“We have decided to end the practice of asking a close-ended question to collect statistics on religion from this year,” said Bikash Bishta, Deputy Director General (DDG) of the CBS.[break] “Various indigenous communities had expressed deep concerns over the practice of asking close-ended question.”
An open-ended question will enable the respondents clearly specify the religious group they belong to. Earlier, the respondents either had to choose from any of the religious groups listed in the questionnaire or “other groups” if their religious group was not listed.
“The major drawback of the close-ended question was minority groups had to choose the “other groups” option in the questionnaire,” Bishta said. “Now, everyone will be able to specify the religion they practice.”
In the past, the practice of a close-ended question had prompted various ethnic groups to accuse the government of manipulating religion-related statistics. They argued that even non-Hindus were misled into identifying themselves as Hindus.
“In the past censuses, when non-Hindu people did not see their own religion listed in the questionnaire, they unmindfully identified themselves as Hindus,” said Aang Kaji Sherpa, General Secretary of the Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities (NEFIN).
However, the NEFIN does not seem to be free misgivings. “The enumerators could erase and manipulate the answers given by the respondents later,” Sherpa told Republica. “So, we want the CBS to ask a close-ended question with every existing religious group listed in the questionnaire.”
One supervisor for four enumerators
In response to the complaints that some enumerators have not reached every household to collect data, the CBS has increased the number of supervisors.
“These complaints are not absolutely unfounded,” Bishta said. “So, in the new census, one supervisor will be overseeing every four enumerators. And they, unlike in the past censuses, will have less chances to cheat on us.” In the 2001 census, the CBS had mobilized one supervisor per five enumerators.
Bishta said district level mechanisms set up for supervising the census will also be empowered by conducting more training programs.
“We will do our part. But, people should also be aware. They should inform monitoring mechanisms if the enumerators do not turn up at their door-steps,” Bishta told Republica.
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