After 19 years when Pakistan conducted a census from March to May 2017, the printed form gave the options of Muslim, Hindu, Christian, Ahmedi and Scheduled Castes under the head of "Religion.” There was no provision for Sikhs, Zoroastrians, Baha’is, Buddhists and Kalash who had perforce to be clubbed together under "Other.” "Apparently non-Muslim communities are outraged. Several took to the streets this weekend to protest their exclusion,” according to a report on www.geo.tv
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Representing the minorities, parliamentarian Isphanyar Bhandara (pictured) stated, "It is unfortunate that these communities will be misrepresented,” and has written a letter of complaint to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. According to his estimate, the combined strength of the minorities must be between 1,00,000 to 1,50,000.
The Parsis and Baha’is maintain their respective headcount. According to the a&t Zoroastrians of Pakistan directory published in 2016, the count was 1,416. The Kalash of Chitral, like the Parsis are dwindling. The Buddhists reportedly numbered around 1,500 in 2012. The chairman of the Pakistan Sikh Council Sardar Ramesh Singh regretted that "without a proper count, Sikhs will not know their exact numbers to mobilize socially and politically… Sikhism was founded some 500 years ago, here, in the land which is now Pakistan.”
The exclusion of religious minorities from the census exercise will further marginalize the smaller communities and bolster a sense of alienation, feared Peter Jacob, director of the Lahore based Center for Social Justice.
Recounting her experience with the census officials for Dawn, Lynette Viccaji of Karachi conveyed that being a Christian, the officials put her in the designated slot but they had never heard of a Parsi or Zoroastrian and had to accommodate her husband in the "other” category. Ever the educator, she managed to teach them that the Avaris of the hotel chain are Parsis and so too was Ruttie Petit, the wife of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah!