AnkushAgarwal and VikasKumarNumbers in India's Periphery: The Political Economy of Government StatisticsCambridge University Press, 2020, 371 p., $120.00

In global discourse, India is often lauded for its statistical system. recent years, this image has been dented by concerns about the quality of core economic statistics. However, much criticism rests on lack investment in data collection machinery, poor design instruments, and inadequate supervision. The political economy statistics received relatively little attention. Ankush Agarwal Vikas Kumar, professors economics at Indian Institute Technology, Delhi, India, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru, set out to address often-overlooked field carrying a audit Nagaland. book's central premise that deep multifaceted relationship between politics defining feature modern states, government are sites contestation. This argument illustrated an evaluation official Nagaland, located India's North-Eastern periphery, was first small state formed after independence. It granted full statehood 1963 response one oldest armed insurgencies subcontinent. special status grants it preferential access Central funding. also home variety tribal groups continually compete power resources. Tribes primarily Christian speak more than 20 mutually unintelligible languages. Nagaland communities found across border neighboring states within Myanmar long-standing disputes with neighbors. Immigration from nearby Assam, Bangladesh, led widespread fears getting swamped “outsiders.” Kumar carefully trace these unique conditions creating maps. introduction sets stage noting, “During exploratory visit study abnormalities census data, we were struck multiplicity inconsistent maps displayed offices.” Subsequent chapters errors, relating them competing claims resources power. chapter fascinating. notes registered highest growth population 1981 2001 (from 774,930 1,990,036). 2011, showed slight contraction 1,978,502 while other steadily growing. stagnation absence epidemic disease, natural calamity, any significant change socioeconomic termed demographic somersault authors. They attribute different tribes using inflated figures until 2001, which then corrected, least partially, 2011 Census. Authors examine internal consistency various censuses compare information conclude due inflation estimates successive resulting overestimation Nagaland's as 36 percent. most exciting part their discussion possible explanations phenomenon. These include transition following insurgency subsided only late 1990s, leading deployment forces who would have included census, increased coverage subsided, immigration well Bangladesh. each discount role, arriving favored explanation, made feasible through headcount. After dismissing conventional explanations, Winning Censuses argues desire seek favorable policy changes deliberate manipulation census. A higher count allow creation new district allocation welfare schemes. For demographers, interesting ask how numbers game could be manipulated. some cases, rural urban migrants counted both areas. instances, village authorities manipulated falsification While come under attack scholars inherent mistrust statistics, authors book economists trying uphold sanctity results rigorous examination sources error. paradox makes careful focus rare among books genre.