Self enumeration for Census 2027 commenced on August 17 in the snowbound districts of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, ahead of door-to-door enumeration from September 1 and the national count in February 2027. Having examined the disability question that will be put to every resident, we find the apprehension of undercount to be well-founded.

Of the 40 questions notified by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the 13th concerns disability. Question 13(a) asks whether the respondent is a person with disability; if the answer is affirmative, 13(b) invites the selection of up to three types from a list of nine: Seeing, hearing, speech, mobility, intellectual disability, mental illness, acid attack, chronic neurological disease and, now, blood disorder.

The revision appears to be an improvement. The categories have increased from eight in 2011 to nine, blood disorder has been introduced, and the obsolete term “mental retardation” replaced with intellectual disability. These corrections are welcome and long overdue.

The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 expanded the schedule of recognised conditions from seven to 21, including dwarfism, muscular dystrophy, specific learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, thalassemia, haemophilia and sickle cell disease. Each confers entitlement to certification, reservation and welfare. None will appear on the instrument that will enumerate the country.

The omission carries material consequences. In many instances we have noted, autism is........

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