The high-level ‘Demographic Change Committee’ constituted by the Central Government has sought data from all the states on various subjects. These include birth certificates; vehicle registrations; school enrolments; property-related transactions; unusual increases in Aadhaar, voter ID and ration card registrations; and district-wise details of places of worship, whether temples, mosques, churches or any other religious places. What is particularly concerning in this regard is that the Constitution does not permit the government to seek data on a religious basis. Yet the committee has sought the above information specifically on religious lines. The committee has also sought details of the detention centres currently functioning in the country.

A report on the matter has been published by the reputed English daily The Hindu. Citing officials in some state governments, the report claims that, apart from birth certificates—which also record the religion of a newborn—and the number of undocumented migrants who have been arrested or deported, religiously categorised data is not available for the other categories. The reason is that the Constitution does not permit the collection of such data on a religious basis, whereas the committee has specifically sought this information according to religion. According to the report, this is why state governments are struggling to answer 35 of the questions asked by the committee.

It is worth recalling that questions were raised about the hidden objectives and stated agenda of this committee when it was constituted. Interestingly, no demographer—someone with expertise or specialised knowledge of demographic change—has been included in the committee. In any case, during the BJP or Modi era, expertise in the relevant subject has not necessarily been considered an essential qualification for membership of a committee, department or constitutional institution; instead, RSS members with expertise in ‘Hindutva’ are allegedly given preference in such matters. The presence of a large number of Sangh members in BJP-ruled states, as well as in various institutions, commissions, bureaucratic establishments and governorships across the country, is cited as evidence of this.

Against this backdrop, if government departments are being asked to provide data while disregarding constitutional restrictions or limitations, such a demand may conform to the Sangh’s agenda, but that does not necessarily make it constitutionally valid. The same appears to be the case in the matter under discussion. Therefore, concerns are also being expressed that the government could use the data obtained in this manner to advance its political agenda.

It is an open fact that ever since the Modi government came to power, attempts have allegedly been made to mislead the Hindu majority by creating fear that the Hindu population is declining while the Muslim population is increasing. So far, neither the BJP nor the Sangh has succeeded in substantiating such claims because the available information does not confirm them. There are several other issues as well where factual evidence contradicts misleading claims made by the Sangh or the BJP. However, given the data now sought by the committee from the states, the possibility of large-scale manipulation or irregularities, similar to those alleged in the SIR exercise, cannot be ruled out. It is therefore possible that the data could be used as a basis to give a new impetus to an agenda of religious polarisation and further aggravate the situation. The Hindu’s report has also expressed such concerns.

The report has also raised the question of what purpose is served by collecting such data when the census process has already begun. It has further expressed concern that the data sought by the committee from state governments places considerable emphasis on the issue of illegal residence.

The demand for information concerning detention centres also appears to be part of the government’s alleged underlying policy. For years, the BJP has reportedly sought to mobilise the Hindu vote by raising what it describes as the issue of Bangladeshi and Rohingya Muslims allegedly living illegally in India. For this purpose, it has repeatedly relied on alleged fabricated statistics and false claims to mislead the public. Now that the BJP is in power at the Centre, turning such claims into an apparent reality through the manipulation of data may not be difficult. If the Election Commission can allegedly be made to implement methods aimed at voter manipulation, then directing data through the committee towards a desired outcome would also not be difficult. This is why concerns expressed by some experts and by a party such as the Congress cannot simply be dismissed.

It is meaningless, in this context, that Mohan Bhagwat reportedly said in the United States: “A Hindu who thinks that India is not for Muslims, or who does not want Muslims to be seen in India, cannot be a Hindu.” Bhagwat’s statement can also be viewed in the context of an alleged Sangh and BJP plan to build detention centres across the country and place a large number of Muslims in them. In other words, allowing Muslims to remain in India may not necessarily mean granting them all civil and democratic rights; it could also mean treating them as second-class citizens. The data sought by the Central Committee on demographic changes could also be part of an effort to implement such a plan.

If The Hindu has questioned the emphasis placed on the issue of illegal residence in the data sought by the committee, its underlying purpose can be examined in the light of the alleged agenda of the Sangh and the BJP. At the same time, it would not be appropriate to assume that only Muslims are being targeted by this exercise. Dalits, backward classes and other religious minorities could also potentially be affected. This is because, according to the interpretation of Hindutva attributed to the Sangh, the alleged objective is to place everyone other than the so-called upper castes of Hindus in a position of second-class citizenship. The Sangh Parivar continues to attach importance to the ‘varna system’, while Manu-based social principles are also alleged to remain part of its agenda in one form or another.

The The Hindu report referred to above has also expressed concern that “the Demographic Change Committee is diverting attention from the actual issue so that the data collected can be misused to advance the agenda of the ruling party.”

It is no secret, according to this argument, that the agenda of the ruling party is essentially the agenda of the RSS, and that the country is familiar with what is described as the organisation’s hardline Hindutva agenda. The manner in which Muslims are allegedly being targeted by mob violence, the attempts to damage or shut down Muslim madrasas on various pretexts, and even efforts to harm modern educational institutions such as Mohammad Ali Jauhar University are matters that have received public attention. There have also been allegations of attempts to search for temples beneath mosques. The issue of court decisions, including those of several High Courts and, in some cases, the Supreme Court, that have denied relief to Muslims has also been widely discussed. Reports of Muslim homes being demolished with bulldozers over minor allegations appear regularly. The Supreme Court’s orders in such matters have also allegedly been disregarded, while the Court has, according to the writer, failed to exercise its suo motu powers in such cases.

In any event, given the manner in which the Demographic Change Committee has sought information from state governments on various subjects while allegedly disregarding constitutional limitations, concerns about possible ulterior motives cannot simply be dismissed. This is because the communities that have allegedly been targeted in similar matters in the past appear to be among those who could be affected in this case as well. According to the argument presented here, this is part of the broader Sangh agenda.
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