nuts246's review
5.0
Over the last couple of years we have seen how data is being incorrectly represented to tell a story very different from reality. Comparisons are made between non-comparables, partial data is being extrapolated, and when all else fails, rhetoric is used to cover up and question what data shows.
Particularly during the COVID period, Rukmini has been one of the few voices of sanity that has put data in the correct context, and let it speak for itself.
I picked up the book with extremely high expectations, and I was not disappointed. The book is broken into ten sections, each of which looks at one aspect of life in India- how India votes, how India eats, how and where India lives, how is crime committed and reported in India. In each of these and more, she looks at the official data, and breaks it down to paint a picture of the real India. Many of her conclusions are highlighted by stories- a few stories at the outlier of data, and the others personifying the median.
The book will leave you saddened, because the numbers bear out some of the sad realities that you already suspect. Yet, it will leave you with a resolve that comes with knowing the reality so you can work towards changing it.
A must read for anyone who wants to understand India.
And yes, if you are reading this, you are NOT middle class- you are in the top 5 percentile of the nation on almost every indicator.
Particularly during the COVID period, Rukmini has been one of the few voices of sanity that has put data in the correct context, and let it speak for itself.
I picked up the book with extremely high expectations, and I was not disappointed. The book is broken into ten sections, each of which looks at one aspect of life in India- how India votes, how India eats, how and where India lives, how is crime committed and reported in India. In each of these and more, she looks at the official data, and breaks it down to paint a picture of the real India. Many of her conclusions are highlighted by stories- a few stories at the outlier of data, and the others personifying the median.
The book will leave you saddened, because the numbers bear out some of the sad realities that you already suspect. Yet, it will leave you with a resolve that comes with knowing the reality so you can work towards changing it.
A must read for anyone who wants to understand India.
And yes, if you are reading this, you are NOT middle class- you are in the top 5 percentile of the nation on almost every indicator.
haaris's review
4.0
Rukmini does two things that make her book very useful. One, she does a fantastic job of collating and synthesising data from a number of sources to discuss ten hotly debated topics in India. Two, she carefully discusses what the data can and cannot tell us. In many cases, this exercise upends conversational tropes about India. That population growth is the biggest problem for India, for example. Or when relatively very well-off people lament how they -- the middle-class -- are getting crushed while others benefit from "freebies."
It also serves a reminder that India is still a very conservative country, in matters of class, caste, women's rights, religion, ideology, and support for basic human rights.
A large majority of the country still lives in relative deprivation. The median resident still lives in a rural place. Women are not in the work force, generally speaking.
Just some quick minor criticism. The figures are poorly labeled. The discussion on the pros and cons of surveys versus admin data is not well done.
On the whole, I strongly recommend the book.
*********
Notes while reading individual chapters. For personal records.
I
Good start. Dives into crime statistics in the first chapter. Shows how top line reading of statistics on various types of crime is incomplete without understanding the context in which people report crime, police record it, and the institutional setup treating different kinds of alleged offenses.
II
Education, income or urbanization do very little in changing people's attitudes towards core democratic ideals such as freedom of expression, or in religious or caste based discrimination. The way backward tendencies are expressed has become more subtle but refuses to go away.
III
That nearly everyone says in opinion polls that "development" is what matters when they vote but as soon as the survey questions become more creative, more indirect, and allow revealed preferences to be elicited, the importance of ideas, identity and ideological commitment start showing up.
IV
That India is anything from 66 to 75% non vegetarian I knew. I didn't realize Punjab is so overwhelmingly vegetarian. Only one in three women in Punjab reported ever eating eggs.
Marriages are almost always within the same caste (~ 95%)
The average Indian household takes four overnight trips a year. Just four. 75% of the time it's to visit family and friends. Only 3% travel for leisure.
I live in such a bubble.
V
The fifth chapter should be called "Will the real middle class please stand up?" Good reminder that people who think they are middle class are really very rich. Middle class India would be a family earning about Rs 88,000 a year.
VI
The chapter on national surveys and national accounts is less impressive. Some of the author's reasoning doesn't come out as well as it should. The main takeaway stands though: surveys are essential exercises that bring a wealth of data and understanding otherwise missed out by more top-down headline indicators. We need to know who is consuming what and the distribution of income and wealth.
VII
Only 9 countries in the world have a female labour force participation that is lower than that of India. And the participation has been falling in recent years. Women jobs are lower paying and in closer proximity to their homes. Possibly also more dispensable when a crisis hits.
VIII
Incentives to reduce family size have perverse unintended consequences. Families seem to start pre natal sex selection earlier; before they would wait for at least the first child to be born.
Outside of Rajasthan, MP, UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, the rest of India is at or actually much below replacement fertility level (2.1).
IX
An interesting puzzle is India's slow rate of urbanization. Contrary to many accounts, India is urbanizing at a slower rate than its other developing country peers. The rate is ten percentage points lower than what would be predicted by its per-capita income.
X
86% of healthcare providers are private providers in rural India. Some 68% of these are non trained providers. Yet research comparing non trained providers with certified doctors in these regions did not find any difference in their diagnosis ability or their effectiveness.
It also serves a reminder that India is still a very conservative country, in matters of class, caste, women's rights, religion, ideology, and support for basic human rights.
A large majority of the country still lives in relative deprivation. The median resident still lives in a rural place. Women are not in the work force, generally speaking.
Just some quick minor criticism. The figures are poorly labeled. The discussion on the pros and cons of surveys versus admin data is not well done.
On the whole, I strongly recommend the book.
*********
Notes while reading individual chapters. For personal records.
I
Good start. Dives into crime statistics in the first chapter. Shows how top line reading of statistics on various types of crime is incomplete without understanding the context in which people report crime, police record it, and the institutional setup treating different kinds of alleged offenses.
II
Education, income or urbanization do very little in changing people's attitudes towards core democratic ideals such as freedom of expression, or in religious or caste based discrimination. The way backward tendencies are expressed has become more subtle but refuses to go away.
III
That nearly everyone says in opinion polls that "development" is what matters when they vote but as soon as the survey questions become more creative, more indirect, and allow revealed preferences to be elicited, the importance of ideas, identity and ideological commitment start showing up.
IV
That India is anything from 66 to 75% non vegetarian I knew. I didn't realize Punjab is so overwhelmingly vegetarian. Only one in three women in Punjab reported ever eating eggs.
Marriages are almost always within the same caste (~ 95%)
The average Indian household takes four overnight trips a year. Just four. 75% of the time it's to visit family and friends. Only 3% travel for leisure.
I live in such a bubble.
V
The fifth chapter should be called "Will the real middle class please stand up?" Good reminder that people who think they are middle class are really very rich. Middle class India would be a family earning about Rs 88,000 a year.
VI
The chapter on national surveys and national accounts is less impressive. Some of the author's reasoning doesn't come out as well as it should. The main takeaway stands though: surveys are essential exercises that bring a wealth of data and understanding otherwise missed out by more top-down headline indicators. We need to know who is consuming what and the distribution of income and wealth.
VII
Only 9 countries in the world have a female labour force participation that is lower than that of India. And the participation has been falling in recent years. Women jobs are lower paying and in closer proximity to their homes. Possibly also more dispensable when a crisis hits.
VIII
Incentives to reduce family size have perverse unintended consequences. Families seem to start pre natal sex selection earlier; before they would wait for at least the first child to be born.
Outside of Rajasthan, MP, UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, the rest of India is at or actually much below replacement fertility level (2.1).
IX
An interesting puzzle is India's slow rate of urbanization. Contrary to many accounts, India is urbanizing at a slower rate than its other developing country peers. The rate is ten percentage points lower than what would be predicted by its per-capita income.
X
86% of healthcare providers are private providers in rural India. Some 68% of these are non trained providers. Yet research comparing non trained providers with certified doctors in these regions did not find any difference in their diagnosis ability or their effectiveness.
shourya_roy's review
4.0
In the world of artificial intelligence and predictive analytics, descriptive reporting of data has become so passe. Everyone wants to predict the future but no one wants to look at the past. The book “Whole Numbers and Half Truths” by Rohini S. is a glowing example of data-based storytelling and how to engage your readers and audience by telling stories and insights from what has happened in the past. The author takes a deep dive into various facets of Indian culture and ecosystem based on data collected from various databases, surveys, censuses, and so on. The various chapters focus on crime, electoral preferences, behavior and lifestyle, etc. of Indians at large. While unimaginative people would have presented them with tables and charts, she presented stories by complementing them with commentaries and testimonies from real people. Through the book, she brings forward many misreading of data and misleading stories about India.
Very insightful and a pleasure to read. Occasionally it gets boring (after all raw data is boring) but hang on and she has a page-turner incident on the next page! Overall 4 on 5!
[This is the original article that led me to this book https://www.firstpost.com/india/rukmini-s-whole-numbers-and-half-truths-pushes-back-against-misreading-of-data-misleading-stories-about-india-10297591.html - for a more detailed review.]
Very insightful and a pleasure to read. Occasionally it gets boring (after all raw data is boring) but hang on and she has a page-turner incident on the next page! Overall 4 on 5!
[This is the original article that led me to this book https://www.firstpost.com/india/rukmini-s-whole-numbers-and-half-truths-pushes-back-against-misreading-of-data-misleading-stories-about-india-10297591.html - for a more detailed review.]
rohini_murugan's review
5.0
Numbers. That’s what this book is about. Numbers and the resulting interpretations of those numbers.
There weren’t many surprising conclusions and observations. The North-South divide - be it economical or health infrastructure or ideological - we all knew it existed, but just not to what extent. In this book, you do, with the help of some crisp statistics.
Overall, I just felt doom and despair while reading the book - which is a pretty common thing to feel while reading any news regarding my country - but it was also the kind of despair that is hard to counteract with a ‘but what if’. There are no what ifs. This is the data. These are the raw numbers. There’s nothing else than despair in those numbers.
Hopefully, and this is the cheery sunshiny persona in me trying to sneak in, all this data could be useful as a window to help us plan better in the future. With better governance. When a better government comes along. Hopefully.
There weren’t many surprising conclusions and observations. The North-South divide - be it economical or health infrastructure or ideological - we all knew it existed, but just not to what extent. In this book, you do, with the help of some crisp statistics.
Overall, I just felt doom and despair while reading the book - which is a pretty common thing to feel while reading any news regarding my country - but it was also the kind of despair that is hard to counteract with a ‘but what if’. There are no what ifs. This is the data. These are the raw numbers. There’s nothing else than despair in those numbers.
Hopefully, and this is the cheery sunshiny persona in me trying to sneak in, all this data could be useful as a window to help us plan better in the future. With better governance. When a better government comes along. Hopefully.
kruti's review
5.0
This is an excellent book. One has often heard the "anything you say about Indians, the opposite is equally true" - for a country as big and diverse as ours, data around how Indians live certainly has many untold stories behind it.
This book provides the much-needed nuance to numbers we know about India, the stories behind official stats, and why good data is so critical for policy. Eye-opening insights on consumption (what's wrong w our consumption data?), income (why is it sooo hard to get a realistic picture of income?), crime (to what extent is Delhi really an unsafe rape capital?), urbanisation (is India really urbanising as fast as media makes it seem?)...
I took copious notes. Highly recommend.
This book provides the much-needed nuance to numbers we know about India, the stories behind official stats, and why good data is so critical for policy. Eye-opening insights on consumption (what's wrong w our consumption data?), income (why is it sooo hard to get a realistic picture of income?), crime (to what extent is Delhi really an unsafe rape capital?), urbanisation (is India really urbanising as fast as media makes it seem?)...
I took copious notes. Highly recommend.
khamakhaaaa's review
4.0
“Of all the narratives that Indians wrap
around themselves — whether for disguise
or for comfort — none is as dearly held as
this one: I am middle class.”
So often did a statement in this book shock me that I had to stop for a moment and re-read it, and sadly nothing changed, I had read it correctly in the first time. I was surprised at how I was highlighting so much in this book, largely because Rukmini S goes on to shatter the notions that we hold firmly as ‘truth’ or ‘common sense’.
Upon reading this book I realised how smart the BJP party is in the way they play with the data. Also, how so many of our beliefs are merely myths and fabricated stories — like the ghost stories, only we’ve adapted so well with them that we’ve begun to see ghosts in their flesh and blood. We are in essence collectively “missing reality, manufacturing reality” as Rukmini S herself puts it.
The author touches upon some of the most crucial aspects of public debate around data: caste, urbanisation, voting patterns, migration, healthcare, religion, Covid, gender, population, crime patterns, unemployment, income levels, languages, and so on.
The prose on the other hand feels a bit bumpy and hurried at times, which might be a compulsion for this kind of book which is structured around the theme of data.
Overall, it’s a must read for every citizen of India.
around themselves — whether for disguise
or for comfort — none is as dearly held as
this one: I am middle class.”
So often did a statement in this book shock me that I had to stop for a moment and re-read it, and sadly nothing changed, I had read it correctly in the first time. I was surprised at how I was highlighting so much in this book, largely because Rukmini S goes on to shatter the notions that we hold firmly as ‘truth’ or ‘common sense’.
Upon reading this book I realised how smart the BJP party is in the way they play with the data. Also, how so many of our beliefs are merely myths and fabricated stories — like the ghost stories, only we’ve adapted so well with them that we’ve begun to see ghosts in their flesh and blood. We are in essence collectively “missing reality, manufacturing reality” as Rukmini S herself puts it.
The author touches upon some of the most crucial aspects of public debate around data: caste, urbanisation, voting patterns, migration, healthcare, religion, Covid, gender, population, crime patterns, unemployment, income levels, languages, and so on.
The prose on the other hand feels a bit bumpy and hurried at times, which might be a compulsion for this kind of book which is structured around the theme of data.
Overall, it’s a must read for every citizen of India.
xoopa's review
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.25
The book is very information heavy, but considering that it’s about data journalism it is understandable. But it made it more textbook like. I hoped there was a balance between the text and data.