The population enumeration phase of census 2027 is causing concern among citizens who have already been through the stressful experience of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Other than poll-bound states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Goa, door-to-door visits are scheduled to take place during January 25 and February 28, 2027. There are serious concerns about the personal identifiers that have been proposed to be solicited. The fundamental question is whether there is any statistical purpose in obtaining details such as voter ID, passport and Aadhaar number. What does census entail?A population census is the process of collecting, compiling, analysing and disseminating demographic, social, cultural and economic data relating to all persons in the country.The census is conducted under the provisions of the Census Act, 1948 (CA 1948). To ensure confidentiality, section 15 of the Act stipulates that census records are not open to inspection and that information from census schedules or registers cannot be used as evidence in civil or criminal proceedings, except in prosecutions under CA 1948 itself. Thus, only aggregated data at various administrative levels is published and no individual data collected is shared. CA 1948 also legally obligates people to provide correct details. Refusing to answer questions or providing false information is punishable with fine of up to Rs. 1,000.As per the gazette notification dated August 14, 2026, for the purpose of the population enumeration, there are 40 questions. Besides demographic, socio-economic, caste and migration particulars of each individual, the information sought includes the total number of bank accounts, mobile number (if available), Aadhaar number (if available), voter ID number (if available), passport number (for Indian passport holders) and driving license (if applicable).Issues and apprehensionsWe could not obtain any clarification from the office of the Registrar General and census Commissioner of India, or elsewhere, stating that responses to questions on Aadhaar, voter UD and passport are voluntary. Rather, the Hindu reported that, at an enumerator training session held on October 29 in UP, a trainer explained how to coax respondents to share their Aadhaar details, including that they could be used as citizenship proof. Census officials, however, denied issuing any such instructions. Earlier, a UP official had observed that districts had been instructed to inform households in advance so that they could have their personal documents handy. The apparently mandatory nature of these personal identifiers has raised concerns about whether collecting such individual details takes the much-delayed census exercise away from its primary purpose. Individual identifiers are not inherently useful for census tabulation as they cannot, by themselves, be meaningfully computed into conventional population statistics. Also read: BJP and EC Said SIR Was to Remove ‘Infiltrators’. A Report Shows it Recorded Just 1,600 ForeignersA related question is: if the government cannot share these individual details with other agencies, why collect them during the census in the first place? A simple yes-or-no survey on whether a person possesses an Aadhaar card, voter ID or passport – similar to the question on possession of a driving license – would suffice for the purpose of statistical tabulation and cross-classification.If these details are indeed intended to be shared with other agencies, would that not be a blatant violation of statutory provisions governing the census? Such information ought not to be canvassed under the aegis of the exercise. Citizens have increasingly been asked to share their Aadhaar numbers in almost every interaction with governmental departments. Many burial and cremation grounds also insist on collecting Aadhaar data. The spirit of Supreme Court’s judgement in the Justice K.S. Puttaswamy ( Retd. ) & Anr. vs. Union of India & Ors. (2018) was modified by the Aadhaar Authentication for Good Governance (Social Welfare, Innovation, Knowledge) Rules, 2020. Demanding Aadhaar numbers has now become so common that people have come to accept it. Trust deficitComplications as well as large-scale exclusions during the ongoing SIR process have resulted in a significant trust deficit around information-collection exercises. There are concerns that access to government welfare schemes could become linked to electoral rolls. Media reports have suggested that people excluded from the rolls were being deprived of rations under the Public Distribution System (PDS). It has also been reported that voter ID cards, and not Aadhaar cards, may be insisted upon to access some welfare benefits. In case of poor people, migrants, students, transferable employees and other vulnerable sections who move frequently, the question of where they should be counted in the census could become existential, especially in light of the SIR experience. Neither the Passport Act, 1967, nor the Manual of Electoral Rolls, 2023, requires updation of addresses on passports and voter ID cards every time people move. As a result, people who are not present at their recorded address may not be counted there. At the same time, they may choose not to be counted at the place where they are actually residing on the day of census enumeration.If the more than nine crore SIR exclusions attributed to absentee or shifted voters are any indication, the population count in census 2027 could be substantially undercounted if people are asked for these personal identifiers and the addresses associated with them.In a previous article published by The Wire, we have already raised concerns about the possibility of the population count remaining unaffected by the consequences of the large-scale wrongful exclusions during the SIR.ConclusionThe primary goal of a census is to provide the total count of persons, along with classifiable attributes. Information that cannot be aggregated for any administrative unit does not need to be collected. Soliciting Aadhar, passport and voter ID details raises apprehensions regarding the possibility of these identifiers’ exploitation for cross-validation. The consequences of such a process, in the context of the palpable fear of losing one’s identity, are too obvious and disturbing.Any hint of an intervention resembling the SIR’s logical discrepancy process during the census is certain to lead to a significantly lower headcount.From demonetisation to the SIR, large numbers of ordinary citizens, especially the poor and underprivileged, have faced one humiliation after another. We hope the census will not cause similar distress.Also read: What is the SIR Costing?It is still not too late to make responses to the census either wholly voluntary or limited to binary yes-or-no answers on the possession of these identifiers. This would help ensure a truer and uncontaminated population count.Sanjay Kumar retired as the Additional Director General of the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI). N.K. Sharma retired as the Director General of the MoSPI. Siraj Hussain is former Union Agriculture Secretary.