'CENSUS OF INDIA 1971 Part- VI C SERIES-~ BIHAR SURVEY -REPORT ON SELEC'I'ED VILLAGES MEROMDEGA (A Village Restudy) Draft by RAJENDRA PRASAD Assistant Director of Census Operations Edited by S. C. SAXENA Deputy Director of Census Operations Supervised by V. K. BHARGAVA Dy_ Director of Census Operations Directorate of Census Operations Bihar 71 CENSUS PUBLICATIONS BIHAR PART I-A General Report (Report on data yielded from P.C.A. and Tables and Mothertongue and Religion) PART I-B General Report (Detailed analysis of the Demographic. Social. Cultural and Migration pattern). PART I-C Subsidiary Tables PART II-A General Population Tables (A-I. A-II. A-III and A-IV and R.C.A.) PART II-A SUPPLEMENT General Population Tables (Standard Urban Areas) PORTRAIT OF POPULATION PART II-B (i) General Economic Tables (B-1 Part A and B-II) PART II-B (ii) General Economic Tables (B-1 Part B. B-1I1 to B-V and B-VII to B-IX) PART II-B (iii) General Economic Tables (B-VI) PART II-C (i) Social and Cultural Tables (C-VII and C-VIII) PART II-C (ii) Social and Cultural Tables (C-I to C-VI and Fertility Tables). PART Il-D Migration Tables PART III-A Report on Establishments and Subsidiary Tables on Establishment Tables. PART III-B Establishment Tables PART IV Housing Report and Tables PARTV-A Special Tables for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes PART VI-A Town Directory. PARTVI-B Special Survey Reports on selected towns PAATVI-C Survey Reports on selected villages (ii) PART VIII-A Adm~nistration Report on Enumeration , PARTVIII-B Administration Report on Tabulation FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY PART IX Census Atlas PART IX-A Administrative Atlas PART X-A District Census Handbook (Town & Village Dir~ctory) PART X-B District Census Handboo~ (Village & Townwise Primary Census Abstract). PARTX-C District Census Handbook. (Analytical Report and Administrative Statistics and District Census Tables). CONTENTS PAGES FOREWORD III-IV PREFACE. V-VI CHAPTER-I: INTRODUCTION 1-14 Location (1); Physical features .(4) ;Transport and Com,muni­ cation(s) Demographic trends (10); Levels of Developmentments (14); Historical Politico-Cultural, economic and other events (16); Settlement Pattern and physical layout (19); Ethnic compo­ sition and settlement history (23); A General feel of the village (26) CHAPTER-II: SOCIAL DEMOGRAPHIC AND VITAL STATISTICS 28-58 Primary Census Abstracts (28); Age at marriage (36); Popul­ ation control measures, attitude and pra_ptice (48); Birth stati-­ stics (49); Disease and treatment, sanitation and hygienic hat)its (54); Migration (58) CHAPTER-III: ECONOMY 59-99 Economic resources (59); Land use pattern (61); Ownership or resources (6~); Primary and secondary occupations (63); Occu pational mobility (64); Detailed discussion of the occupation (64); Forestry (79); Animal husbandry and poultry rearing (80); Fishing (82) Trade and Commerce (82); Industry (86); Other occupations (89); Family budget (89); Indebtedness (92); Unemployment and under employment (96); Transfer of wealth (99) CHAPTER-IV: SOCIAL AND CULTURAL LIFE 100-139 House type (100); Dress and ornament (104); Household goods (106); Food and drink (108); Household composition (111); Net work of social relation (115); Marriage (118); Death (123); Religion, leisure and recreation (125); I nfluential and prestingious persons (131); Function­ ing of Administrative and developmental organisations (133) Function of traditional Panchayat (134); Voluntary organisation (134); Faction and clique (136); Range of contact with outside world (137) CHAPTER-V CONCLUSION 140-144 MAPS 101 Photographs 105 - (v) FOREWORD The Census of India has a long tradition of providing data on a variety of socio­ economic aspects: After independence the Census has increasingly turned its attention to the presentation of such data-both at Macro and Micro levels-as would meet the needs of planning and development. Accordingly, from 1.951 onwards certain village statistics are being brought out to inter alia help in 'grass-root' planning and rural reconstruction by way of provision of basic amenities and infra-structure, etc. 2. As ancillary to the 1961 Census, a study of more than 500 villages was taken up. The main objective of this study, to put it in the words of Shri Asok Mitra, the Census Commissioner for 1961, was "to invest the dry bones of village statistics with flesh­ and-blood accounts of social structure and social change". The basis of selection of these villages was purposive to cover adequately geographical, occupational and ethnic diversity besides representing (a) villages of medium size with multi-ethnic population and ha~ing variegated occupations through primarily dependent on agriculture, (b) having one dominant c()mmunity with one predominant occupation, like fishing, pottery etc. and (c) primarily inhabited by a scheduled tribe. About 400 monographs based on socio-economic surveys all over the country have been published. As adjunct to the 1971 Census, at the initiative of my predecessor, Shri A. Chandrasekhar, it was decided to conduct a re-study of some of the above villages to note how fast and in what direction the winds of change were blowing. This involved not only recording change during the decade but a study of the process of change in the light of the following issues. i) To what extent and in what manner the village was a distinct unit during the earlier study and is still so; ii) Whether the village is displaying increasing urban look, and if so, in what manner; iii) What is the interplay of the various factors that have helped or impeded the full utilisation of the amenities and infra-structure availabl_eJo the villages; iv) Whether the village life is marked by increasingly more cohesion or conflict; and v) To what extent the demographic pattern of the village is related to eco-system, compriSing environment, technology, social organisation and population by different attributes. The foci of analysis was on the social process in the village society concomitant to industrialization, urbanisation and changes in the agrarian structure. The main criteria for selection of villages for re-study in the state were (a) a village near an effective­ urban centre with population of 50,000 and above and pre~erably in proximation of a city or town, (b) a village away from an effective urban centre which could, however, be near a small town at a distance of about 10 kilometres and (c) a village at a distance of at least 25 kilometres from an urban centre. The suggestions of the Planning Commission cover a few villages in (a) a dry belt, (b) I.A.D.P. area (c) areas having small irrigation facilities and rural electrification, and (d) where facilities of institutional financing for agricultural operation had progressed well, was also taken intq consideration as far as possible. 3. I must congratulate my colleagues in the Social Studies Division for organising these studies. I am grateful to Dr. B.K. Roy Burman, who was incharge of the division, for stimulating his colleagues in the- census office to study in depth the specific problems of social change and for developing the necessary tools for the study by devising exhaustive schedules for collection of requisite data. I am thankful to Dr. N.G. Nag, Deputy Registrar General, who later took over the coordination of the programme. I also acknowledge the important role of Dr. K.P. Ittaman, Senior Research Officer, who undertook the scrutiny of the statistical data and drafts prepared in the census offices in the states with the ab~e assistance of Shri V.K. Jain. 4. The present monograph is the outcome of the study uodertaken by the Directorate of Census Operations, Bihar, Patna. The study was conducted by Shri Rajendra Prasad, Assistant Director of Census Operation, Bihar, Patna. Shri S.C. Saxena, Deputy Director of Census Operations, edited the report. I am indebted to my colleagues in the census office of their painstaking efforts in the preparation of the monograph. NEW DELHI (P. PADMANABMA) THE 17TH July, 1978 REGISTRAR GENERAL, INDIA PREFACE Meromdega, located in the Thethaitangar Block of Ranchi district (now in Gumla district) is one of the villages selected for the study ancillary to 1961 Census and for restudy in 1971 Census with a view to assessing the changes that have taken place in the rural society during the decade as well as factors and processes associated with such change. The main criteria for .its selection for restudy were that it is a village away from an effective urban centre, but near a small town Sim.dega within a distance.of five to ten Kms. and is predominantly inhabited by the Kharias who are primarily dependent on agro-based economy. 2. Two types of schedules, viz., Village Schedule and Household Schedule, have been canvassed in the village for carrying out.this job. Village Schedule is divided Into two sections namely, the Basic Schedule to be canvassed in the whole village and Special Schedule to cover economic activities, migration, political organisations, caste and community organisations, religiOUS organisations and social mobility movement. The Household Schedule is also divided into three sections, namely, A(i) Composition and'Socio-cultural Linkage, A(ii) Life Cycle and- Material Equipment and (b) Economic ./ Life. 3. The survey was conducted in 1978 by Shri Rajendra Prasad, Tabulation Officer (now Assistant Director of Census Operations, Bihar, Patna) with the help of six staff namely SjShri T.N. Rukhaiyar, B.M. Prasad and R.N. Verma, Statistical Assistants and SjShri Feku Lal Yadav, Haldhar Prasad Singh and N. Siddiqui, Computers. 4. Dr. N.G. Nag, Ex-Deputy Registrar General and Dr. K.P. Ittaman, present Deputy Registrar General (Social Studies Division) of the Office of the Registrar General, India provided the technical guidance and suggestions for this study.