Mapping Indian Districts Across Census Years, 1971-2001

The Indian states have been the standard unit of analysis for research on India that uses official data sources. For many empirical questions, states are a natural starting point because state governments set political agendas and budgets and administer a wide range of services. In addition, the boundaries of many states have been unchanged for over half a century and those of all major states were largely unchanged between 1971 and 2000. This stability has resulted in the relatively easy construction and use of panel data sets at the state level and these data have been used to ask a variety of questions relating to the e ectiveness of public policy. The purpose of this paper is to provide data on the composition of all Indian districts over the 1971-2001 period that can enable the construction of district panels.[CDE DSE WP NO 176]