CENSUS OF INDIA 1981 SERIES~14 MEGHALAYA Part II-A & B GENERAL POPULATION 'TABLES AND PRIMARY CENSUS ABSTRACT J.TAYENG of the Indian Administrative Service Director of Census Operations, Meghalaya CENSUS OF INDIA, 1981 SERIES-14 MEGHALAYA PART II-A & B RAJBHAVAN Sldll<lng February 3, l~Q.l. l1ESSAGE [, a~ glfld to l~ar.n thqt, a!0'lg wi,,, the rest of the &ountry. th~ 12th Decennilll Census Optratio,!s have ~een started in Meghalaya. C;ond!lft of Census Operations is a task of vItal national importance. It requires a hig~ degree C!f devotion to duty, on tbe fl~rt. of tlte C;enfu~ OJji(;/qls and f14l1 co-operation from the people to ma~e the operafipn~ successful. To all '(J.fficers and staff engaged in the Census Qpf!rfltions in ¥eghalaya, I con'ley­ ~1 {Jeft lY.ishes for s..l{CC~SS in accompli_shing their ~hallenging task, and iappeal to the pegR_/e of Megllqla)'fl to 'extend full co-operations to'the Census enumerators. The Indian censlfs has :enjoyft_d a High r(!/lutation for its· compreherzsive coverage and reliability, fpr apou. t a hunfred 'years, and I ~ope the present Census will maintain and even t:nhtl"H' {hat reputal_\Orh 1 CelJSus/83_1. ( ii ) CHIEF MINISTER'S RADIO BROADCAST ON THE 12TH DECENNIAL PQPULA.TION CENSUS 1981. Recorded on 6-2-81 and broadcasted on 7tlt or 6th Feb., 1981. The Census 'Operations for the 12th Decennial of census data. The number of repreSentativ~ to be Population Census, 1981 of India are all set for the elected to local bodies, State legislatures and final phase and the actual enumeration begins frOJ]1 Parliament and delineation of I constituencies is also the 9th February. The reference date will be the fixed on the basis of census data. Every plan to be sunrise of 1st March 1981. This implies that the realistic, is necessarily based on the number of people' CensuS is expected to provide a snapshot of the popu­ involved both on an indicator of :man power' as also lation of the country as it exists on the sunrise of 1st 'consumer potential' of the national 'product. March, 1981. Meghalaya is a y~)Ung and backward state beset The Indian Census has marched with the times. with multifarious problems, economic and social and It has grown not only quantitatively but in qualititative it is only with a firm and accurate data base that tqe terms also. It has taken on its strides new and novel need for regional balances and complexities of planning fields of enquiry without losing its continuity and could be taken care Of. The, problem of jhumming comparability with the past censuses. None should or shifting cultivation has been seriously engaging tlie under-estimate the magnitude, importance and com- ; attention of the State Governm~nt. Efforts are being plexity of the census operations which are, in fact, made to encourage the jhumming households to change internationally recogni.sed as the biggest administrative over to better and more settled me\hods of cultivation. exercises in the world. Censui) today is no longer a For this purpose statistics on thel number of house­ mere head count. While acknowledging the essential holds mainly dependent gn jhum ,cultivation is being purpose of the demographic aspect, equally important collected for the first time in the S~(1te during the '1981 is its role in the collection of vast amount of information Census. The results of the 1981 ensus will therefore on basic characteristics of the people., The Census be extremely valual?le in this res ect. today is universally acknowledged as the most authentic and comprehensive source of information about our The fact that census data'lehd themselves to a variety land and the people. of uses bo,h legal and constitutional as well would necessitate every possible care to, ensure accuracy of the data. In keeping ~th our !a~ministrative structures !n a welfare state like ours the objects of census are the Census Operations 11le impHlmented almost solely varied. Census date are valuable because of certain through the hierarch'es of the ,State Governments. unique features which include completeness of ,coverage, The officers concerned from the highest level down availability of data at various points of times, possibility to the enumerators have an important role to play in of analysis of inter-related characteristics, availability this gigantic tasks involving the ~ntire population. I of data for small areas, particularly at village level and am sure all of you share ;~vith me o~r anxiety in ensuring comparability of data among the States in the country. that the 1981 Census of India part" ularly in Meghalaya Entire planning for the future has to be based on the is a total success both in terms of c verage and accuracy knowledge of the State of the people and accurate of reporting. This can be achit1'ved only with the assessment of their needs. Requirements of food, whole-hearted co-operation of the people. May I, housing, medical and educational facilities and therefore, appeal to everyone tol extend the fullest employment potential are arrived at by careful study co-operation to the Census enumllator. ( iii ) COpy I EMBLEM Additional Secretary Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs M.L.KAMPANf DON? 1/AS(K)/82 Dated the 1st January, 1982. I My dear'Padmai.hbhO; I I ani desired by the Hottle Minister to ronvey, his .appreciativn to you and to your colleagues for the efficiency and speed with whicl; the Census Operations have been carried out' and the Pro~isional Population Totals published. Ifhe Home Minister is particularly 'happy to' note that the organisation of the census has received r international recognition and he has perused with interest the various letters 0/ appreciation received from interna­ tional authorities. 'Ehe Minister of State in the Ministry, of Home Affairs, the Home Seaetarjl and I would also like to add 011' congratulations on tne successful completion of one of the largest administrative exercise in the world . .\ With best ,wishes, Yours sincerely" Sd/- M. L. KAMPANI. ShH P. Padmanabha, Registrar General, India, New Delh'i. ( iv ) COpy EMBLEM STATISTICAL INSTITUTE FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC Economic Cooperation Centre Building, Annex: 42, Honmur-cho, Ichigaya, Shiniuku-ku Tokyo 162, Japan. Mail: Akasaka P.O. Box 13, Tokyo 107, Japan. Cables : Astainst Tokyo Phone: 357-83:51 23td M'Orch, 1981. P.E.·2-3Jl Dear Mr Ptldmanablta, Thank you for your letter of20 March 1981 sending me a copy of Paper No.1 of 1981 Census giving the provisional figures of the 1981 Population Census of India. I wish to congratulate you in bringing out this publication so soon after the completion of the Census work on 5th March, 1981. This is a clear demonstration that even seemingly impossible things become possible when thereis a will and an inspired direction. I do realise that this puiJllcatl on giving the provisional results is the result of devoted work of your staff and thousands of enthusiastic census workers. I hope that the 1981 Population Census of India would become a landmark in our census history by establishing high standards in its publications in respect of both information content and technical orientation. With best regards, Yours Sincerely, Sdl- M. N. MURmy Mr. P. Padmanabha, Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India, Office of the Registrar General, Ministry of Home Affairs, 2-A Mansingh Road, New Delhi-llOOll, India. ( "'I ) COpy EMBLEM ...... POPULATION INSTITUTE Padre Fauea, P.O. Bolli 479, Manila, Plditi)lnes, 2801 Cable AddteSs : "Popinst" Tele. 50-43-89-59-49-04 27th March 1981 Mr. P. PADMANABHA Registrar General and Census Commissioner, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, <i'~ 2-A, Mansingh Road, 1 New Delhi-l10011. India. DeQr Mr. /lal1irtahablta, You put us to shame oy the speed with which you tumed but the provisional results of the 1981 Indian Census. Congratulations on the compilation of the results in suCh a short time. I was showing the copy to the staff and they could'hot believe 'what they saw. I look forward to seeing you later this year and 10 the 'ri!ports whicn 'will folT()w. W di1n regards, Sinterety yours, Sd/- Mercedes B. Conception Oean. ( vi ) tHEVJOSEPH AND ROSE KENNEDY Georgetown University INSTITUTE OF ETHICS Washington, D.C. 20051 Centre for Population Research 202/625-4333 EMBLEM March 31, 1981 MR. P. PADMANABHA, Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, Registrar General & Census, Commissioner, India, 2/A, Mansingh Road, New Delhi-1100n. Dear Mr. Padmanabha, You must have set a record for speed in producing census results, tt9 have provisional results for your large and populous country within two weeks of the date of enumera­ tion is an enviable performance. The inclusion graphics and commentary simply adds reasons for the admiration of the massive teamwork you had organised. We are also impressed by the speed with which this report reached us. Perhaps it would be useful to compare these provisional results with the final results to see if there are any conclusiorts which would differ significantly from those that can be drawn from the figures that have now been released. Such a comparison might stimulate others to make a greater effort at prompt release of results. Sincerely, Sd/- CONRAD TAEUBER ( vii ) COpy THE WORLD BANK, 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington D.C., 20433, U.S.A. Telephone ; (202) 477-1234. Cables ; INTBAFRAD April 6, 1981. MR. P. P ADMANABHA, Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, Registrar General and Census, Commissioner, 2-A Mansignh Road, New Delhi-llOOll, INDIA.