CENSUS OF INDIA, 1951 (Madhya Pradesh) WARDHA District Census Handbook By J. D. KERAWALLA, 'M.Sc. OJ the Indian Administrative Serviee Superintendent oj Census Operations, Madhya Prat:lesh. NAGPUR GOVERNMENT PRINTING~ MADRYA PRADESH 1953 INTRODUCTION In the past, village statistics for each district II. Cultivators of land wholly or mainly un­ used to be printed after the Census, giving t~e owned and their dependants. pc'p'JJation of each village and showing the dIs,. III. Cultivating labourers and their depend-, tribution of communities at:>d of literate persons. ants. In view of the importance of the 1951 Census, at IV. Non-cultivating owners of land, agricul­ which, in addition to the usual population data, tural rent receivers and their dependents. valuable information was collected concerning the social and economic life of the people, it was There are similarly four non-agricultural cIa SEes decided to publish a District Census Handbook defined as persons including dependants who contaiI].ing the more important Census abstracts derive their principal means of livelihood from- and tables. V. Production other than cultivation. There are five general population tables of the VI. Commerce. 'A' series, three economic tables of the 'B' series, VII. Transport. five household and age (sample) tables of the'C' series, seven social and cultural tables of the 'D' VIII. Other services and miscelJaneous sources. series and one tzble 'E' giving summary figures for the district and tahsils. As far as possible, these The above eight classes have heen referred to as tables fUrI,ish district data with break-up for Census livelihood classes. tracts within the district. Each of the above eight livelihood clasess has been divided into three sub-classes with referencf> Certain statistics about individual villages in (he to the economic status as below :- tahsils are contained in the Primary Census Abstract which g-ives the detailed distribution of the (i) Self-supporting Persons j population in each village according to the (ii) Non-earning Dependants j and economic classification of the people. It also (iii) Earning Dependants. c;ontains particulars about the literates. A person who could write a simple letter and could read one All non-earning dependants are econimically in print or manuscript was regarded as a literate passive. They include persons performing house­ person for purposes of the Census. work or other domestic or personal services for other members of the same f~miJy household. The Primary Census Abstract is followed by a But they do not include" ur.paid family workers" simple table giving distribution of the displaced or persons who take part along with the members persons and their means of livelihood in the differ­ of the family household in carrying OD cultiva­ ent villages of the district at the time of Census. tion or a home industry as a family ente:-prise. Census statistics of the urban and rural population All earning dependants are economically semi­ have a variety of important uses. They are active only. Though they contribute to the of considerable help in studying the economic carrying on of economic activities, the magnitude conditions, social and political changes and demo­ of their individual contribution is deemed to be graphic trends as indicated by rate:" of population too small to justify their description as econo­ growth, family characteristics, mobility of poru1a­ mically active. Their contribution to economic tion, age structure, size and composition ot the ac.tivity is, however, taken into account in tne ecunomically active population, ~md -the like. The tabulation of data in economic table B-JI which results of such studies in comparing the conditions gives details of persons having secondary means of and characteristics of the urban aDd rur~l people livelihood including the details of the earnining in the matter of l-irths, deaths, sex composition,­ dependants. sanitation, levels of living, etc., would be of great value in economic planning and development of All self-supporting persons are, ordinarily, eco­ social welfare work in the State and its different nomically active. But there are certain classes parts. and groups which constitute an exception to this rule. These are mentioned below:- Each district was, therefore, divided for purposes (i) All self-supporting persons of A~ricultural of tbe Census into a number of rural and urban Class IV. tracts ~ccording to the size of the population. Thus, m the Wndpa district, as there is no city, (ii) The foIIowinp group~ of self supporting one urban tract consisting of all the towns of the persons who are included in Non-Agricul­ district was constituted and is referred to in the tural Class VIII, and derive their principal tables as "the Wardha district non-city urban tract". means of livelihood from miscellaneous The rural areas of the tahsils of the Wardha district sources (otherwise than through economic form separate Census tracts and are referred to as activity) :- "Wardha Tahsil rural", "Arvi Tahsil rural" (0) Non-working owners of non-agriculturaJ tracts etc. property, (b) Pensioners and remittance holders, At the 1951 Census, the economic classification was substituted for the classification based on (c) Persons living on charity and other persons reiigion. The people have been divided into two with unproductive occupations, and broad livelihood categories, namely, the agrict!l­ (d) Inmates of penal institutions and asylums. tural classes and the non-agricultural classes. There are; four agricultural classes defined as below:.- All activities of which the result is the production of useful commodities or the performance of I. Cultivators of land wholly or mainly owned useful services are defined a£ economic activities. and their dependants. This definition, however, does not include the 11·. INTRODUCTION performance of domestic or personal services by popu Idtiop. I Separate figures for the displaced per­ members of a family household to one another. sons are given in the District Census Ha11dbook in The most important amongst all e<:onomic activi­ all important tables. / ties is the cultivation of land and it has been treated as a category by itself. All other economic In considering the Age (Sample) tables, it is to activities are regarded as falling in another cate­ be nOled that in the past it w~s custom2fY to gory referred to as "Industries and Services". apply a smooting formula to the actual age rettlrns .. All these activities are classified with refrence to the The publilOl:ed tables contained only the smoothed nature of the commodity produced or service per­ figures. This was done in order to offset the formed. According to the Indian Census Econo­ observed preference for particular 'digits (especially mic Classification Scheme, all industries and 0) in actual age returns. At this Cem,us, no services are classified into ten divi~ions; and these smoothin~ formula has been adopted and. the principle divisions are subdivided ipto 88 sub-divisions. followed 1S that the Census should pubhsh thfi i11for­ mation as actually furnished by the people. It will Economically active persons engaged ir cultiva­ be observed that certain decennial groups recommen­ tion are either cultivators or cu1tivgting labourers, ded by the United Nations Population Commission and they are persons shown under sub-clause (i) whicp include all the digits with the most favoured of Agricultural Classes I to III in economic digit (0) at the centre have been adf'pted in the age table B-1 which gives particulars of the population tables and are, therefore, likely to be mo,t free from classified according to the eight livelihood classes the effect of preferences f, r perticular digits. Single­ and three sub-classes mentioned above. year age returns have also been published wh;ch I mav be used bv actuaries or resear~h workers for Economically active persons engaged in indus­ con-srructing any desired age-groups and emoet­ tries and services are classified in economic table ing the figures by any desired formula. B-III into the ten divisions and 88 sub-divisions mentioped above, and are further divided into The 'D' ~eries social and cultural tables indude three sections, namely :~ table D-V relating to the displaced persons giving (i) Employers, particulars about their arrival into India. Table D­ (ii) Employees, and VI gives details of the non-Indian nationals and table D-VII is designed to show the distribution of (iii) Independent Workers. educated man-power among the different livelihood h addition to economic table B-In. a District classes. Index of non-agricultural/occupations has been prepared for the whole district and is included if' this Important population data for· the district and book. This index is arranged according to the the tah'ils have been ~umffi'lrised in table 'E' Divisions, Sub-Divisions aDd Groups of Industries which aho gives the classification of the people by and S~rvices of the I'1dian Census Economic livelihood claSses. Classification Scheme, mentioned above. Details· about t h~ method of taking the Census The economic 1ables for the State as a whole and particulars of the questionnaire would be with break-up for Natural Divisions, Sub-Divi­ found in the publication, "Census of India 1951- sions and Districts will be found in Part II -B of Madhya Pradesh Administration Report--Part I", the Cef'sus of India 1951 Report, Volume VII, which also deals with the questIon of the acc1JTacy Madhya Pradesh. It also cotains a full discussion of th~ data collected and an account of the sample of the if ndian Census Esonnmic Classification Scheme Census enquiry undertaken after the 1951 Census. and its comparison with the International Standard It is pointed out there thn the figures give a good Industrial CJassific;,tion Scheme evolved by the picture of the eccnomic and soci2l life of the people.