India will hold a census next year - and Muslims fear

The government has approved the Population Register update budget next year, but Modi nationalist critics fear it will require citizens to prove they are "Indian." The decision was made at a time of protest against the controversial citizenship law, which was also seen as an initiative against Muslims in a predominantly Hindu state

India will hold a census next year - and Muslims fear

The Indian government on Tuesday approved the funding of a census to be held next year, despite weeks of protests against the citizenship law, which its opponents see as anti-Muslim.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi claims that the National Population Register (NPR) update will serve as a comprehensive pool of all citizens of the state. However, opponents of the government promoting a Hindu nationalist agenda fear that the list will lead to all "doubting citizens" being required to prove they are Indians.

The repository should include any "regular resident" in the state who describes a person living in a particular area for at least six months, or a person who plans to live in a particular area for six months or more. So even foreign nationals living in India will be included in the NPR.

After the cabinet meeting, Minister Prakash Jabedkar said the government had allocated Rs 39.4 billion - about half a billion - for the NPR, which will be updated between April and September. At the same time, an additional 87.54 billion rupees will be invested in the census, which will gather information about the population, economic activity, immigration and demographics, and other things.

More than 20 people were killed in the protest. Demonstration against citizenship law in New Delhi yesterday (Photo: Reuters)

Demonstrations against New Citizenship Law in New Delhi, India, December 24, 2019 (Photo: Reuters)

Opponents of the move claim that NPR is a first step toward creating a national civil registry, which is being promoted by the ruling party and has already been implemented in Assam state in northeast India, where residents were required to prove that they had moved to it before March 24, 1971, the day before neighboring Bangladesh became an independent state. That left two million citizens off the list. The government denies that this is its intention.

The decision was made while protests against the revised Citizenship Act, passed in parliament earlier this month, made it easier to grant citizenship to illegal immigrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. The government claims it is designed to protect religious minorities persecuted in these countries, but the inclusion of Muslims in the program has led to its accusation of discrimination against more than 200 million of its Muslim citizens.

Opposition to the law comes from opposition ranks and international human rights organizations, according to which it erodes India's secular constitution. However, Modi defended the law and insisted that Muslims had no "cause for concern" from him.

Although authorities have banned large crowds in the public and paralyzed the Internet and messaging services in some places, the protests - which have taken the lives of more than 20 people - continue. In some places, especially in New Delhi's capital, clashes between protesters and police have been accused of excessive use of force.

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