Nilekani should therefore ask: What is the vision and purpose of his project? Could it be to open the doors for Indians to push beyond the Mandal era? And if so would it be practically possible to design the system of collating and incorporating data in a way that triggers a reassessment of the relative importance of the different attributes of identity? Can the very process of determining identity lead to its redefinition and thereby to changes in behaviour? Nilekani may choose not to ask these questions but it would be a pity — indeed possibly a lost opportunity, if he fails to appreciate that identities are not simply expressions of the past or the present. They entail visions of the future.

The writer is chairman, Shell group of companies in India. Views expressed are personal