Disability-related questions in Census must be framed differently, say rights groups

The Hindu

19-06-2025

Past population counts, including the last Census in 2011, have historically undercounted people with disabilities, according to rights activists and experts who have written to the Office of the Registrar General of India, seeking a 'shift in approach' to framing disability-related questions in the upcoming Census exercise.
In the past, 'simplistic' questions with negative connotations, posed by enumerators with minimal training, wthout considering accessibility concerns, have all contributed to low disclosure, they said, claiming that the 2011 Census had counted 'only 2.21%' of the country's disabled population per some estimates. They sought time to make suggestions for better methodologies for the upcoming Census.
After delaying the 2021 Census, the Union government on June 16 notified dates for the next Census, to be completed by March 2027.
'Most undercounted'
The 2011 Census recorded about 2.68 crore people with disabilities (PwD) across the country. In their letter to the ORGI and the Secretaries of the Home and Statistics Ministries, disability rights organisation Nipman Foundation and policy think tank The Quantum Hub noted that extrapolations from the World Health Organisation's global estimates suggested that India had at least 200 million, or 20 crore, people with disabilities – almost ten times what was counted in the Census in 2011.
In the letter, Nipman Foundation founder Nipun Malhotra said that PwDs are amongst the 'most undercounted' populations in the country. He argued that the 2011 Census had under-reported the number of PwDs in the country because of several factors, including 'simplistic' questions being framed with 'negative connotations' given the existing social stigma.
Mr. Malhotra said that questions that asked whether one was mentally or physically disabled, only providing space for a 'yes/no' answer, resulted in low disclosure. 'Moreover, enumerators also received minimal training in disability awareness, contributing further to under-reporting,' he said in the letter.
'Improve accessibility, question formats'
He added that the Census process must also be made accessible through the use of Indian Sign Language, Braille, and screen-reader friendly documents, further urging authorities to employ interpreters to ensure meaningful participation of disabled people.
The rights group argued that the Washington Group on Disability Statistics, under the UN Statistical Commission, 'offers a more functional approach'. This involves a six-question set, which Mr. Malhotra said was 'most suitable' for national Censuses. For instance, one questions is, 'Do you have difficulty seeing, even if wearing glasses?', and provides a graded response scale, from 'No difficulty at all' to 'Cannot do it at all'.
The Nipman Foundation further posited that this was 'much-improved methodology compared to the present approach'.
'These changes are critical to ensuring more accurate and inclusive data collection,' it said in the letter.