, as Sen says.

"You land up with a bunch of cops, you are not going to get data worth anything.”

@p_semolina @ShoaibDaniyal The cause for this panic is clear: the BJP’s attempts to force through an NRC has set off an destabilising chain of events. The party must now immediately fix the problem it has created.

@ShoaibDaniyal sums it up in @scroll_in

scroll.in/article/952975…