·si~_' 4" ;< • ,._ ... ~ ~~ •__ ...". CEN,SUS OF INDIA 1961 VOLUME XIII-PART VI-No. 36 VILLAGE SURVEY MONOGRAPHS OF PUNJAB MONOGRAPH No. 36 KUNRAN A VILLAGE IN SANGRUR DISTRICT Field Investigation and Firat Draft JANAK RAJ VASHISTHA, M.A. S'upervision. Guidance and Final Draft B. S. OJHA, I.A.S. Deputy Superintendent of Census Ope.cations. Punjab Bditine R. L. ANAND Superintendent of Census Operations, Punjab Price : Ks. 4.55 nP.; $ 1~ 64 cen is; ~p-r PRG.132.36.(N) 00 CE us F- I A 1961 VO UME Xill- ART VI- o. 36 .. KU RAN THE CENSUS PUBLICATIONS The,1961 Census Repol'lt on Punjab will bear Vot-u.mel No. XIII, and will be prini1:ed in the following parts:- Part I-A 'G~neral Report, including Subsidiary Tables. Part I-B Reporl"pn Vital Statistics' of the Decade (including Reprint:? from previous Census Reports) Part II-A .;. General Population' Tables. Part II-B .. Economic Tables. Part II-C Cultural and Migration Tables. Part III Household Economic Tables. Part IV Report on Housing and Establlshrnents. Part V RepoDts and Tables on SchedUled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Part VI Village Survey Monographs: 44 in number, each relat­ ing to an individual village, and printed separately. Part VII Report on Handicrafts. Part VIII IAdministration Report in two parts (Not for sale). Part IX Socia-Economic Atlas. Part X Report and Tables on Fairs and Festivals. Besides, there: will be 19 District Census Hand-Books, one for each District. PUNJAB LOCATION OF VILLAGES SELECTED 3.3 _f' .... , -- ' " FOR SOCIO-ECONOMIC SURVEY f .... , .... ., ,,...-.- ., . "" !, ..... , .,. J 2 --·1 .'. • ,". ._- 32 ... ~. 32• LA>iAUll SPITI O IS TRIC ' -_, ..... , } . JANO) ".J 2 • LARA .' KANGFlA OIST"-lcr '---" 3 _ OALASH 4 . KARNATHU 5 _ CHAOHIAR 0 6 _ CHETRU .31 7_ SAGLI GUROASPUR OISTRIC T 8_ OOASA 9. OHARAM KOT AMRIT5AR DISTRICT 10_ SHINOI SAIOAN 11- GAGGAR BHANA KAPURTHALA DISTRICT LAOWAL TALWARA HOSHIARPUR DISTRICT 14 _ TANULI 15 . BABE HAR )ULLUNDUR DISTRIC.' 16 _ LAM BRA 30 17 _ · .- TEHANG , LUDHIANA 01 STRICT ( , 18 . SHAINI GUJJARAN "_._t_._._._. -'-r.. .. 19 _ SHAINI ALA \-- FEROZEPUR OISTRIC T 2.0_ MAHALA'" I :,', -- t" 21 . JOGEWALA 22_ HALIMWALA f eHAT ""OA OISTRICT 2.3_ SARA BHAIKA 24 qAMAN NANOI HISS AR OISTRICT \-, ......'"".,..._, n ODHAN 26. KHAIRPUR 29 I · .. ~n . MIRAN ;. 28 .. HAJ.AMPUR LOC .. TION OF VILLAGE < GJ M"HENORAC;ARH OISTRIC 29 129 KARIA ~ DISTRICT HEADQUARTEfI 30 ANTRI-BEHARIPUR C.URGADN OlSTRICT STATE CAPITAL 31 MANETHI ~ 32 BHAOAS RDHTAK DISTRCT L:=l ROAD 33_ ASAUDA 34_ MUNDLANA [ - ] RAILWAY SANGRuR OlSTRICT SAINTHLI RIVE R KUNRAN ~ PA 1 J.,A LA DISTRICT 26 OHING I CANAl. ~ ARNE TOO t(/a.A: I'tIAL O,5TI> C1 26 I-o ( INTERNATIONAL BOUNDAR' '._.- 39 SO NKHRA KHALSA -, 40. BAKANA SHARtFGARH STATE BOUNDARY AM8AL.A DISTRICT c=J 41 JATWAR 20 o 20 40 sO BO MILES 42. MAHSA TlSBA DISTR ICT BOUNDARY t --- - : I J I I I I I SIMLA DISTRIC T 43 KAlATH TAI-ISIL 80UNDARY I I ( I I ( ... KAI-\LA jEJ 30 o 30 60 90 120 KILOMETRES L ___-'---::-- ___--'---;;-_~_~---__"___;;_-- EAST 74° 75° 76° 71 FOREWORD Apart from laying the' foundations accordingly decided to select a few vil­ of demography in this subcontinent, lages in every State for special study, a hundred years of the Indian Census where personal observation would be h.as also produced 'elaborate and scholar­ brought to bear on the interpretation of ly accounts of the variegated phenomena statictics to find out how much of a vil.. 'of Indian life-sometimes with no statis­ lage was static and yet changing and how tics attached, but usually with just enough fast the winds of change were blowing statistics to give empirical underpinning and from where. to their conclusions'. In a country, Randomness of selection was, there­ largely illiterate, where statistical or fore, eschewed. There was no intention numerical comprehension of even such, to build up a .picture for the whole State a simple thing as age was liable to be is quantitative terms on the basis of inaccurate an understanding of the social villages selected statistically at random'. structure was essential. It was more The selection was avowedly purposive, : necessary to attain a broad understand­ the object being as much to find out:what ing of what was happening around one­ was happening and how fast to those self than to wrap oneself up in 'statistical . villages which had fewer reasons to ingenuity' or 'mathematical manipula­ choose change and more to remain lodg­ tion'. This explains why the Indian Cen­ ed in the past as to discover how the sus came to be interested in 'many by­ more 'normal' types of villages were paths' and 'nearly every' branch of scholar. ch~ging. They were to be primarily ship, "from anthropology and sociology to type I studies which, by virtue of their geography and religion'. number and distribution would also give the reader a 'feel' of what was' going In the last few decades the Census on and some kind of a map of ,the has increasingly' turiIed its 'efforts to the country. presentatipn oP. village statistics. This suits to the' temper of the times as well A brief account of the tests of selec~ as our political and economiC structure. tion will help to explain. A minimum For even as we have a great deal of cen­ of thirty-five villages was to be chosen tralization on the one, hand and decentra.. · with great care to represent adequately lisation on the other, my colleagues geographical, occupational and even thought it would be a welcome continua.. ethnic diversity. Of this minimum of tion of the Census tradition to try to in... thirty-five, the distribution was to be as vest the dry bones of village statistics follows: with flesh-and-blood accounts of social (a) At least eight villages were structure and social change. It was to be so selected that each of 11 them would contain one do­ major rivers. Thus there minant community with one was to be a regional distribu­ predominating occupation, tion throughout the State of e.g., fishermen, forest work~ this category of villages. If, ers, jhum cultivators, pot­ howev~r, a particular dis~ ters weavers, salt-malrers, trict contained 'significant quarry workers, etc. A '~il­ ecological variations with.. lage should have a minimuin in its area,,' more than one population of 400, the opti... ·' village in the district might mum tieing between 500 and be selected to study the spe­ 700. cial adjustments to them. (b) At least seven villages were to be of I?-umerically pro­ . It is a unique· feature of these minent IScheduled Tribes village surveys that they rapidly out­ of the State. Each village grew their original terms of reference, could represent a particular as my c~lleagues warmed up to their tribe. The mInimum po­ work. This proved for them an ab.. pulation should be 400, the sorbing voyage of discovery and their optimum being between infectious enthusiasm compelled me 500 and 700. to enlarge the inquiry's scope again and again. It was just as well cautious­ ly to feel one's way about at first and (c) The third group of villages then venture further afield, and although should each be of fair size, it accounts to some extent for a certain -of an old and selected unevenness in the quality and coverage character and contain va­ of the' monographs, it served to compen­ riegated occupations and sate the purely honorary and! extra be, if possible, multiethnic mural rigours of the task. For, the in composition. By fair size Survey, along with its many ancillari'es was meant a population of like the survey of fairs and festivals, of 500--700 persons or more. small and rural industry and others, was The village should mainly an extra, over and above the crushing depend on agriculture and . load of the 1961-census. 'be sufficiently away from the major sources of mo~ dern communication such as It might be of interest to recount the district administrative briefly the stages by which the Survey headquarters and business enlarged its scope. At the first Census centres. It should be Conference in September, 1959, the roughly a day's journey Survey set itself the task of what from the above places. The might be called a record in si1m of villages were to be selectea material traits, like settlement patterns with an eye to variation in of the village; house types; diet; dress; terms of size, proximity to ornaments and footwear; furniture and city ahd other means of mo­ storing vessels; common means of trans­ dern Communication, near­ port of goods and passengers; domesU­ ness to hills, jungles and cation of animals and birds; markets iii attended' worship of deities, festivals hand with too many general state­ and fairs: There were to be recordings, ments and a growing desire on the of course, of cultural and social traits and other to draw 'conclusions from statis­ occupational mobility. This was foll<:>wed tics, to regard social and economic data up in March, 1960, by two specunen as interrelated processes, and finally to schedules, one for each household, the examine the soc~al and economic pr0.­ other for the village as a, whole, which, cesses set in motion through land re­ apart from spelling out the mode of forms and other laws, legislative and inquiry suggested in the September, administrative measures, technological 1959 Conference, introduced groups of and cultural change. In the later half questions aimed at sensing chang-es in o~ 1961 again was org~ized within the attitude and behaviour in such fields Census Commission a section on Social as marriage, inheritance, movable and Studies which assumed the task of giv­ immovable property, industry, • in­ ing shape to the general fram'e of study debtedness, education, community life and providing technical help to super­ and collective activity, social disabili­ intendents of Census OperatJ_ons in the ties forums 'of appeal over disput~, matter of conducting surveys, their village ieadership and organisation of analysis and presentation.