ALIFA seeks review of questionable ToR of ‘High-Level Committee on Demographic Change’: India Needs Fair Demographic Approach that promotes inclusion, not social polarization

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Jun 24, 2026, 6:13:23 AM (5 days ago) Jun 24

ALIFA seeks review of questionable ToR of

‘High-Level Committee on Demographic Change’

India Needs Fair Demographic Approach that promotes inclusion, not social polarization

24^th June, 2026: All India Feminist Alliance (ALIFA - NAPM) expresses immense concern at the recent constitution of the High-Level Committee on Demographic Change [1] by the Union Home Ministry. We call for a critical review of the ToR of this Committee, from the lens of constitutional justice and fairness, and for its approach to be rooted in rigorous evidence and respect for human rights, not prejudice towards certain socio-economically marginalized communities in the garb of ‘assessment of demographic changes’.

Historically, the Indian state has used demographic data for its population control goals. After decades of deploying demographic data to control fertility and sexuality, and sustained resistance by women’s movements for their reproductive rights, bodily autonomy and integrity, the ‘target’ has now moved to specific religious communities, in particular minorities, with a communal agenda, under the pretext of achieving an ‘infiltrator-free India’.

It is in this context that the we as feminists, civil liberties and people’s movements, activists, academics and concerned citizens are deeply concerned at the questionable Terms of Reference (ToR) of the 'High-Level Committee on Demographic Change' (HPC-DC) notified by the Government of India on 26^th May, 2026, in pursuance of the Prime Minister’s announcement of the ‘High-Powered Demography Mission’ on 15^th August, 2025.

The Committee is to be chaired by Jst (Retd) Prakash Prabhakar Navlekar, with Mr. Durga Shankar Mishra (Retd. IAS), Mr. Balaji Srivastava (Retd. IPS), Dr. Shamika Ravi and the Census Commissioner, as its members. Notably, the ToR has references to “illegal immigration or “illegal migrants” in seven of its eight action points. The sole action point that does not include such references calls for an analysis of structural population changes among “religious and social communities”

Demography is a broad field of inquiry that studies population processes such as birth, death, fertility, mortality, ageing, gender ratios, population distribution, migration, urbanisation and the influence of development models on demographic patterns. One would, therefore, expect the ToR to mandate an examination of the full range of demographic transformations currently reshaping India, including declining fertility rates, regional population disparities, internal migration, emigration, changing family structures, ageing populations, gender inequalities, and the intensification of care responsibilities.

A genuinely independent Committee would be tasked with analysing the socio-economic drivers of these critical changes, assessing the social, political, cultural and economic consequences at the regional, state and local levels, and recommending policies grounded in evidence and constitutional values. Instead, the ToR has presumed and pre-determined the outcomes of the inquiry and narrowed this vast subject almost exclusively to questions of “illegal immigration”, “religious and social communities”, border management, identification systems, detention and deportation. We are particularly concerned that the Committee has been tasked with analysing population changes among religious and social communities, while simultaneously operating within a framework that repeatedly links demographic change to "illegal immigration" and "demographic imbalance".

The Government should ensure that any study of demographic change is independent, methodologically transparent, federally undertaken, and free from assumptions that pre-determine its findings. Instead, this Committee appears poised to recommend mechanisms for identifying, detaining and deporting persons presumed to be illegal immigrants. Although presented as demographic analysis, the ToR effectively continues the regime’s misplaced focus on “illegal immigration” as a primary threat to national sovereignty while simultaneously stigmatising entire communities. Such an approach risks deepening social polarisation rather than advancing evidence-based public policy.

As feminists, we reject attempts to reduce complex social realities to narratives of demographic threat linked to illegal immigration. History shows that anxieties about population composition often translate into increased surveillance of women's bodies, restrictions on reproductive autonomy, and heightened discrimination against minorities, marginalized, and communities in peripheral locations. The recent SIR exercise conducted through the lens of “illegal immigration” resulted in disproportionately high deletions of women voters and Muslims, relative to their share of the population.

We, therefore, request that the Government undertake a comprehensive review of the objectives and ToR of the said Committee and defer the commencement of the Committee’s work, at least until the ongoing Census is completed. Only a robust, exhaustive, and transparent Census can provide a trustworthy demographic baseline for understanding the myriad complex population changes India is undergoing. The suggested policies based on the analysis of this Census data will equip the state to address the demographic challenges. Proceeding without such a foundation risks compounding errors, deepening exclusions, and enabling pre-determined conclusions, under the guise of demographic study.

We urge the government to step back from this misguided approach. Public policy must be guided by constitutional values, rigorous evidence, and respect for human rights. India's demographic future should be approached as a question of justice, equality and human development, not as a narrative of suspicion and fear.

All India Feminist Alliance (ALIFA - NAPM)