Report, Part I, Volume-V, Bihar

CENSUS OF INDIA, 1951 V()LUM~~ V BIHAR PART I-REPORT RANCI-IOR. PRASAD, l.A.S. SlIjJcrbltflldeJl! qf C'fJlJIIJ Oprralioll.f, Bibor PRINTBD BY mE SUPERINTENDENT SECRETARIAT PRESS. BIHAR, PATNA 1956 [Price Rs. 4 .. 12.0] "Few people outside realise that census is an adnlinistrative operation of great dinlensions and, in addition, it is a sciendfic process. Indian census in particular covers the largest population in the world and it is one of the nl0st econornical adn1inistrative operations .....................•...... Census as an institution goes back to the renlote past, but it is no longer a nlerc counting of heads; it involves extraction of infonnation which plays a vital role in the deternlination of many of our adnlinistrative policies. 'rhc facts elicited during the course of this operation yield valuable scientific data of sociological inlportance. In tnany 111atters, it provides a useful guide for the effectiveness or otherwise of our econonlic policies. ~rhe theory of population is in itself all: interesting part of econoluics. The census helps us to test and adapt that theory to facts ........................... 1;ornlerly there used to be elaborate caste tables ..................... .. 111 the forthcoll1ing census, this will no longer be a pro111inen t feature and \ve can devote our energies and attention to the collection and fornlulation of basic cconornic data relating to the nlcans of livelihood of the people and. other econo111ic activities of the individual and the State." - E:v:tr{f(t frolll speech delivered by the IJon' ble Self'dar Patel at the C'e1tstls Conference held at Ne}}! Delhi on the 23rd .Fe/Jrtlary, 1950. INTRODUCTION . rrhe census of the population of Bihar to which this report relates was the n.1nth census in the All-India series starting fron) 1872, and the first census S1nce partition and independence. A separate report called the "Administrative Report" has been published giving a fu]} account of the arrangements n1ade for the conduct of the census, and for cOlnpilation and tabulation of the results, the difficulties encountered and overcome at different stages, and suggestions for future imprOVelTICnts. A brief description may, however, bc given here of the ~l1anncr in which the census was taken, particularly as there have been son1e llnportant changes in the systen1 of enun1cration since 193 I, and no narrative report was published in 1941. 2. Preii!lJil1tl1:Y arran._!!,efJlfntJ-The first stage in the taking of the ccnsus is the preparation of the census /I/O/IZ{I registers for rural areas giving a complete list of all 1JJOIl~'{/S and han) lets (tal as) in existence in each police station with the nUll1ber of houses in each hanllet, and the nan1es of persons suitable for appoint- 111cnt as Supervisors and Enumerators. A similar register is prepared for each town ward. 1'hc preparation of these registers was con1pleted by the middle of June, 195 o. 'The next step \vas to divlde each district in the State into census charges, circles and blocks. In rural areas, a census charge generally corresponded with the police station jurisdiction, and circles corresponded to chaukidari unions except in Chotanagpur \vhere police unions or beats were divided into two or three circles according to convenience. In urban areas, a census charge generally coveted a whole town, but in cities, i. e., towns with a population of a lakh or 1110rc, each ward w~s treated as a separate charge. 'fhe State was thus divided into 602 census cbat ges, 6,701 circles and 79,685 blocks. The average nun11-:,cr of houses per block \\ orks out to 89. 1'he Charge Superintendents were n10stly Governn1cnt servants, such as Circle Officers of the Revenue l)epartll1C:nt and officers incharge of poUce stations. In urban areas, the Chairn1an or Vice-Chairrnan of the j\/funicipul Body was gencrallyappointed as the Charge Superintendent. 1he Supervisors in charge of circles· were also C;overnnlent servants in a large nutnber of cases. The number of Supervisors and f~numerators (including Assistant Supervisors and Assistant Enumerators) \vas 7,231 and 101,728 respectively, and all of then1 worked in an honorary capacity. The next stage \vas the training of I~nun1erators and Supervisors, and preparation by Enunlerators of detailed lists of houses giving the house number, nanlC of the head of the household, description of the house, and the number of persons ordinarily resident in it. 1he preparation of house-lists and house numbering was conlp]eted jn n105t places by the end of Noven1ber, 1950 though in some areas this work went on till the end of Decenlber. 1'he training of Enulncrators and Supervisors should have started everywhere in October, but in SOlne districts, it started as late as Decenlbcr, and special efforts had to be made to complete the training of census staff in these places before the actual con1mencement of enumeration from the 9th February. 3. System oj enllfJJerclfion--From .I8~I to 193 1 the census was taken ,on a one.. night basis between 7 P. M. and mldn1ght on the reference date. SpecIal arrange ments had' to be ll1ade under this system for enumeration of travellers by road, rail stean1er and boat. In 195 1 as in 1941, the census was related to normal residence, and carried out in the n1ain non-simultaneously though a reference ·11. point was fixed and a .final check made to bring the figures up to the reference date. The enumeration of normAlly resident persons who form the great bulk of the population was thus carried out bet\\7een the 9th February, 1951, and sun-rise on the 1st 1\1arch~ 1951. A final check was made from the 1St March to the ;rd March to bring the enumeration up to the reference point (sun-rise of the 1st March) by cancelling slips of any persons who had died since the last visit of the enumerator and before sun-rise on 1st March, 1951, and enunleratmg any new births that had taken place during the period. Institutional innlates such as persons remaining in hospitals, jails, leper asylunls, etc., were enumerated sin1u1- taneously at the institutions concerned on the morning of the 28th February, 195 1 and the houseless population, e. g., tramps, beggars, sadhus and other wandering folks were enumerated whereve-r found during the night preceding the 1st March, 195 I. \X'ith the removal of the one-night system, the nightmare aspect of the census is largely gone for it is definitely easier for the enunlerators who arc all honorary workers to carry out the enumeration within 20 days (besides 3 days for final check) than in one hectic night. Moreover, the adoption of nornlal residence as the principal basis for census enumeration gives us a more accurate idea of the distribution of the population than the old systen1, and is calculated to make the census a more effective instrument of sociological enquiry. The extension of the period of enumeration from one night to twenty days or n10rc, however, also raises several problems, and unless special care is exercised, S0111C persons nlay be counted twice over, while some others may be left out, and detailed instructions were issued for enun1eration of guests and vis itors and normally resident persons who were temporarily absent from the house. 4. Sail/pIe veri/icati()n of the censlIs (olmt-Public co-operation was available at the census of 195 I in a more abundant Ineasure than on any previous occasion. 1"1he training of census staff also received greater attention than ever before, and enUlncrators were required, besides filling up the enumeration slip for each individual, to prepare a National Register of citizens for each village and to\\/n ward giving complete census particulars of all persons enun1erated at the census. Arrangements for checking and supervisjon of enumeration work \~vere also in some \'vays more carefully organised in 1951 than on previous occasions. ~rhcre is every reason to think, therefore, that the 195 1 census count is at least as accurate as any of the earlier 'census counts. But, even in countries which are statistically very advanced, census figures are not hundred per cent accurate, and there are always some cases of under-enun1eration or over-enulneration. The post numeration survey conducted in the U. S. A. after the 1950 census has thus revealed an under-enun1cration of the order of one per cent. The Population Division of the United Nations had accordingly recommended in 1949 that a planned sample verification should be carried out to estimate the completeness of census enumeration in all countries. At the instance of the Registrar-General, an organised verification of the 1951 census count was carried out towards the end of the year. The size of sample was one household in every thousand, and the verification was done by gazetted officers in all cases. A detailed note reviewing the results of the sample verification has been furnished in Appendix VI of the Administrative Report-Part I-Enumeration. Reference may also be made in this connection to Census of India-Paper Number 1-1953 on Sample Verification of the 1951 Census Count. The results of the sample verification indicate that in the State as a whole, there was under-enumeration to the extent of slightly over one per cent. ... 111 . 5· Shift ~n e1l1phasiJ f1'Ol1' cdste tl1rd rfli.._{!/on, etc., It) bOJ'ic tleuJoi!)rtlpbic and ecollomic Issues-MentIon may be made here of the fact that there \vas a definite and deliberate shift of c111phasis at the 195 I census fron1 issues relating to caste, race, or tribe, religion and language, to basic den10graphic and cconotllic questions.

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