CENSUS, 1951 RAJASTHAN AND AJMER DISTRICT CENSUS HANDBOOK dAISALMER PART I-GE~RAL-DESCRIPTION AND CENSUS TABLES By Pt. YAMUNA LAL DASHORA, B.A., LL.B., Superintendent of Census Operations, Rajasthan and Aimer. JODHPUR: . PREFACE The,CensuR Beports in olden time~ were printed one for the whole Province of Raj­ putana and another for Ajmer-Merwara. Some 'of the flrincipal ~ta.tes now merged in Rajasthan published their own reports. This time the State Census F eports have been published ,in the following volumes:- 1. Part I A .. Report. 2. Part r -- B .. Nubsidial'Y Tables and District Index of Non-Agricultural OccupationR. il. Part r -.c; .. Appendices .. 4. Part If -A .. Ceneral Population Tables, Household, and Age, Sample T~les, Social and Cultural Tables, Table E Summary Figures by A dministrative Units, and Local 'KA' 'Infirmities. 5. Part II - B .. Economic Tables. They contain statistics down to the district level. The idea of preparing .Uw District ('ensus Handbook separately for each. di13t;rict was put forward by Shri R. A. Gopalaswami, [. C. R., Registrar General. India, and ex-officio Census: . Commissioner of India, as part of a pIau intended to secure an efff.ctive ,method of preserving the census records, prepared for .areas below, the distrjc.t levet., He proposed. ~.hat all the di8trict, census tables and census abstracts prepared during the process of sorting and compilation. should be· bound together in a I single manufilcript volume, called the Distr~ct Census Handbook, and suggested to the State Governments that the' Handbook (with or ,without the addition of other useful information relating to the district) should be printed aAd pub­ lished at their own co~t in the same manner as the village statistics in the past. In accept­ ing. this sllf:gestion, the Government of Rajasthan decided to print and publish the more important portion of statistical data relating to the district and to preserve the rest of the records in, a manuscript vol nnw for any fntur(' nse, to which they may be put. This Handbook eOllt.aius fivp General Population Tables of A Series, three Economic Table8 of B t-Ieries fi e Household amI Age Tables of C Series. seven Soeial and Cultural Tables uf D "":eries, Olll' table I~ ui\'itlg Nlll1l1WLry for the district and tehsils, a local table 'KA' showing infirmities by a e groups and an I ndex of '\ on-agricultural OCl'upations_ Each table contains an explanatory note ne(~esi'lnI'y for the proper understanding of the figures. The numbers given to the table,; in this if andboo eorrespgncl to those given in 8tate Census Reports. Village l'il'eetories Were published for the!"fl1·~t: ~w.~ .-ill. HI31 by a few States of Raj­ putl:Lua. The example was followed by all the St'~ti;ls"iI1' '94.1:' They contained for each village the population figures by religion and also :-0uie:-j;)g1er useful information. They were bound in a volume one for each Ntate. This time the Village Directories are also incorporeted in this Handbook under the name of "Primary Census Abstract and Village Directory" whirh show the basic population figureR separately for each "mage or town-ward classified by livelihood classes instead of religion and also some information of general nature. Opportunity has bern taken to put in a ~hort introductory note detailing the salient P()~!lt8 connected with the district, such as the physical features, climate, rainfall, irrigation d drainage facilities, roads anu other communications, agriculture education, industries and her matters of general interest. The information contained in the introductory note is tsed on the material furnished by ('ollectol's of districts and Departments of Government. III addition to the above. some figures of general interest and arreview of population figure', ha VI:' also been incorporated. The scheduled date for the pUblication of the Halldbooks a!:l prescribed by the Regis­ trar General. India was, "Not later than March 1952" but practical experience showed its publicat,ion by that time all impracticabilitv. Even the compilation of the tables together with its final touch could not be completed by that time. Then came the question of printing which proved to be a huge task. There 25 districts in Rajasthan and 1 in Ajmer. The total number of printed pages turned out to be nearly 9,000. The Government Presses were 2 already over· burdened with the priIiting work of other departments and in the printing of Census .Publications priority was giVlm tn :central Government Publications i. e. the State Census Reports. The result was that till March, 1954, for 14 out of 26 districts the P. C. A. -and Village Direntary cauld:1IO't he pTinted especially because the press had nD stock of -small type which WaB essential for their 'Printing. It ·was, therefore. decided to publish the Handbnoks in 'two VOlu1l1eS Part I, uonsists of Intrru:btction. a brief review of population figures and; 1. General Population Tables (A-I to A·· V). 2. Economic 1'B.bles (B~I to B-IlI), 3. Household and Age (Sample) Tables (C-I to O--V), 4. Social and Cultural Tahles (D-I to 1)-VlI), 5. E-Summary figures by Admjnistrativt' L'nit~, 6. Local Table 'KA' Infirmities, and 7. District Index of Non-Agricultural ()cCUpatiollR. Part II contains only Prirr.ary ('ensus Abstract and Village 1 irectory. The Handbooks of the Ajrner. f-lirohi and Jhalawar Distriots 8iT'e however being published in one volume, because they have been cornph>ted hy thi:-; time. While ~very care has been taken to ensure the correctness of figUTes and villagt> names, certain mistakes might have crept in. T shall be grateful if they art' hro' g-ht to my notice. Y. 1. nashorn LIST OF CONTENTS .') . So. Particular8 Pages I. [ntl'oouction I-XVIII .)-, R,'view of Population Figure):; 1-8 " " 1. Definitions and Kpy to Symb'lls 10-11 .). Oistriet Cen~ll" Da,h ,"i it Gla.nel:' , 1951 12-14 ,; A --General Pop71[ation Tllblc8- 15 A- 1I. Varhttion in Pop~lla.tjon dllring Fifty Year" 15 A-Ill. Towll"; a.nd Villages Cla.~"ified by Populatioll ]6-17 A - -IV. Town" ( l.i"sified by Population with \'ilriation :-in('e ] 901 .. 1>-, A -- Y. Town~ arranged Tl'rrit}()lhlly wit,h Poplilatilln hy Livelihood C'lai':':(~K .. 19 20-23 B - 1. Livdihood Clr1.s,,;('S and Sub-ClasHes 24-2£' B- II. Snermdary means of Liyelihood 26-35 B ---Ill. Employers, Li}mployees and IndepdlHknt \~TorkeJ':-i in Indll~trie,.; and ;-;(~l'\ i('t'" by Divisif,Ds and Sno-divi/;;juur-; :-; (' --rlf)u~lOh(llcl anti Age (Samplf) Tablf8 - c- r. HO\lsehold (Size and ComJlosition) 55 (J- IT. Livelihood Classps by Ago Gronps .. rJ6-57 ('-IlL Age and ('ivil CondItion M.,-5l.1 C - TV. Age :tnd Lit.era(~y 60-61 c-- V. Single Year Age H,pturllf'; 62-6':; H. D-8or,i(Ll and Oultural Tablf8- D- 1. (i) Mothpr Tongne 66 (ii) Bilingualism 67 D - I [. Ueligion 68 D -III. Scheduled CarJte~ ltnd S('hpduled 'l'rihes 68 D - IV. Migl'ant"l 69 D- V. (ii) Displaced pel'::lun'i by Livolihood ClaSf'l~ '70 D-VI. Non-Indian NationalR 71 D-VII. Educational Standards .. 72-73 10. E -Summ Hy Figures by Administrative unite; 74-76 ! 1. Local (<ti) Infirmities 77-79 12. District Index of Non-Agrioultura.l Oocupa.tions 81-88 lAISALldR DISTRIC'J~. INTRODUCTION. 1. Ph~~ical ~spectl. 1. This district comprises the whole of the former Jaisalmer Sta.te. It lies between 26.·4' and 28°-28' north ja,titudes and 690 .30' and 72°-42' east lQngitude~ Position, Area and and has an a.rea. of 16,062 square miles; it is thus in regard to size, Bboundary. the biggest district in the whole of Rajasthan. Its greatest breadth from east to west is about 170 milas, and greatest length from north to south 136 miles; in shape it is an irregular 'oval, the longest a,xis being 210 miles, lying north-east and south-we st. It is bounded on the north and west by Pakistan; on. the 'south and east by Jodhpur and Barmer Districts a.nd on the north-east by Bikaner Distriot. 2. The country is almost entirely a sandy waste forming part of what is known 80S the great Indian desert. In the neighbourhood of Jaisaltner town, Configuration. and within .a circuit of about 40 miles, the Boil is very stony and numerous low rocky ridges and hard undulating plains, covered in places to the south with smooth pebbles displaying the action of water, occur, but, with this exception, the general aspect is that of an interminable sea of sand-hills of all shapes and sizes, varying from twenty to two hundred feet in height and being sometimes two or three miles in length. The sand-hills in the west are covered with Phog (Calligonum poly­ gonoides) bushes, lana (Haloxylon salicornicum) and khejra (Prosopis spicigera); and those in J the east with tufts of long grass. Shifting sands, locally termed "dhrians", are common especially in the west near Shahgarh, where they are often many miles in extent and where their surface is continually changing, the sa.nd being in one place scooped out into funnel-shaped hollows, and in another thrown up into beautifully rounded hills; these dhrians are very difficult to cross as ._the path shifts almost daily, and the people say that they are gradually but very slowly travelling northwards. Of the district as a whole it may be said that no country could well bear a more desolate appearance.