KARACHI CHRONICLE: Housing census headaches

The attitude of politicians to the 2011 census in Sindh is as if the sole purpose of the census is to enumerate the voters for the local and general elections. They would like to see more of their own supporters counted and less of their rival's. In Karachi especially, the census has been thoroughly politicised.
Nowhere in the province, and perhaps nowhere in any other city in the country, are there so many political players as in Karachi. Nearly all major national parties and all the provincial parties have a large or small stake in this multi-ethnic city.
One of the reasons for politicians' concern is said to be the population count in the 1998 census which did not account for over six million people, mostly from Sindh. Karachi's population allegedly was shown to be two million less than what it actually was at that time. That census was conducted by the armed forces, while this one is being held under a civilian dispensation. Hence politicians feel they can ensure greater accuracy in the 2011 census.
In actual fact their concern is not for correct enumeration of all soles in the province but for enumeration of their supporters. This is patently obvious in complaints, criticisms and mud-slinging going on in Karachi ever since the housing census was scheduled and details of the procedure was announced.
The housing census began on April 5 and will continue till April 19. The population census will be conducted sometime in late August or early September. The housing census will serve as a baseline for the population census.
The housing census in Karachi has a peculiar political significance. In recent years the rivalry between MQM, ANP and PPP got rooted in each party trying to gain territorial control of more and more areas in the city. The MQM and PPP have been stepping on each other's toes in some areas, such as Lyari, where both claim to have supporters. In the buildable land thrown up because of a road cut into a hill in North Karachi, an area popularly known as Pahargung, all three parties are interested in settling their supporters. There has been bloodshed and many innocent lives have been lost in this territorial battle, which is one of many.
The Census Commission and Federal Statistics Division which prepared the procedure for housing census perhaps do not know the peculiarities of housing in Karachi. They seem unaware that a multi-storey building has many apartments. It is certainly not a single unit such as a house or hut. Karachi is a jungle of high-rise buildings; how could the census officials be so idiotic as to cite a building with 50 to 100 apartments as a single unit? The Census Commission changed its decision only after MQM protested in the Sindh assembly on the first of April, and said the official notification would be issued within 48 hours.
The Jamaat-i-Islami, a partially subdued rival of the MQM in Karachi, expressed concern that the census would be carried out under the supervision of town administrators, which includes many MQM workers. In short, the JI seems to think their voters may not be enumerated. Since house count is the baseline for population count they feel concerned at this procedural detail-- obviously for political reasons.
The ANP feels threatened by both MQM and PPP and said their was something fishy in the house count in areas populated mainly by Pakhtuns, while "bogus house count" was going on in other areas.
The PPP census monitoring cell noted that persons designated by "a political party" are accompanying the census staff and instructing them to act as dictated. Political parties which claim to have exclusively native Sindhi members have their own brand of political thinking where the census in Karachi is concerned. They believe the large population of refugees and transient labour in Karachi should not be counted under the Sindh heading, nor should their houses and huts.
Who is to tell them the census has nothing to do with ethnicity? A census must record every house, including boats and huts which are housing units. Similarly, it must enumerate all population living in one place. However, the classification will be as "residents and others", not as "aliens" as the provincial parties demand. After all, Karachi's housing problems include not only the accommodation of Karachiites but also refugees, and upcountry labour. All of them have some shelter even if it is just a hut to live in an illegal abadi.
No census in Pakistan has been perfectly accurate. The reasons have been deliberate mis-accounting of population as well as other factors, such as failing to count migratory population like the bribes of Thar which leave their homes for three months for green pastures; or the shortage of census enumerators. Censuses have hardly ever been held on time every ten years. Political and natural calamities have been blamed for postponement. But the truth is that governments have never understood the importance of upto date population data. At times they have held a census under duress, on the demand of the United Nations.
The present census too seems to be because of UN demand. A census was due in 2008. Despite grand programmes for improving the economy and developing the country, we have been proceeding on fictitious statistics of the number of people in the country, their ages, sex, birth and death rate etc. Correct, or near accurate statistics are necessary, but we have been conducting our affairs on guesswork. Even the guesswork lacks credibility. For instance, the UN did not accept our estimate of Pakistan's population to be 171 million. The UN and affiliated bodies report the population to have been an estimated 185 million in the year 2010. Let us see what the Census Commission comes up with at the end of the current census exercise.
The big question is, will international bodies such as UN, World Bank, ILO and WTO accept the census figures. But according to my colleagues the really big question is, will the census exercise be completed or will it abort, considering all the political meddling, especially in Sindh and specifically in Karachi?