Conundrum over demography panel’s questionnaire seeking extensive data | Explained

The story so far: The Hindu had reported on September 28, 2026 that a High-Level Committee on Demographic Changes (HLCDC), constituted by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), has sent State governments a 35-point questionnaire seeking extensive data on demographic changes over the past 15 years.

A significant portion of the information has been sought both district-wise and religion-wise, covering Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis.

The questions seek religion-wise break up of birth registrations, school enrolment, ration cards, vehicle registrations, property transactions and voter registrations. The committee has also asked States to identify unusual increases in Aadhaar enrolments, voter IDs and ration cards and furnish information about forged identity documents.

But State government officials say much of this data simply does not exist in the form in which it has been sought. Administrative databases ordinarily do not classify citizens by religion across many of these categories.

The HLCDC, headed by retired Supreme Court judge Prakash Prabhakar Naolekar, was constituted by the Ministry of Home Affairs on May 26 to study demographic changes arising from illegal immigration and other ‘abnormal’ reasons and recommend measures to address them. The committee has been given one year to submit its report, though the Ministry can extend its tenure by up to six months.

What exactly has the committee sought?

The questionnaire seeks information under five broad heads: demographic trends, migration, administrative challenges, institutional mechanisms, and studies and measures adopted by States and Union Territories.

For example, States have been asked to provide details of districts showing “unusual school enrolment trends inconsistent with historical birth rates”, along with possible reasons.

The committee has sought religion- and district-wise voter-registration data for the past 15 years concerning individuals “without prior-generation birth certificates or familial legacy records”, including any trends or geographical concentrations noticed by authorities.

States have similarly been asked to identify unusual increases in Aadhaar enrolments, ration cards and voter IDs, as well as cases involving forged identity documents.

Another set of questions examines changes in religious composition, particularly in cities, industrial centres, border districts, tribal regions and areas governed by the Fifth and Sixth Schedules of the Constitution.

The committee has also sought State government studies, intelligence assessments, commission reports and White Papers examining such changes.

Why are States finding the questionnaire difficult to answer?

State government officials told The Hindu that much of the government data being sought is not maintained religion-wise. The committee, for instance, wants 15 years of religion-wise and district-wise data on transport and non-transport vehicle registrations. It has separately asked for religion-wise details of property transactions and information on unusual land acquisition, demographic clustering and property ownership patterns. Similar information has been sought on the religion-wise distribution of ration cards and school enrolment.

State officials say their departments cannot readily generate many of these figures because religion is not ordinarily an administrative field in the underlying databases.

What information has been sought on religious institutions and tribal areas?

The questionnaire asks for district-wise data on religious structures, including temples, mosques and churches, established during the previous 15 years. It also asks whether GIS mapping or other technology has been used to identify such structures.

States have been asked to provide information on changes in the religious composition of Scheduled Tribe populations and furnish studies, intelligence assessments or commission reports concerning religious conversion among tribal communities. The committee wants district-wise trends, possible reasons and details of action taken by authorities.