What made the data problematic in this particular case, however, was the choice of data source—a survey of newspaper archives. In this particular case (mob lynchings), making use of official statistics is unlikely to be of much help either. If there is a prevailing narrative that mob lynching is in some sense “acceptable”, at the margin the number of lynching cases filed will be lower. In an atmosphere where lynching cases are being widely reported, on the other hand, more cases are likely to get filed. In this particular case, though, with the prime minister commenting on the issue, the government has admitted that the protests did have some merit.

Source: Mint July 01, 2017 17:48 UTC