Disability rights groups flag gaps in proposed Census 2027 categories
Disability rights organizations are criticizing the proposed 2027 Census categories for failing to include all 21 disabilities recognized under the RPwD Act of 2016. Activists argue that the current framework is outdated and ignores specific conditions like autism and muscular dystrophy.
Why it matters
Accurate census data is essential for the government to allocate resources and implement effective social welfare policies for the disabled community.
Disability rights organisations and activists have raised concerns over the proposed classification of disabilities for enumeration in Census 2027, saying the nine-category framework does not adequately include several disabilities recognised under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016.
The National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD) said the proposed Census categories — seeing, hearing, speech, mobility, intellectual disability, mental illness, acid attack, chronic neurological disease and blood disorder — did not adequately reflect the 21 “specified disabilities” recognised under the RPwD Act.
The organisation pointed out that six of the proposed categories — seeing, hearing, speech, mobility, intellectual disability and mental illness — essentially carry forward the categories used in the 2011 Census, with “mental retardation” renamed “intellectual disability”. The additions are acid attack, chronic neurological disease and blood disorder.
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