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Marginalised
communities demand transparent census
Karachi
Representatives of religious minorities, fishing communities,
special persons and the labour community demanded that the upcoming
census in October 2009 be conducted in a transparent manner instead
of using the exercise to exploit these marginalised communities
further.
At consultative meeting on ‘Census and its implications for
marginalised groups’ organised by Church World Service (CWS) on
Tuesday, members from the civil society cross-questioned government
representatives including Khizar Hayat Khan, Chief Census
Commissioner, Population Census Office who was visiting from
Islamabad to discuss the preparation of the upcoming census.
Responding to the questions and various criticisms from NGOs and
individuals from the marginalised communities, Khan said the
government has a proper system in place this year to monitor all the
irregularities. Explaining the entire methodology of conducting the
census and the improved data processing system, he added that the
consultation process for the exercise began in 2007 and the team
(comprising 175,000 field workers) is now ready to start counting
the heads. “We also have six Intelligent Character Readers (IRC)
machines in the main cities of the country to ensure that the data
is processed properly,” he added when questioned about the tampering
of the data in the 1998 census.
Members of the marginalised communities, however, remained
unconvinced and were bent upon understanding why the government
failed to register the marginalised communities in the previous
census. “In the 1998 census, numerators did not visit areas such as
Essa Nagri and Azam Basti where mostly members from the Christian
community reside. Since there is no official data of people from
these localities, they have been deprived of basic amenities,”
complained Mansha Noor from an NGO Caritas – Pakistan. He was of the
opinion that the government deliberately “excludes” these areas as
the rising population of religious minorities would mean promising
more seats in the National and provincial assemblies.
Zahid Farooq of Urban Resource Centre seconded this fact by adding
that a survey conducted by his organisation revealed that although
the population of religious minorities in Sindh had doubled from
that in 1981, the last census in 1998 did not truly represent their
number. “According to the 1998 census, the population of minorities
in Sindh stood at 51, 94, 752 people out of the total 135, 280,000
although the actual figure was much higher.”
He further argued that the ten reserved seats for minorities at the
time of independence remained unchanged in the recent election of
February 18, 2008 despite the fact that their population has
increased manifold in the past six decades. For the 2009 census,
participants suggested coordinating with religious leaders of
worship places of various minorities for an accurate number.
Chairman Fisherfolk Forum Mohammad Ali Shah added that population of
fishermen in coastal areas of the province were also left out by
numerators in the last census. “Often, fishermen are away from their
houses in the deep sea fishing when the numerators come. Officials
say they will come back to count them but never return,” complained
Shah.
However, Karamat Ali, Director PILER pointed out that apart from
management, the government needs to revise the census form that
“seeks to further divide the nation on the basis of religion and
language”. He suggested that the population should instead be
categorised on the basis of income so the state can have a record of
the working class in each province and divide resources accordingly.
“The reason religious minorities are insecure in this country is
because most do not even receive the minimum wage. Once their
economic problems are solved, ethnic and religious differences would
carry no weight,” he said.
The Census Chief said that suggestions from various quarters will be
considered, adding that the government has invested Rs350 million on
a media campaign as well to urge all sections of the society to come
forward and participate in the process. He added that in the
upcoming census, with the help of the Google Earth software, all
such remote areas have been indentified through a satellite image
and assured that the entire process will be micro-managed.
The News: Staff report
:Wednesday, May 27, 2009
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