MHA terms information about committee on demography changes as “confidential”

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) while, dealing with a Right to Information (RTI) application, described proposals, file noting, approvals and related documents connected to High-Level Committee on Demographic Changes (HLCDC) as “confidential”.

The RTI application, filed by Hyderabad-based activist S.Q. Masood, by means of a series of queries sought information such as the Terms of Reference (ToR) of the committee.

In their response, a copy of which The Hindu accessed, the MHA stated, “In the context of the proposal, file notings, etc., it is stated that the requisite information has been marked as confidential and exempted from disclosure as per the Section 8(1) (a) of the RTI Act, 2005.” The sections invoked deals with not disclosing information which would affect the sovereignty and integrity of India.

The response, however, stated that the ToR, appointment and constitution order is available online.

Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Masood said, “I sought very basic but important information, including a copy of the proposal showing who proposed this exercise to the government, why it was proposed, and other official communications. It is important to know the basis for undertaking such an exercise and the grounds for constituting this committee.”

He added that Muslims in the country were already being targeted in the name of identifying illegal immigrants and through the conduct of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. “In this context, it is also important to know whether there is any connection between this demographic committee and the SIR,” he said.

As regards other queries in the application, such as copies of letters, communications, questionnaires, forms and data templates which the committee or the MHA sent to States and Union Territories, and their replies, the RTI response stated that these were not connected to the Visa Wing, Foreigners - I Division and were transferred to the Chief Public Information Officer of the HLCDC.

The committee had sent a 35-point questionnaire to States and sought data on demographic changes spanning 15 years. These questions are connected to religion-wise break up of births, enrolment in educational institutions, ration cards, vehicle registrations, property transactions and voter registrations. A large section of the information sought deals with district-wise and religion-wise data encompassing Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis.