AIMIM president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday, September 29, accused the Centre’s High Level Committee on Demographic Changes (HLCDC) of targeting Muslims by seeking religion-wise data from states on vehicle registrations, property transactions and other areas.
Owaisi made the remarks after reports said the committee had sought 15 years of religion-wise information from state governments. The reported data includes birth and vehicle registrations, school enrolment and property transactions. The committee has also reportedly sought district-wise information on religious structures and unusual increases in Aadhaar, voter ID and ration card registrations.
Owaisi Questions Centre’s Data Request
Reacting to the reports in a post on X, Owaisi said the government had earlier refused to collect detailed data on the social and economic conditions of Muslims.
“When we demanded of the Modi government that it gather data on the educational, social, and economic conditions of Muslims, the government would instantly turn its face away,” Owaisi said.
He then criticised what he described as the government’s “Demography Commission” for seeking information about people’s vehicle purchases and land ownership based on religion.
“The agenda of this commission is not to formulate better policies based on the foundation of data, but rather to twist and distort the data in such a way that Muslims can be targeted and even their remaining scraps of rights can be snatched away from them,” he said.
Owaisi’s comments were in response to reports about the HLCDC’s questionnaire to states. Reports said several state departments do not normally maintain the requested information on a religion-wise basis, creating difficulties in compiling the data.
What Is the Demography Committee Studying?
The Ministry of Home Affairs constituted the HLCDC on May 26 under the chairmanship of retired Supreme Court judge Justice Prakash Prabhakar Naolekar.
According to the government notification, the committee was formed to study demographic changes linked to illegal immigration and other factors and recommend policy, administrative and legal measures. Its terms also include analysing abnormal population shifts among religious and social communities.
The committee includes the Census Commissioner, former IAS officer Durga Shankar Mishra, former IPS officer Balaji Srivastava and economist Shamika Ravi. The Joint Secretary in the Home Ministry’s Foreigners Division is its member secretary.
The reported questionnaire also seeks intelligence assessments and commission reports on religious conversions among Scheduled Tribe communities, along with information on operational detention centres.
Owaisi Links Exercise to SIR and NRC
Owaisi had also raised concerns about the committee during an interaction with the media on September 27.
He said the panel could visit areas where the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls had been completed and examine the final voter lists in the context of alleged illegal migration.
Owaisi also referred to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s statements about implementing the National Register of Citizens (NRC). He said it was possible that an NRC exercise could be conducted using the SIR electoral rolls.
The government’s stated mandate for the HLCDC is to study demographic changes and recommend measures related to the factors identified in its notification. The committee’s constitution itself does not establish Owaisi’s allegation that the exercise is intended to target Muslims.
