CENTRAL INDIA STATE CENSUS SERIES, 1911p VOLUME I. GWALIOR STATE PART I,-Report, PART 1I.'-Tables. THE CENTRAL INDIA STATE CENSUS SERIES, VOLUME I OENSUS REPORT FOR 1911 TEXT AND TABLES PART I & II BY H. M. BULL, M. A. (CANTAB.), CENSUS COMMISSIONER, GWALIOR STATE. 1asbltar: ALIJAH DARDAR PHESS 1914 PRICE Rs. 4 OR 5 B. 4 D. Table of Contents. PART 1.- REPORT. CHAPTER. PAGE. Introduction I I Distribution of the Population 1 II Movement of Population ... 13 III Birthplace 19 IV Reljgion 24 V Age 29 VI Sex 45 VII Civil Condition 50 VIII Education 58 lX Language 66 X Infirmities 71 XI Caste, Tribe or Race 75 XII Occupation 79 ~PPENDIX I Number -of Forms supplied and used, .. 98 I I Census Divisions and Agency 99 ~, III Expenditure of Enumeration Period, .. 10,1 INTRODUCTION. --:0:-- THERE have been four Enumerations 0 f the Gwaliul' State on 17th Past Census.and Present February 1881, 26th February 1891, the 1st March 1901 and the 10th :March 1911. All the four Enumerations were synchronous ".. ith those taken in British India. The Census of 1881 was the first sy~tematic attempt to enumerate the population of the G\valior State. The undertaking was one which presented many difficulties. The State has no geographical homogeneity and may be described as two irregular and detached tracts of territory. Ethnolog­ ically also they comprise many divers elements. The administration of some of the .detached portions of the territory, situated at a distance from the chief controlling authority was) in these days, less efficient than at present. Great trouble was met with in taking the Census of the ,vilder tracts, among the Bhils and Bhilalas of the IVlalwa Prant and the Saharias~ Kirars, Minas and other tribes in the Gwalior Prant. These primitive tribes \vere very apprehensive of evil results and the Census was little more than an estimate. Internal communication was poor and the process of taking the Census was unfamiliar to them. The next Census of 1891 was carried out more systematically. An officer of high standing \vas appointed Census Commissioner for the' State with a special officer for the immediate control of the Malwa Prant. The arrangement ,\-vas most suitable and facilita.ted the work. The CounciL of Regency which was then carrying on the administration of the State, was also able to obtain more competent assistance from officials. All important sta­ tistics were collected and the results compiled for the State as a '\Thole and by Political charges. In these two Enumerations a Census form different from the British India Schedule was used and information on the following points only was collected :- (1) Number, (2) Name, (3) Religion, (4) Sex, (5) Age, (6) Caste, (7) Birthplace, (8) Occupation. Since 1901 the British India Schedule of 16 columns has been exactly 1001 follo\ved. In 1901 the results were embodied in a separate State H.eport, the first of its kind, on the model of those published for other Pro\'inces and States, the Gwalior Volume forming one of the Imperial Series. The present Census ,vhich was taken on the night of the 10th lVIarch 1~1l 1911, is thus the second in which information similar to that in British India has been collected. The date fixed was chosen as the moon's light was such as to enable the Enumerators to complete their rounds before it became dark. There were no important fairs, religious assemblages or marriage festivals to disturb the population or attract people away from their houses on a large scalE' . A 2 Arrangement for the Enamera­ A detailed account of the method adopted of taking the Census and tion. compiling the results will be found in the Central India Administrative H.eport on the Census. A brief summary of the important features connected with the operation is given below. A ppoir.tment of As soon as it was known that a decennial would be taken, the Darbar the Chief Census Officer. appointed Mr. J. "V. D. Johnstone, C. 1. E., Inspector-General of Education, to be the Census Commissioner for the State with Rai Bahadur Munshi Balmukand, Sarsuba of the Malwa Prant, in immediate charge of the Census in that part. The appointment of Mr. Johnstone, who had conducted the previous enumeration and com piled the report for 1901, greatly facili ta ted the work. Preliminary The first step taken \vas the preparation of the General Village Register Census \Vork. for the whole State. This was written up by June 1910 on a model form supplied by the Provincial Superintendent of Census. All hamlets (Mazras, Dakhli Khedas) were included in the parent village and the Census agency was nominated. The State Census office ,vas opened on 1st April 1910 and detailed instructions were issued. ::\I r. Johnstone received all Census circulars from the Census Com­ missioner for India direct and also the circulars issued by the Provincial Superintendent of Census. Census Proce­ Following the system of 1901 the Provincial Superintendent of Census dure Code. made a pro'{)isional issue of the first part of the Code of Census Procedure for the Agency containing instructions for the taking of the Census. A Manual of Instructions for Charge Superintendents and Supervisors and a Specimen Enumeration Book containing instructions to the Enumerators were also issued. All these were translated into Hindi and Urdu. Thus each Charge Superintendent, Supervisor and Enumerator was in possession of all instructions for his guidance and ready reference. Census Divi­ The Census Divisions, designated as Blocks, Circles and Charges were sions. then formed. Each Block was entrusted to an Enumerator, who was generally a Patwari, a School or Post master, Police-man, a senior student, a Zamindar, a Shopkeeper or a clerk. A group of 10 .or 15 Blocks formed a Circle and was placed in charge of a Supervisor, who was usually a senior Patwari, a Circle Inspector, a Kanungo, a School master, a Subordinate l\.eve· He, Judicial, Police, Forest, Customs, etc., official, a pleader or the like. Ten or fifteen Circles, or a Pargana, the sub-division of a Pargana, a T2.ppa, a town or its sub-division formed a Charge and was placed under the Kannc;dar, Naib Kamasdar, Magistrate, etc., called the Charge Super­ i i1 te nclen t. The City of Lashkar and U jjain town were made into special Census units under Professor] ankinath Datta, B.A., of the Victoria College, and Pandit Vishnu Gangadhar Gokhle, the Municipal Secretary, Ujjain, respectively. 3 The Blocks numbered 20,598, Circles 1,763 and the Charges 91, each Block containing on an average 32 houses, a Circle 375 and a Charge 7,267. The maximum number in a Charge, Circle and Block was 28,617 (Bhind), .8,214 (Mastura), and 85 (Khachrod), respectively, the minimum being 139 (Arnalda Balapur) and 33 (Bahadurpur). HouseNu... The houses were then numbered. The definition of a house given in beridg. 1901 was altered to make it more explicit and illustrated by diagrams. Each house was given a separate number. The numbering ran in a consecutive series for each village, a division of a town, military station, &c., to avoid the mistake of double numbering the same premises and to guide the Enumerator. The houses of signalmen, gate men and gangmen living outside the distant signal of a R3ilway Station were included in one of the Blocks of the nearest village or \vard of the, town, even if they were situated within the Hailway fencing. Three numbers were given to a house, shewing Circle, Block (lnd House ~. In many cases, however, i only the indicator or houses at the beginning and end .of Blocks were so marked. The commencement of a Block Was indicated by a triangle 10 and its termination by a circle ~/-~~:t2i c_f._\ ' v ) -_/ The top n'umber indicated the Circle number, the middle number the Block, and the lowest the House. When a1l the houses had been numbered a statement shewing the number of houses was prepared and an indent for the requisite number of Census forms made out and sent to the Provincial Superintendent of Census at ·Indore. The work of House-numbering was begun in villages on the 15th October and generally completed by 15th November 1910. But, in certain areas, chiefly those affected with plague, the start could not be made till the end of October. The Provincial Superintendent of Census, when he visited the villages of the M andasor and N ahargarh Parganas, found that the houses had been left unnumbered. Urgent orders Were issued and the numbering was completed by the middle of December. As the Diwali festival interven'ed a proclamation was issued warning people to preserve the numbers and in cases in which they were accidently <>bliterated, limped or white-washed, to report the fact and have them replaced without delay. A conference of all Census Officials was held at Indore under the Instruction. presidency of the Provincial Superintendent of Census in May 1910 where Training CI.51. Munshi Hag Dad Khan, Personal Assistant to Mr. Johnstone, was deputed to receive practical and theoretical training in the ,"\lork of t<:tking the Census. Tbe Census Code, the Manual of Instructions for Charge Superintendents and Supervisors and Instructions to Enumerators on the cover of the Enumeration Book were read through both in English, Hindi ;md Urdu, and all doubtful points were satisfactorily explained and settled. Later on, a Supervisor from each Mahva Pargana, the Municipal Secretary of U jjain town with three Supervisors and tho Head Clerk of the Malwa Census Office were called in to receive training.