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Stand up and be counted, Indians told

Shanthi Shankarkumar

The Association of Indians in America (AIA) has urged all Indians, irrespective of visa status, to fill in the Census 2000 forms. Past census drives have shown that Indians as a community are indifferent to the exercise, so the association is pleading for more participation this time.

"It is our moral responsibility to participate in the census. In a democracy, numbers count. If you want to be heard, numbers count. That is where the clout is. Even a visitor should respond to the head count," said AIA president Dr Piyush C Agarwal. Dr Agarwal is also chairman of the United States Census 2000 Advisory Committee on Asian Population.

There are two types of census forms, the short form and the long form. About 83 per cent of households will receive the long form. The rest will receive the short forms. It is the long form that has all the important information regarding education, income and lifestyles. April 15 is the official deadline for receiving the forms.

Agarwal cites three reasons why Indians in general are reluctant to participate in the census. "The long form takes more time, so people are not willing to take the time to fill it out. Some Indians think it [participation] does not make a difference. Others feel the forms are intrusive," he said.

Many sections have resented the long forms for asking details about income, employment and even health. But the Census Bureau has guaranteed the confidentiality of all information. It has tried to reassure all people that information will not be shared with any agency, not even the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Internal Revenue Service or the police.

Census participation is also important because federal grants for various services are need-based. This is where statistics about community populations, lifestyle and education are needed for the government to decide if an area qualifies for grants.

According to the last census conducted in 1990, there were 840,000 Indians in the United States. This year if all Indians participate, the figure should be close to 1.7 million.

Agarwal is prepared for a much lower headcount. "I will not be surprised if the numbers show about 1.3 million Indians," he said.

In the Census 2000 forms, Agarwal got the section dealing with origin redesigned to avoid the confusion of the last census. In the 1990 census forms, the 'Asian-Indian' category came at the end of the list of categories, while the 'American-Indian' came at the top. Most Indians checked off 'American-Indian', overlooking 'Asian-Indian'. This time 'Asian-Indian' has been moved up right next to the 'American-Indian' category, making it difficult to miss. "All Indians, whether they are from Fiji, Guyana, Tobago or Malaysia, should mark 'Asian-Indian'," Agarwal advised.

In fact, he even went to the extent of trying to convince the American-Indians to categorize themselves as 'Native Americans'. Of course, his request was turned down.

Ninety per cent of the census results should be ready by the end of May for congressional redistricting purposes, but the counting will continue even after that. The president will get the official census report by December 31, 2000.

For more information, contact: Dr Piyush C Agarwal at 954-389-4465 or (fax) 954-389-4475.

Next: The spectre of imagined suffering

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