Census 2027: Disability groups say draft categories omit several recognised conditions
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 cover several disabilities recognised under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016.
The National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD) stated that the proposed Census categories — seeing, hearing, speech, mobility, intellectual disability, mental illness, acid attack, chronic neurological disease and blood disorder — do not reflect the 21 “specified disabilities” listed in the RPwD Act.
The organisation noted 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 new additions are acid attack, chronic neurological disease and blood disorder.
According to the NPRD, citing information shared by the Politics & Disability Forum, the proposed framework is particularly concerning in view of an assurance by Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale that data on all 21 disabilities would be captured in the Census.
The RPwD Act recognises a wide range of conditions, including cerebral palsy, dwarfism, muscular dystrophy, specific learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorder and multiple sclerosis. Activists said several of these conditions are not distinctly represented in the proposed Census categories. Autism spectrum disorder, specific learning disabilities, dwarfism, leprosy-cured persons and multiple disabilities are among those at risk of being left out.
They also questioned the decision to subsume conditions such as cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease under a broader “chronic neurological disease” category. Similarly, haemophilia, thalassemia and sickle-cell disease — separately recognised under the RPwD Act — would be grouped as “blood disorder”.
The organisations warned that such broad categorisation could affect the quality of data generated by enumerators and result in an undercount of specific disability groups. “The Census must reflect the progress made in disability rights law, not perpetuate outdated and inadequate classifications,” they said.
The groups cautioned that gaps in enumeration could have consequences beyond statistical reporting, potentially affecting policy formulation, programme design, budgetary allocations and monitoring of government schemes for persons with disabilities.
They demanded that the disability questionnaire for Census 2027 should individually capture all 21 disabilities specified under the RPwD Act, 2016. “Nothing less is acceptable,” the organisations said.
