Census of India, 1931, BENGAL & SIKKIM REPORT by A. E. PORTER, M.A., (OXON) Of the Indian Civil Service Superintendent of Census Operations, Bengal SiOCKiA~ING • 2011 18841 '5 JUL l96Q ST··'VE~ GENERAL TA]3LE OF CONTENTS OF THE TWO PARTS. PART I. TKE REPORT. IN'i::'RODUCTION CH.Al'TER b'--Di.Stribution and tuovi::Jme)iJ. of popti18.tion CH.AP'rER li---The populat.ion of .cities~towns and •~illages CHAPTER IIF-,--:Birthpla,ce CHAPTK:F. lV_:_Agt'l CH.APTJm V _:_Sex CHAPTER Vl~-:Ala,rita1 cOndition Ctt.APTER VII---Infirmities CHAi'Tlr.R VITI~---,Oceupa-tion CHAPTER IX----,oLit.er&tJy CJJAPTim X,.:;....,.Language CHAPTER XI~- Heligion C.l:i:A.PrE:H. XII-'--'--Ca.Ste, tribe and race IMPERIAL TABLE IMPERIAL '!'AnLJll lMPERIA.t. TABLE l.m>EBiAL TABLE h1PEBIAL' TA.IiLE i !MPF.RIAL-TABLE IMri!::R.IAL TABLE lMPEBIAt. TABLE l:irPE:R.tALTABLE brrERIAL TAIJLE IMPERIAL TABLE IM:PERIAt. TABLE I~;J"1W.IAL T ADLl!l IMPERIAL '!'ABLE IMPERIAL' '!'ABLE !MPERI,AJ:, TiBLE lMI'Ei'>:IAL.TAliLE brrERIAL-'fABLE IMPERIAt.•TABLE IMPERiAL TABLE PART II. BENGAL TABLES. I~Area, houses and population II---:-:-Varia:tion in populaticJnsince 1872 III----.c_Towus and villages ela,ssified by papula tion Iv...,......_Population of towns with varia.tiotis from 1872 to 1931 by Sexes V-Populatiori·of towns by distrioi·, religiQ:h and sex VI~ Birthplace VII.....;....Age, sex and ID.arit.al ooildition by religion VIII ,_Age, sex.a.nd :rnaritaleondition·for solected castes-. tribes_ or races IX~enSus in:finnities X:'-'-00eUpa.tion or roea.ils of livelihood .. XI--;c>cc~pationsof 1>el~cted castes, tribes or races by seXes XII~Educated unemployed (not printed) .. Xlll--,----'Litoracy by tcligion, a.ge arid~eX XIV~Literacy of·selected castes, ·tril:x$; raoos and social groups by locality .and sex xv~~La-iiguage-I)art I.~M~th~riOll~e i,y locality and sex Lrulgtiage-Part II:-Bi;lingualism XVI~Religions by locality a.nd aex XVII---Ca8te, tribe, race, natio~alit! oi- M:m1im social group XV1U--'1[ariations in p~pulatioil-Oi sele(',U3dtribes . . . XIX-,E1.;1ro:J?£ans and allied:racca Division {40} Density of population iu police-stations; Ohittatong Division (41) Average proximity tmd OOTOO per person (42) lnC'.roase Or decrease of po:pulat-ion in police.statioris {43) Burdwan Division· (44) .. Burdwan. district (45} Birbhum, distrtct (46) · Bankura; diatrict. {47) Midnapore district (48) Hooghly dist-rict (49) Hou"Tah district (.'iO} Presidency Division (51) 24-PMganas dist1·ict (52) Nadia distr~t {53) .. Vurshida-bad district (54). Jessar-e; di&trict; (55) Khulna district (56} Rajshahi Division (57) . Raf8halti district J58) Dinafpur dUtrict. (59) Jalpaigwri district (60) Darjeeling district (61) llangpur di-Strict (62) .· Bo;;ra di8trict'{63) Palma distria (64} /'Jaldq diatrict (65) Gooch Behar State (66} · Dacca· Division-Dacca - District {67) Mymemingh distriot. (68) Fwridpur district (69) Eaka-rganjd-id'J'ict (70} Chittagong Division {71} 'I'ipptra· district (72) · Noa.khali district (73) OMttagong di.strict (74) Ohittagong Hill Tract8 (75) Tripura Ste.te (76) 26-56 PART VJ_;_:MISCELLANEous, h"HABITED RousEs, STEA)rEitS, ETC, Census definition of a. house (77) HOuses per sqUare mile (78) Parsons per inhabited house. (79) Boats and steamexs (80) 56-59 PART. VJ:I~TIIE PlwBLEM oF PoPuLATION Gnow:rrr .A.ND AN EsTIMATE or. }'UT'IJRE PoPUt.ATION. Mal thus and Doubleday {81) Poll\1" Law of Births and Deaths" (82} Raymond Pearl's" Logistic Cu:rve":('8_3) :The logistic curve npplied to Bengal (84} General tendencies of pop~tion gr~wth and upper limit of populatiori suggested (85} The logistic curve applied to the Mushm an~ Hmdu populat~on(86) Estimate of population in 1(}41[(87) · Can Bengal support a larger: P?pulatmn (88) Bxtra.Va.gant mBthods of population increase are a pra(..'tkaJ problem (89}. - · •- - . 59-65 SubSidiary Tables. I--'Meatl density(persons per square mile), cultivable and cultivated areaa, irrigation, ffiinioJI, and dist.ribut.ion of crops by districts - - . . . ~ . . ; .• nS'!?6pulation densit.y (persons per square mile) with variations per cent. by districts at each census, 1872-1931 .. III-Aggregate area and population of pol-ice-statiom classified by districtfl according to density of poprilation (persons per square mile), 1931 . . . . . . •. IV-Varia.tionof population in British Territory aeeording to returns of vital ~ta.tistica com- pared with the census returns · · . · · V-'-Variation·· by natural divisions in ·the. aggregate population:· in polico-statioru: .grouped according to their population density (number per persons per square mile} at the beginnmg of the decade 1911-21 and 1921-31 . . . \'J:~Persons i)er inhabited home and inhabited houses per square mile, 1881 ~ 1931 VIl-Num'ben; of boats and steamers; 19.31 APPENDIX TO OHAPTER I 66 66 67 68 69 70 70 71 72-83 8u~sldlary Tableo, 1-Distributionof popule.tion ~t~eoll ~-Wns .&Ud inhabited rural mauZM II- N mnberliving in wwns per ~-i:le _of th~. total popul~ti~J~ an do f each principal ~eligiOri trf-Towns by class~ : munber, tJrOport tpn~t~ di;stri?ution of urban populuti~ - _and· !!OX n\tiq: 1931,1f"ithYfiril'ttion_:pt1rcent. oi' popul~t·lon, 1.872-1931- . _ . ·.. .. ·: . IV--Citi05 ill &~gal ; _popUltl.'Lion, dens ity, aex ratioa.nd ratio offO_reignhom in. l 931 with · -- v_sn·W,ti~n- Per_ ~en~. ip._ popul&.t.ion l872- 1 ~3l _ _· -. - _ .. V~iuig~ ih -~~-t tLnd ~than populat ion of districts 1.\tld clivi:•;i~. 188_1- 1931 ' CHAPTER Ill- Birthplace. IntroductiOu { 108) _- : T~ ~Ouree p ( the tig~~s ( l09) . Rt-~'ltrictio~- 6f ~-to.t!sti~ _show!1-{ 1: IQ) . ~'~t i ve .n.n_d - - foreign: l:xn'n popu}ation (Ill } l'roport-ton -~m-e~gu bom_, by d1st-no~ ( 11 2) MlgrO-tlo,n btltw~n 84 84 85 86 : Bengal and otlmrpa~S ·_of Tndfu. (J t:l f Ve.ri ';"t~on;s in i~igt,'fttion ~- Dengal_ .(II4) Vuria.t.i?~"s m emi~ation from Herl.gal ( 11 5) · BH.la,neo or ~rattan (116 }- Pr,oport.lOUS foreign -~m. by dn"IH(lll.s. 1_-Ah:trac;t _ofna._tive~bornand irnmigront-populntionin _tbotlSa~ds _ :-:· ___ . . . , II-::-=-Ab6tr&.c:t _.Of-J)Jltivc_-born p(Jp.ulo.tion rosiden~ in and emigJ"llJitJrom-~mgal in th0~1t11ds nt-...:...~H_gra~iO~ _ be_t:wElen 13cngnJ. o.nd ot.l•er Prov ~leo.~. _s_tn t;es_ -or· _eou:n tr_ies_: 192-1 nnd 193 J. _with vwiatlol} __ ,._ o.nd figures o f nl:l t immigmti.on or om:ig:l"O.tio~ _- _ --,. .· . . . . I V_:__~unibe!'_ tLJld,-ro t io. per 10,000 of tb~ popula t ion at;each :_Cflns_u,s~_ 1 88l -to l 03 L~ whose: . birth· ·; ':-, plaCe_ was_rcturne4 as b&ing ~it-hUi. a.nd Outside - Ben~-: ___ : __ -___ =._.-· -.. .. • . V-~N-'~bo_r·_-llD.d_: ra.tiQ (?er 10:,000 of tho popuhlt i9n ol-Seied~ - iowtis,_.l 93l, whose birlhplo.c.o .-:- _ -:=-- :'tV~:-teturiled _ll:" being somo other pn~ _?r Ind.Js :_tlmn:~ngal ·._. _ . ; . · · .. VI--De~il~_hir~l;pl¥e_-ar per:;o~ boi'n in ~rltisl1 posat)SRions -i~ Euro~ · ! Of> 106 107 108 Vlf'---Et'nigmtio~ · · ~f .· In;lians·, .·bet~oon ; Calcutta .. and ~mntriea . oVen:;ea.'l {emign\nL'{ frorn o.Ud rotu~od em-igranta -t o·.Caloutta), lt)2l -l930 -~ · ·· · 1®·110 CHAPTER IV- Age. Tho statistics •. preseutropo~jonuto dh;t.ribtl ' tion by~. 1 ~11; -1921 8Jld ~93~ (144) Age distr;i.bution -i~othe~-_pro\rinc.- 192l-lfJ 31) {. loO) DlAC~1on. of. '*'x -and-ag-e -spccific death rates (1130) · Limith.· · t ions of the erude death ro.t68 _(161 ) Ca.Jcula.tifnl -. ?.f sY..nda.rdiwd de~tth rates. (162) . D isc\.is{::ion I of sUmd.ardizeddeat~ : ra.tes - (lfJ3 ) Si.t\n~l.ardi~~ and.'' ,corr&!t~ '.'dt'~tlL r:nte.-; ' (1~) _·, DiSou.ssiOJl···" of~' corrocted" d~(lt-h rate~ (1._65) .CaU:Ses .. of. d~th (}66) ( )omparison of birt-.l'! ~ raJ,ei · , det!:tlJ. .' rat~ . . . pri~o of rice and rainfall (1.67) · .Ex11n1iq.~tiOn ofi.. thQ effect. of malari.a- on fel'tjlit,y .. {.i_68) C<11Te: lattonJ>(l69) · ·· ·. · · ··· ·· · · · ,, -1111·149 8ub$idlaryTablos. I~Age· disf.ribUt i?Ii oi .• 10;'001) 9£ ._e~h ·s~X in. ·:Bengal 'and in. nit_uraldivi~io~ . OJ 192! and1931 ' ' •... " ,, ' ' . ·• . • . - •. ·• • .• . - ' - •. • ,. !50 Il~Ag~ _diBtri~u~i.c_n __ of)Q.OOO ~f eae.h sex ~-~ each- of _tht'l roR·in ~igions,, __ 1Jeng~1 ~ith .Sta~ . . !50 ID-:-A~e distJ:ibut~n -of_;J ,OO~ of ~-aOl;l ee-x in -~.rt&in -~~;-~4oth~ ._grduJl8_ . ~ ·. :.:·\\ ~ .. < HH IV-Proportion of children ur;der 14 and of person~ ove.r 43 to thos~ .aged 14-4H in certain b~;;,~;)lso of m arned females aged 14--'-43 per 100 fq~es (ages -are t-o the nearest V -Proportion of children under 10 and ofpersons ·over .60 to, those 'agep. ,15-4.0 -~8•0 of marr'~ ~c:jles aged 1~40 per 100 females, 19H, 1921 and I93l(a.ges a:ret; t.helast bil'~h- VI_:_Var~~8~~3)opulat~o~ at certa.~~ age perio~ bynatur.a: di.;,isions fol' 6adh deCade from VII~Estimated population in thousandB, Bengal, BritiRh Territory8nd administrative div:isim~· on the ls-v January in ea-ch year 1921 to 1930 by sexes . . . . - . _' VIII-Armual reported births and birth rate$ by sex$ in et-~h adrninistrative division, 1921-1930 IX-:-Annual reported deaths and death rates by se-xes in each administrative division. 1921-1980 .. .. .. . .. .. .: X~Alumal death rate by sex and ago-groUps, 1921-1930 XI-Annual deaths and death rates from selec-t-ed causes by sex, 1921-1930 , . . . XII-Num?;;l~i9d;OaHlB re:~rted fro~ ;ertain ca~es per 1,~~ deaths f~~m all ca~~3•8 _ _by sex~, APPENDIX TO CHAPTER IV-An enquiry into the fertility of marriages. Introduction (1) . Method Of enquiry and results (2) _How far the return.·'~ are ropresont-a.tiVe (3) The statistics compiled (4) Age at marriage of hut; band and wife (5} Retums for IllaJ.'I'iages in whid1 :~ha~~eo~;:if~~~~;aa;!: N1i11 .J!r~fio!~b;1fo~~i~~ ~~n~P~s~Po~~~e~~d ~fr~:~ki 't:f::~ PAGE. 161 152 153- 15~ 154 155 156 157-159 160 affected by age at marriage (9) Fecundity and s1ll'viva1 colnparod with occupation of husba-nd ( IO} Fecundity and survival by . religion or ca.ste (11) Growt.h of families by divisions ~(12} Growth of families by roligjon nr.csste (13) _ 1ntorva1 between successive births (H) Effect of dtspanty Ill palellt!:!' ages on rntenal between marrmge aud btrth of fir>'lt duld (15) 161-167 Marriage Fertility Tables. A-Nwnber of married couples classified. by·natural divisions and by age- groups at marriage of husband a.nd wife . . . . , , . . . · . . . . 168 B_;_Familioo accOrding to the age group of wifs a.t. marriage classified by natural divisions, sex of first born and average number of children born alive and surviving J 69 C-.--cFamil _; ai3Cording to age of wifea.t tuaiTiage cla._'Bified by natUral dh'i~:~ions, by dumtibn o:!mmTiage and by fertility . , 169-170 D-Fa-milies according to occupat.ion of hUsband clMsified by natural . divisions and by average number of children horn alive and surviving , , 171-172 E-FamHies according to religion or caste_ and natlll'ttl divisiolli! classified ('i) by tiumber of children born alive and sunciving and ( ii) by age grm1~ ofwife atmarriage 173 F-Families accOrding to religion or cast!) arid natural diviSions clas;.;ified by duration of marriage and average number of children surviving 17 4-17 5 G-.b"'amilics cla.<;sified by ages of parents at. marJ:'iage and by age of wife at birth of fimt- child 176 H~---Faroilies- clasl>1fiedby ages of parents at rriri:niago and by frequency of births . . 177 I-StO.tistica1 coru.-ta.nts 178 CHAPTER V-8ex. The statistics shown ( 170) Sotzree of tb6 figures (1 71) General comparison with ather provinces and cOuntrias (172) Sex proportions by divieions and dh;tricts, 1931 (173) General variations in sOx propOrtions, 1872-1931 (174) Variat.ionsinthe sex proportions by dist:jeffi, 1872-1931 (175) Sox proportions by religions with variations, 1~72-1931 (176) Sex prl. (196) Ge~o].'al mo~~e _ m PrQpor~lOns ~~:n, d( 197) . • Oimparison. ·with .. ··ottter: provn1cos.(l\-lS) ... )larttal~ cowbt.wntn t.owns . (199) Mar1tal ~ondition by roligiml (200) Proportions •·ip · .. Sikkirn (201)· Incr~tuon of. widow rep~arriage in "" . 't' ·. (202) PropOl'tional distribution by sex awl a.ge-group (203) ~:1r1tal · ~ondtt.wn at age ~~~~)S {204) Compariso~I with Engl~;nd and 'Va.Ies q~(~5) ?fa-rita.], coD:ditions i;n_ 1911, 1921 fu,.d Hl31 (206) Marital condition at age-groups by rebgton~ {297) · }l~l'It·al condihon by agns iil seletW~ groups (208) Prevalonco. of childmarriage of g1rfu l_Il selec1;ed groups (209) ··Infant 'marriage by rol;igioru~ (2 10) · .. · ·. · .. Subsidiary Tables. I-·Di.:~-tribution by marital conditimi of 1,000 of eaeh six at in each Bengal,l{\31, 1921 and1911 ii-Di'ltribiltiOn according to ma.rital .· condit.ion of .1;000 of oach in each na,tural divisionbY,principalreligions, 1931 ·.. . · .. III-DistribUtion by m,a,in ageperioth and marital condition of 10,000 of each sox in tho princi­ pal religions, Bengal, Hl31 rv~Number off6rnales per 1,000 maloo of t.lw same a.ge-group and m.arital ConditiOn in Iiatmal division by pri.ncipalruligion;;, 19!H · . . . . , V--Distributionby truJ.rital cOndition of 1,000 of each sex at in selocted eastes or other groups; H13l CHAPTER VII-Infirmities. Intr<)duction{2ll) . Origin of t}-te su.ttistics (212) ·Accuracy of thor0su1ts (213) Sox diatJ·ibution thein:firmitif!satages (214} .Sex distribution of theinfirtn at p:rogmssive age::~ (215) I-THE INSANE. Accmacy of the figures (216) Varrn.twm in tl1e return.'! .1921 and 1931 (217) Ago distribution and 6ex r11hos of the insane 1911, 1921 and 1931 (218) Provision for the insane (219) Compa.rison with Other provinces (220) II-DEAF~llriUTES. Accuracy oftbe figure3 {221). InddentJfl Of dOaf·zil~ltism compared wit.hotherproYinC:~ (222) ·.Deaf­ mutism by districts {223). Deaf-mutoo by sexes (224) Age distribution of deaf-mutes {220) . Sex ratios of the dco.fcmutes,19ll;l\:)21 and 1931 (226) Age distribution· of deaf-mutes. by sexes, Hill, .·19~1 and Hl:n {227) Provision fol' the. dea.f-mutes (228) 231-236 III-,--BLt~WN.ESS. Accuracy of the figures (229) _ Variations bet-ween 1921 a.nd 1931 (230) _ IncidCncocif blindiiOOi;; by locality (231) Facilities for treatment {232) _ Age distribution of the blind by sexes (233) Com. parison wit-h other provinceB (234} Cataract operations, l92l-l93J {235) 236-241 IV ...:....LEPROSY. Accuraiy ·of .t,he :figui"es.-(236) COmparison with figures obtained by other agencioa (237} • Incidmloo of lepro~y by lo?U'lity, 1921 ttntl.l931 (238} Causes. of v~riatlon ~~he returns a.t. different yea~:s (239} Compan.son w1th other pro-vmces (240) Pre-dxsposmg conditwns (241) Incidence by social class J~42J. Incidence of lepro"y by sexes (243) Ago di~tribution by sexes at successive years (244) Provullon for:lopcrn (245) , 241-250 Subsidiary Tables. 1-~mll8~;: ~f8~t:T~;'rdeaf-muto; h~dand lep_e~s by sex~ per 100,{)~~ pen.ons_~f the same Il.;_Dist~~l~~~~ by age-groups .. of 10,,~0 ,ion of physical force (296) Order 17: Other rni<;cellaneons· and un~ofined industries (297) . · Sub~class IV: Transport (298) TmilSpol't by water (299) Trcellanoous (303) 2M-280 PART IV-EMPLOYMENT oF FEMALES AND Ocm::rPATION BY CASTE ANn OTHER Gnom•s. Employment of females (204) Employme:ut of women a-nd c.hildrenin industry (305) Occupation by caste and other groups (306) Occupations of Europeans> Anglo-Indians and Armenians (307) Fo~ale workers in caste or other gToups (308) 280·283 PART V-EDUCATED UNEMPLOYED. Method of enquiry (309} Persons included in tho returns (310) Inc-o.mpleteness of tboreturns (3ll) Reasons for publishingtJJe incomplet-e ~tnms. (312} 'fhe statist.H'S shown (313) The value uf the. figmes (314) Cotnparison. with literacy statistic-s (315) Tbe problem . Qf bhadral1Jk un· employment (316} Possible palliat-ives (317) Signs of a change in the attitnde of the bho.d-ra-lok to manua-l labour (318) . . . . 283-289 Subsidiary Tables. !-Proportion: of workers (eru:ners and working_ dependen~s) i~ ?ach occupational class, sub- ·cJasso.ndorder~ withpercentagesemployedmandoutsidemtws, 1931 . . . . , 290 II-Distribution by dependence of 1,000 of the t-otal popula-tion with numbers per 1,000 em· ployed in eac.h oc(;upational sub-cJass . . . . . - . . · . . 291 III-Distribution of mal-e and female workers with ratio oi females to males by ocoupational classes, sub-classes, orders and groups, 1931 292-295 IV .....:......Number of workeis employed in each occupa-tional group in 1931 compared with 1921 . . 296-299 v·.....:......nist.r.ibution forselocted groups'of 1,000 ea.mers {pri.ncipa~ Q?elipation) ~by . oocupfttional sub-cla.c;ses, and ratio o~ female to male earners {prmmpal .occupatwn} m each. sub· clo..ss 300 VI~Number of persOns en:iploy6d on the 26th Februa-ry 1931 on: Railways and in the Irrigation, Telegraph and Postal Dopartmont.s in Bengal . . . . . . . . 3-01 302 VII-Educated unemployed APPENDICES TO CHAPTER VIII. APPE:i\"DIX I-Non:s oN THE PRocESSES o.F DECAYING!NntrsTitJES, Introdudion (1} Blacksmithy (2) Blanket making {3) Boat bui~dh~ (4) Brass _and bell~metal industry (5} Cart wheels (6) Conch shell industry (7) Co~ton spmmng and we-avmg (8) Dy~ (9) Gurh and sugar (10) Articles _of horn (11) . Jute_ weavmg (12) Khar (13) Lac t.:'YB (14) Lime (15} MaUl, basketB, w:icke~or~ {16). Meas~ring. bowLS {17} Paper making (18) Pottery (19) Sati food (20) Silk spmnmg and weavmg (21) Sola helmets, etc. (22) Veget- able oil (23) · · · 3Q3-30~ APPENDIX II......,.A No-r:& oN INDUSTRIAL DrsPUTES AND THE WELFARE AcTivi'I'IEB OF TRADE UNIONS IN BENGAL. Industrial disputes { 1) Strikes in 1921~1930(2) DuratJon o~ stn:res. end n:unber of ~en invoh~e~ (3) Ca.uaes of strikes and na-t~ of settlement (4) St-rtkes m Jute nulls (5} \Velfare act .. VIttes 310-312 of trade unions.(6) AJ?PE!'ii::tlx III~A NoTE oN. THE CoNDITIONS oll' RtTRAL TBADE. Method of enquil'y p l . SiZe of rUra-l markets (2) ·Area served (3) · · · Popllln.t-ioll ;eacl)ed by t.he ty:pical rural market-{4)·--Claas of trader (5). ~shan~ credit! _rcgul~tion of pr1ces (6) Some of th~ itet:n;; principally oold {7). Origin of prmCJpalo,rtJcles mentioned (8) . . 313-314 . ..._, CHAPTER .IX~Lileracy. Tlte Eta.fisticspresented (31~) Origiuo(thc.£guTCs(320} An) theJlgu~·es accurat£? {321} _•PoAAible errOrs iri the -rehlms (322)' Eff~t.of the m~thj)d of C{Jmpps:i~g age.g:·oups (323) • Support for t1w conclusion t-hatthosB:tatistiC's arcJ~ndemstimatoo (.32_4). CalJ:hqn m usmg t~e ~l?me,s {3~o) .qeneral literacy -p:roporliolls ~ompared· ~i.t~1 nt,h~r provinces (3~6) _.L1terney ... hy d1~1Rwns_ (3~ ~) . ~1t~r~cy bydistricts(328) . Lltel'fl:G:Yl'ttt.I(JSin Cltl_E!S (329) · Engll~hbi~rfi?Y(~o9l. -__ Lttewc~ b1Iehg~oiJ.(331) Liten1cy_by religion at ciwh:t·en~us,_lOO:l-1Q31_(3:32) J,Jternc~- by div:!BlOl1S_; 1881-1!},)1 (~~~) Be1- ativoly_ g:I;eaterincreasc in ll.~eracy amo~1gst females-(334) LI~_e1acy a1 St-kctecl casteH {·~·k•) . Pro- 'grossive aequislt.ionofliteta?Y{~36)· LI~eiacy :at t~gc-grm1ps m Hill,, ~.921 u~Hl1931 (337) Com~ parat.ivc increase atage-groupshr;.tween femaleB:and mules,·,19H-193~ (.~.)8). ~1~erucy atage-_g~uup"' by divi8ions·(339) . Ccmpari;;:,oilnf ratios e~ongs.t. m~es and females. 1n dlvJstons (340) l.ilt:e':acy o,.t a.ge~groups.by·religion.~ (34.l).,.CcmparJsonO! rat·IOS t:monggt rz;ales ·and fe~alcs ?~ rehgJOllS (342) Literates· who. ha,•e reachect,at)et.tst the pnmary standard (34 ... ) Methodo1 t}btammg the _re- ~utns (344} ',fhe stat.ist.ics ofliternt~s.who l~aye·re:nched the :Pl:nnary standard (345) Correlatwn. , ofcensu6 figutefl.with returns of the Educatwn Department (346) 315~336 Subsidiary Tables~ 1-:-:Literacy,rat.ios by religion; Rge and sex · · 337 Il-Literacy ratioS by locality, age roui sex .. 337 UI-LitCrac.y ratios by Iocality,religioll nnd sex 338 IV~Englishliteracyratios byloc£llity,· age and£ex, 1g31, and by lo<~ality.and sex, 1891-1921 . :~38 V-R.atios of literacy and English litera('Y by so xes in sf'lleded cm;i.e~ and other groups, l!l2l and 1931 · · 339 VI~Progress of Education~Litera()y ratios by locality and sex, ]88l~lmn 340 VII:-'-Ptut A~NUD:lbcrs of each sex literate ina.nylangrmge mid in English at age;gtoups 3<11-342 Part B-~N:ttmbersllterate in any language and in English per 1,000 of each sex at age~ groups .·.. . . . . . . . . . . . • . . • . . '.' . . . . . , . .' 342 VIII-:-Number of institutions and pupils aecording to the rotuTllB of t.he Education Department 343 IX_:.,..Litel'acy.by age~gmups of Indian (ahd sqme other AsiatiC) Christian by race, tribe or province and sex • . 344 CHAPTER X-Languago. Tho statistics shown (347} Source of the fih:rutes (348} L'iroitatio:ns of tho st-atistics (349} Puzzles of. clliSsifieation-Europco.nlanguages (350) .. · Ind-ian diu.leds{351)_• Illace names (352) Script for languago nnlllo (:J53) Caste or tribal names (354). Apparent .misto.lws in the retur-ns (355) Ot.her puzziel'l (356) . Effect of classification on t.:hf:' aceuracy of the retUI'ns {357) .. The a:rrH.ngf,mcnt in tnblq XV (35g) .. Sunung,ry figme;,;- irom census. tu eensus: Beng);l.li {3ii:9) . Hindw->tani (360) Khorwari.(361). Nepali .,_nd .. 'I'iQeto-l:limalayan language:S(362) :AssG,m Butmese.languages {363) Pr~v(l.leiWe ·.of BengaH · by districts . (364}. ··. Cm11parison- ·of language : a,~d birth place . fig1ues .. {365} Bengali M a, subsidiary language (366) H!ndustani by districts (367} .. Kherwari, Tipr.u'a, Kb,1nclkh, Oriya, Naipali .and Arakanese·(368) Onya in.l\1idna.poro·.(369) · .. P~.1ilologi~al dassi:tkatiun .(!~70) ])istrict dietribUtion by language ftunilies (371} . 'l'lw A.ustrw Iumdy of l~=n1gueges (372} 'U1e Til:oeto"ClJinesefumily of languages (373) Tibeto-Himalayan languages {374). Assnn·Btumese lang~:tage.s (3!5) .·The Dr.a.vidhmJarnily of languages (376) Ind(I·Europet1nfara.ily of languages­ Iranian and Dardic branches (377) · Indo-Aryan branch-~Outer sub~brandt{378) . :Mediate sub­ branch(379) Inner sUb~brtUJ.ch (380) . District distribution by lingWst.ic classification (381) . E.x­ tent of bi~lingualism (382) .. · Langtwges most usod as s_ubsidiary hUlguagcs (383}.· J_.,anguages1~'Jth which somo-othoria mos.toommonly spoken as a subBHiiHry Ianguage-(384) .. Ct,mpm·:isonoft.ribn1 and language tables (385;) . ; 345-369 SubSidiary Tables. !--'Languages Classified by Gr011ps; Numbers using eadh'Ittnguage as roothe:r tongue Wit.h ratio per l;OOOofti~e tcitalpopulHtion; 1!131 and 1921 . . , . · .. 370-371 II---Distribut:ion by funguage and bi-lingualism-· Part A :-NtlDlbers speaking.· each ·.principal languag:e _group . together . with the numbers speaking with it as subsidiarylanguago any other language in the groups shown 372-375 PartE :-:-:Proportions to the total population borno by e«ehof the figurc:s in part A. 376-379 III-:-:-Colil.parison of tribal andlang:uage tables 3$0 CHAPTER Xi-Religion. IntrOductiOn {386) Sout'Ce of the statiSties (387) ACeui-rwy of the result.s (388). Border.cline eases (38~) . The religious classification on primi~ive tribes (390) aof Hmdns, d1fficulties encountered(403). Hralmanic ~r~:of;~:~~~~d a~~~ilt.ifso~B~:~~;ga}{~~l~~~:in.l~t2:;~~1~f~lr~~.l~~::~rs t~;-.sr~~~~~~n .tT~~rapf:~~t~!~ A::moe_I~hon, (408) · .. Suddb1 u~d · ~an~athan (4011.) . Hindu. public i-~Jpinion . on· certain social :.qu~st~ons ( 410) Growth of Ia.h~Ud)nanan practH':e ( ~ l l ) ... No ma.rked f+Jvo_rgence . of v:iews. cJmr·tw'­ tcrrstw,ofctl.Stes _(412) . Relaxation ofc~te re~tn(Jtwns (413) ·.·Views .rega.rding .. tuuch.·· and. food tabus_{414) yrayasch1tta (4~5) · .. Tho ''pan'· system ('!16) , Puidah{4l7) .The Hilldu attitudo :tQ .~hlld;m~rla.ge,(418)· .. At~; tude to t.he e_dl~cation_of\vomen (419) Attitude towards the particf. patwnof t\:omeu mpublwhfe (420)·• TheJollltfrup.ily (421) . Opin~onregarding.··widowremarriagc (~22) .. ?'ri~al ... roligions· {423) · • .\:a.r~a.ti?na· • in .nu~~ber~. {424) .· .. Buddhfflin. (425) .. ·. Distribution of B.udt:fh1B~s m,,B~ng;M :J426) .· · C~rrs~rnn~ (427) .·.· .. Variations of numbcrs'):ri' ChriStia.tlf; .(428). Racial d!_atnbutt~. of, Chr1stums. b:y di~tr~e~ (429) . ; European Christians ( 430) .• .Christian missions {431) ~cts o~ CJW.sha.xlS (432) Otherrebg1ons~an1s (433} Sikhs (434) ·Jews .. (436) Zoroast.riliris(430) Oonfucmns{437) , · · · .SS1~4o9 , ·- .. Subsidiary Tables; P.!GE • .. "i~Distri~ntio·n bY ~oli~ion of_ l0!900 of t he t-otaJ population, by natural divisiom, ]881·1931 _- - Wl_th -peroontnge o f vanet ion . . . - .-. - . . · . : ' . . ; 4io fi.::.,....Distrib'-~tion by religi~rll:l 01: 10,000 of the total-popula-tion of ua.turnl d ivif>ioil!;, d istricts and sto._tes, 1881-1 93 1 . . . . . . :, -. . , · . , 411 III.:__Nu_:~:::t7~nChrL>tia~ by di v~~ons, distr~c.ts and st~~es, 188 I~ ~~3J, "'·ith percent-age o( 412 rv~riistribution by religions or 10,000 o( the total urban imd rtu·ulpq)uln.ti~~ by natural , divisions . _. '412 APPENDIX ·TO CHAPTER XI. 1. QUestio~atre for elic.iting ~ndu public opinion on present-day soCial probiCms .. 4f3 2. Extracts from replios. . . . • 413-420 CHAPTER XU-Caste, Tribe and Race; PART I - INTRODUCTORY. The st_a.tis_t ics shown {438) Origin of t-he figures (4-39} CI3a&ific8:t ion of bJank entries («U) · Vagueness of the rcturos for non -Asiatic.& (441) Difficulty-of- obtaining accurate· figor~ (442) Opposition .to the return of sll caatc and similar d•stmc.tions; amongst .- MlJslims ~443) JimdU oppo9ition to· caste .returns {44.4} lnduooments -t,o ;m incoiTCct return of cill>t:e (445) Claims to new noroe~c_lature M11Slim groups_ (446} IIlodu cla-i1ns to Cllale nornem~lature (447) Gourt.rnlings. =:~e~4~fit~~P~~~~i~~-·::;i;·i~-t= (tt:J) ~tet~;~~!~al=~i;l!t~~~~~o ~e9S~;.ict~~!- ca.ate-retums (451) Methods o.dopted 'for _ensiJl"i.ng as accurate as possible iettinlS·. Of: .. cllat'c· (4.0:2) Restrictions on .sort.ing and t-abu.lat.ioo, and accuracy of_ the statistic-s {453} Reslirictions on gorting were of doubtful economy {454) New d~tails shown in the·ta.bles (455) Return of sul>· castes of Brahmans (-406) . . 4'21-432 PART II__.:.Rn..cE IN 1:-.""DIA A~ri "I'fr~ 0RICJN ANn PE.F.SEN'r PoSITION O:r CJt.sn:. Irl~roduction (457) Risley's Ethnic types (408) Criticism-_ofRialey _:_the-hypOt.besis or an '' A:rya.n" element in_ Bengal {459) The Mongoloid clement (460) The «Dravidian " elcmei1t (4fi l) A Ncgrito rubstra.tnm in: R isley's'' Dravidians " (462-) The " _MllilM' '_element-in 4islcy'a "Drs vi. ditlns-' ' (463) A -P rot-0-.Austrnloid element· (464) Alpine -clements _ (465) 'l'he Mediterranean strain (466} _ Li.nf;!S of further research (467) Provision~! resUlt~ of -the CJ"itic.ism Qf Risley's class_i.fication (468) "-Pre-Aryon " inlluenr.cs on Hinduism (469) - ,The ro~~a.tlon of castes and the origin o( Caste (470) CMt.e t o-duy: its ioBueoce nnd tendencies to_Srri&lgamtl.t .ion or f~io n (4i l ) 43·2-441 PART - l:U..:...OENEBAL CoNsiD-ERATION" oF CAs-TE A:Nn-··n.a.:Clli FlauRES .AN:b OJ: _ i\:I:USIJ"liS GROUPS. A socio-religious distribution of the popu~tiou (4.72) Primitive peoples . (473) . Proportioilate distribution of the primitive tribes (474) Nurocricalstrengthof primitive tribes ·by diVnil io.M{47_li) . Religious· distxibution of. prinritivc t ribes {47tl ) 1i-lundas, Oraons a.nd Santa.ls· {477) . Hill Tribes (478) Numbe:r of Brahma.n9; B~t-idyas o.ud Kayasthas (479) . Groups of N~po..li " origin .'(4S(I) . Muslim gToups------:-SS.yyad and ~· -"Mu~in '' (481) Europeallf!,·· British subjects B.nd ·Othei's · (4$2J ·· Anglo-Indians (483} ·.• General distributions of the .five most numer~ms Hindu -casteR "(484) Variations iu numbers Rince 1881 (485} '441--!54 pART IV- DETAns o:r Hmnu c~sTEs. Aguri (Ugra Kshattriya) (486) Adi Kaibartta (J a1ia Kailm.-t~) 1487) Agurwa1as (488) Bogdi4 (89) Baheliyn (490) Ba.idya (491) Ba.i11hna.b (492} Barut -(493) Balll"l {494) .Ood1ya (495} Beldnr (496) &.ua (497) Bhatiya (498) Hhotia (499) Bhuinmali (600) Dhuiya (601 ) Bhumij (5(}2) - · Bind {503) Binjbia. (504) Drahm o.n (505) _ .. Gaudadya Vaidik" Brahmans (506) Chnkma (507) - Damni - {.fiOS) Dhoba (Dl10bi) (509) Do.ai {510}. -- D()m _ {511 } Dosa.dh (5 ~ 2) ·· Ga rcri {513} Garos; Hadis and Ho.jangs (!'il4) G~s (516) Hadi -- {510) R~jang (511) Gharti (5l8) Ghna:i (519) Goa.la. (Gopo.) (520) Gonrht (521-) Gurung (522) H alal.khor (623) Ha.i-i (524) Ho (525) Jlmlos and Malos {G 26) Jimdar -(527) Jogi -a.nd Jugi_{528) KGCh.~:i (520) Ke.har .(530) Kalu and Teli ._. (5 31 ) Ka}wl;lr (532) . Kama.r or Karmakar (533) Karm {:.34) Kau(535J Kandh OrKhond (536} Kandtli· (537) Kaora. (538) Kspali {539) . Kapuria. (5~0) Karenga (54!) Kaur {54.2} Ka.yast.lln· (54~) Kha.mbu (544) Klu-nni (54.5} Kba.s . (046} Kha.tik. (547) Kha.wflS · (548) Kbl')n (549) - Khya-ng (550} Kismu {551) K och , Paliya anrl Rnjbangshi. (552) - Rajbo.ng~hi (ti53) .Kontti . (Mi4) K?iri: (555) Kora {556} _.K otal (M7} Kuki (558) Kuri:Ihai' (559) Ku.rmi . (560) . I~a.Jbeg1 (o6l} Lepcha.. (562) . Ltm,bus . (?63) Lodh• (564) Luait (565) Lushni (50~ ) .. :t.Iaghs (567) Mah"' (568) J\Ia1nshya (569) .Mall)• (670) Mal (571) .Mali (572) MUllahs. (573), . MaJ Pahariya. (5~4) , Me.ngar (57~}" M~jhi!3, (276) ~cch (577)· M¢htar(578) M ornngil\ (579) 1\fn1 (580) Muchi t5S~). _?Jundaa (9~~) l'II W'tnt ._ (983)._. ].lusabar-(684-} Naga,t(580) · N:a:gesia.(686) NamJJ>!udm (587) Nap1t (o88) ~at. (if89) Nevrar: (-~9.0) Oraons _ (5.91) · •Pall (592) , l'e._si' {593) Pa~ni (.594) l'od··-( 5~5)'. ;I'nnda.n . (5Y6) . Ba.b~a (on;) Rai (o98) Rajput (599) Raj~ ... (60Q) R•jwar (601 ) Si.hools (10) The problem. oi political representation (ll) A. Untoucha. abies: (i} SweeperaJ)d.scavenging castes (12) (ii} Other untouchables (13) .. An ad hoc cl'iterion for thedepressed classes (14-) . B.· Aboriginaltr.ibes (15) C .. · Other depTessed classes (16) Coni­ pariE>on with previous list-a (17.) ExchJ.sion Qf the Rajbangshis(lS)· ·Distribution of the depressed cla~ses by districts~ etc:. (19) , . 494"513 APPENDIX II. Notes on the Peoples of the Chittagong Hill Tracts APPENDIX Ill. NOtes ~m the Kay~sthas, Namasudras, Baidyaa, Vyai5a or Gaudadya Brahma~s, · IDtivart.f-as and :Mah1shyas, Patnis, Shahas ·and l'elis and Tilis by N_ K. Dutt, M.A., Ph. D., Professor, San.skrit College, Calcutta. .. ·. 524-53S APPENDIX IV. A uore on the indigenouB dances of Bengal '' 530·541 ANNEXURE TO CHAPTER XII, The Sadhubar.iiks 542 ERRATA page fi2._:,_In par;lgt'aph86; _seven lines ftorn the_ tmd,for '' coJ:npatisons " read ~· ooroparison" ._ Page 850...c-Substit,ute. t}le _£allowing for .the last 12 lines :---,- ,,in the-_ death rate. is inv~riably followed at sOme pet'iod bya corresponding deGrease in the Pirthrrite. __ .It isclea;:r also_-that fertility in western countries decroa~ms wit}t·.the _increase of \Vealbh -tmd intelloctuaL interests~ '!'here_- is therefore l'eason to hold that in. Bengal also a redUction in the • _ de:l,th- r(l,te will not i~ _the long run resultjn a _persi>~Wn~ acceleration of -_the riite _ of pnwtlation.inere~, hut. that Improved- IU<:\asures .of pubhc health tnten.d~d to decr~aae the death :tate.·· if, ~companied· by _ 1.m i~provem~nt.m the. standard ?f liYI~, the ~1der diffusion· of adU:Catiqn a.ud ail eii.largemant_of mjil.lrest::J in all· sectwna oi ~omet~ W1~l result mat lonst such a redu:ctioll -Of _the birth rote as will ~e commen~urate WJ.th an~ _- l~prove_ment effecttO!d. in th~ .death _rate~- In securing this end-_ perhaps_ the_ groateat: .contNbutwn Will _be n'J.ude byt~e _ tw·tl_t~r enlightenment and oman~ipstiorr _of worrum- auct their introd,uction to sph•~re:s_--ofJntoreSt, ___ jWtivitJ'. ~d usefo}tte~--f~m _wb:ich-theya~~ now in _Bengal- generally debarred hr $oeia.l' ouswm, tradition and ·the J.U8titutimi of purdah. PagiJ 71.-InJine _8101- "Town'' and that those •• ~ad <'Town''' and those'•, Page 101.~In oolumn __ "Bariaal~BarWat•• rewJ .. Harist:~.1.~Ba1wrgaaj'". Page _108.'----'In theheading-to oohitnus 14, 15 and l6for "Gibralter" read'' Gibraltar'', PaveJ21.~In tho notebelowthl3 heading of statement No. IV~5 fur" in- tables 20 and 21 "read "in flv:ges :Wand 21". Page }22.~Inlin? 3-fi·om the topj6r "0 to 5 ", nrzd" 0, 5," Page 127;.--.:.In line 28Jro_m the top.jor "births 11 read ~'deaths", f.l.nd in th~ following linefor 41 fromu read., using ... mtilfor "deatlls .,. read .. birt·hs". Puge 129.~Iii line<.! 27, ll8 nnd 29- { ~;~. "··~ . . : . ::: • .m E~:~ '''"''' ·.· :.:.:~~ P(lye 129 • ...:;;..Inline 9 frc.t.u bo~tomforthe second word instead of'' than" read·<'.that ''. Page 129.-Inthe second line of paragraph l!j2 fvr ''very much" read" rather'', Page 143.--c-Inline 19 ft•omjbottom, 1aab W<}!'d,jor •• Expeotat.~ons" read .. F.xpectatiori". Pitqe 146 . ..,-I-n.·Jino .7 fr()m t·he top, firlitword,frrr "e:arlier" rwrl "later":· and jor ''·much tho same f.O:r:idoricies ·He l;hat,. :read:'.' tendencjes.similar but opposite to those ". PrgJe 149.--In p1o1tagraph 169,_1inB· 32 from the tnp Of p~g~;-for 11 33 ''~cad" 30 ~· . Page 14rJ.-~In line 3frmrl thebottornf{»· "death'~ read'" bnth", and ad,d afte1•end of. paragr,.ilph :~"·The ·:~:r~e~t (1:~1·~.~~~~~1~~!~~~ ja~e ·::ed~h:1~~:ur:l~:U~~ra~o~1~~~~u\~R=i~~~!~l!~~~··•J:;r~:~~i~~~ birth rate-". Page 162.-IrilineSfrQro the erid Qf page for'' L'l years of fl,ge 01 read H 13 years ago·~; Page 178.-Iti the note below the heading of ta.ble I- fo·t" then th~ St·llndard deviation (S~D.)= y'S(x~i\!)2 ;~ . sw read" 1-'aya 254,slr/line 2\~ J~Jll th(; bot tum for Hfelt: that that it '''read:-:" felt that. it ". P words ''and the t.Qha.ls inoludin" thern 1 ) are ·not now correct H ,:\1u~ iJ?-t~nded ,t11a,~ statement~~: XII_:g; columns 11,):2,"13, · 17~ 18, 19, 23.; 24 and 25 on ,page 503 would hew 1~lws, .. ,AS theBC·oolumns.aJ'c m dorJcor roman th~ W9rds-lnl}ntionc:~ shoum be deleted, "dia~i'~~!:~\'tf11u;! ~tg:n4~8~?. from the .. f()p.far''.the·.·accompanying·diagram No .. XU-Ii,. Yead IN'TRODUCTION The census fanning the subject of .this report was the seventh taken in Bengal and wM conducted on the night of the 26th February 1931. There was no important innovation in the census procedure which has been fully described in previous reports and will consequently be given here only a brief notice .. The Indian Census Act (X of 1929). passed by the Indian legislatu~e. received the asse~t of the Governor-General on the lst October and provided the legal bas1s for the census. Prehmmary arrange­ ments were initiatc.d by the Govern~lent o!, Bengal as early a~ th~, 22nd l!'ebrua,ry 1930 • by orders under whwh a census mr.uza . register was prepared to • account for the whole area in e::ch district and ~ preliminary estimate was made of the number of houses m each mauza with names of the individuals likely to constitute a satisfactory census agency. •• Upon the basis .of this register the whole province was parcelled out into census divi­ sions. Within t~e district the largest ofthese was the "charge",. ordinarily formed by .a nrqnicipality or rural police-station and containing .an l\Verage of 9,864 inhapjted houses under a "charge superintendent''. The charge was again divided into . some 20 to 22 "circles" each comprisil)g on an average 400 to 450 houses in charge of a "supervisor". Circles were again divided il)to compact ''blocks'' numbering between 10 and J2 a11d con­ taining about 40 houses each for which an "enumerator" was responsible. During October and November each house in a block was giv(ln a serial number to ensure its .being accounted for in the enumeration and .in the suc­ ceeding months the enumerating agency was trained and a . preliminary enumeration made and checked. In some few areas mentioned in chapter I, the details thus recorded and checked formed the final record owing to the impossibility of conducting a synchronous check on the final .census night, Elsewhere however they were checked lwtween. 7 p. m. and midnight of the 26th February )931. During this time each enumerator went round his block, checked tho entries in his preliminary record, struck out those for persons no longer pres comparatively little scope. for • m1~takes to. rem am. un­ detected and it may be confidently said that no appreCiable errors ar~ hkely to have been introduced at these stages ..•. The figures for 1921 were estimated ' to be correct to •:ithin one per . tho11sand .and there js no. rea.son to [lclicve that the general figures .of th.o population and its ~istribution by sex and reli­ gion are. less accurate th11n tlns on the present occasion. • As regards the other details tabulated tho probable .error naturally differs from one particular .to another .and comment qpon the estimated accuracy of individual ~ttbles will be found in the chapters in which they are discussed. Up to the elate of printing this report the total cost debit<)d to tho census budget wasRs.5,7 per tho)lsand of population. It is impo$si)Jle to 11cknowledge adequately the services of 11!1 those who con tributer! .to the success of the. census. District officers were preoccupied with the political situation 11nd an effort w11s made by d~ttling. direc.t ~ith the dist~ict cell.Sus officers .to worry them as little 11s possible with routine det11ils. :£'he Deputy Commissioner of the Chittttgong Hill Tmcts, howevel', himself conducted the cons11S of his district .aud in no district would it have been possible to conduct a census at all •vithout the assistance of the . district officers. Nearly 11ll branches of .the public • services . were. laid unde1· contribution for voluntary work in addition to their duties. Tho: names ~f those specittlly commended for good service have been brought. to the notice of the dep~J,rtments with whom their advan0ement lies. A general expression of apptociatiol\ is also owing to the members of the Bengal Junior Civil Service who as circle officers • in. almost • all districts rendered indispensable service. During the period ·before the.finttl.cnumeration extended touting was necessary 11nd it Wt1S owing to the. speoialfacilities accorded to me by the Assam Bengal 11nd E11stern Bengal Railways that I w11s ttble to visit each district headquarters twice .and some of the subdivisions also in addition withput considerable waste of time : I have to • express my indebtedness Jor ~hesofacilitiesto the Agents of the railw11ys .• But perhaps the most ttstonish­ ll".\g feature of the census is the bet that under the direction of a very fer officials almost the whole. enumeration Wt1S c11rricd out by a volunt11ry agency. ~I ore. than 302,600 voluntary workers not only receiYed no remuneration but m ttlmost_all cases were put to some porsonal.expense in the conduct .• ofthe enumeratiOn. Some expression of app~ociation is duo to these .workers fq~ thei~ pul:llie spirit and to tho offic.ers of the Bengal Civil Service and 0tpcr serviCes who were able. ~y their tact ttnd personal inllucnce to keep u,p to scr11tch over so long a perwd as 5 months or more a body ofm(ln held tocrethet by no self-intere~t or hope of reward .. l''ina!Iy, my specialtpanks are due ~o .M~~srs. Durga Pada • Ban11rji, Saiyid. Abdul ,Majid, Sudhir Kumar Sen, M1zannr Rahman 11nd Sailendra ,l'.lath_ Mitra, the fiv-e officers in charge of th<> centtal offices at Koxmagar, RttJShahi, Berhampore,. Dacca and B!lrisal, and xvi INTRODUCTION. to .. my personal assistant, Babu Bhupendrakrishna Sinha, B.c.s. All these officers. co-operated in bringing the. post enumeration proceedings and the tabulatiOn of the results to a conclusion somewhat earlier than before and a tribute is due to their energy and to the tact with which thev handled large establishments of casual employees most of whom were u~accustomed to discipline . a:r;d continuous hard work. In the preparation of the report 1 have been mdebted to almost every department of Government for either •' information and materia~ or more spe_ci~c assistance. Dr. C. A. Bentley, C.!. E.,, P.P.H., lent me a number of statistwal books and computing machines, and his su?c~ssor Dr. Khambata permitted my access to unpublished public health statrstlcs. . At the request of the Surgeon-General mth the Government of Bengal the • Director of the Tropical School of lVIodicine placed an excellent biostatisticallibrary at my disposal, and to Dr. D. B. Meek, o.B.E., D!rector-General of Commerc!al Int~lligonce, I_ a~ indebted for constant help With books of reference and With adviCe on statrstwal questions. In particular instanc.es I have endeavoured tme universe.. ltr this C!>se the difference is con.~idered to be "significant", (i.e., probably not the result of random sampling) if .it is three or more. times its own probable error, since t!u' odds • ag>~.inst the entirely fortuitous occurrence of a difference .so great 11s three times the probable eiTor are 22 to 1: in other words a diffe~ence as great as or greater than this might be expected fronr chance only in 43 out ·of 1,000 instances.. The odds against the chance ""'occurrence of llo • ditterence as great as four times the probable error are as many as 142 to 1. Such use as has been made of these concepts is infrequent in the report and they have been resorted to with.diffidence. Calculations have .been wor)wd out acgainst time and under the limitations of a crippling economy. lt is unlikely that noerTor of calculation or deduction hacsescaped elimination, and.certain that the possibilities of signifioant analysis have in no case been exhausted .. But it has been the object to give the data from whic)l results are deduced in such detail that the reader may have before him all the materials necessary for the detection of mistakes, miscalculations and statistical fallacies and for pursuing scientific analysis further than my own ignorance of mathematics has permitted me to follow it. 3 2 CRAPTER I-DISTRIBUTION AJ\'D MOVEMENT OF. POPULATION. non -synchrow:>us areas, and • if such movement actually. occurred the a.mount each wa.y cancelled out so th!lt the results obtained represent the actual . population on the census night with every little inaccuracy. • The figures also include a number of persons who were at sea on the 26th February and did notreach Bengal till later. • Such persons a.s fishermen. who spent the night a.t workin.tho Bay of Bengal are amongst these, So also are persons on board sea-going. vessels who were in Indian territorial wat()rS on the census night : these include persons on .vessels which reached the Sandheads from a port outside India before midnight 0n the 26th February or had left a port in India before the census. was talmn .there. but .did not arrive at Cal9utta until sorn.e date up to the 15th of March. The persons accountod .for in the enumeration of Indians on the high .sea.s ha.ve not been included in. the general popula.tion but are shown separately in chapter III. 3. Measures due to the. dilterent. date of the ce11sus in 8.urma.-The census was.taken in Burma two nights before the date fixed for Bengal and the rest of India. and special measures were therefore ta.ken to prevent double enumeration of persons corning from Burma after being l'y. The areas given for S ikkim and Bengal States are the .same as in Hl21, but for I3ritish T0rritory t he figures aile 678 square miles greate r than those given in 1921. Such explanations as are a.vailable for this change in area. arc given in the t\t\e . pages t o imperh1l t able. I and provincial table I in y o]umo V, part II. During_ the decade orJy 30 square miles were added ·to the !lrea of Bengal from tho neighbouring prmrince of .Bihar and Orissa a nd the difference between t he figuref! of 1921 and 193 1 is principally ~ccmmted for py changes ir, t he calculated area of police-stations. R.ovised. calculations of these · areas have resulted in very little change in the figures of Dacca and Chit.tagong Divisions and .!Ire mah1ly c(mfinod to the R ajshahi and to a greater extent to the Burdwan and P residency Divisions. 2. The population .enumerated.~The population dealt . \vith in the report and shown in detail in ,the t ables forming pa.rt II of t his volume is in general the de facto population of Bengal on the night of the 26th February 1931. In some parts of.the province, howeve~·, owing todifficultics of communication or t o t he .abscnce of a literate enumer~ting agency or for other reasons it • w,;s not possible t o conduct on . t he night of t he 26th February* the simultaneous ·chock of the prclimina1~y em~me:ration which elsewhere cm1stitutei:l t he fiMl consus. The ·areas and population thus affected are shown .in ·statement No. l -1 below :- STATEMENT No. 1-1 . Aioa Po~~;- Data · bf final Di.st r !ct.. r.ocallty. (SQ.. miles). cheek. Ban kula .n artlbandll p.-s. 8" ·0 l ri,ll38 _2'1th ll'cbroar y 1931. ~Url:naiJC'ire , Jbare:ra lll subdiviSlon 90·0 l9,!l00} .'Blnrnr :19 ·0 19,·360 _- 27th F ebruary 19.31; Na l'Agr'a.il.a . . . 1·0 " 6a..m.-12noon. Cal cut~ waro 7, J.32 blocks NU. WfU"1H•, 8!> blocks , ·-· WMd-29, 2~ bloch l; ci =l slibscqucutly~ Dak:L\f gati.j Wsrd6, S2 hlockR 7th~ Pa.t liakha \1 37 ·6 /,li 6:J ~:'l th FebruarY-1 9~1. :Rholu. a .HJ 8,J20 :M:orn,ng. _Nonkhnli lll · ~ \:1,592 Saudwjp 6· 0 uo 27th F cbtUary l ilSl. D o . 11}·0 J ,370- Morning. · Cbha:ga.lnara: l ·{J 2,082 Clt.tl\~:oD.ci'Hill iJ'ru.ch Totalal'M !>,{107: 0 212;92.2 Nil. Trlpura State TtJllporttou~ 1,638· 0 73;087 2~3 dii.ys after . 2tl tJj Fcbru~y snokbn Stil. t11 TOtal u:rcl\ Hhll. 2,813. 10~,808 Nit. Exceptio t he Ohitagorig !iill Tract s and Sikkim where inaccessibility and the lapk o f litcrate census usch:eck . . Itiut least cet·t alh_ th11.t o_ut side ·Calcut~a, the. :congit\ons whlch, rendered a · simultaneous check l iD pOSSible also pm"'fep,t ed a r1y consjgerable .~OYel"flent into or OUt Of •lJJ. SikkiJ;n. Sta~ the census w~s UQt completed until' 15th ?rfM-'ch 193!. 2 CHAPTER I~DISTJ;liBUTION AND MOVEMENT OF POPULATION. non-synchr"QJH)US areas, and if such movement actually occurred the m~ount each way cancelled out so that the results obtained represent the actual population on the census night with every little inaccuracy. The. figures also inqlude a number ?f persons who were at se.a on the 26th February.and did not reach Bengal trlllatcr. Such persons as fishermenwho spent the night at work in the Bay of Bengal are amongst these. So also arE) perso11s on board seac~oing vessels who were in Indian territorial waters on the census night : -' thes~ incluqe persons o~1 v:essels which reached the Sandlleads from a port outs,rde. India before m1dmght on the 26th February • or had left a port i.Il India before the census was. taken there but did not arrive at Calcutta until some da.te up to the 15th of March. The persons accounted for in the enumeration of Indians on the high seas have not b~en included in the general population but are shown separately in chapter III. 3. Measures due to the different date of the census in Burma.~T]1e census was taken in Burma two nights before the date fixed for Bengal and the rest of India and special measures were therefore taken to prevent double enumeration of persons coming from Burma after being enumerated there') and tho omission from both provinces of persons who had left Bengal for Burma after the 24th but before the 26th J<'ebruary. At the time of the final check it was ascertained whether persons pre~ent during the preliminary enumeration who were then absent had left for Burma after the 24th J<'ebmary i1J:ld if so their names were retained, whilst persons who had newly arrived were asked whether they had come from Burma and, if they had left there after the 24th February, particulars for them were not added in the schedules. 4. Accuracy of the figures.-The population treated in this report therefore fairly represents within narrow limits the actual resident population of the province. There were no considerable movements of population when the census was taken and precautions which may have erred on the side of excessive elaboration were taken to ensure the enumeration and to prevent the double enumeration of those who spent the census night travelling in trains or boats. For the enumeration of the rural area.s it is not unreason­ able to claim a fairly high degree of accuracy. In 1921 the census superin­ tendent estimated that the figures returned were not likely to be wrong by more than one per mille of the whole population and that the accuracy was considerably greater for rural areas. A similar claim can confidently be made also on the present occasion. The total population of Bengal recorded in the tables as being 50,ll4,002 for British Territory may be confidently taken as being not less than 50,064,000 or more than 50,164,000 and it probably lies within a much narrower range. A similar calculation would place the aggregate population of British districts and Bengal States within 51,036,000 and 51,138,000 as the outside limits. 5. Method of presentation.-The information extracted fom the census of Bengal is presented in two volumes. Volume V of the imperial series is divided into two parts and contains first a general report (part I) and secondly the imperial and provincial tables (part II). Volume VI, also conta,ining two parts which however are bound toget.her, comprises similarly tJ: rep~rt and tables for Calcutta City. In part II of the present volume the Imperial tables ordinarily present separately absolute figu~es. for ~ach administrative division, district, city and state and figures for police-statiOns and towns arc shown in the provincial tables. Throughout this volu:n: the tables appended to each chapter are ordinarily presented by natural dmsrons and the mforma, tion given comprises either comparative figures for a number of decades or percentage or other ratios. 6. Administrative and natural or geographical divisions.--For the bo1llldaries of the five administrativedivisions, 28 .districts and two states of Bengal as well 8,s for the boundary of Sikkim the reader is referred to _the mapforming the frontispiece of this volume. The _natural or geographical divisions adopted in 1921have a~aii! b:en e¥lpl?y~d m th~ pres~nt volume for thesuhsidiarytables. The consrde,ratw~ ~ustifymg the1r chorce have been given in detail in the report of 1921 and 1t 1s not proposed to repeat them. ADMINISTRATIVE AND NATURAL DIVISIONS. Diagram No, I' l shows the geplogi0al homogeneity of the provinc(l as a 'Yhole. Only on the fringe of th~ province in the extreme north and west and alsp ~~ the Tripu~·a Stf),te .and Chittagong 1fill Tracts, which havs nPt bee~ geologJ.Cally surveyed, is there to be found any change from an a(luv.tal fonxtatton generally ofrecent date. Geographically the difference between the. drJ!"eron,t pa;t~ of the province depends upoo the degree and nature pf .t!~e.Irnvers actnr:t~r· 'In Western Bengal corresponding to. the Burdwan Urv1s1on thefonnatne influence of the riven wouhl in the. natural co~wso have been l01~g ag~ ended and their sirrnifieance is d<;1rived largely from ill-advised interference w1th the natural acti';;n of river and sea by the creation of embankments and sea-walls. DIAGRAM No. 1.1. GEOLOGICAL FORMATIONS f2zz;:;J. ""'"'"'''' 1-:=-J R~ent AUu,·ium r~-- OJdi!r All~•·i~Jm(J>rg.,iy l~kriie) ~- T~rti~ry (Siw~lik:- ,;,.inlr-wonTeater ·percentage mcrease durmg the decade_ 1921-.1930 than Bengal. The pemcntage increase howevens more than 2-f times higher than .it .was between 1911 and 1921. Bengal bas an area more than two­ STAtEMENT No. 1,3, fifths . as large again as that of England and Wales together, but its population is little more than a quarter as largG Area, population and denilty . (pol$0ns per again. square mile) divislol's··in _Benca1j 1931. DIVision. ArC'a. I'opula.t.lotl. Density. sion~.'-~~~~~ris±:r~~o~~-mi~str~!~~a~ivi~ E~~~r }H)} }Ufi~~R Jij divided- into . five a.dminist.rative divisions_ P~it~o~g n,w2 e_,s26,.not. sM and the nJ.arginal statement No: I-3 .•.. ·. . .. . . . , . . . shows the area, population and dens1tyof each, Jn area Ra)shahi DlVISlOn ii. the Ia.rgest and Presidency Division second fo!Io':'ed b;v Dacca, Burd)(lan .. COMPARISON OF AllMiNISTR.ATIVE DIVISIONS. 5 and Chittagong Divisions. In population, l~owcYer, Dacca Division is th~ 1 r est with 13 864,104 inhabitants. RaJshahr Drnswn wrth •• 10,6?~,966 ~~£the Prcside~cv Division with 10,108,229 como next. :Burdwi!,n. DIVISiOn -·-.... DIAGRAM No. 1-2. .A.Im~. DENSITY AND POPULATION OF THE PRINCIPAL PROVINCES OF INDIA AND OF. ENG~AND AND WALES. CENSUS OF ·1931. The baseof each cube rcpreilentqho; arCa in unit3 of ten thousand square miles nndthe height .represents the: number of pe~ons per square mile. The volume therefore represents the population and. as the depth of the cube ~sin ~a.;::h case one unit (in tens of thousands .of miles) the ~reas maybe compared by the length and t.he ptipU!atiOris by the frorit surface. ~ llO Scalell I 60 Units often thousand miles 40 0 1 z 3 4 5 6 7 ~ j 20 UNITED PROVINCES BENGAL ENGLAND AND WALES BIHAR AND 0RI$SA MADRAS l'lJNJAB BOMBAY ha.s 8,647,189 and.thepopula.tior! ofChittagong Division is less than one half ofDacc.a Division being onl,v 6,826,414. There are on an average 935 persons per square mile in the Dac9aDivision, .618 in the l3urdwan Division, 566 in the Presidency Divi.si(m, 584 in the Chittagong Division and 557 in the Rajshahi Cll:APtER f~IStRIBUTION. AN!l MOVEJ\!EJ\'T OF :POPULATION. Oivisi?n. _ •These. figures are illustrated in diagram No. I·3 where the righth&!ld seale mdicates the number of persons per square mile and the remaining " lJ QHITTAQONG DIAGRAM No. 1-3. AREA, DENSITY· AND POPULATION OF THE FIVE ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS. The b~!Hiof euch cuhe_ represents the area in-thounn.dt ol square mlies and the he1ght rt~presentll the number Of p!inons ~~8::t~ID:~e~ d;;th Voflut~: ~:t:e~:r!ur:~~~~~!! '~~! ~~f~~i; !~du:~=~:;! 1~t\~~)f~~ath:h:tt- ~~r~:!~ated h01u the Joogih Tbou.nds Qf mlhs. 0 1 !t 3 4 6 6 ~- 3 » IQ I I I 1 I I! A N I RAJSHAHI - references are given in the heading of the diagram. itself. Each division shows an increase over the population in 1921 which is as much as 13 ·7 per cent. STATEMENT No. 1-4. in the Chittagong Division . and 8 ·2 per Dlltanoe of the median. and centre of populo· cent. in the Dacca Division. It is 7 ·4 per tio~ in .,ues North (N) or South (S) and cent. in the Burdw-an Division, 7 per cent. fu":!t;);.l .;r,:::.~ •. ~':J;Jr:.::; :::;d:~; in the Presidency Division and no more than districts. 2 ·7 per cent. in the Rajshahi Division. NOTE,---'I.'he m.edla.n of area. is R--13 •9; W-0-9 (lat. 23° 32' 12"'; long. 89~ 17~' 12,..}. The centre of area iss-t-o-; E-11·-IJ (lat. 23° 0 M d •.... , . . . . d I t" .. , w, '"""· 89' 28' so·). 1 . e 1an o area an popu a •on.- c,ntmotwvu•••;··· Statement No. I-4 shows for the province Yea •. v:ft~I:M.I. Total. R>=l. U•ban. as now constituted the median and centre l s 14 0 8_ 2 .0 N.C.O·a S-42-8 of area .and of population. at every census ~::: w.=lS:i ]"::::H ]"=:n ~=:n since 1872. These figures are illustrated w.,::,···tl 'X::::&:t ~==~:~ ');::::!~:~ by diagram No. I-4. · The median. of area 1891 "';::::1n 'X:j ~ ~=!U 't=!n is the point through which a line drawn 1901 "';::::,~:~ 'J=::Z~ ~rg 't;"l!:~ north and south and a line dwwn east ~;~: 'X::::1i ~ N=.\ ! ~=fX ');::::!~ g and west each divides the area of the 19 , 1 ~=1n ~=n ~n t;~:~ province ~to equal parts, .and the median E- > o JH -o 1<-10 ' w-a83 of population is the. point at which similar lines in each direction similarly divide thepopul")tion. In calcul!ttillg each an arbitrary point.· of origin was taken, viz.,. th!l point calculated .by OF AREA ANn PoPttLATIO:#. Mr; Thompson in J92l.as being the _median of area·: It was. pr?posed to ttCcept this as the. median of a.rea on the present occaswn also but 1t proved DIAGRAM No. 1-4. necessary to. revise it in view ofthechanges in the area of the province caused bv tt'ansfers of jurisdiction between it and Bihar and Orissa and particularly bJ fresh estimates of_thc area of eachpolico-station. The area on both.sides of each line thus drawn through this pointwas calculated and the lines-so sh~fted that the difference was evenly distributed on eaeh side. _ Similarly the popuh-ttion on bot~ sides of each line was estimated for each census year and a_- correctim: was-_ made in order to distribute the .~lifference. bet-ween thetn equally._ l~ was assumedt.hatfor an a~ea. not. more than 10 to 15 miles on either side of the lines through the point chosen the rural population in each suhdi,~ision thrpugh ~Nhich each .line passed_ might be-_-- taken to be distributed abthc a.verag? ,density qf the subdivision. _JJpon this assmuption a_ caleulatioiJ. _was made showing the total number of persons wl1o ~ould be tr11nsferre(_]_ byshiftingthe)ineone mile in either direction. -__ Half the difference bot~een- t~e J1t?pnlations· estimated on each side of the line re}lresent.ecl the arnount-__ ~vhleh -'~'ould ·haxe _to_.be .-taken -_from _the larger __ -.aJ)cl_ added to _the smaller :ropnlation estimated, and the population to be added_ divided by the popul0-t.ion invo1:v~din a Bhift. of one_ mile was_ taken t-o -give· the number of mi~es by which _the • line should· be ;shifted nOTth or south and east_ or '\vest. In _maki11gthis c~lculation-t;he ruralpopulati011 o~lywas taken into considera­ t.ion and in.order-W avoid-_ the evide,nt_error.resultingfmm-th~ concentration of . population ·in tow11S. whid\ .obviously vitiates_ -the _ assntnpti.on of_ an_ e-ven distribution of.-d~strict pop11la,tion at the average. densit.y, the. -population wa,s, calculated Jor all :towns. within the are~ through w.~1ich · the line had been moyed ond 11· f11rther ca.l(;,1}1atiop wa,s made to asc(;Jrtain t~e n_umher of miles through_ which jt sfioq;ldhe moved ba.ek agai11 in ord(:)r. to dispose of a rural popula-twn equal tB one h~lfthat of:.a.ll the towns inclu(}ed in tho a,reathus added to the smaller-population, and accordingly-bringing--the population 4 8 CHAPTER I~DJSTIHBUTION AND MOVEMENT OF POPULATION. in excess of that remaining to the other part. . Furthm: corrections were made on the same lines in the event of any town falling within the area involved in this second or any subsoq uent adjustment. 11. .Centre of area and population.~ The centre of area and the centre of population represent a sEghtly different conception, viz., tho point at which / Bengal would balance homontally upon certain assumptions. As regards t'lre centre of area the only assumption is that Bengal be considered to be .a plane surface, but in the case of the centre of population in addition to this two further assumptions are made. The first is that each unit of population is of the same w-eight. The second is that in general t.here is an even distributi.on of the rural population in each district ahout the geographical centre of the district and of the urban population about the centre of ea,eh town ... On these assumptions the centre of are~. was worked out upon the ordinary.formula for calculating the centre of gravity of an irregular surface. In theSundarbans area of the 24-Parganas, Khulna and Rakarganj, in order to a.]low for the markedly lower density in these extended areas, for each of th()se three districts a centre of population was calculated separately from the geogra,phical centre. The area of each district on each side of the line . was multiplied by the projection from the geographical centre of the district at right angles to the meridian and parallel dividing the province into two parts .and passing through the same arbitrary point of origin as was chosen for the median of area and the factors thus obtained for all districts on either side of the line were added together. The difference between them • was then divided by the total area of the province and the result gave a correction by which the centre of area was shifted north or south and east or we~t of the p()int of origin. An analogous procedure was carried Dl\t in estill,lating the centre of population. In this ease, however, in addition to. substituting J!OP\tlation for area in the calculation and using for the 24-Parganas, Khulna a~d Bakarganj a point calculated as shown above in place of the geographical qentre of the district a further modification was made in order to prevent the distortion which would be introduced by assuming that the population con­ cqntrated in towns was evenly distributed throughout the whole of the district. Each town was taken as a separate unit and the population taken for. each district was confined to the rural population. In th.is way centres of population in each census year were obtained for both rural and urban population and the centre of the total population, urban and rural, was so determined upon the line joining the two points thus found that its distance from the point forming the centre of the rural population multiplied by the rupl population itself was equal to its distance from the centre of urban population multiplied by the urban population. 12. Movements of the median and centre of population.~Neithcr the median nor the centre . of population offers any explanation of population changes, but they serve to illustrate in a convenient form some features of population change which are briefly skeklled below. If the population were evenly distributed over the P;'ovince the median and centre o~ pop~llation would coincide -w-ith the median and centro of area, and their varratwns illustrate the extent and direction in which population is unevenly distributed. During the last seven decades the relative distribution of population between north and south hns altered comparatively little and both the median and the centre of population roughly coincide with the .median a,nd centre of area, respectively. The greatest changes of popnlatl~m d1stnbntwn .have b?en between cast and west. The uninterrupted recesswn east"•ards of the median point conveniently illustrates the proportionately: larger grovrth of population in eaBtem than in western BengaL Compared w1th the median of population the centre falls north and cast owing to the projection into the province on. the north-east of a large portion of Assam. This gives to. areas an.d pop'Yatwns on the north and east a disproportionate weight smce. a umt a~ d1ffer~nt distmces from the centre of popula.tion will exercise an wfluence m drawmg the centre towards them proportionate to their dist~nce fror_n t.he cen~re, whereas distance does not enter to effect the influence of such runts m effect~ncg the median of population. The difference is illustrated by the followl!lg MOVEMENT OF THE MEDIAN AND CEN1'l!E OF POP)JLA'fiON. 9 examples. By au equal change in the population of Darjee?ng and Nadia districts the median of population would be m?ve:l an equal distance, but the centre of population would be mov~d hy Darjeelu1.g more th~n one hundred times as frtr north as tho change m the populatiQn of Nadm would move it south. Sirnilarly a change of less than 440 persons in the population of S.... Darjeeling municipalit,y would require to be balal}C\)d by a change of one-th!rd of a million persons.in Dacca city in order to preser,ve the centre of populat\on at its present latitude. Like the median of population the centre of populatiOn also. has moved comJJaratively little north or south since 1872 and its main movement has hoen eastwards for the same causes .. In 1931 the median of population is six miles east of the median of area whc~oa~ the centre of popu­ lation is four miles west of the oentre of area. Tlus IS due to the fact that, although the population is greater in the east its concentration is relatively nearer the centl'e than in the west. The Ohittagong Hill T~acts and Tripura, for instance, "'re relatively so sparsely populated that their greater distance from the centre does not give them the same weight as.thc concentra­ tion of pogulation in towns in the west of the province. The presence of Calcutta and tho concontration of towns in the 24-Parganas, Howrah and Hooghly pull the centre of urban population considerably .south .and west both .of the rum! and of the total pop~llation, but in recent .years the growth of Dacca and Narayanganj, Tippera, Bakarganj and Ohit