No doubt, census data is much anticipated amongst the class of media, policy and think tank pundits. Even with Covid ushering in a new era of a populist appetite and appreciation of data, the media fascination with census statistics, particularly some of the national features it comes to define, is telling. While the paint by numbers, birds eye view of our nation that it provides has its practical functions, there is also a strong mythical dimension behind these statistics. In census data, the very concept of nationality, identity and belonging continues to be tested to all limits – who makes …