New Delhi, May 29 (UNI) Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday described as 'transformative and game-changing' the government's decision to include caste-based enumeration in the upcoming decadal census and said it was like 'getting your body an MRI'.
“The Government has made a great decision. And the decision is to include caste-based enumeration in the upcoming decadal census. It will be a transformative step, game-changing. It will help bring about social justice. It will be an eye-opener. It will satisfy people's aspirations,' the Vice President said addressing the Indian Statistical Service (ISS) Probationers of the 2024 and 2025 batches here.
Describing it a 'very broad decision of the government,' he said there was a caste-based census earlier. 'Last time, I think it was conducted in 1931. I looked up to that census many times to know about my caste. I, therefore, realise the importanceof caste-based enumeration.”
Dhankhar said far from being divisive, thoughtfully collected caste data would be an instrument of integration. Some people were debating it.
'We are mature minds. How can information collected by itself be a source of the problem ? It is like getting your body MRI. You will know about it when you stand.'
He said this mechanism would transform abstract constitutional commitments to equality into measurable, accountable policy outcomes.
The Vice-President drew an analogy to highlight the value of precise and current data in governance saying effective policy planning without robust statistics one could compare it like a surgery in the dark.
'Every digit in our national database represents a human story. Every trend line charts the trajectory of things. And what it portends for our future, you will have rich experiences every moment of your service career. What you took for granted, you will find, is on a fragile premise. It's a mirage, because data does not lie”, he noted.
Reiterating India’s aspirations of becoming a developed nation as firmly rooted in evidence-based planning, he said ‘Viksit Bharat’ is not a dream but the objective, defined destination and goal. Bharat is a nation on the rise and the rise is unstoppable. And therefore, the path to a developed India is built with statistical insights marked by evidence-based milestones. UNI RB SSP