DISTRICT CENSUS HANDBOOK 1951 HAMIRPUR DISTRICT FOREWORD Several States, including Uttar Pradesh, have been publishing village statistics by districts at each census. In 1941 they were published in U. P. under the title "District Census Statistics" with a separate volume for each district. In the 1951 census, when the tabulation has been more elaborate than ever in view of the require .. ments of the country, the district ... wise volume has been expanded into a "District Census Handbook", which now contains the District Census Tables (furnishing data with break ... up for census tracts within the district), the District Index of Non .. agricultura.l Occupations, agricultural statistics from 1901;02 to 195°"'51 and other miscellaneous statistics in addition to the usual village population statistics. The village population statistics also are given in an elaborate form giving the division of the population among eight livelihood classes and other details. 2. It may be added here that a separate set of district ... wise volumes giving only population figures of rural areas by villages and of urban areas by wards and mohallas and entitled "District Population Statistics" has already been published. This separate series was necessitated by the urgent requirements of the U. P. Government • for elections to local bodies. 3. The number of District Census Handbooks printed so far is fony ... two Special arrangements for speeding up the printing have now been made and it is noped that the remaining Handbooks will be printed before the end of 1955. RAJESHW ARI PRASAD, I.A.S., ElAMPUR: Sup,erintendent, Censu! Oper.ations, October 31, 1955. Uttar Pradesh CONTENTS 11. r-ITR~DUcn()N­ A-The District B-Analysis of the Statistics iii-x C-Explanatory Note,oll the StatistiCf. PART I-DISTRICT CENSUS TABLES _A-GIlNEllAL POPULATION TABL_ A~I Area, Houses and Population A~ll Variation in Population during Fifty Years A-III Towns and Villages Classified by Population A~lV Towns Classified by Population with Variations since 1901 A-V Towns attanged Tenitorially with Population by Livelihood Classes 1 B Area and Pophlation of District and Tehsils by Livelihood Oasses :8-ECONOMIC TABLES- B-1 Livelihood Classes and SulJ..classes '10--13 B-D Secondary Means of Livelihood '4-25 B-III Employers, Employees and Independent Workers ill Industries aad Scn1ces by DiYiliou and Sub-divisions 26-53 B-IV U.-mplo~~nt by Livelihood Classes 52-5J IrIdcx of Non-agricultural Occupations 54-51 . A::-HOUJIIHOLD AND AC.B (SAMl'U) TAB.LD- Cl Household (Size and Composition) CIl Livelihood Classes by Age-groups ' .. C-I1I Age and Civil Condition C-IV Age and Literacy .•. C.v Single Year Age Returns D-SoCiIoL AND CuLTUllAL TABLES- D-l Languaaes (i) Mother Tongue 84 (ii) Bilingualism 85 D-ll Religion B6-87 D-Ill Scheduled Castes 86-81 D~IV Migrants 1.18-91 D·V (i) Displaced persoos by year of arrival in India 92-93 (ii) Displaced persons by Livelihood Classes 92-93 D-VI Non-Indian Na~ionals J).vn Livelihood Classes by Educational Standards PART II-VILLAGE, TOWN, PARGANA AND THANA STATISTICS Primary Census Abstract 101-137 2 Paraana and Thana-wise Population 138 PART Ill-MISCELLANEOUS STATISTICS Vital Statistics 140-143 2 Agricultural Statistics-(i) Rainfall 14-4-145 (ii) Area as classified with details of area under cultivation 14~149 (iii) Cropped Area 150-165 (iv) Irrigated Area 16~169 3 Live-Stock, Agricultural Machinery and Implements 170-173 -4 List of Primary Schools 174-176 (NT RODUCTION A-THE DISTRICT 1. Hamirpur is the central district of Bundelkhand, lying between Banda on the east and Jhansi on the west. On the north it runs with Jalaun, Kanpur and a corner of Fatehpur. On the south it is bounded by Vindhya Pl"adesh. In the recent transfer of enclaves under "The Provinces and States (Absorpt~on of Enclaves) Order, 1950", it lost 1'4 square miles to Vindhya Pradesh wIde it gained 338'8 square miles from the former States of Bihat, Garrauli, Na;gawan, Raba'!, Jagni, t:larila, Baoni., Beri and Charkhari. The district as now constituted has a total area of 2,744 square miles and its population in 1951 was 6'7 lakhs. There are six tehsils-Hamirpur, Maudaha and Mahoba in the east, Rath and Kulpahar in the we6t and Charkhari in the centre. Rath is the largest tehsil of the district with an area of 655 square miles and Charkhari is the smallest of them with an area of 159 sqare miles, the area of other tehsils being Maudaha 604 square miles, Kulpahar 591 square miles, Hamirpur 416 square miles and Mahoba 354 square miles. The district has 9 parganas and 19 thanas. 2. The distr:ct falls roughly into two parts. The northern portion is fIat plain, consisting Topography­ mainly of black soils, except where the land has suffered from the erosion of the numerous streams by which it is traversed. Towards the south the surface rises, the soils becoming lighter in character. Numerous out-crops of gne~ss rock, tending to cluster into low ranges, surrounded by uneven broken country and over-grown for the most part; with stunted jungle, appear. 'Ihe dividing line between these two tracts of country runs roughly east and west through the town ot Hath. A few miles further south the hills become more frequent. North of the town of Rath no hills are found and there is nothing to relieve the monotonous stretch of black cotton soil, which break up into barren ravines as it approaches the banks of the large rivers and into less unfertile though no less unsightly Takar hillocks along the smaller streams. The south portion conta'ns a number of lakes of great value for irrigation purposes. 3. The rivers of the district comprise the Yamuna, Betwa, Dhasan, Ken, Barma and Drainar.e several minor streams. These rivers and streams constitute the natural drainage lines of the country. Their course, with the exception of the Urmel, is from south to north-east, and as in other portions of Bundelkhand owing to the rapid nature of the slope, they carry off the surplus water quickly and in every case cause considerable scour. The Barma river pri:l.ctically divides. the district into two equal portions. The western part is drained by the l'arwaha and is much. less broken than that to the east. East of the Barma the water shed lies close to that river and there is generally a steeper gradient which is reflected in the more easterly trend of the streams. Though they prov;de a ready means of escape for rainfall, which is often heavy in. the tract, all these channels are destrnctive and tend to spread. By denuding the surface soil in hilly tracts and by carrying off the organic matter and other soil constituents in the level plains, they are constantly and steadily impoverishing the soil, except where the land is protected by embankments. 4. The soils consist of the well known Bundelkhand varieties, mIr, kabar, parua and SoilS' rakar, the two former being commonly known as black and the latter two as light soils. Mar is often called "black cotton soil". It varies greatly. in colom, - ~nce and fertility but is. marked by the constant characteristios of being highly argillaceous, calcareous and adhesive. It has small lumps of kankar. It is friable and retentive of moisture and possesses a high degree of fertilits:. Kabar is m~ch le~s retentive of moi.sture, parua is a light coloured sandy soil and rakar IS a refuse so'l whIch occurs on SlOplllg ground where the action of water has tended to denude the earth of all its better qualities. A very small portion of the soil is alluvial and some of it is kachhwara. The entire district with the possible exception of southern Rath, is precarious. The soils being either extremely retentive of mo!sture or extremely porouS, for the most part requ're well distributed and regular rain but the seasons during which conditions are favourable in both locali.ties are extremely few. A season in which the rainfall is seriously deficient, especially if it ceases at the beginning of September, is more disastrous than any other. But while light soils can generally rid themselves of excessive moisture, this brings peculiar soils in its train in black soil tracts in the shape of an extension of the growt;h of kans. Th's gral:>s is inherent jlJ the soils of Bundelkhand and has a special affinity for mar and kabar. 5. The figures of the classification of area during the last 50 years are given in Table 2 ClassiCicadon of Part III of thiil volume. The proporbion of area under the various categories works out as of area follows for 1950-51 : ActUal figures Particulars (in acres) Percen.age Cultivated area 1,012,569 56'9- Culturable w"ste (excluding current fallow) 385,9(6 21'7 Current fallow 127,453 7'2 forest 5,522 0'3 Area not available fvr cultivation of which- 247,445 13-9 (a) Covere d with u ater 58,513 3'~ (b) Under sites, 1-oads and buildings 35,961 Z'Q (c) Barren 15J,Q71 8'6 ~.,.__....·.~·"L·.;_'_C - ------~. '-'~ ---- ----"- ii Re or~h~ figure in the a~:>ove ~able regarding culturable waste taken from the Season and Crop P, lS, h~wever, mJsleadlI~g. , The ~tate Agriculture Department conducted in 1949-50 a. ~~a~eldl en9Ulry thro~gh the DlstrlCt OfflCers regarding the nature of this area in each district. e 0 owmg analysls of the area resulted from this enquiry: Area Particulars (in acres) Percentago Total culturable waste (A+B+C) 313,66~ 100 A-Area under culturable waste land not available for immediate cultivaticll '" 17! ,010 54'52 (i) Forest under any legal enactment 4,791 1'53 (ii) Groves , ..