Disability rights groups raise concern over Census enumeration framework
Disability rights activists in India are protesting the proposed nine-category framework for the 2027 Census, arguing it fails to account for all 21 disabilities recognized under the 2016 RPwD Act. They warn that this limited categorization will lead to inaccurate data and the exclusion of many disabled individuals from official statistics.
Why it matters
Accurate census data is critical for the effective implementation of social welfare policies and legal protections for marginalized groups.
NEW DELHI: Disability rights organisations and activists have raised concern over the categorisation for enumeration of persons with disabilities under Census 2027, highlighting that the nine-category framework “fails to adequately capture this legal and social reality” of the 21 disabilities recognised under the law.The statement issued by National Platform for Rights of Disabled and backed by 405 signatories, states that “apart from leaving enumerators clueless, this exercise will produce inaccurate data and render entire groups of persons with disabilities invisible in official statistics.”They have demanded that the disability questionnaire in Census 2027 should individually capture all 21 disabilities recognised under the RPwD Act, 2016.“Whereas the Schedule under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016 recognises 21 conditions as "specified disabilities", reports indicate that in Census 2027 disability will be recorded under nine categories only: seeing, hearing, speech, mobility, intellectual disability, mental illness, acid attack, chronic neurological disease and…
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