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A Treatise on Indian Censuses since 1981

The Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, Government of India, has published an e-Book, “A Treatise on Indian Censuses since 1981”. The publication contains nine chapters, five of which are devoted to the Censuses between 1981 and 2011. The other four chapters are an Introduction; Objectives, Essential Features and Utility of Census; Elements of Census Operations; Approach to the 16th Census, and Concepts and Definitions used in Census of India.

The 696-page publication, released by the Union Home Minister, Amit Shah on May 21, 2023, can be accessed here as an External Link.

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Resources

COVID-19 Compendium: Official Information on COVID-19 Released by India and the WHO [HTML and PDF]

An up-to-date compilation of more than 1,800 official statements by the Government of India from January 17, 2020. Links to articles published by The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy on COVID-19, daily State-wise Status by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, all-India SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) Testing Status by the Indian Council of Medical Research, and the WHO's 'Global Situation Reports' and 'India Updates' are also provided on this page.

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Fending for Themselves – Adivasis, Forest Dwelling Communities and the Devastating Second Wave of COVID-19

India recognises 104 million of its over 1.2 billion population as Scheduled Tribes. As with the rest of the world, a majority of India’s Scheduled Tribes, who comprise the second largest indigenous peoples of the world, are among the poorest of the poor, live in social exclusion, and are often the last touched by the state’s welfare tools.

The visitation of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic since December 31, 2019, further exacerbated the historical exclusion that Adivasis and other forest dwelling communities faced at the hands of governments and the state. As with Indigenous peoples elsewhere, India’s counterparts, the Scheduled Tribes, have remained on the margins through the pandemic.

Related articles from The Hindu Centre1. Shankar, G and Kumari, R. 2020. The Migrant Economy During the Pandemic: An Exploratory Study in Baisi Block, Bihar, December 31. more... A novel virus, one that had not affected humankind until then, meant developing information and awareness about COVID-19 and studies ascertain that there is a negative direct correlation with spread of awareness and epidemic outbreaks. This Policy Watch by Sushmita, an award-winning journalist and researcher, and Suraj Harsha, an independent researcher and teacher, highlights the lack of communication by the state and unchallenged misinformation regarding the virus with respect to Adivasis and other forest dwelling communities. What makes it worse is that the areas where a substantial population of forest dwelling people live are also geographically remote. This Policy Watch looks into the structural issues such as the withering away of land rights, lack of literacy, failure of government schemes, and other deeper malaises that aggravate the crisis created by the pandemic.

Against this backdrop, this Policy Watch brings out the manner in which the Indian state managed the pandemic like a ‘disaster’ and elaborates on the response of Forest Dwelling population in 19 districts across 10 States to the pandemic. It is based on interviews conducted with primary sources that worked with the tribal populations and members of the communities affected by the pandemic, as well as secondary sources such as civil society and media reports, Lok Sabha responses, media articles, and government notifications. It reveals how chronic structural, legal, technological, and socio-economic inadequacies came in the way of the delivery of COVID-19 related healthcare services to these communities.

Related articles from The Hindu GroupThe Hindu1. Pai, M. and Menon, P. 2021. Learning from the best in India’s COVID-19 fight, The Hindu, November 15.2. Yadav, S. 2020. Coronavirus lockdown | Pandemic adds to the penury of tribal migrants in Madhya Pradesh, The Hindu, May 11.Frontline3. Bhakto, A. 2022. Tribals at the receiving end in Madhya Pradesh, Frontline, July 24.4. Thomas, J., et al. 2021. Vulnerable groups caught between two worlds amid lockdowns, Frontline, August 18.The Hindu BusinessLine5. Gokhale, N. 2020. A virus in the woods, The Hindu BusinessLine, May 8. In this context, this Policy Watch also provides a status of the continuing marginalisation of India’s most vulnerable population, who are behind the curve in human development indicators and the manner in which they fended for themselves when they were hard-hit during the second wave of the pandemic.

Remedying long-standing issues such as upholding their rights that exist only in the statute book, bridging shortfalls in healthcare provisioning, recognising traditional knowledge systems, and above all, taking political and policy cognisance of the unique conditions that surround India’s Scheduled Tribes, are required to redirect India’s Scheduled Tribe populations towards the long road to “development”.

Keywords: Scheduled Tribes and COVID-19, Adivasis, Forest Dwelling Communities, Scheduled Areas, Forest Rights Act, Nomadic communities, Indigenous peoples, Health, land rights, traditional knowledge, ASHA workers, vaccines, pandemic, disease.

HTML Version [PDF 745 KB]

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Statistical Literacy – A Vital Ingredient for an Informed Indian Citizenry

Numbers are tricky. They can illuminate as much as they can mislead; inform as much as they can disinform; and reveal hidden problems but also mask real issues. However, one common attribute is that they emit an aura of credibility – even when they are deployed to mislead audiences, distort findings, or conceal facts. Statistics, a field earlier confined to either the ivory towers of research institutions or the obfuscating corridors of governance, is now a common form of public communication. However, a key question is lost in this avalanche of data that is fed to the people: What is the extent of statistical literacy in India? In this Issue Brief, P.C. Mohanan, former Acting Chairman, National Statistical Commission (NSC), writes on the need to evaluate and enhance statistical literacy – a competence that is required for a knowledge society but has not attracted the attention of policy makers, enumerators, the academia, and pedagogues. Although this form of literacy is elusive to define and measure, the manner in which citizens emerge as active constituents of an informed society depends in good measure on their ability to grapple with the numerals that they encounter on a daily basis. The rising relevance of data journalism, and the widespread use of numbers as a tool to enhance public messaging, should be met by increasing the popular awareness of statistics and its nuances. This Issue Brief highlights the increased use of data in India’s public communications and emphasises the need to ensure that data-based statements are presented in a clear, correct, and unambiguous manner. Mohanan shines the spotlight on some common errors that distort results and emphasises the importance of accuracy of language, logic, and context in conveying statistical results. He highlights the role of data journalists in identifying lapses and correctly conveying the messages revealed by the numbers, as wider dissemination of statistical literacy will result in a better understanding of key issues and facilitate the emergence of a discerning citizenry. Keywords: Statistical Literacy, Data Journalism, National Statistical CommissionAlso by the AuthorPolicy Watch No. 16: Credible Data for the Public Good: Constraints, Challenges, and the Way AheadHTML Version [PDF 541 KB]

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Leveraging Social Mobility: What India’s Schools are Missing

What are schools meant to do for adolescent-aged children? Are they merely institutions that instil conformity while imparting basic knowledge of the

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Credible Data for the Public Good: Constraints, Challenges, and the Way Ahead [HTML and PDF]

Bits and bytes of information propel today’s knowledge society. This Data Revolution is as transformational as it is multi-dimensional. India, however, remains a laggard and is yet to harness the full potential of data for the public good. In this Policy Watch, P. C. Mohanan, former Acting Chairman, National Statistical Commission (NSC), takes the reader through the data collection, analysis, and dissemination process in India. In particular, he points out the deficiencies in the institutional, implementational, and procedural elements of the country’s official statistics machinery. For a country endowed with a multiplicity of resources that are matched by the problems that confront it, the scientific use of data to address peoples’ issues has often been subverted for either political reasons or because of the inability of the structures that are in place to deliver timely and credible data for decision-makers.As the rest of the world races ahead by adapting newer technologies and creating independent bodies that ensure credibility of data, India appears to not only stagnate but regress as well. The way out, Mohanan says, is to harness the available technologies in a meaningful manner, improve statistical literacy, and insulate the statistical system from political vested interests.Also by the AuthorIssue Brief No. 13: Statistical Literacy – A Vital Ingredient for an Informed Indian Citizenry. HTML Version [PDF 549 KB]

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The Law of Sedition and India: An Evolutionary Overview

Article 124A, characterised aptly by the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, as the “prince among the political sections of the Indian Penal Code de