[Points What is its object—usefulness—malpractices]
Census means an official count of the people of a country, with details about sex, age, occupations, religion, culture, etc. Its origin dates back to very ancient days. A census was going on when Jesus Christ was born, we are told. In our country this is taken every ten years. The latest census was taken in February, 1981.
The object of every government is to bring about improvements in every sphere of the country's life. To do this the government must have full information about the number of people it will have to take care of and their lives. The census is meant to provide these details under different heads. This enables the government and the people to have a clear idea of where they stand, and what their wants and re sources are, and to plan for the future on a scientific basis.
Thus the figure about total population informs the government of how many people it has to feed and clothe; the figures about different age groups and educational qualifications show the level of education the country has already attained and what yet remains to be done in the matter. The figures about occupation are necessary to know what the principal occupations of the people are, how many are gainfully employed and how many are unemployed. From this information the government knows the economic condition of the people and adopts suitable measures to relieve unemployment and brings about material prosperity. The census also records information about the religious and cultural life of the people. Thus the census gives a complete picture of everything about a country and its people. As this census is taken every ten years, we know what changes have taken place between one census and the next. This ables us to judge if we are moving along right lines or if our plan ing requires modifications and revisions. In this way the census serves as a valuable guide for our future activities.
There is a growing tendency to abuse this good thing for undesirable ends. As language has become the obsession of our political leaders, false statements are sometimes recorded for simple, ignorant. people to serve particular interests. In view of the great harm this does to national life such malpractices cannot be too strongly condemned.
