Himachal Pradesh
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CENSUS OF INDIA 196 I VOLUME XX-PART V 1- N O. 23 HIMACHAL PRADESH A Village Survey of DABHLA DAR. Ghamarwin Tehsil, Bllaspur District In"estigation and Draft Guidance ond Final Droft by by TARLOK CHAND SUD RI KH I RAM SHARMA Assistant Superintendent of Census 01' e ratiol!' Himachal Pradesh Editor RAM CHANDRA ,PAL SINGH of the Indian Adminis~rative. Service Superintendent of Census ()perations, Himachal Pradesh : .... II ~ ~ .. ..... .." ..... .' ' .. ; '"", .. ,'. Ii " ' ~ DABHLA '.' .. ,' . ...... ........ .... ", " NOTIONAL MAP .. ~ .. " : I.,. , •• .... ~'':'''' .~. '; ......... ; ..' ;., .. .... : ' .. : .. ..... " ~ .,' .. ' : ....... ... ' .,:-" .' .... :.... :,' • 0: '. "', '. =~ .... : '.;' '. .' ...... ......•. \ " . .......... ' . " • ~ ':'" • I"' ~" .': "', " " .~.' ,'. .•.. ;...... '., .... : .' -, .' .' .\ ........ .... " .. .~ . ". ' . ..... .. ' . " \. .... ' ' ',,,;' ,:.. , .. """0 " " ,':_ " .Ii .' - :', ..... ..... ~ 0"'· .:'."'" ' . .... i··,O.- '. ·UAI.LAH .................. ; ............... , ~. .. .. ", .~:" .... '. ' . SCIfOOL.................... " ..••... ; ..... '. '. .' :~6;~~~~: .. ~~~.. : .. .'::::::::·....... ·:·.::W '. ,.' ,0 0' ~~~t~::::·:.. :: .... :::·:: ... :::·.·.:::::: :::::: @ .'\' ~:~~~~~: .. :::... :.:: ...... :.. :: ...... :: ::.'.::::~. !!AJPUT.............................. , •. _ HAIlIJ4N................................ _ .' DARI ." .' NOTIO'NAL MAP .,' " ...= .. , '. .:::_ .... ' .. :,., .. ",.'~' ,.' ....... " ...... .. ' ":~'. ,. ..' ,',' :.... '~: : .. , .~. : . ,. , ." ,.' . ' . '. " . :... ~ I.··· .;." ' ..... .' .... .. .t." • .... :~. "I' 0.' ;."\~ .. :". '. '. .' '. ':"'. .,.,'., o •• ' ' •• '.; • ' :' . ,' ......" :... ,,' :"':~ ., .' .' .... ...... ." •.... .... , , 0' •• \ ••.• .' . .... .' .' '. .' .'. ~. ' ... I' I ••••• ..... ..... :~.' :. .. ':-:'" '. .'. .~ . ,,': '. .. .... ;. ., ii '. .' .., '~. .' - .' ...... ., .' • .... '-" .,' . ii '. '. ;.'. if iI:"" '. .... ii ' ....... ....., - 01..' . ':', D - .. ' .W) . .... : .... ...... fJ' Qlj\i~•• """ .' ". \I. \\'. _• ..... •1'" II "". "''','' UAllI!.H ................ UOWll ................ '. (~AIH"AN ..... , ... ' .. WUIiALMAtI .......... ... ... -. ~<oW. CONTENTS Page FOREWORD (i) PREFACE (v) 1. THE VILLAGE 1 Illtroduction·-Legend-Situatio1t and Extent-PhysicaL Aspects- Climate-Fauna-Geology-Roads and Communications-Other Im portqnt Places. 2. THE PEOPLE AND THEm MATERIAL EQUIPMENT Caste Compositi6n-Language-House~-Dress-Omaments-TattoD i'fl,g-Utensils-Household Goods-Food and Drinks-Birth-Marriage -Death Rites. 3. ECONOMY Workers and Non-workers-AgricuUure-Principal Crops-Fertili zers and Manure-Agriculture Calendar-Animal Husbo.ndry-Ho'lllSe hold Industries-Income Statistics-Expenditure-Indebtedness-Co operative Society. 4. SOCIAL AND CULTURAL LIFE 36 Marital Status-Lite1'ucy-Family Structure-Inter-family relations -Position of Women-Inheritance of Prope1·ty-Sanitation and Health-Leisure and Recreation-Fairs and Festivals-Songs-Popu lar Sayings· -Superstitions-Folk TaLes-SaLutations-The Concept of Untouchability-Community Development. 5. CONCLUSION 57 APPENDICES ApPENDIX I-The foundation of State of Bilaspur 59 ApPENDIX II-Death ceremonies of the Hill Rajas 60 ApPENDIX III-Dialect 61 ApPENDIX IV-Land Utilization of Dabhla Dari 62 ApPENDIX V -Weights and Measures 63 ApPENDIX VI-Gugga Fair of Ghamarwin 64 ApPENDIX VII-Flora and Fauna 68 ApPENDIX VIII-Glossary 73; Foreword Apart from laying the foundations of would be brought to bear on the inter-preta demography in this subcontinent, a hundred tion of statistics to find out how much of a years of the Indian Census has also produc village was static and yet changing and how ed 'elaborate and scholarly accounts of the fast the winds of change were blowing and variegated phenomena of Indian life some from where. times with no statistics attached, but usually with j"!1st enough statistics to give emprical Randomness of selection was, therefore, eschewed. There was no intention to build under-pinning to their conclusions'. In a coun up a picture for the whole State in quantita try, largely illiterate, where statistical' or tive terms on the basis of vlllage selected numerical comprehension of even such a statistically at random. The selection was simple thing as age was liable to be inaccu avowedly purposive: the object being as rate, an understa:nding of the social structure much to find 01.1:t what was happening and was essential. It was more necessary to attain how fast to those villages which had fewer a broad understanding of what was happen reasons to choose change and more to re ing around oneself than to wrap oneself up in main lodged in the past as to discover how 'statistical ingenuity' or 'mathematical mani the more 'normal' types of villages were pulation'. This explains why the Indian Cen chan.ging. !hey were to be primarily type sus came to be interested in 'many by-paths studIes whlCh, by virtue of their number and and merely every branch of scholarship~ distribution, would also give the reader a from anthropology and sociology to geogra 'feel' of what was going on and some kind of phy and religion'. a map of the country. In the last few decades the Cens\ls has A brief account of the tests of selection increasingly turned its efforts to the presen- . will ~elp to explain. A minimum of thirty tation of village statistics. This suits the five VIllages was to be chosen with great temper of the times as well as our politica,l care to. represent adequately geographical, and economic structure. For even as we have oc~upa~I~nal and even ethnic diversity. Of a great deal of centralization on the one hand thIS mmImum of thirty-five, the distribution and decentraliza!tion on the other, my col was to be as follows: leagues thought it would be a welcome con tinuation of the Census tradition to try to (a) At least eight villages were to b~ so invest the dry bones of village statistics with selected that each of them would contain one flesh-and-blood accounts of social structure dominant community with one predominat and social change. It was accordingly decid ing occupation, e.g., fishermen, forest wor- ed to select a few villages in every State for kers, jhum cultivators, potters, weavers, salt special study, where personal obsex:vation makers, qualJ'Y workers etc. A village should ii FOREWORD have a minimum population of 400, the opti ·scope. At the first Census Conference in Sep mum being between 500 and 700. tember 1959 the Survey set itself the task of (b) At least seven villages were to be of what might be called a record in situ of numerically prominent Scheduled Tribes of material traits, like settlement patterns of the the State. Each village could represent a village; house types; diet; dl;ess; ornaments particular tribe. The minimum population and foot-wear; furniture and storing vessels;, should be 400, the optimum being between I common means of transport of goods and 500 and 700. .. passengers; domestication of animals and (c) The third group of villages should each birds; markets attended; worship of deities; be of fair size, of an old and settled charac festivals and fairs. There were to be record ter and contain variegated occupations and ill1gs., of course of cultural and social traits be, if possible, multi-ethnic in composition. and occupational mobility. This was followed By fair size was meant a population of 500- up in March 1960 by two specimen schedu 700 persons or more. The village should .les, one for each household, the other for the mainly depend on agriculture and be suffi village as a whole, which, ~part from spel ciently away from the major sources of ling out the mode of inquiry suggested modern communication such as the district in the September 1959' conference, intro administrative headquarters and business duced groups of questions aimed at centres. It should be roughly a day's journey sensing changes in attitude and be from the above places. The villages were to haviour in such fields as marriage, in be selected with an eye to variation in heritance, movable and immovable pro terms· of size, proximity to city and other perty, industry, indebtedness, education, means of modern communicatia.n, nearness community life, and collective activity, social to hills, jungles and major rivers. Thus there disabilities forums of appeal over disputes, was to be a regional distribution throughout village leadership, and organisation of cul the State of thisl category of villages. If., how turallife. It was now plainly the intention to ever, a particular district con.tained signifi provide adequate statistical support to empir cant e:cological variations within its area, ical 'feel' to approach qualitative change more than one village in the district might be through statistical quantities. It had been selected to study the special adjustments to difficult to give thought to the importance of them. just enough statistios to give empirical un It is a unique feature of these village sur derpinning to conclusion', at a time when my veys that ~hey rapidly outgrew their original colleagues were straining themselves to. the terms of reference, as my colleagues warmed utmost for the success of the main Census up to their work. This proved for them an operations, but once the census count itself absorbing voyage of discovery and their in was left behind in March, 1961, a series of fectious enthusiasm :compelle,d me to en three r-egional seminars in Trivandrum (May large the inquiry's scope again and