Statistics is basically a scientific method of collecting, processing and analyzing or interpreting facts. It presents the facts of the objective situation in numbers. For example, according to the Fourth National Living Standards Survey (2079/80), 20.27 percent of people in Nepal are below the poverty line. It has presented the facts of poverty situation in Nepal.

Similarly, according to the report published by Transparency International, Nepal has been listed as one of the countries with widespread corruption. Out of 180 countries, Nepal ranks 107th in the corruption list. It has depicted the state of corruption in Nepal in statistics.

According to the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division. In 2080/81, 7 thousand 223 people committed suicide, that is an average of 20 people per day. Similarly, according to the report of Nepal Police. In 2080/81, there were 2,507 cases of rape and 460 cases of attempted rape were registered with the police. These statistics present a terrible picture of Nepal's poverty, corruption, suicide and rape.

Data is very important for in-depth analysis of the situation depicted by the data, to identify the causes of the problem and to determine the necessary laws, policies, strategies and programs. In this way, it is possible to prepare a clear roadmap to solve the problems faced by the people only through policies and programs based on the analysis of facts and data. 

Policy or program without data and analysis cannot solve the problems faced by the people in their daily life, on the other hand, based on these data, stakeholders can advocate and lobby to make the state accountable and responsible. However, the state is making a mistake in collecting, processing and publicizing the data of the people's concerns.

The politics of data

is a source of information and data power. Therefore, the question of what kind of data to create, publicize and interpret is also the politics of power-practice. An example of this is the national census data. The national census includes the country's population status, caste, language, religion, culture, community etc. population. Not only this, family details, education, health, employment and access to necessary facilities, migration, involvement in economic activities etc. data are included. Therefore, such data is very important in the creation of laws, laws, policies and programs of the country. 

An important basis of Nepali society's power relations is its social diversity. To address diversity, disaggregated data on caste, gender, community is mandatory. But the state has not produced disaggregated data that shows a clear picture of caste, gender and community in an important document like the National Census.

For example, this report says what is the total population of tribal people in Nepal? What is the percentage of Dalit population? What is the proportion of the population of tribal tribes, Dalits, Madhesi etc. at the provincial level? The state has not released such important data. 

Access to community disaggregated data is a right of both communities and citizens. However, the state is playing politics to weaken the demands of the oppressed community by hiding the community data. It is a wrong political practice to keep the oppressed community in the obscurity of the population and not allow inclusive democracy to strengthen, which is against the oppressed community as a whole.  In order to break the story, the oppressed communities are interpreting the figures in the national census as false. Since the past, Dalits have been claiming to be at least 20 percent of their population. Tribal tribes are also claiming that there is more population than what is included in the census. 

Citizens cannot get clear data because the state is not interested in strengthening inclusive practices and making the process of data collection, processing and distribution inclusive. Even if it is false to some extent, in the absence of segmented population data, the oppressed community cannot claim rights in proportion to their population at the local level, state and federation. However, the state is playing politics to mislead the oppressed community by not making all the data public. 

In the year 2021, the Planning Commission's report on multidimensional poverty states that 17.4 percent of Nepalis are in multidimensional poverty. The National Living Standards Survey (Fourth) report of the Statistics Office has presented a picture of 20.27 percent below the poverty line in Nepal. However, this report, which presents the poverty data, does not include the segmented data on the basis of caste. 

Who has historically lived below the poverty line? What is the state of poverty based on caste? Which community is declining? Which caste's poverty situation is getting weaker? This situational analysis requires detailed and disaggregated data on poverty by caste and community. In a society where the caste system is the source of poverty, effective poverty alleviation strategies, plans and programs cannot be made without a thorough analysis of caste poverty. Therefore, not including the data of caste in the report on multidimensional poverty, the data on the oppressed community is politics. 

For Nepalis, land is not only a source of livelihood, but also freedom and self-respect. However, in Nepal, a very large group of labor sweaters were not allowed to own the land. Not only this, there are thousands of examples of the classes and groups around the ruling power conspiring to steal the land of the oppressed communities. Due to the state structure, accurate segmented data of classes and communities that have been made landless is not available. 

The government has so far constituted 22 land reform commissions. But how many are actually landless? The state does not have data on who these landless are, which community they belong to and how they were made landless. Without disaggregated data showing a clear picture of the nature and condition of landlessness on the basis of caste, the real landless cannot benefit from land reform. It is the responsibility of the state to produce such disaggregated data. However, it is clear that the state does not want to create such data and solve the problems of the real landless. 

In order to create policies and programs to reduce suicide, it is necessary to analyze which class and community the people who commit suicide belong to. A corresponding policy and program should also be made. On the other hand, many incidents of violence against women, rape and murder are happening in Nepal. Last year, the data of 2 thousand 507 rape cases was released by Nepal Police. 

Rinkukumari Sada of Navrajpur-1 of Siraha died suspiciously after gang rape at the end of last January. Women and girls from marginalized communities are more likely to be victims of violence, rape and murder across the country. There are economic-political reasons behind such violence against women of marginalized communities. There should also be disaggregated data for analysis of violence against women with poor socio-economic status. However, the state does not seem to be trying to make such data. 

There are incidents of caste discrimination in the society day by day. Very few incidents reach the police but even those are not easily registered. Incidents of murder, torture and intimidation due to inter-caste love affairs and marriages are frequent. The state does not seem to have made any effort to create data on issues such as caste-based violence, the complexity of the judicial process and access to justice.

In order to reduce such violence and discrimination on the basis of caste, the state needs data with the details of such incidents, incidents and persons involved in discrimination. From the analysis of such data, a strategy and program can be made to end caste-based violence, but the state is not trying to take a single step forward in this direction. 

Many such data should be created by the state. But the government of Nepal does not want to prepare data on the important issue of promoting social inclusion, justice and equality, and on the other hand, it is playing a policy of not making public even the data that may be available. It is the right of citizens and concerned communities to get the necessary data from the state, the state cannot infringe on such rights. 

Democracy and data 

If society is to move forward, basic problems in society must be solved. Problems cannot be solved without identifying the source of the problem. In Nepal, the state has theoretically accepted the principle of proportional inclusion. Therefore, to make the state structure inclusive, to draw and analyze the situation of poverty, inequality and discrimination, to allocate the necessary policies and programs and budget, for the effective implementation of positive discrimination and reservation, segmented data is an essential requirement. 

Due to the lack of segmented data and wrong politics on the data, the Inclusion Commission suggested the government to achieve the goal of inclusion in the civil sector by 2091 and to end the system of reservation. In the proposal, Dalit representation in the civil service is only 2 percent and no data is presented as to how the representation will be in proportion to the population by 2091.

Thus, creating data that distorts reality and opposes the rights of marginalized communities does not allow inclusive democracy to be strengthened. Therefore, the overall data system should be restructured and made inclusive in order to create data that meets the social objective needs of Nepal. 

The classes and communities that are constantly monopolizing the state power do not want to create and publicize fragmented data to cover up their dominance in the state. Such data is also not created so that the fact of exploitation of power does not come out and there is no resistance from marginalized communities. Not only this, the elites do not allow the creation and publication of fragmented data due to the fear of being deprived of the opportunities they are receiving and enjoying in a monopolistic manner.