CENSUS OF INDIA, iqoi.
VOLUME IV.
PART I.
REPORT.
BY
B. C. ALLEN, B.A.,
OF THE INDIAN CIVIL SERVICE,
SUPERINTENDENT OF CENSUS OPERATIONS.
SHILLONG: . ,
PRINTED AT THE ASSAM SECRETARIAT PRINTING OFFICE.
1902.
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CENSUS OF INDIA, 1901,
VOL. IV.
ASSAM.
PART I.— REPORT.
CENSUS OF INDIA, loor
VOLUME IV.
ASSAM.
PART I.
REPORT.
BY
B. C. ALLEN, B.A,,
CP THS INDIAN CIVIL SERVICE,
&UP,ERINTENDENT OF CENSUS OPERATIONS IN ASSAM.
SHILLONG:
PRINTED AT THE ASSAM SECRETARIAT PRINTING OFFICE.
Price Rs. 2. J
-IQ02.
{Price 2s. '^d.
Agents for the sale of Books published by the Assam Administration.
(i) Messrs. Thacker, Spink & Co., Calcutta.
Agents In India.
I (2) Messrs. W. Newman & Co., Calcutta-
Agents In England.
(i) Mr. E. A. Arnold, 37, Bedford Street, Strand, W. C,
London.
(2) Messrs. Constable & Co., 2, Whitehall Gardens, S. W.,
London.
(3) Messrs. Sampson Low, Marston & Co., St. Dunstan's House,
Fetter Lane, E. C, London,
(4) Messrs. Luzac & Co., 46, Great Russell Street, W. C,
London.
(5) Messrs. Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., Charing Cross
Road, W. C, London.
(6) Mr. B. Quaritch, 15, Piccadilly, W. ,London.
(7) Messrs. P. S. King & Son, 9, Bridge Street, Westminster,
S. W., London.
(8) Messrs. Williams & Norgate, Oxford.
(9) Messrs. Deighton Bell & Co., Cambridge.
Agents on the Continent of Europe.
(i) MM. Friedlander & Sohn, 11, Carlstrasse, Berlin.
(2) M. Otto Harrossowitz, Leipzigi
(3) M. Karl Hiersemann, Leipzig.
(4) M. Ernest Leroux, 28, Rue Bonaparte, Paris.
(5) Martinus Nijhoft, The Hague.
SHILLOKG :
TRINTED BY CONYNG-BAM FRANCIS, PRESS SUPKRINTBNDBNT, ASSAM.
PART I.
REPORT.
CONTENTS.
INTRODUCTION.
Pao>
3?m— xvi
The taking of the census. Preparation of the provisional totals. Compilation of the results :— Slip-
sorting ; compilation. The cost of the census. Comparison between the slip-sorting system and the
tabulating machine. Conclusion ... ,.,
CHAPTER I. — Statistics of Area and Population.
General description. Historical summary :— Assam proper ; the Surma Valley ; the Hill districts.
Climate, Geographical divisions :— the Assam Valley ; the hill districts ; the Surma Valley.
Previous censuses ':— Percentage of variation ; the census of 1881 ; earlier censuses. Area and popula-
tion of Assam. Density of population by districts. Towns :— Percentage of urban population ;
Sylhet ; Gauhati ; Silchar ; Dibrugarh ; Shillong ; Barpeta ; Imphal. The rural population". Houses and
house room :— House room of no practical importance in Assam ... ... ... ... 1—9
Subsidiary Tables :— I— Density of the population; 11— House room; HI— Distribution of the
population between towns and villages ... ,.. ... ... ,., .,. 10 12
CHAPTER II. — Variations in the Population.
Increase in the province. Cachar Plains :-^Variation ; distribution of population by subdivisions.
Sylhet ;— Variation ; distribution of population by subdivisions; increase or decrease outside tea garderis;
pxcess or defect of births. Goalpara : — Variation ; 4'stribution of population by subdivisions,
Kamrup ;— Variation ; decrease in the indigenous inhabitants ; distribution of population by sub'
divisions. Darrang : — Variation ; distribution of population by subdivisions. Nowgong : — Variation ;
kali-dear. Sibsagar : — Variation ; distribution of population by subdivisions. Lakhimpur : — Variation ;
distribution of population by subdivisions. North Cachar. The Naga Hills. The Khasi and Jaintia
Hills : — Variation ; distribution of population by subdivisions. The Garo Hills. The l.ushai Hills
Manipur. Increase or decrease in the province. Estimated percentage of increase or decrease amongst
indigenous inhabitants. Accuracy of the enumeration. System under which vital statistics are coir
ected. Birthrate; death rate. Decay of the Assamese people ... ... ... .,, 13 — 27
Subsidiary Tables : — I— Variation inrelation to density since 1872; \\ — Variation in district and
foreign-born population ; HI— Indigenous castes and tribes ; IV — Indigenous languages ; V— Com-
parison of actual anfl estimated population ... .,, ... .,, ,., „. 38 — 33
CHAPTER III.— Birth Place.
Provinces from which immigrants come ; — Bengal; the other main provinces. Objects with which
immigrants come to Assam. Distribution of immigrants in the natural divisions of Assam. Increase
jn immigration. Proportion of foreigners to total population. Settlement of garden coolies. Sexes of
immigrants. Inter-district migration. Emigralipn ... ... ... ... ... 33 — 37
Subsidiary Tables ; — I — Immigration per 10,000 of population ; II— Immigrants into Assam from the
several divisions of Bengal ; III — Increase in immigration ; IV— Proportion of foreign females to i.poo
foreign males .,. ... ... ... ... .. ... ... 38
CHAPTER IV.— Religion.
Information recorded at the census. Difficulties of the return. The Hindu sects : — Saktism ;
givaitism ; Vaishnavism ;, the Sahajbhajan ; statistics of Hindu sects. Muhamraadans :— Islam
in Assatn proper ; spre4d of Muhammadanism ; percentage of variation ; Muhammadan sects.
Christianity :—r Native Christians ; Presbyterians; other missions. Buddhists. Jains. Sikhs. Brahmos.
Animism : — Brief description of Animistic beliefs ; hostile spirits ; system of divination ; connec-
tion .between religion and morality; the Thlen ; distribution by districts ; increase or decrease. Dis-
tribution by religion in Assam and other provinces ..'. ... ... ... ... 39— So
Subsidiary Tables : — I — Distribution of population by religion ; II — Distribution of religions by
natural divisions and districts ; III — Distribution of Christians by districts ; IV — Distribution of Chris-
tians by race and denomination ; V — 'Proportion of Saktists Sivaites and Mahapurushias ; VI —
Percentage of increase or decrease of Hindus, Muhammadans and Animists by divisions and districts j
VII — Distribution of main religions in Assam and other provinces ^.., ,,, ... ... 51—54
CHAPTER v.— Sex.
Accuracy of the returns. Causes affecting the proportion'of the sexes; number of girls to l.ooq
boys conceived in healthy and unhealthy portions of the year. Sex distribution by districts. Proportion
pf sexes at different ages. Sex by age and religion, Sex by caste ... ... -., „. 55 — 59
. .• CONTENTS.
Viii
Subsidiary Tables : — I — General proportion of the sexes by natural divisions and districts ; II — Pro-
portion of females to 1,000 males in Assam and other countries ; III — Proportion of females to 1,000 males,
excluding foreigners in the plains districts of Assam; IV— Number of females to 1,000 males at
each age by natural divisions and religions ; V — Proportion of females to 1,000 males at each age
period ; VI — Actual excess or defect of females by natural divisions and districts ; VII — Number of
women to l.ooo men in different castes ... ... ... ... •■■ •■• 60—62
CHAPTER VL— Marriage.
Marriage amongst the Assamese— the " Hompura" ceremony j marriage amongst the lower orders.
Universality of marriage amongst the Hindus. Age of marriage : — Child marriage ; utility of practice ;
prevalence of infant marriage; percentage of girls under 12 who are married. Restrictions on widow re-
marriage. Number of widows amongst 10,000 women between 15 and 20 : — Comparison with Animistic
tribes. Number of wives out of 10,000 girls aged o — 10 and 10 — 15. Young widows. Age of marriage
for men. Polygamy. Marriage amongst Muhammadans : — Percentage of single ; married ; widowed.
Proportion of wives to husbands. Animistic tribes : — Marriage customs ; number of married out of
10,000 of same age. Chrisians. Comparison with previous enumerations ... ... ... 63 — 70
Subsidiary Tables: — I — Distribution of 10,000 of each sex by age and civil condition ; 1 1 — Distri-
bution by civil condition and main age periods of 10,000 of each sex at the lajt three censuses; III —
Distribution of 10,000 of each sex of principal religions by age and civil condition ; IV — Distribution by
civil condition of 10,000 Hindus of each sex at each age period in the Surma Valley, Assam Proper
and Goalpara ; V — Distribution by civil condition of 10,000 females at certain age periods in certain
districts ; VI — Number of unmarried girls under 12 out of 10,000 females of that age in certain castes;
VII— »Out of 10,000 females of selected castes at two different age periods, number who are widows ;
VIII — Proportion of the sexes by civil condition for religions ; IX — Distribution of 10,000 persons of
each sex by civil condition and age for selected castes — unmarried; married ; widowed ; X — Propor-
tion of wives to husbands by religions and natural divisions; XI — Distribution by civil condition of
10,000 of each sex for natural divisions ... •.• ... ... ... ... 71 — 78
CHAPTER VH.—Age.
Inaccuracy of the return : — Character of mistakes made. Decrease in proportion of children. Fer-
tility of different districts : — Age distribution of the main religions ; fertility of religions and castes. Birth
and death rates; the productive ages; the mean age of the population ; mean age by religion. Ex-
planation of the diagram. Comparison with Bengal and England ... ... ... ... yg — 83
Subsidiary Tables : — I — Unadjusted age return of ioo,ooolpersons of each sex; II — Age distribu-
tion of 10,000 of each sex ; III — Proportion of children under lo per :,ooo of total population; IV — Age
distribution of 10,000 of each sex by religion; V — Age distribution of 10,000 persons in Assam,
Bengal and England ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 84— 8S
CHAPTER VUI.—Langvage.
Value of the return of languages. Bengali and Assamese. The Bodo group : — Districts in which
Bodo languages are spoken. The North-eastern group. The Naga group. The Western group.
The Central group. The Eastern group. The Kachin group. The Kuki-Chin group. Tai family. Mon-
Anam family. Foreign languages : —Telugu and Tamil ; Naipali. Concluding remarks ... ... 87—92
Subsidiary Tables ; — I — Population by language ; II — Distribution of principal languages ; III — Per-
centage of tribe speaking tribal language at the two last enumerations ; IV— Number of books registered
in Assam during the ten years from 1891 to 1900 ,.. ... ... ... ... 93—96
CHAPTER IX.— Education.
Accuracy of return. Education by religion. Education by age. Literacy by districts. Progress of edu-
cation during the last ten years. Female education. Number of persons literate in English.- Education
by caste ... .•• ••• ••• ••• .•• ... ... ... 97 — jou
Subsidiary Tables :— I— Education by age and sex ; II— Education by age, sex and religion ; Ill-
Education by age, sex and natural divisions and districts ; IV — English education by age, sex and natural
divisions or districts ; V — Education by selected castes, tribes or races; VI — Progress of education since
1891 by natural divisions and districts; VII— Education by language and districts ... ... iqi 104
CHAPTER X.— Infirmities.
Accuracy of return. Insanity : — Number insane in 10,000 of either sex ; distribution and cause of
insanity ; connection between drugs and insanity ; distribution of insanity by sex and age periods ; com-
parison with England. Deaf-mutism :— Number of deaf-mutes in 10,000 of either sex; distribution
by age ; comparison with other countries ; proportion between the sexes. The blind : — Number of blind
in 10,000 of either sex ; distribution by sex. Leprosy : — Number of lepers in 10,000 of either sex ; distri-
bution in the province ; causes of leprosy ; distribution between the sexes ... „. ... igr J
Subsidiary Tables :— I — Average number of afflicted per 10,000 of each sex by districts in 1881, 1891
and 1901 ; II — Distribution by age of 10,000 persons of each infirmity ; III— Distribution of infirmities by
age among 10,000 of the population j IV — Proportion of females afflicted to 1,000 males at each age ... m jj.
CONTENTS. Ix
CHAPTER XI.^Caste.
Scope of the chapter on caste. What is caste ? Caste in the Assam Valley, racial. Difference
between Assam and Bengal in caste matters. Tendency to level upwards. Castes arranged in order of
precedence. Comparison between the caste system of Assam aiid the traditional theory of caste. Settle-
ment of coolie castes in the province. Animistic tribes of x^ssam. Difficulties of the preparation of the
caste table. Alphabetical glossary of castes. Note on Lushais by Major Shakespear ... ... 115 — 15'
Subsidiary Tables : — I — Hindu caste by social precedence; Surma Valley and Brahmaputra Valley ;
II — Variation in caste, tribe and race since 1872 ... ... ... ... ... 152 — 160
CHAPTER XII.— Occupation.
Scope of chapter. Differences of procedure between 1891 and 1901. Distribution of population
under eight main heads. Agriculture: — Distribution by districts ; tenants; percentage of agriculturists.
Food and drink. Earthwork. Textile fabrics. Domestic service. The learned and artistic pro-
fessions. The non-workers. Commerce, transport, metals and wood. Special groups. The industrial
population. The commercial population. The learned and artistic professions. Comparison with i8gi.
Dependents. Women workers. Distribution of professions by districts. Occupation by caste. Con-
clusion ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 161 — i6g
Subsidiary Tables : — I — General distribution by occupation ; II — Distribution of the agricultural
population by natural divisions and districts ; III — Distribution of the industrial population by n&tural
divisions and districts. Class D ; IV — Distribution of the industrial population by natural divisions and
districts (excluding the sub-order 17 — Provision of animal food) j V — Distribution of the commercial
population by natural divisions and districts ; VI — Distribution of the professional population by natural
divisions and districts ; VII — Occupatioiis by orders, 1901 and 1891; VIII — Selected occupations, 1901
and 1891 ; IX — Occupations of females by orders ; X — Occupations of females by selected sub-orders
and groups ; XI — Number of persons served by each >ctual worker in six selected professions by
districts ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 170— 179
LIST OF MAPS AND DIAGRAMS.
1. Map illustrating the densitv op population in the different districts
OB THE Province ... ... ... ... ... ... Facing page i
2. Diagram showing the density op population in Assam and in other
Countries ... ... ... ... ... ... ... „ 4
3. Map illustrating the increase and decrease of population in the
different districts of the Province ... ... ... ... ,, 13
4. Map liLUSTRATING THE INCREASE AND DECREASE IN THE INDIGENOUS POPULA-
TION OF THE Province ... ... ... ... ... ... „ 24
5. Map ILLUSTRATING THE PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE CENSUSED IN THE DIFFERENT
districts of the province, but born outside the province ... ... „ 33
6. Diagram illustrating the results op inter-district migration ... „ 36
7. Diagram showing the proportionate distribution op 10,000 persons in
each district under the three main religions — hinduism, muhammada-
NiSM AND Animism ... ... ... ... ... ... „ 39
8. Map illustrating the proportion borne bi females to males in the
various districts of the province ... ... ... ... „ 55
g. Diagram showing the proportion of females to one thousand males at
different age periods ... ... ... ... ... „ 58
10. Diagram showing, out op 100,000 persons of both sexes, the number living
at each year up to 60, (a) as actually returned and (i) AFTER SMOOTHING
BY BLOXHAM's method ... ... ... ... ... ... „ 79
11. Diagram illustrating the prevalence op education amongst the male
population of each district ... ... ... ... ... „ 97
12. Diagram showing the proportion borne by the principal Hindu castes
OP each op THE PLAINS DISTRICTS TO THE TOTAL HiNDU POPULATION OF THE
district ... ... ... ... ... ... ... „ 115
13. Diagram showing the proportion borne by the main tribes to the total
POPULATION OF THE HiLL DISTRICTS AND MaNIPUR ... ... ... ,, 120
J4. Diagram showing the distribution op the population op the plains
DISTRICTS AND MaNIPUR BY OCCUPATION ... ... ... ... „ 161
INTRODUCTION.
THE third General Census of the Province was taken on the night of March I St
1901. In the plains districts and the North Lushai Hills,
The taking of tue Census. j^e whole of the oountry bad been divided up into blocks
containing on the average about 46 houses, each of which was placed in charge of an
Enumerator. This individual had been carefully trained beforehand in the rules for
filling up the schedulcj and had recorded all the particulars for the persons in his block
during February. The entries were tested and, when necessary, corrected by the
superior <:ensus officers,, and on March i st all that remained to be done was to bring the
record up to date by slriking out the names of those who had left the ho>use or had died,
and entering the necessary particulars for newly-born infants and persons -^ho had
arrived subsequent to the jpreliminary enumeration. Special arrangements were made
for the census of boats and steamers, and on roads where there is much night traffic
patrols were posted to ensure that no travellers were overlooked. In the North Cachar
and Mikir Hills, the number of literate persons is so small,, the villages are so scattered,
and travelling after dark through the jungles is so dangerous, that it was impossible to
form blocks which could be properly tested by the enumerator during tlie night.
This officer was, therefore, obliged to take up his position on March rst at some central
village in bis block and correct his record on the following day in the light of the inform-
ation received from the headmen who came in from the different hamlets and reported
the changes that had taken place since his last visit. In the Naga, Khasi and Jaintia,
and Garo Hills and in the hills to the east of Manipur, it was impossible to hold a
synchronous census, and the enumeration was extended over a period ranging from tem
days to six weeks.
2. On the morning of Marcli' and the enumerators assembled at the various centres
prescribed for them, and prepared abstracts, showing the
PreBaratiozLof the provisional totals, to^af number o£ houses and of males and females in their
blocks. Totals for circles and charges were then struck and the charge summaries
added together to ascertain the district totals, which were telegraphed to the Census
Commissioner. The average time occupied by these operations in each district was
si days, and the longest time taken in any district was only 8 days ; but, though the.
work was pushed; on with the greatest rapidity, accuracy was not sacrificed to speed,,
and the figures finally worked out only differed by 6' in io,oaa from- those originally
reported.
3. As soon as the provisional totals had been compiled, the enumeration books were
sent to the district or subdivisional stations, and the
compiiation-cf the results.. ^^^^.^^ for each individual were there copied on. to a little
slip of paper. These slips were of different colours, representing, the main religions of
the province: for Hindus a brown slip was used, for Muharamadansa slip of unbleached
paper, while for Christians red, for Animistic tribes green, and for ' Others ' yellow was
the colour selected. On each slip was printed a symbol indicating sex and civil
condition, e.g., for a married man the symbol was ■ and for a married woman a, so
that no entries had to be made for religion, sex, and civil condition. Symbols were also
used for the commonest class of entries. The great majority of people are born in the
XIV INTRODUCTION.
district in which they are enumerated, and for such persons, instead of writing out the
name of the district in full, a tick was given ; while in the column for occupation,
persons who cultivate their own land (the ordinary occupation of the Assamese raiyat)
were indicated by the sign +, cultivating tenants by 8, and garden coolies by 6.
Abbreviations were also sanctioned for the castes most strongly represented in the
province. Each book and each individual in the book were serially numbered, and
at the top of each slip the copyist entered the serial number of the charge, the number
of the book, and the number of the individual, so that reference could be made at any
time without difficulty to the original record. The copyists worked in gangs under
checkers, who fcompared the entries on the slips with the enumeration books, and as
each book was finished the slips were sorted by sex and compared with the abstracts,
which had been originally prepared by the enumerators. The slips cost Rs. 22-4-10
per lakh if plain, and Rs. 30-1 i-i if colouredj and the total average cost of copying in
the district offices, excluding Aijal, where the conditions are abnormal, was Re. 1-3- 1 1
per thousand, the rate varying between Re. 1-14-10 and Re. 0-8-1 1.
4. The slips, when ready, were despatched to the central office at Gauhati, where they
were sorted under my personal supervision. The first step
m the process was to count the contents of each bundle
to make sure that we had actually received the number shown in the letter of advice,
and with this count was combined a simple sorting into three heaps containing (a) those
born in the district and speaking the vernacular most prevalent there, {b) those
born in the district who did not speak the local vernacular, and {c) those born
outside the district. The slips were then made up into boxes containing from twenty
to twenty-five thousand units and handed over to muharrirs, who subjected them to
the various sorting processes required for the preparation of the final tables. For
Table VII, for instance (Civil Condition by religion, sex and age), all that was required
was to sort the slips for each religion into seventeen pigeon holes (one for each of
the prescribed age periods), and to re-sort the contents of each pigeon hole into
three heaps, for single, married and widowed ; but other tables, such as XI (birth place),
XIII (caste) and XV (occupation), could not be so easily disposed of.
Nearly 13 per cent, of the population of Assam were born outside the province, and
many of these persons had returned the name of a village or thana instead of the'district
in which they were born. The slips were first sorted by provinces and the provinces by
districts, but the average muharrir, whose knowledge of geography was of the most
elementary character, often had considerable difficulty in determining to what province
or country any particular slip belonged. The foreign castes were also a great source
of trouble, as in many cases the number of names returned was so large that the
sorting became a very complicated matter. In one box containing less than 12,000
Hindus slips the sorter found 460 different names ; and, though it was the rule to begin by
sorting the slips for caste alphabetically, and then to re-sort each letter of the alphabet,
it was impossible, even by this expedient, to sweep all obstacles out of the muharrir's
path, as no less than 57 different names began with the letter K, and to sort a bundle
of slips into 57 heaps is, I need hardly say, a very tedious business.
Considerable difficulty was also experienced with the occupation table as not
only are there many different kinds of work, but there are also many different ways
of describing the same thing ; and as it was not possible to allow men of the sorter
class discretion to classify the entries made on the slips, they were compelled to
sort and enter each functional name separately, even in those not infrequent cases
when one occupation was described by several different names.
The muharrirs worked in gangs of six or eight under a supervisor, who checked
their work by running through the bundles of slips after they had been sorted, and
seeing, for instance, that married persons had not been mixed with unriiarried, or
INTRODUCTION. Xy
slips of one caste or age period with those of another. The duties imposed upon these
men were of a very responsible character, and the scarcity of men who were really
qualified for these appointments was one of the most serious difficulties of census
administration.
5. The conclusion of the slip-sorting left the figures for the province arranged in
the form of the final tables in units of twenty to twenty-five
°^^ ^ ° ' thousand, and from these units the totals for subdivisions
and districts had to be compiled. The caste, language and birth-place returns were
examined, synonymous terms were amalgamated, and the occupations entered on the
sorter's tickets were classified under the appropriate groups in the scheme prescribed
by the Census Commissioner.
This part of the work gave comparatively little trouble, but as it could only be
entrusted to clerks in whom confidence could be placed, and as it is not easy to meet
with people of this class in Assam who have leisure to take up census work, some
months elapsed before it was brought to a conclusion. Had the necessity arisen,
compilation could have been pushed through more rapidly by the simple expedient of
increasing the number of clerks employed upon the work, but this could hardly have
been done without borrowing men from other offices — a proceeding which the circum-
stances did not seem to warrant. It cannot, however, I think, be considered that the
preparation of the Imperial tables was unduly delayed, as the first was ready by the
beginning of September and the last by the middle of December, or within nine and
a half months from the date on which the actual census was taken.
6. The census accounts have been prepared in two ways — (a) to show the actual cost
to Government, and (5) to show the departmental cost.
The cost of the Census. ni ,. />iU ii jv • ii i
Under system {a) the actual expenditure incurred has been
entered in the accounts, e.g., if a mandal was temporarily lent to the census office and
no substitute was taken in his place, his deputation allowance only was entered in the
accounts ; but under the second system themandal's pay, as well as his deputation allow-
ance, was charged against the census, though he would have drawn his pay from
Government whether he had gone to the census office or not. It is the first set of accounts
which shows the actual cost to Government of the census ; and the second set of figures
in this province, at any rate, are liable to give a somewhat misleading impression as
to the actual expenditure incurred. The total cost of the census, excluding the printing
of the report, was Rs. 62,826, or Rs. 10-12-1 per 1,000 of the population. It is
impossible, however, to compare the figures under the head of superintendence at the
last two enumerations, as there has been a difference in the arrangement of the
accounts ; and if the charges for superintendence (charges, I would point out, over which
the Superintendent of Census Operations can exercise no control, and with regard to
which he can practise no economy) and the expenditure incurred on the printing
of the report are deducted on both occasions, the rate per 1,000 is Rs, 7-11-10 for the
present census and Rs. 9-11-7 for that of 1890-92.
The departmental cost to which I have referred above was Rs. 91,964.
7. A comparison between the slip system, which has now been employed for the
first time in India, and the electric tabulating machine,
ComparlBon l)etweeii the slip-sort- i-i-v .. .."it. U" tVLi.
ins systeih and the tabulating which IS its Counterpart 10 the ucw world, is not Without
machine. , , ,
interest, as it has been claimed for this machine that it
works more quickly, more accurately, and more cheaply than any non-mechanical process.
The rapidity with which the figures can be compiled by this means depends largely
upon the number of machines used, but the ordinary census budget would not
allow of their purchase in large numbers ; and in Austria, where only twelve were
employed, the tabulation of 24 millions of people took over two years to complete.
At the Cuban census, where economy seems to have been a secondary consideration,
«vi INTRODUCTION.
1,572,000 people were tabulated by the machines in five months ; but even this is not a
record with which the Indian slip system need fear comparison.
As to accuracy, the machine itself must, I suppose, be presumed to be free from
any liability to err ; but the accuracy of the final tables depends upon the accuracy with
which the particulars about each individual have been punched upon a card by the
abstracting staff, and the card employed is of such a complicated character that
there must, I think, be an appreciable risk of the hole being punched in the wrong place.
But it is when we come to consider the question of expense that the most serious
doubts arise as to the superiority of the machine over the human being.
The figures for Cuba were tabulated at a contract rate of 3^ cents for each person,
which, taking the dollar as equivalent to three rupees, works out to a fate of Rs. 105
per thousand of population. It is a little difficult to ascertain exactly what items of
expenditure in Assarti should be charged to tabulation, under which tef m I include slip-
copying, slip-sorting and compilation, but the total cost to Government for the slips
and the staff employed on these processes was only Rs. 2'8,8i2, or Rs. 4-1 1-3 per
thousand.
It is true that clerical labour is much cheaper in India than in Europe, but even
if we assume that the charges under that head in England would be five times what
they are in Assam, the cost of compilation by the slip system would still be only
one-fifth of the rate which was paid in Cuba ; and we must not lose sight of the fact
that, though the lowest grade of Indian muharrir is cheap, he is also unreliable and skjw,
and that the higher paid English clerk would get through two or three times the amount
of work in the same time. Comparisons between India and Europe are of course liable
to be misleading, but as far as economy and speed are concerned, there seem grounds
for supposing that the slip copying and sorting clerk may challenge comparison with
the machine, and it is by no means certain whether even in accuracy he is its, inferior.
8. My aeknowledgments, I feel, are due to all District and Subdivisional Officers and
their staff, as upon them fell the burden of making and
one us on. Supervising the arrangements for the actual enumeration
of the people, and the copying of the slips. Where all have done so weH, it is scarcely
possible to single out individuals, but the work of Major Gurdon in Kamrup, Captain
Cole in Darrang, Mr. Gruning in Nowgorig, and Mr. Reid in Lakhimpur, and. of
Mr. Hart and Mr. Majid, the Subdivisional Officers of South Sylhet and Habiganj,
seems to call for special mention.
It is only right, too, to place on record my appteciation of the services of Babu
Tarini Charan Nandi, who acted as Superintendent of my office from the inception
of the operations, and of Babu Padma Nath Bhattacharyya, my gazetted assistant. Both
of these officers were models of industry, and laboured unceasingly during the time that
the slips were being sorted, while they proved of the greatest assistance in the trouble-
some task of training and managing the large staff of census muharrirs. I have also to
express my thanks to Mr. Chalmers, Superintendent of Government Printing, Bengal,
and to Mr. Conyngham Francis and the staff of the Assam Secretariat Printing Office
for their hearty co-operation in all matters where census was concerned.
B. C. ALLEN,
Shillong,
Superintendent of Census Operations, Assam.
February xgth 1902.
90
92
28
MAP
TO ILLUSTRATE THE DENSITY
OF POPULATION IN
ASSAM
Scale of Miles
I ■ I ! I ■ ' ■ I ■ r
Aes? ■;'■■.■• '.Tj, C" sub '^on ■' ^
Exterior Eastern Bdimdaiy in accordance with Tmoe reod.
with llie Secretary to the Chief Oommlssioner of Assam's
letter No. 1^50 Misc. dated m. Jannaiy 1901
361J.
B£F£B£NC£S
EroviBce or Stale Boundary ...--jf^===
District
Undemarcated »
1 .Area under Political Control
94
REFERENCE.
Number of persons per sq. mi/e-
Lushai Hills 11
North Cachac 24
Naga Hills 33
Khasi and Jaintia Hills 34
Garo Hills 44
Nowgong. 68
Manipup. 87
Lakhimpuc 88
Darrang _99
Goalpara .117
Sibsagap _ .120
Karnrup 153
, Cachap Plains .....201
Sylbet 412
Photo. S. I. O., Calcutta.
REPORT
ON
THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, 1901,
CHAPTER I.
Historical Summary.
Assam Proper.
description.
STATISTICS OF AREA AND POPULATION.
ALL the earliest references to Assam point to the settlement of a considerable Area and
Aryan colony, at any rate in the lower portion of the valley of the Brahmaputra, at population,
a very early period. One of the first Kings of Kamrup is said oenerai
to have taken part in the war of the Pandavas, and the ex-
istence of the Kftlita caste, the highest pure Assamese caste
after the Brahman, is explained by the theory that at the time of the Aryan colonization
of Assam the differentiation of caste by occupation was unknown, but in the course of
time, the Hindu dynasties were overthrown, and the sovereignty of the valley passed to
races of Mongolian origin, the Koch ruling in Lower, and the Chutiya in Upper Assam.
Both of these kingdoms were, however, overrun and conquered by the Ahoms, a Shan
tribe who entered the province in the thirteenth century and had become the dominant
power by the middle of the sixteenth. Under their rule the country enjoyed no small
measure of prosperity, but at the beginning of the nineteenth century there was a dispute
between two rivals for the throne, one of whom called in the Burmese to his aid, and from
that time till the province was annexed by the British Government, Assam was a prey to
civil war, invasion and anarchy. The troubles through which the country passed have
left marks which even at the present day have not been obliterated. In the words of
Robinson — " Large tracts, once inhabited by a happy and numerous population,
had been converted into extensive and unwholesome jungles, and. ceased not only to
be the haunts of man, but had become hostile to human life" — and though the popula-
tion was still fairly dense round the seats of Government at Gauhati and Jorhat, in Tezpur,
Nowgong, and Lakhimpur the effects of the prolonged disorder were only too plainly to be
seen. When, however, it was discovered that tea would pay, and pay most handsomely,
at the upper end of the valley, gardens were opened out in the midst of the jungle and
coolies imported in thousands, with the result that at each successive census Lakhim-
pur, Sibsagar, and the sadr subdivision of Darrang have shown a marked develop-
rnent in which the agricultural districts of Lower Assam have not shared. T,he
condition of affairs which we now find in the Valley of the Brahmaputra as the
result of all these changes is an Aryan Hindu population, surrounded, and to some
extent intermingled, with semi-Hinduized tribes of Mongolian origin, upon which in
Upper and Central Assam has been superimposed a large deposit of coolie castes from
Bengal, the North-West and the Central Provinces ; while population, which originally
was densest in the west in consequence of the depredations of the Burmese, is now
being attracted back to the eastern end of the valley by the magnet of British capital.
2. Of the early history of Sylhet and Cachar little is known. Sylhet was conquered
• by the Muhammadans in the fourteenth century and passed
The surma Valley. .^^^ ^^^ j^^^j^ of the _ East India Company with the rest
of Bengal in 1 765. ■ The greater portion of the district is permanently settled, but
the settlement, instead of being made with the chaudries or zamindars, was offered
direct to all well-to-do raiyats — a fact which no doubt largely accounts for the independ-
ence which is a marked characteristic of the natives of this district. Cachar is
believed to have been originally a province of the Tipperah Raja and to have been ceded
to the Kachari King, who had his capital at Maibong, on the northern side
of the Assam range, on the occasion of his marriage to a Tipperah Princess. At the
beginning of the century the Manipuris and Burmese both endeavoured to conquer
the district, and, to put an end to the anarchy which prevailed, it was annexed by
the British on the death of the last Kachari Raja without heirs. Cachar has been
REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, igOI.
[chap. I.
General
description.
Area and largely colonized from Sylhet, and by the coolies who have come up to the numerous
population, gardens which have been opened there.
3. The tribes inhabiting the Assam range are too uncivilized to have preserved
anything in the way of historical records. The Garos, who
The Hill districts. j.^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^ ^ ^^^^ people, who used to trouble the
peace of the neighbouring districts by raids in quest of heads or prisoners, and, as the
punitive expeditions sent into the hills only produced a temporary effect, a post
was established under a European officer on Tura Hill in 1866, but the district
not finally pacified till 1873. The Khasi Hills were conquered^ in 1833,
the native rulers were left for the most part in possession of their territory,
as no attempt has been made to interfere with them in any way, they
acquiesced in our occupation of small portions of the country for hill
was
but
and,
have
stations. The inhabitants of the Jaintia Hills, which lapsed to us in 1835,
were, however, subjected to a moderate system of taxation, an innovation against
which they protested by rising in open rebellion in i860 and 1862, but the revolt
was thoroughly stamped out, and since that date the peace of the district has not been
disturbed. The Naga and Lushai Hills were, like the Garo Hills, occupied in order
to protect the plains from the raids of the hillmen. The Nagas showed extraordinary
persistence in their resistance to our arms, and no less than three Political Officers
came to a violent end, two being killed by the hillmen and one being accidentally shot
by his own sentry, and it was not till 1881 that the district was finally pacified. _ The
last expedition into North Lushai was that of 1889-90, and since then the inhabitants
have given no trouble, and the district is rapidly being civilized.
4. The principal characteristics of the climate of Assam are coolness and humidity.
The average rainfall for the province during the past ten
*^^™°'*®' years has been 113 inches, and such a thing as
famine or anything approaching a serious failure of crops is unknown. The spring
rains are much heavier than in other parts of India, and keep the temperature at a lower
level than that prevailing in Hindostan. The Surma Valley is generally supposed to
be healthier than Assam Proper, which has certainly during the past decade done
much to maintain the reputation it earned at the beginning of the century for extreme
insalubrity, but it is only in Central and Lower Assam that public health has been
exceptionally bad, and the open plains of Sibsagar and Lakhimpur still continue to be
well adapted for the habitation both of Europeans and Natives.
5. The territory which has been placed under the administration of the Chief Com-
missioner of Assam consists of two valleys, separated from
Geographical divisions. one another by a wall of hills which project towards the
delta of Bengal from the mountain system of Upper Burma and Western China. To the
north it is bounded by the Himalayas, the eastern end of the Brahmaputra VMley is
closed by the mountain ranges which form an effectual barrier to our intercourse
with China, while the Surma Valley is imbedded in the hills that separate the district
of Cachar from the Native State of Manipur, and form part of the same system
as the Lushai and Tipperah ranges, which constitute the southern boundary of the
province. Assam, therefore, falls into three natural divisions, — the Surma Valley, the
Valley of the Brahmaputra and the hill districts, i.e., the hills of the Assam range, with
the Lushai Hills, which lie to the south of Cachar ; and these three divisions differ so
greatly in their ethnological and economical conditions that separate totals are given
for them in the census tables. '
6. The Assam Valley is an alluvial plain, about 450 miles long, with an average width
„^ . „ „ of fifty miles, into th° centre of which the Mikir Hills
The Assam Valley. i .. i. • ^ j r iU • j <• i , .1,
abut, bemg separated from the remamder of the hill system
by the unhealthy valleys of the Dhansiri and the Lumding, which till lately were
one unbroken sheet of tree forest, but have recently been pierced by the Assam- Bengal
Railway. Down the centre of the valley flows the Brahmaputra, but, owing to the
rapidity of its current, it does not, in this the upper part of Us course, exercise the ferti-
lizing influence of the Nile, the Ganges, and other great rivers.* It is true that its waters
contain, especially in the rainy season, a large quantity of matter in suspension, but
it is the sand which is deposited, while the silt is carried on till the slackening of the -
current allows it to settle down and fertilize the plains of Bengal. In Assam the river
flows between sandy banks, covered with dense jungle grass, the home of wild buffalo
rhinoceros, and other large game, and from the decks of the river steamers few signs of
population or cultivation can be seen. A few miles inland, however, the appearance of
the country changes, and rice fields or tea gardens take the place of the riverain
* This view is not universally accepted, and it is held by some that the churs of Upper Assam, though sandy,
are fertile.
CHAP. I.]
THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS.
swamps, though in nearly every part of the valley, even away from the river, there
long stretches of grass jungle and tree forest still awaiting settlement.
The Brahmaputra Valley, again, falls into three divisions, — Goalpara, which has many
points in common with Bengal, Bengali being the prevailing language and the greater part
of the district being permanently settled ; Central Assam, consisting of Kamrup, Nowgong,
and the Mangaldai subdivision of Darrang, which resemble one another, in that
they formerly contained a large agricultural population, which has now been much
reduced by kald-dzdr and the floods which followed the great earthquake of 1897, but
have not proved particularly suitable for the cultivation of tea; and Upper Assam,
consisting of Tezpur sadr and the Sibsagar and Lakhimpur districts, in which the tea
industry has attained a position of great importance. In Sibsagar, where the last Assam
Raja held his court, there is a considerable Assamese population, but in Tezpur and
Lakhimpur the proportion of foreigners, even in the villages, is very large.
7. The hill districts take their names from the tribes by which they are inhabited,
rri,. Ti.->1 ^^.4... 4. To the west lie the Garo Hills, a succession of low ranges
The HUl olstTiots. I'lii •!! t 1 1
covered with bamboo jungle and tree forest ; but when we
reach the Khasi Hills, the character of the country changes, and we find uplands
and high plateaux, where rounded hills covered with short grass or patches of pine
forest suggest rather the Sussex downs or the Devon moors, than one of the
most easterly outposts of the Indian Empire. Towards North Cachar the level again
falls, but rises when the Naga Hills are reached to nearly 10,000 feet in the Japvo
peak, which overhangs Kohima. The Naga Hills extend geographically eastwards to
the Patkoi, but the Dikkhu is our frontier for political purposes, Government resolutely
declining to undertake the thankless and costly task of keeping order amongst the
tribes living on the further side of this river. The Lushai Hills are situated south of
Cachar, and present few features of interest ; they are covered with dense masses of
bamboo jungle, and the population supported by them is extraordinarily sparse.
8. The Surma Valley consists of two districts only — Sylhet, which differs but little
The s a vaiie i'iom. the Eastem Bengal districts from which it was
separated in 1 874, when Assam was formed into a separate
province, and Cachar, which came under British rule in 1832, in consequence of
the death of the native Raja, Gobind Chandra, without heirs. Sylhet is a broad
and densely-cultivated plain, except in the extreme north, where the enormous
rainfall converts many square miles of land into one huge lake during the rains, and
in the south, where low ranges of bamboo-covered hills project from the Tipperah
State. In spite of the high rainfall, the district in normal years is far from unhealthy,
and the population has gone on steadily increasing. Cachar is a comparatively small
district, surrounded by bills ; it contains a large number of tea gardens, and the
population has been increasing rapidly in recent years, owing to immigration from
Sylhet, and the settlement of time-expired coolies.
9. Imperial Table II (Variation in the population) shows the increase or decrease that
has occurred in each district since 1872, and it is, therefore.
Previous censuses. . r i • n . .t i- \- j
necessary to refer briefly to these earner enumerations, and
to consider the extent to which their figures can be accepted as correct. The census
of 1872 was non-synchronous. In Goalpara it was taken during the first half of
February, in Kamrup and Nowgong in November 1871 ; in Darrang, Sibsagar and
Lakhimpur the work began in November, and in the first two districts was finished
before the end of the year, but in Lakhimpur lingered on till the end of February 1872.
In Sylhet it was carried out in the week ending January 22nd, but in Cachar it was spread
over two months, — from March loth to May 9th. The mere fact that the people
of the province were not all counted on the same day would tend to produce
Tnaccuracy in the returns, for, though the resident population would be enumerated
fairly correctly, travellers by road and boat would in all probability be omitted, and
visitors might either be overlooked or counted twice over. The inexperience of
the district staff was a further difficulty. No general census had been taken before,
and the local officers could, therefore, have no clear idea of the difficulties with
which they would be confronted, or of the best means by which they could be
.overcome. Mr. Luttman-Johnson, Deputy Commissioner of Sylhet, in his report
on the census of 1881, openly expressed his distrust of the previous enumera-
tion : — "In 5872 the first regular census was taken. I never met a man other
than an official, I never met a man who knew a man other than officials, who
remembered the 1872 census.- I have been all .over the district, and my _ first enquiry
was about the census of 1872. I always get one answer— absolute denial that such
an event ever took' place. I am inclined to think that the schedules were filled up by
examination of the rural policemen."
are Area and
population.
' General
description.
REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, IQCt.
[chap. i.
Area and
population.
Area and
populatloa.
Percentage of
variation.
1872—
1881.
1881—
1891.
Cachar Plains .
Sylhet
&oalpara
Kamrap
Darrangr
Nowgong
+43-2
+26-1
+14-5
+ 9-4
+ 16-3
+ 1-3
+ 14-8
— 1-6
+ 16-8
+ 12-6
+21-
+ 10-2
10. Mr. Luttman-Johnson's suspicions are confirmed by the figures in the margin,
which show the percentage of variation between 1872 and
1881 and 1881 — 1891. Many things have to betaken into
consideration when considering the variations in the popu-
lation of a district. Goalpara and Kamrup, for instance,
were unusually unhealthy between 1881 and 1891, while,
on the other hand, immigration had more to do with the
increase in Darrang in 1891 than at the previous census ;
but there can, I think, be little doubt that the reduction
in the rate of increase in the second period is due as much
to under-estimation in 1872 as to anything else.
11. In 1 88 1 the census was synchronous in the plains districts, and, though no doubt
much more comprehensive than that taken nine vears
The census of 1881. ,, , ^i rii,. ii.
before, there seem to be reasons for doubting whether it
was as accurate as the one that followed. On the administration of this census, the
following observations were recorded by the Chief Commissioner :
The besetting tendency of officers in Assam is, when anything has to be done, to tell their
subordinates to do it: and this system was largely carried out as regards the census. Instead
of employing every available officer in testing schedules and examining the details of the work,
a very large number of the superior officers of the Commission took no direct share in it
There was no doubt some ' scrutinizing' of the schedules but as to testing, in its strict sense,
going through a certain number of houses in an enumerator's block and calling out the
inhabitants to see if any had been omitted, of this hardly a trace is to be found in the reports,
and it is certain that it was very seldom indeed (if ever) that such an examination was made.
What the Census Commissioner desired was that, during the whole time the preliminary census
was going on, the superior officers should be at the heels of the enumerators, testing their work
in half a dozen villages a day This part of the census operations was most inefficiently
conducted in Assam.
It is not, I think, unreasonable to assume that a census, of the conduct of which the
Head of the Local Administration could speak in such terms, left something to be desired
upon the score of accuracy, and that a part of the increase in thedecennium ending 1891
may be assigned to under-enumeration ten years before. This explanation will not
however, hold good on the present occasion. The census of 1891 was taken with the
greatest possible care, and there is no reason whatever for supposing that any increase
that may have occurred in the population is due to greater accuracy in the enumeration
of 1901.
12. Although 1872 was the first year in which a general census was undertaken,
attempts had been made on several occasions to ascertain
the population of the different districts of the province ;
far from accurate, as will be seen from the statement in
the margin, which shows the population of the six districts
of the Assam Valley as reported by Mr. Moffat Mills to the
Bengal Government in 1853, and that returned in 1872,
and it is useless to attempt to trace the development of the
population from any period before that year.
Earlier censuses.
but these
estimates
were
1853.
18?2.
Goalpara
Kamrup
Parrang
Nowgong
Slbsagar
Lakhlmpar
141,838
387,775
185,669
241,300
159,573
85,296
407,714
561,681
236,009
256,390
296,589
121,267
AREA AND POPULATION.
13. The total area of Assam, including Manipur, is 56,343 square miles, giving with
Area and population of Assam. itS populatlOU of 6, 1 26,343 SOuls, a density of I09 peVsOHS
u r c- , J /?.r , ^'^l^^'^ I"''f- ^^^ ^'^^ °^ ^he province is about the
same as that of England and Wales, though the population of the latter country where
nearly three-fourths of the inhabitants live in towns, 'is more
than four times as dense, but it is scarcely reasonable to
draw comparisons between an agricultural and a manufactur-
ing country ; and if Scotland (135) or France (189) be taken
as the standard, the province does not appear so destitute
of inhabitants, while the density is six times as great as that
prevailing in Norway. In India, however, it is the fashion
. , r, ■ ■ , ^? ^^^ ^ ^^"^^ population even in agricultural districts and
in 189 1 the only British provinces where the density was less than that of Assam 'were
Smdh, Burma, and Coorg, and there is no denying the fact that, for India Assam is
a very sparsely-populated country, which could easily support a much larger number of
persons than are at present to be found within its boundaries.
The Surma Valley, where there are 353 persons to the square mile, cannot be said
to be in any urgent need of raiyats to cultivate the soil, though the fact that the popul^i,
Populat
Ion per
square
mile.
Assam, 1901
109
Upper Burma, 1891
35
Central Provinces
126
Punjab, „
Nortli- west Provinces „
189
411
Bengal, „
471
England and Wales, „
498
Germany, 1900
269
France, 1896
139
Scotland, 1891
135
Norway, 1900
IS
o
o
ff
?
o
S^
rt"
s
3
o
ffi
a
M
09
(0
«>
U)
O
C3-
CD
CD
cn
o
o'
CO
CD
o
o
CD
Chap, i.] the results of the census. 5
tJon of the Habiganj subdivision, where the density in 1891 was 509 to the square mile, Area and
has increased by 10 per cent, during the last ten years, tends to show that there is po pulat ion,
no immediate fear of the people outgrowing the capacity of the soil to support them : Area andpopui*-
but in the As^am Valley, where there are, on the average, only 108 persons to the
square mile, things are very different. In 1900, the Commissioner of the Valley esti-
mated that, after making allowances for hills, rivers, and swamps, there were five million
acres of culturable land in his division awaiting settlement, and, as in Kamrup in that
year, there were only 100 acres of cropped land for every i 25 of the inhabitants, it would
not be unreasonable to assume that there is room in the Brahmaputra Valley for another
. four million persons. The Assam hills contain an immense area of unsettled land,
there being only 27 persons to the square mile, but a great portion of this is unfit for
cultivation, and in many places malaria would kill off any persons who had not, like the
Bodo tribe, become more or less immune after many generations of life in the ie'rai.
14. Subsidiary Table I shows the density of population by districts. The variation
, .. r. ^. .^ . is very marked, ranging from 412 in Sylhet to 11 in the
Density of popTilatlonl)y districts. f u'u'n u.iU .. 7 i.i .1
Lushai Hills, but these contrasts are only to be expected
in a province which contains such large areas of hilly country which could never sup-
port a dense population. The density in the Cachar Plains is not half that of Sylhet, but
in 1872, when Sylhet was a thickly-peopled district, there were only 99 persons to the
square mile in Cachar, and it is doubtful whether the proportion of culturable land is
as large in this district as it is nearer Bengal.
Turning to Assam Proper, we find that in 1872 the population was densest at the
lower end of the valley. In Kamrup there were 146 persons to the square mile, in Darrang,
there were not half, and in Nowgong only a little over half, of this number, while
Lakhimpur with a population of 29 to the square mile was almost as sparsely peopled
as a hill district. The" explanation of this distribution of the population is to be found
in the history of the country. The Moamaria insurrection, at the end of the eighteenth
deintury, and the civil wars and the invasion of the Burmese, at the beginning of the
nineteenth, ccfmpelled all those who had the means of doing so to leave the upper
portion of the valley and seek a refuge in the neighbourhood of Bengal, where they
could obtain some protection from the British Government ; and, according to Colonel
Jenkins, with the nobility and gentry retired a vast body of the lower classes. Those
who remained suffered from fire, sword, and pestilence. The Moamarias pursued the
Ahom Raja to Gauhati, laying waste the country on the way, and when the
Bura Gohain or Prime Minister succeeded in quelling the insurrection, he, in the
words of Colonel Jenkins, " desolated all the province above the Dikkhu from
Ghorgao to Sadiya, rendering the whole country nearly a desert." The Burmese
also behaved witfi much brutality when compelled to retire before our troops,
and are said to have carried off with them no less than 30,000 slaves, and the
consequence was, that, when we assumed charge of the province, we found that the
people had been so oppressed and harassed in Upper Assam that they had almost
given up cultivation, with the result, that their numbers were being as much reduced
by famine, and the diseases which it brings in its train, as they had been by the sword
and the slave-making proclivities of the Burmese. Lower Assam has not, however,
proved favourable for tea, and during the last twenty years has been so abnormally
unhealthy that the population has remained almost stationary in Goalpara, and
in Kamrup and Nowgong has actually declined, so that the tide which a hundred
years ago set westwards is now flowing east again. Twenty years ago there were
in Kamrup 167 persons to the square mile, now there are only 153 ; there were then
82 persons in Nbwgong, now there are 68, and in Goalpara, though there has been
an increase, it is only from 113 to 117. In Lakhimpur, on the other hand, the number
of persons to the square mile has trebled in the last 29 years, and in Sibsagar has nearly
doubled. The increase in Sibsagar is, moreover, obscured by the fact that a large and very
sparsely-populated tract of country has recently been transferred to it from the Naga
Hills and had it not been for this change in boundaries, the population per square
mile would now have been 197. In Darrang, the sadr subdivision, which contains some
1901 1881. of the most flourishing tea gardens in the province, has
166 733 91,362 iucreased largely in population, but Mangaldai, which is
jiliXaidai .■." i7o;68o isi.OTi mainly agricultural and has been affected by kald-dzdr, has
declined, as will be seen from the figures in the margin.*
In the Assam range the density of population decreases steadily, the further one
goes eastwards. This is chiefly due to the fact that the Garo Hills district includes a
certain amount of terai, into which emigrants from Goalpara and the neighbouring
* The increase in one case and the decrease in the other is in reality greater than that shown, as the Qrang
mquzA, which in i8gi contained a population of 6,147 ^M was transferred in 1894 from'Teipur to Mangaldai.
Percentage
of urban
population.
Assam, 1901 (Including
2-9
Manlpur).
Assam, 1901 (exoludlng
1-9
. Manlpur).
Assam, 1891 ...
1-8
Bengal, 1891 ...
4-8
Madras, 1891 ...
9-6
Punjab, 1891 ...
ll-«
Upper Burma, 1891 ...
12'6
India, 1891 ...
9'5
England and Wales ...
71-7
6 REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, igOt. [CHAP. I.
Area and districts of Bengal make their way. Few immigrants are attracted to the other hill districts,
population, ^nd the indigenous population, for reasons which will be discussed elsewhere, does not
Towns. increase rapidly. In North Cachar the density has risen from 1 1 to 24, but this is due to
the presence of a large floating population engaged on the construction of the railway.
The rate in the Khasi and Jaintia and Naga Hills (34 and 33) is much the same as
that of ten years ago.
TOWNS.
15. There is no province in India in which the residents in towns form such a smaU
proportion of the total population as Assam, but the
explanation is not far to seek. There are no manufactures
of any importance in the province, and tea, which is the
one industry in which capital has been invested, tends to
prevent the growth of towns, each large garden forming
a centre in itself with its own kayah, who acts as general
merchant and money-lender, and, if possible, its own
market where the coolies can obtain their supplies from
the neighbouring villages. The natives of the province are
almost all agriculturists ; in the Assam Valley, at any rate
trade and the crafts are almost entirely in the hands of
foreigners, and there is nothing to attract the people to the small towns which do exist.
Every one of these is the headquarters of a district or subdivision, and in many cases
were the magistrate's court removed, the place could not lay claim to the status of a
town at all. Subsidiary Table III shows the percentage of the urban population in each
district. The Khasi and Jaintia Hills head the list, tbough the percentage is only 4-1
as the general population is so sparse that the presence of the headquarters of the
Administration is very noticeable ; next comes Kamrup (3-5), where there are two
towns, and then Lakhimpur (3'o), which contains the flourishing little town of Dibru-
garh. In Manipur no less than 23*6 per cent, of the population is classed as urban, but
as will be explained later on, Imphal can hardly be considered to be a town in the ordi-
nary sense of the word. In all other districts, except- the Naga Hills, less than three
per cent, of the population live in towns.
16. Sylhet is still the largest town in the province, but presents the melancholy
spectacle of steady decay, the population having
decreased at each successive census and the town beine
^^^'^^^- full of deserted basti sites and houses falling into ruins
1872 16,846 Mr. JohuWiilis, in 1789, estimated that Sylhet had a
1881 1M07 population of 75,382 souls ; but though it was no doubt
1891 14.027 considerably larger then than it is at the present day this
1901 13.893 estimate must, I think, have been unduly high. 'The
situation of the town is not favourable for trade as in
consequence of the silting up of the river, it cannot be approached by steamers 'in the
cold weather, and little or no assistance can be obtained from the railway, as the nearest
station is thirty miles away. The earthquake of 1897 destroyed many of the
masonry buildings in the town, such home manufactures as are carried on are small
and unimportant, and there is no immediate prospect of any increase in population or
return of prosperity. The decrease as recorded at the census is only 134^ but the
actual decrease is considerably more than that. The jail population in 1901 shows
an increase of 440 over the figures of 1891, when three branch jails were in existence
and there were present in the town on the census night a large number of up-couatry
coolies, engaged in the reconstruction of the collectorate and other public buildings
The local authorities calculate that if allowance is made for these two factors ' the
actual decrease in the population of the town is as much as one thousand or fourteen
hundred.
17. Gauhati is another town which has sunk from the position of an important city to
one of comparative insignificance. It is mentioned in "the
Gauhati (including North Jogini Tufitra, it was the (Capital of the Koch Kings under
"""'""' the Ahom Rajas it was the residence of the Viceroy ofLower
11,492 Assam, and the fortifications which surround the town tor
11,695 miles, the huge tanks and the masonry and brick-work
10,817 which are found in every direction beneath the soil bear
1901 w,244 evidence to its departed glory. In reality, however this
decline is due to causes which make for the welfare of th
people. The Assamese are farmers, and not traders or artizans, and as they are no
Gauiati).
1872
1881
CHAP. I.J THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS. 7
longer exposed to the attacks of the hill tribes or neighbouring princes, and are not Area and
required to attend at the Raja's court, they 'remain near their fields instead of crowding po pulat ion,
into the town. The natives of the Brahmaputra Valley have in fact little or nothing to do The rural popu-
with the 'growth of their towns, and in Gauhati, nearly half of the population are
foreigners, only 54 per cent, of the people censused there using the Assamese language,
and only 52 per cent, having been born in the Kamrup district. North Gauhati
has been excluded from the municipality since the last census, and the population
of what is now called Gauhati town is only 11,661, but for the purposes of comparison
I have included the figures for this suburb in the statement in the margin. Gauhati is
the present terminus of the Assam Branch of the Assam-Bengal Railway, and the
construction of this line has produced a very considerable increase of population during
the last ten years. The headquarters of the railway staff will, however, be shortly
moved to Lumding, and it remains to be seen how far this increase will be permanent.
18. Dibrugarh and Silchar, which are situated one at the eastern end of the
Brahmaputra and the other at the eastern end of the
Surma Valley, depend for their prosperity upon the tea
gardens, by which they are surrounded. During the last
ten years there has been a great development of the
tea industry, and there has been a proportionate increase
in the population of these towns, but so long as they
remain, as at present, without any manufactures or
industries of their own, they are not likely to become
Silohar.
Dltrugarh.
1872
4,926
2,774
1881
6,667
7,163
1891
7,623
9,876
1901
9,266
11,227
places of any importance.
SWUong.
19. Shillong is the headquarters of the Local Adminis-
tration and owes its importance entirely to that fact. It
1891 ... ... - 6,720
1^901 ... ... ... 8,384
1881... 3.'37 was levelled to ijie ground by the earthquake of 1897,
but has since been rebuilt, and there has been a consider-;
able increase of population since the last census.
20. Since 1881 the population of Barpeta has been declining, but it is a matter for
surprise that the decrease during the last ten years has
„„_„,.„ not been greater. Barpeta is the Mecca of the Maha-
Barpeta. & r
purushias, and on a small patch 01 consecrated ground, a
1872 ... ... - 10.606 dense population is crowded in surroundings of the most
1881 ... ... - ii'332 unsanitary description. The members of this sect have
1891 - 9.342 strong prejudices against vaccination, and in 1895 nearly
1901 8,747 fgyj.' per cent, of the population died from small-pox
alone. The town has always been subject to floods, and
has been rendered almost uninhabitable by the earthquake of 1897, which raised
the beds of the river and altered the level of the country. All public buildings go
under water during certain seasons of the year, and it has been decided to remove
the headquarters of the subdivision to a more convenient site.
21. Irophal is the one large town in the province, though it can hardly be considered
" a large town " as defined in the Census Code. As is
j^^j frequently the case in Native States, there is a tendency
for population to accumulate round the palace of the Raja,
1901 87.093 jjyj. ^i^g place is more like an overgrown village than
a town in the ordinary sense of the word. There are
few shops or metalled roads, there is nothing in the way of municipal
administration, and the inhabitants for the most part live in houses burled in the
dankery of bamboos and fruit trees so dear to the native heart. The rural character
of the place is, however, most clearly brought out by the record of occupations, from
which it appears that over fifty per cent, of the working males make their living by
agriculture. . r re • 1. • ■. ^ n
None of the other towns m Assam are of sufficient importance to call
for special mention, as only one of them (Goalpara) possesses a population of as
many as 6,000 souls. There are in fact only 18 towns in the province, excluding
Manipur, and the average population of each town is only 6,315.
, THE RURAL POPULATION.
22 The ordinary traveller through the plains of Assam would find himself not a little
embarrassed if asked to define a village, or to , point out where the boundaries of one
ended and those of another began. In the cultivated tracts, rice is grown m great
pathars ox plains, over which are dotted about groves of bamboos, in which the houses
REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, JQOI.
[chap. I.
Area and
population.
Houses and
iionse room.
are concealed, and it would, as a rule, be difficult to determine whether one or more off
these clumps should form a village, whether a clump should or should not be subdivided^
and to which particular main clump one of the minor clumps should be assigned. In
the areas which have been cadastrally surveyed, the difficulty was overcome by accept-
ing the cadastral village as a village for census purposes, but the cadastral village is, as-
a rule, merely a block of land which can conveniently be surveyed upon one sheet of the
map, and is not a village in the sense in which that term is ordinarily used. Elsewhere
the definition usually adopted was a collection of houses bearing a separate name, and
in the Garo Hills, where the people have been much scattered by their dread of kald-dzdr,
a tract of country was in many cases treated as a village. In the Lushai and Naga Hills,
and in North Cachar, the villages are definite units which can be clearly recognised, as the
houses are arranged in close proximity down either side of the village street, and there are-
no other buildings anywhere in the neighbourhood, but in the other districts there is none
of this pleasant certainty as to when you have entered or left a village. There are no
village lands, no village community, and it must, I fear, be admitted that the Assamese or
Sylhetti village is such an indeterminate and amorphous entity, that from the statistical
point of view it is almost valueless. To take our figures, however, for what they are
worth, it appears that the villages carved out by the census and the cadastral survey run
small. Fifty-six per cent, of the population of the province five in hamlets, containing
less than 500 persons, 38 per cent, in villages ranging between 500 and 2,000, and less
than 5 per cent, in those containing between two and five thousand inhabitants.
The population is most scattered in the Garo and Khasi and Jaintia Hills, in the
former case 92 per cent, and in the latter nearly 84 per cent, of the people living in
the lowest grade of villages ; but in the Naga Hills, more than half of the population
live in villages containing over 500 inhabitants, as, till comparatively recently, the district
was too unsettled for small communities to be able to exist in safety. In the plains
districts the percentage of persons living in. the lowest grade of villages is highest in
Darrang (6r4) and Sylhet (59'6) and lowest in Goalpara and Cachar (47*6 and 44*6),
but, owing to the uncertainty as to what constitutes a village, the figures for the plains
are of little interest.
There are 22,326 villages in the province, with an average population of 266 souls.
In some provinces, it is the practice to work out the average area of land to each village,
but as there are no village or communal lands in Assam, and, as in most districts there
are large areas of jungle over which no one attempts to exercise any rights,. and whicb
are not connected in any way with any village, but which could not be excluded from
the calculation, no conclusions could be dravn from the figures for this province.
The density of population is best illustrated by statements showing the number of
persons to the square mile, and nothing further is gained by considermg theareality or
proximity of villages. »
Subsidiary Table II, however, which shows the number of houses to the square
mile, illustrates in another way the distribution of the population. Sylhet and Cachar
head the list, with 84 and 46 houses to the square mile, and at the opposite extreme
come North Cachar and the Lushai Hills with less than three. The average for the
Brahmaputra Valley is 23j Kamrup having the largest number (31) and Nowgong, which
includes a large tract of hilly country, only 14, but this test of population has
obviously to be accepted with some reservatiouj as it depends upon the number of
inmates to a house, a factor which places the Naga Hills above the Garo Hills, though
the latter district has in reality the denser population.
HOUSES AND HOUSE ROOM.
23. Subsidiary Table II shows the average number of persons per house at each of
the last three censuses, but the figures for 1881 are unfortunately of little value, as there
is nothing in the report for that year to indicate the principles laid down to guide the
enumerators in determining what was, and what was not, a house.
In Assam, the house is looked upon either as the buildings occupied by a single
family, or as the enclosure which may contain two or more families, and there does not
seem to have been any uniformity of treatm.ent in 188 1. In Cachar, the somewhat
strange mistake was made of treating each tea garden as a single house, and the high
rate in Kamrup was explained by the Deputy Commissioner as being due to failure on
the part of the enumerators to grasp what was required. At tlfe lasi two censuses the
same definition was employed, a house being declared to be " the homestead consist-
ing of one or more buildings occupied by the members of one family living
under a common head with their servants," and it is possible to draw some comparison
between the figures. The average number of inmates of each house in the province ig
CHAP. I.] THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS. 9
4*6 as compared with 4-8 in 1891, the decrease being common to every district. Area and
The variations are, however, small, and the close agreement between the figures population,
for the two censuses in the different districts is a strong confirmation of their accu- Soulie roo^.
racy. The average, is highest in Goalpara (5'3), where it is more common for
several families to live in one enclosure than in Upper Assam, and where, possibly,
some enumerators took the bari instead of the chula as the house. The decrease in
Kamrup and Nowgong is due to the general decrease that has occurred in the popula.
tion. The intercensal period has been extremely unhealthy, and in almost every house-
hold death has been busy, so that, while the number of houses and families has in all
probability remained much the same, there has been a reduction in the number of
inmates.
In the principal tea districts — Cachar, Sibsagar, and Lakhimpur — the average
nunlber of persons to a house is always low, the average family on tea gardens, where
there is an abnormally large proportion of unmarried persons who live alone, being
considerably below that to be found in villages. The decrease in Darrang is very
marked, the figure having fallen from 4"8 to 4*2, but here both causes are in operation,
the indigenous population having been much reduced in the Mangaldai subdivision,
while in Tezpur there has been a great extension of tea cultivation. The figures for
the hill districts call for no special remark. The average in the Naga Hills is lower
thafi that for any othet district, but the people are far from prolific, and there is no
tendency for families to cling together, the old and infirm living apart from the persons
on whom they are dependent, and newly-married couples setting up independent
establishments as soon as the knot has been tied.
g4. The average population of a house is not, however, a question of any practical
House room of BO practical import, importance in Assam, overcrowding being out of the
anoem ssam. qucstion. There is, as a rule, no lack of suitable building
sites, the materials required for the construction of a house cost but little in the Surma
Valley, and in the rest of the province can, generally be obtained for nothing, and
there is no reason v(^hy the whole population of the province should not be well housed-
That this is actually the case no one would venture to assert, but the defects that
exist are due to the apathy and idleness of the people, and not to anything which can
be influenced by the action of Government. The Assamese villager is a conserva-
tive person, with a marked dislike for any kind of work that can possibly be avoided,
and, this being so, a high standard of excellence in architecture is not to be expected.
lO
REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, 1001.
[CHAP. I-
SUSIDIARY TABLE I.
Density of the population.
Mean density per square
Variation — Increase (+) or
mile.
decrease (— )
•
Net varia-
tion, 1872
Natural divisions and districts.
1891
1881
1872
to 1901,
(+)or
1901.
1891.
1S81.
1872.
to
1 90 1.
to
I89I.
to
1881.
(-)•
I
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Sylhet
412
396
362
316
+ 16
+ 34
+ 46
+ 96
Cachar Plains ...
201
178
142
99
256
+ 23
+ 36
+ 43
+ 102
Total Surma Valley .;.
353
336
301
+ 17
+ 35
+ 45
+ 97
Kamrup
153
164
167
146
— II
— 3
+ 21
+ 7
r
120
96
79
63
+ 24
+ 17
+ i6
+ 57
Sibsagar ... ,..<
X
[197]
[157]
[127]
[102J
[ + 40]
[ + 303
[+25]
[ + 95]
Goalpara
117
114
113
98
+ 3
+ I
+ 15
+ 19
Darrang
99
90
. 80
69
+ 9
+ 10
+ II
+ 30
Lakhimpur
88
60
43
29
+ 28
+ 17
+ 14
+ 59
(
68
90
82
68
— 22
+ 8
+ 14
...
Nowgong ... ... ■<
I
[79]
[106]
[95 I
[79]
[-27]
[+"]
[+16]
...
Total Brahmaputra Valley ...
108
102
93
7»
+ 6
+ 9
+ 16
+ 31
Total Plains
166
157
142
120
+ 9
+ 15
+ 22
+ 46
Garo Hills
44
39
35
32
+ 5
+ 4
+ 3
+ 12
Khasi and Jaintia Hills
34
33
28
23
+ I
+ 5
+ 5
+ II
f
33
31
31
23
+ 2
...
+ 8
4-10
Naga Hills ... ••• "5
c
L23]
[21]
L16J
[12]
[ + 2]
[ + 5]
[ + 4]
[+11]
North Cachar ...
24
II
12
18
+ 13
— I
— 6
+ 6
Lushai Hills
II
...
...
...
...
...
Total Hill Districts
27
23
19
16
+ 4
+ 4
+ 3
+ 11
Manipur State ...
87
...
67
...
...
...
...
...
Total Province
109
[126]
103
[119]
105^
[107]
91
[91]
+ 6
[ + 7]
— 2
[ + 12^
+ 14
[ + 16]
+ 18
C+ 35]
Sibsagar, Nowgong, Naga Hills. — The figures within brackets indicate the density per square mile on the
former area of the district.
All districts, column 3. — The figures do not agree with those shown in the Report of 1891, as revised areas have
been reported by the Surveyor General for all districts except Darrang.
Total Province.— Column 3 excludes Manipur ; column 4 excludes the Lushai Hills. The figures in brackets
show the density for the province, excluding these two places.
CHAP. I.]
THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS.
M
SUBSIDIARY TABLE II.
House-room.
Natural divisions and districts.
Average number of persons per
liouse in
Average number of houses per
square mile.
1
1901.
1891.
1881.
1901.
I89I.
1881.
I
2
3
4
5
6
7
Cachar Plains ...
Sylhet
4'3
4-8
4'4
4-9
8-9
5-0
46-3
84-0
33-3
8o-o
25- 1
7r6
Total Surma Valley
• 4-8
4-8
5'3
737
65'4
62-8
Goalpara
Kamrup
Darrang
Nowgong
Sibsagar
Lakhimpur
5'3
4-8
4-2
47
4'4
4-0
5-5
5-0
4-8
5-1
4-6
4-5
5" I
68
55
5-8
5-8
6'i
2 1 '9
3i'3
33"3
i4'3
27
21'9
207
34"5
i8'6
20-3
34'2
15-0
22"4
25-9
14-3
i5"4
22'2
7-8
Total Brahmaputra Valley
4-5
4'9
5'9
23"4
23-6
179
Total Plains ...
46
4-9
5-6
35-3
35'o
28-8
Lushai Hills
North Cachar ...
Naga Hills
Khasi and Jaintia Hills
Garo Hills
5-2
4-6
3'3
4-8
4-9
5-0
3 5
5-0
5'o
4-4
4-8
5"4
2'I
2-5
9"9
67
8-9
2-4
2'I
6-0
6-4
7'3
2-2
5-6
5 '4
Total Hill Districts
4-5
4'5
5'o
5-6
5'4
49
Manipur
47
...
...
1 8-2
...
...
Total Province
4-6
4-8
5'5
23-1
22-8
18-4
North Gackar {igoi).—Tlae population of the Railway camps has been excluded.
Reg. No. 531, Census Comr., Assam.— Feb. 03.— l,u '0.
ExterioT Eastern Bonndary in accordance with Trace reed,
with The Secretary to the Chief Commissioner of Assam's
letter No. 1550 Miao. dated 24h.' January 1901
361J.
REFERENCE.
Increase & decrease of population-
Ineniue °U
Goaipara
2-0
Khasi and Jaintia Hilb
21
Sylbet
4-0
Naga Hills
5-9
Darrang
97
Cacbar plains
12-8
Garo Hills
137
Sibsa'gar
24-4
Lakhimpur
461
North Cachar Hills
115-4
Manipur
00
Lushai Hills
00
Decrease "/o
KaWu'p
71
Nowgong
24 8
Piiolo. S. I. 0., Calcutta.
CHAP. II.J THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS.
■13
CHAPTER II.
VARIATIONS IN THE POPULATION.
S5. Of all the census tables there is probably none of greater interest than Table II, variations in
which shows the variations which have taken place in the population since 1872, and ^^f. P°P""
in few provinces could this table be of more importance than in Assam. The variation ^*"°°-
occurring m any given tract in any intercensal period is the result of (a) differences
in the degree of accuracy of the two censuses, {b) excess of births over deaths or
deaths over births, and {c) movement of population into or out of the tract concerned ;
but, though the net result is plainly shown in the census tables, it is by no means
easy to determine the exact amount for which each of the three factors is respon-
sible. When considering the variations that have taken place during the last ten years,
we can lea.ve out of account the first cause, as there is no reason to suppose that there
was any difference in the degree of accuracy of the two last enumerations, and all
that remains is to endeavour to determine to what extent immigration on the one
hand, and the natural growth of the indigenous inhabitants of the country on the other,
are _ responsible for the present state of the population. In most other provinces of
India the migrations of the people are more or less spontaneous, and do not depend in
any way upon the direct action of Government, individuals crossing the boundaries of
districts or provinces in search of land or grazing ground, or, not unfrequently, husbands
or wives ; but in Assam the growth of the population largely depends upon the introduc-
tion of a number of people, who are brought up at the expense of European capitalists,
and whose journey to the province, and subsequent life there, are controlled by laws
and rules framed by Government directly on their behalf. During the last ten years,
no less than 596,856 persons, or more than a tenth of the total population of j8gi,
were imported under the provisions of the labour laws, and as in all probability not a
single one of these individuals would have entered Assam, had it not been for the tea
industry, and, as the well-being of this industry depends upon a number of causes,
over some of which Government has control, it becomes a matter of some importance
to ascertain the extent to which the owners of gardens are developing a province
whose crying need, since we took over its administration, has been ratyats to cultivate
the fertile plains which at present are lying waste.
26. The gross increase in Assam during the last ten years, was 649,041, or 11 "8 per
, ^^ cent., or, leavins: out of consideration the Lushai Hills and
Inoreaae in tlie province. n » • r ?• i r^ r n • i i i
Manipur, for which figures for 1091 are not available,
325,776, or 5'9 per cent. There was an increase of 5*3 per cent, in the Surma
Valley, of 5*7 per cent, in the Brahmaputra Valley, and of in per cent, in the
Assam range, A considerable portion of the increase in the hills is, however, due
to the presence of over twenty thousand persons in the North Cacbar subdivision,
who were engaged on the construction of the Assam-Bengal Railway, and if they
are omitted from the calculation, the rate of increase sinks to 6*5 per cent. The
provincial rate of increase is much lower than that at either of the two preceding
censuses (107 and i8"2) and, though the imperfection of the enumerations of 1881 and
1873 had no doubt something to do with the increase in each successive intercensal
period, the main cause of this check in the development of the province must be found
in the abnormal unhealthiness which has prevailed over the greater part of the plains ,
during the last decade. Before, however, attempting to analyse the growth of the
population of the province as a whole, it is necessary to ascertain what has been going
on in the different districts.
27. The increase in the Cachar plains amounted to 12-8 per cent., which, though a
oaohar Plains Considerable increase in itsclf, IS only about half
Total population 1901 ... 414,781 of that which occurred between I ^IS I and 1 89 1 ,
1891 ... 367,542 ^^^ jpss than a third of that between 1872 and
'^on°totaP 1881. The increase in 1891 was, however,
variation-Total district ... +47.2,9"°'?iT8°- obviously abnormal, and must, I think, have
District born ... +38,669 +10-6 been partially due to under estimation in looi,
Immigrants from t.^.^ r J . . , ,. , '
other districts ... + 115 + -03 when the census operations received httle or no
Immigrants from .. ^-^ , '^ rr- ri !•• t-i
other provinces ... + 8,455 + 2'3 attention from the omcers or the district. 1 he
figures in the margin show the extent to which the increase is due (a) to what may be
called, though not quite correctly, natural increase, i.e., the increase in the number of
E
14 REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, igor. [cHAP. H.
Variations in persons born in the district, {b) to immigration from other districts and (c) to immi-
the popu- eration from other provinces. Cachar is a fertile, and was originally a sparsely popu-
lation, fated country, and has for many years acted as a reservoir for the overflow of Sylhet.
The amount of unsettled land available for cultivation has, however, been much
reduced, and immigration from Sylhet no longer proceeds very rapidly, the total increase
due to this cause since the last census being only 2,259. This does not of course
represent the total number of persons who have moved across the boundary since 189;,
as merely to keep the figures at the level of that year would require the transfer of
about 8 500* persons from Sylhet to Cachar. The increase in the number of persons
born and censused in the district, which amounts to. no less than 15-5 per cent., rnust
be considered eminently satisfactory, but we are here confronted with the difficulty, which
meets us in every tea district, of determining what proportion of this increase is actually
due to the fertility of the indigenous inhabitants. There were in 1891, 42,772 foreignf
women in the district, a considerable proportion of whom must obviously have given
birth to children, who, being born in Cachar, go to swell the ranks of the district
born. Many of these women would no doubt die or leave during the decade, and
would thus cease to bear children in Cachar, but these casualties were more than
counterbalanced by the new arrivals, no less than 48,354 foreign women having been
censused in the district in March last ; and there will, 1 think, be no risk of over
estimation if we assume that there were in Cachar during the ten years 42,772 foreign
women bearing district-born children. The fertility of the immigrant is generallyand
rightly considered to be less than that of the native, but I do not think that it is
necessary to make any correction on this account, as the proporlion of adults is higher
amongst the foreigners. From Table VII it appears that for every ten women _ in
Cachar on the night of the census there were six children under ten, and, assuming
that this proportion holds good of the foreigners, they must have had living at the
time of the last census 25,663 children born in the district since 1891. If these chil-
dren, who are just as much the result of immigration as are their mothers (as had_ there
been no immigration they would not have been in Cachar), are deducted from the district
born, the natural growth sinks to 13,006, or 5-2 per cent., which, though satisfactory,
is hardly as much as we are entitled to expect in ordinary years. _ It must, however,
be borne in mind that the district suffered severely from the exceptional unhealthiness
of 1897, when the number of deaths recorded was more than double that of the average
for the remaining nine years of the decade.}
The increase in the foreign-born population is less than I should have expected.
If we assume that the foreigners censused in rhe Cachar plans in 1891 and the garden
coolies who have been imported into the district during the last decade have been
decreasing at the rate of 5 per cent, per annum (a rate which is probably too high),
we should expect to find 114,047 foreigners in Cachar in igO'- . -^s a matter of
fact, there were only 101,252, and we should probably be justified in assuming that
twelve to thirteen thousand have left the district, many of them no doubt to work on the
Assam-Bengal Railway, in the North Cachar Hills.
The bulk of the population are agriculturists, who cultivate their own land, and their
condition is described as being one of great prosperity and independence. Amongst
people of this class it is usual to find a high birth-rate, and were it not for the un-
necessarily high death-rate prevailing, the population would increase with great rapidity.
Rural sanitation is, however, practically unknown in Assam, and the matter is complicated
in Cachar by the fact that a large proportion of the villages are built upon the banics
of small and sluggish rivers, which are exposed to almost every conceivable form of
pollution, and which carry the germs of disease from one hamlet to another. The con-
dition of the district is, however, on the whole satisfactory, the population is increasing,
there has been a marked expansion both of trade and agriculture, and the people are said
to be more prosperous than they were ten years ago.
28. In 1891 the rate of increase was considerably higher in Silchar than Hallakandi,
DistriDution of population t)y as fifteen or twenty years ago there was more waste land
%opu-^'°in'orease Per- available for Settlement at the Sadr than in the Hailakandi
^i9M. ^t^§e^^. °lge: subdivision. This cause has to a great extent ceased
siiohar 301884 +34,811 +12-7 to Operate, with the result that the increase is practically
Hailakandi" ii2;897 +13.028 +13-0 ^Y\e Same in both subdivisions. The percentage of increase '
on tea gardens during the last ten years was, however, higher in Hailakandi than in
Silchar, the reverse being the case as far as the general population is concerned.
* Assuming that the death-rate is 40 per mille,
t By ' foreign ' I mean women born outside Assam.
J Deaths recorded 22,487 in 1897 ; average for remaining nine years 11, 159-
CHAP. II.J _ THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS.
15
29. The total population of Sylhet has increased by 87,255, or 4 per cent., during the Variations in
syihet.. last ten years, the greater portion of the increase the popu-
Totai population 19W ... 2,a«,848 being due to immigration from other parts of lation.
" '''' ■■■ PeroentTgo ^"^'^- '^^^ increase in the general population
po°puiatfon °^ Sylhet is very small, the number of persons
vaMation-Totai dfistriot ... +87,2Bs +4-06 censused outside tea gardens being only '^5,270
District born .- +38,051 +1-76 ..L ■ o i ,i • • i
Immigrants firott ' more than in i8qi, and the increase in those
other districts — 631 — O'OS U_ • ..U Ji' n • ^l • iv^l ji i
Immigrants ftom bom in the distncft IS very little more, the rate
Qthsr piovlnces +49,82S +2'31 i. ■ i . t t ^ • .i i. . i
, being only I'p per cent. It is not altogether easy
to account for this stagnation in the population. It is true that the number of persons borh
in Sylhet, and censused in other parts of the province has increased by 4,157, and there
has probably been an increase of a few thousands in the number of those who crossed the
boundary into the neighbouring districts of Bengal, though, as figures for the Sylhet
district m 1891 are not available, it is impossible to verify this supposition, but the
population of the district is too large for such smaU numbers to have any appreciable
effect upon the_ rate of increase. The mean density per square mile is of course fairly
high, and this is a condition which is generally supposed to be prejudicial to a rapid
growth of the population, bat we cannot attach much weight to this particular
cause, as the rate of increase was largest in the Habiganj subdivision, where the
density is highest, being no less than 555 to the square mile/and the real explanation mcist
apparently be found in an abnormal mortality, niore espejcially in the years 1897 and
1898.
80. It is; impossible,, however, to form any clear idea of what has been going' on i'n the
district as a whole without considering its component parts.
Distribution of population by t^ .. ,^ ..i ... ..i.. ,u-i
subdivisionB.. rrom the statement in the margin it appears that, while
popu- o"°deoreis^' Per- '" °"^ Subdivision there has been an increase of nearly 10
^9oif ^llsrSS^ alS*" P^'" cent., in another there has been a decrease of nearly 4.
years.. Habiganj has increased by Q'.g per cent., and, • though
Habiganj... 665,001 +50,409 +9-9 ,, t i i ^ \- \ • - • i.u u
Earimgand. 4io,«o +25,822: +8-7 there has becu a substantial increase in the number
soSt™!^- 37l,r6| ■'"^"'^''^ *^^ of persons censused on tea gardens, the general population
Norm syi. 463,47'7 * ^'^'' "^ ^ ^ has increased by 7*3 per cent. The Deputy Commis-
-18,864 -39 sjoner offers no explanation of tbis increase, though,
indeed, none is required, for, in a province like Assam, where the land- is crying out for
' cultivators, it is only when we find the population stationary or decreasing that we need
endeavour to discover the cause and take steps to counteract it. In Snnartiganj also there
has been a very fair natural growth of the population, the increase amounting to nearly 5
per cent.,, and as thii cannot be considered a particularly healthy portion' of the district,
iying, as it does, at the foot of the- Khasi Hills,, there is no need to be dissatisfied with the
progress made during the d.ecade. The same cannot,, however, be said of Karimganj, for,
though the increase in the total population amounts to 6.'7per cent., the greater part of
this is due to the tea industry, persons censused outside tea gardens having only increased
by 2-5 per cent. In South Sylhet, the state of affairs is still: more unsatisfactory, as the
population outside tea gardens has actually decreased by 3*9 per cent, during the
last ten years,, owing to the ravages of malarial fever, while in North Sylhet the' total
papulation is ligss by 39 per cent, than it was ten years ago. The Deputy Gornmis-
sioner attributes this decrease to " the malarial' wave which, passed over the greater
part of the- district during- 18^7 and 1898, when the mortality from fever was enormous.
The earthquake of the 1 2th June 1897 was followed, by a most virulent outbreak of
malarial fever in this subdivision,, into the effects of which: an Extra Assistant Com-
missioner was deputed to make an enquiry in 1899, when he found many, houses in
the Fenchuganj and sadr police stations entirely depopulated."
31. The vital statistics of Sylhet are not correct, but they are probably less
inaccurate than those of any district in the province except
Increase Excess or Goalparai and they fuUy bear out the census figures, as
outside tea defect of .,,,'■ r •' , , • ,i • i ..u
gardens (+) Mrtiis + Will be sden froffl the statement in the margm. In the
or decrease or- gubdivisions in which: the population dutside tea gardens
l|ni&' +^^Wi t%m- has increased, there is an excess of births over deaths
l^^lyi" "^ ^'°^° "^ *'^^' varying in fairly close proportion, to the increase disclosed
K»w syi-' "^^'™* ~ ^'^^ by the census, while in North and- South Sylhet there
bet. ... - J8,394 - 10,897 jg ^ ^j^^^ approximatiou between the census decrease
and the excess of deaths. The people are said to be prosperous, and the rate of
increase will probably rise during, the next decade, but there can be little doubt that the
northern, part of the district is unhealthy;, as, even in 1 88 1, at atime when enormous
increase&were reported from every side^ the population was said to be decreasing in
this quarter,
E a-
l6 REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, igoj. [CHAP. II.
Distribution of population by
subdivisions.
Popu-
lation
1901.
Inorease(+)
or decrease
(— ) during
last ten
Per-
cent-
age.
Dhubrl ..
Goalpara
. 329,102
132,950
years.
+ 10,852
— 1,573
+ 3-4
— 1-1
Variations in 32. The population of Goalpara increased by 2 per cent, during the decade, the
the popu- Goal ara whole of the incrEase being due to natural growth,
lation. TT™' „, ^„„„„ as there was a slight falling off in the number of
Total population 1901 ... 462,052 . . - v^^' . rr<i t , • ^ • i
1891 ... 4S2,773 immigrants from Bengal. T he district is a purely
^on°?otar agricult.iral one, there is nothing to attract
population, i^nmierants, and as the public health has not
Variation-Total district ... +9,279 +2-0 liuuii^iaiii.^, a, wi , ,^ , r ■ .
• District born ... +10,697 +23 been oarticularlv gfood the rate or increase has
Immigrants from , r , ■' = , . . ■ j- , • ^ L •
other districts ... +2,047 +0-4 been slow. the population of the district having
Immigrants from . , . ^ ij' ,1.1^
other provinces... -3,465 -0-7 onlv increased bv 15,353 souls during the last
twenty years. There is nothing, however, very remarkable in this fact, as between
1881 and 1891 the neighbouring district of Rangpur decreased by i'6 per cent., and
in this portion of the province it would seem that the conditions of life are normally
unfavourable to a rapid growth of the population.
33. The whole of the increase has taken place in the sadr subdivision, where it amounts
to 3'4 per cent., and Goalpara, as in 1891, shows a decrease
(ri per cent.), though fortunately in no way comparable to
that which took place in the previous decade (18 per cent.).
The earthquake of 1897 caused much damage to the
town of Goalpara, and in the rains the whole of the bazar
goes under water, so that the people are compelled to live
on machans inside their houses, and no communication is possible except by boat. This
unsatisfactory state of affairs has naturally tended to drive away trade, while agriculture
has received a severe check from the heavy floods which have swept over the country.
A considerable number of raiyats have also moved across the boundary into the plains
mauzas of the Garo Hills, as they are said to prefer mahals shared and managed by
Government to the zamindaris of Goalpara.
34. We now come to the Kamrup district, where 'we first meet with data which enable
Kamrup. . US to form some conclusions as to the extent of
Total population 1901 .., 589,187 increase or dccrease among the Assamese people.
" 1891 ... 634,249 _,, , . . .- => . a O
Tne population of Kamrup in igoi was 589,107,
Percentage , \ '^ , i • ^i j i- I J c
on total showing a decrease during the decade 01 45,002,
population. =" ,.,.'=, f j
Variation-Total district ...-45,062 -71 or 7'i per Cent., which IS made up ot a decrease
Fmm'grantrftom ~ *''"'' ~ '"' in dlstrict bom of 46,3 16, a decrease in immigrants
immigrints'fi-lm ~ ^'*'' ~ °'^ from Other districts of 1,485, and an increase in
other provinces... + 2,739 + o'4 foreigners of 2,739. The district, however, is not
quite so sterile as the decrease in the number of district born would at first sight
lead one to imagine. The earthquake of 1897 seriously affected the levels of the
country, and for a time, at any rate, threw many thousand acres of good rice land
out of cultivation by covering them permanently with water or sand. There has
in consequence been a considerable migration of the people, the number of emigrants
from Kamrup to other districts of Assam having increased by i?,639, ^^ by about
50 per cent. This subject will be discussed at greater length in connection with
Table XI, but the point that is germane to the present enquiry is, that if we take,
not the number of persons born and, censused in Kamrup at the last two censuses,
but the number born in Kamrup and censused in the province, the decrease sinks
1037,677, or 5"9 per cent, of the district born. A certain number of these persons are
the children of foreign women, but they bear such a small proportion to the general
population that this factor need scarcely be taken into consideration, more especially
as we have other data for estimating the increase or decrease amongst the natives of
the province.
35. To any officer who has served in the Assam Valley, the increase or decrease of
Are the Assamese increasing 9 . ^f indigenous inhabitants is a question full of interest.
i he Assamese are a distinct people, who, far from regarding
the natives of India Proper as being closely allied to them, look upon them with undis-
guised suspicion and jealousy, — a Bengali Hindu of whatever caste standing on'much the
same footing for all social purposes as a European or Muhammadan.f The manners and
customs of the Assamese are different from those of Bengal ; their language is different,
for though Assamese and Bengali are both derived from Sanskrit, a native of Sibsagar
and a native of Nadia would be unable to understand one another ; even their caste
system differs in many important particulars, and yet for census purposes it is by no
means easy to define who the Assamese are. They are not those who have been born
in Assam, for a very large number of these persons are the children of foreign parents,
who would not be allowed to enter an Assamese cook-house, neither are they
• The population of Chotagnma mauza (469), which has been transferred to the district since 1891, has been
added to the district-born totals for that year.
t In an Assamese village the words ' Bengali ' and ' foreigner/ are s>nonymous. They are even said to
call Europeans (^'11 ^t^T) ' white Bengalis.'
CHAP. II.] THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS. 17
the people who speak the Assamese language, for in Upper Assam, at any rate, a "anations m
certain number of immigrants who have settled down in the country have returned inHon'
themselves m the census schedules as speaking Assamese, There is, in fact, no
absolute test by means of which we can divide the inhabitants of Assam into those who
are Assamese and those who are not. The caste table, however, enables us to ascertain,
with a very fair degree of accuracy, the variation that has taken. place during the last
ten years, and though we cannot trace the rate of increase or decrease for the whole
Assamese population, we can do so for so large a proportion that we are justified in
assuming that it holds good for the whole. It is with this object that I have included
in the appendices to this chapter a table showing the variation that has taken place at
the last two censuses amongst the Assamese castes and the indigenous tribes, whom
for the purposes of this enquiry I have classed with the Assamese. The indigenous
tribes, and certain castes, such as the Kalita, Boria, Ahom and Chutia, are peculiar to
Assam, and though other castes, like the Kewat and Kaibartta, are common to Assam
and Bengal, there is no reason for supposing that they emigrate to Kamrup or the
districts which lie to the east. Other castes, such as the Brahman, Kayastha, Jugi and
Shaha, are common to Kamrup and other parts of India, but it is not likely that they
have immigrated to that district during the last dfecade in sufficient numbers to
affect the accuracy of our calculations, and if this assumption is incorrect, it
merely means that the decrease amongst the Assamese is more serious than I have
supposed.
36. From Subsidiary Table III we find that the indigenous castes, who in 1891 amount-
Decrease intneinaigenouainnaMt- ed to 545,218, or 85-9 per cent._ of the total population
*''*^- of the district, had sunk by '1901 to 494,036, which
represents a decrease of 9"3 per cent. A part of this decrease is no doubt due
to the large number of Kacharis and other Assamese who have moved to other districts ;
but, even if we assume that the indigenous castes are responsible for the whole of the
increase in emigration, there still remains a decrease of 42,553, or nearly 8 per centi,
which is shared by every caste of importance. To sum up, the population, as a whole,
has decreased by 7'i per cent., the district-born population, which includes the children
of foreigners born in Kamrup, has, after allowance has been made for the increase in
emigration, decreased by 5"9 per cent., the ' Assamese' in the district have decreased
by 9'3, or, after allowing for emigration, by 8 per cent., and the speakers of in<ligenous
tongues* by 7*9 per cent. There is no reason to suppose that this decrease is due to
careless enumeration, as the land revenue returns unfortunately confirm the census
figures, the demand for ordinary cultivation in 1900 being Rs. 1,05,538 less than it was
in 1893, the first year after the re-assessment.
During the last ten years kald-dsdr has been dying out, but in spite of this the
district has been very unhealthy. Between 188 1 and 1891, the recorded deaths
exceeded the recorded births by 20,221, and the census showed a decrease of 3"2 per
cent, in the district born. Between 1B91 and 1901 the deaths exceeded the births by
29,248, and the district born, even after allowing for emigration, decreased by 5-9 per
cent., so that it seems fairly evident that in spite of the decrease in kald-azdr, the last
ten years have been more unhealthy than the ones that preceded them. The district has
been singularly unfortunate, the present population being 55,773 less than it wis
twenty years ago, but there are signs that the tide is turning, as in 1899 and 1900 the
recorded births exceeded the recorded deaths.
37. The decrease in the sadr subdivision is only 5 per cent., but in the small subdi-
Distribution of population by sub- vision of Barpeta, which now contains a population of
divisions. Qj^jy 115,935 souls, it amounted to ]4"5 per cent. The
^tSiJ*" Decrease. ■^®f|e°*Jf Subdivisional Officer, who is an Assamese gentleman of
Gauhati 47l°252 -86,298 '^^I'^^sT" somc expericncc, writes as follows on the subject :
Barpeta 115',935 -19,'770 -14-5
Prior to the earthquake, the raiyats of this subdivision were comparatively well off. Owing
to the action of the earthquake the greater part of the country has become liable to heavy inun-
dations, with the result that the raiyats cannot reap their early rice crop on the low land, and the
soil is rendered unsuitable for mustard. The loss of these two crops since the earthquake,
which are the main products of the fluctuating mauzas, has materially affected the condiiion of
the people for the worse. The repeated extraordinary floods of the last three years caused a
great deal of distress to the raiyats, who had at last to migrate to different places in search of
new houses and lands for cultivation.
It is probable that the Barpeta subdivision is responsible for a large part of the
decrease due to emigration, while the state of affairs described by the Subdivisional
Officer is such as would justify us on a priori grounds in expecting a high death and
low birth-rate.
* Vide Subsidiary Table IV.
l8 REPORT QN THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, IQOI. [CHAP. H.
Variations in 38. The population of Darrang in 1901 was 337,313, showing an increase of 29,873, or
the popu- Darrang. 97 V^^ Cent., which is distributed under its main
lation. Total population 1901 ... 887,813 heads in t hc margin. Though there has been a
1581 ••• s"''**"' satisfactory increase in the total population of the
on total district, it IS entirely due to the increase in immi-
variation-Total district ... + 29,873''T9-7'^" grants from Other districts and other provinces,
* PmmigrintTfrom " "'°^' " *'* and the decline in the district born population
imSigrfnt^s'^ftom "^ ^'^^^ "^ ^'^ (5"6 pcr Cent.) is even more serious than at
otier provinces + 39.98* + i8'o £j.g(. sjgjjj. appcars. In the first place, there
has been a decrease of 1,921 in the number of emigrants to other districts, and
if we take this factor into account, the decrease in the district bora rises to 6"2
per cent. The increase or decrease in the district born in a tea district is not,
however, as I have already pointed out, a reliable clue to the real growth or decay
of the indigenous population, owing' to the fact that a large number of the district
born are the children of foreign mothers, and it is safer to rely on the indications given
by caste, and, in this district, language. Table III appended to this chapter shows
that the indigenous castes, which in 1891 formed 78-2 per cent., of the population,
have decreased by 5'9. per dnt., but we have still to bear in mind that there
has been an increase in the number of immigrants, wha were born in other districts
of the valley. As Kamrup and Nowgong account for more than, the total amount
of this increase, we are, I think, justified in assuming that these persons are members
of the indigenous castes, and if the increase due to this- cause be deducted, the
decrease in the indigenous castes amounts to 7*5 per cent. The language test
can als,o. be applied witli- some degree of safety in Darrang, as Assamese is not
used to any great extent by the coolies of this district, and this shows, a decrease
of 8'3,, or, after making allowance for the increase in provincial imraigrantSj nearly
all of whom no doubt used indigenous languages, of 9*7 per cent. Lastly, we find
that the whole of the increase in' the district is swallowed up by the increase
in the population censused on tea gardens, which has risen during the last decade
by 31,652, so that the general population outside tea gardens is actually less than
it was ten years ago. To sum up, the total population has increased by 9"7
per cent. ; the district -born population has decreased by ^'6^, or, if allowance
is made for the decrease in emigration, by 6"2 per cent.; the indigenous castes
have decreased by 5'9, or, allowing for the increase in Immigration; from
other districts of the province, by 7 '5. per cent.; and the speakers of indigenous
languages have decreased by 8'3, or, after making tbe same allowance, g"7 per cent.; and
it seems impossible to avoid the conclusion that, had the indigenous population
of Darrang been- left to itself during the last ten years, it would have decreased by
about 8 per cent. This decay of the Assamese is, moreover; not a thing of yesterday,
as the same phenomena, though not in such a pronounced form, were to be seen at
the last census, when, though the total population increased by i2"6 par cent., the num-
ber of those born in the district remained absolutely stationary.
39. Nothing could be more dissimilar than the character of the two subdivisions of
Distribution of population by which. the district IS composed. In Tezpur, there is. every-
subdivisions. thing to conducc to a rapid increase of population, there
Popuiap ^''°^«/'=® P®/|®^*„ are still, large areas o£ excellent land awaiting settlement,
iMi". '^(+Tor® popuiL the cultivator finds a market for his produce in the flourish-
Tezpur ... 166,733 +47W +39^6 'ng tea gardens, to which large quantities of eoolies are
Mangaidai 170,580 -17.370 - 9-3 imported evcry year, and' the public health has: on the
whole been good. Tezpur, in fact, is part of Upper Assam, and shares in the
prosperity which has been enjoyed by that portion of the Valley for the last
twenty years, ^ while Mangaldai, like Kamrup, has been stationary or receding. Most
of the good rice land was settled twenty years ago, when Mangaldai had a population
of 146 to the square mile as compared with 42 in Tezpur; the soil is not favourable
for tea, the subdivision has been unhealthy, and there has not been a sufficient overflow
from the tea gardens to make up for the loss amongst the indigenous population. During
the last ten years the general population, i.e.^ the population outside tea gardens,, has
decreased by nearly 15 per cent., whereas the general population of Tezpur has increased
by 28 per cent. A portion of this increase in Tezpur is due to the overflow from tea^
gardens, no less than 13 per cent, of the village population having been born
in the Provinces and States from which we obtain our coolies, and it is probable that
there has been some movement from Mangaldai eastwards, though this cannot be
ascertained trom the census tables. There is, however, no doubt that the superior
* Three hundred and twenty one persons have been deducted {rem the district horn of 1891, as these personsj
were transferred to Nowgong during the decade.
CHAP. II.]
TtiS S&SOLTS OF fas CMSt/S.
'9
lation.
Nowgonff.
Total" population 1901
„ „ 1891
861,160
34?,307
Variation.— Total district
* Dlstnot l)Qrn
Immierrants troin
otter districts ...
Immigrants from
other provinces...
Percentage
en total
population^
— 86,147 — 84-a
— 95,939 — I37'9
— 8,978
+12,770
— 0-8
+ S-6
healthiness of the sadr sUbdivlsioti has had ittUdh to do with the matter, as 76 births Variations in
were recordfed fof every hundred deaths in Tezpurj as compafed with only 65 in the popu-
Maftgaldai. ,
40. Since 1891, the pdpilktiott Of NoWgong has decreased by 86,147, or 24-8 pii
centi, the decrease being due to terrible mortality
amongst the indigenous population, coupled with
an increase in emigration and a decrease in immi-
gration from other districts, which has to some
extent been counterbalanced by an increase in
immigration from other provinces. The decrease
in the district born is no less than 95,939, or 29'7
per cent., but if the increase in immigration to other
districts be taken into account, the decrease sinks to 91,997, or 26"4 per cent. The
district born include, however, the distfict-born children of foreign women^ and the caste
table in the appendix shows that if allowance is made for inter-district transfers, the
indigenous castes, which in 1891 formed 90 per cent, of the total population, have
decreased by no less than ^i'^ per Cent. These melancholy results are confirmed by the
language table, which shows a decrease of 30*2 percent, in those speaking indigenous
languages, and by the land revenue demand for ordinary cultivation, /.«., annual and
decennial leases, which has fallen from lis. 6,68,000 in 1893 to Rs. 5,12,000 in 1900,
the decrease of 23 per cent. Corresponding very closely with the decrease in the general
population.
Previous to 1891, Nowgong was a healthy and flourishing district, the population
increasing by 21 per cent, between 1872 and 1881, and by 10 per cent, in the
next decade, and the appalling resiilts disclosed by the last census are almost, if not
entirely, due to kald-dsdr'i which, in conjunction with the ordinary causes of mortality,
has carried off nearly one-third of the indigenous inhabitants of the district. Even this,
however, does not fully indicate the extent of the harm done- The number of immi™
grants from India has increased daring the last decade, and, had the Conditions in the
district been at all normal, we should have been quite justified in anticipating an increase
of 10 per cent, on the figures of 1891, which would have produced a population of
383,000 in 1901. The actual number of persons c^nsused was, however, only 261,160,
so that it appears that kald-dsdi^, and the Other diseases with which the district has
been troubled have destroyed in Nowgong no less than 120,000 persons who in the
ordinary course of events would still have been alive,
41. I now propose to touch briefly upon the development and origin of this disease, as
it will hardly, I think,- be considered out of placcj eVen in a
Kaia-azar. census report, to give some account of the history and
character of a malady which has produced such deplorable results in the population of
Central and Lower Assam. Kcdd-dzdr was known as far back as 1869, when it was re-
ported to be an intense form of malarial fever, which was inducing a high rate of mortality
amongst the low and densely-wOoded Garo Hills, but first came into prominent notice
in 1883, when it spread to that portion of the Goalpara district which lies south of the
Brahmaputra, and produced such a rise in the recorded mortality that a special establish-
ment was entertained to move about through the affected villages and administer
medical relief. The Civil Surgeon of the district, who was in general charge of the
Dperations, came to the conclusion that kald-dzdr was only a local _ name for naalarial
fever and its consequences, and that there was not a particle of evidence that it was
contagious, though this was a peculiarity of the affection that had strongly impressed
itself upon the Garos, who are said to have not only abandoned their sick, but
to have stupefied them with drink and then set light to the houses in which they were
lying in a state of helpless intoxication. In 1888 the disease appears to have entered
Kamrup,, and very soon produced a marked increase in the total number of deaths
attributed to fever^ under which head I include kald-dzdr, as in many cases it is extreme-
ly diffiicult for any one but a medical man to distinguish between the two diseases.
The conclusions to be drawn from' the vital statistic reports were, moreover,
fully confirmed by the results of the last census, which showed that the population ... of
* District born 1891 ... ...
Add' population transferred frorti the Naga Hills
De-iuct popuTat'ioh. transferred to Sitsagar
3194-87
5.683
325*170
2,838
322*332
226,393
Corrected district bOrn 1891.
District-born 1901.
95)939 Decrease.
20 REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAMy igOI. [CHAP. il.
Variations in the Goalpara subdivision had decreased by 29,699 souls since 1881, and kald-dzdr was
the popu- the only explanation that Mr. Gait could assign for this unsatisfactory state of affairs.
lation. Almost equally disastrous were its effects upon the inhabitant^ of that part of the
Kanirup district which lies south of the Brahmaputra river, who decreased in numbers
by ir8 per cent, between 1881 and 1891 ; but, as' it is obvious that a portion of this
decrease might be due to migration from the affected tracts, of the extent of which it
is impossible to form any estimate, it is safer to consider the figures for the district
as a whole. After making allowance for the increase in the number of emigrants from
Kamrup, the district-born population decreased by 10,245 souls in the ten years
ending 1891, but, as pointed out by Mr. Gait, this is very far from being the measure of
the damage done by the disease. Under ordinary circumstances, it is only reason-
able to suppose that ihe indigenous population of Kamrup would have increased
largely during the intercensal period, and had there been no deaths from kald-dzdr,
the population of Kamrup in 189 1 would have been greater by 75,000 souls than was
actually the case.
It is a characteristic of this disease, as of many others, that after a time it
burns itself out in the localities which it attacks, and in 1892 kald-dzdr began to die
down in Kamrup. By this time, however, the disease had obtained a firm hold on the
Nowgong district, though here, as elsewhere, its advance was very gradual, and its
effects for some time can hardly be detected in the mortality returns. The first
recorded case occurred at Nowgong in 1888, where it was brought from Gauhati by some
boys who attended the school there, and in 1889 another centre of infection was started
at Roha by a man who came home to die, after contracting the disease in Kamrup.
Two years afterwards the infection was conveyed in the same way to Nokia, and from
these three centres the disease gradually spread over the whole district. The inaccu-
racy of the returns of vital occurrences collected by the unpaid gaonburas of the
Assam Valley is well known, but it is possible to draw some conclusions from them,
provided that the amount of error remains constant, and the recorded birth-rate for
Nowgong is such as to justify us in assuming that there has not been any very marked
improvement in registration during the last fourteen years. During the five years
1887-1891, before /^fl/i-ia^tf;^ had gut a grip on the district, the average number of
deaths annually from fever was 4,405. Had this rate been maintained for the nine years
ending December 31st 1900, the total mortality from fever would have amounted to
39.^45) but our records, imperfect though they are, show 93,824 deaths as due to fever
and kald-dzdr, and we are thus left with a recorded mortality from kald-dzdr of 54,179
out of a population which in 1891 only numbered 347,307 souls. The following
account is given by the Deputy Commissioner of the effects of the disease upon
the district :
The state of the district can hardly be realised by any one who has not travelled throughout
it, and been into the villages. Deserted basti sites are common ; a few of the people in sutfh cases
removed elsewhere, but most stuck to their houses till they died. In Lalung and Hojai villages
I believe hardly anyone went elsewhere, and these two tribes lost very heavily. There used to be
nurnbers of Hojais in the neighbourhood of Kharikhana ; almost all have died ; ten or twelve
Hojai villages at the foot of the hills near Doboka have completely disappeared, and Doboka itself
has shrunk from an important trade centre to a miserable hamlet.
Kald-dzdr is not only merciless in the number of its victims, but also in the way it kills. Men
rarely died under three months, and often lingered two years, sometimes even more. If two or
three members of a family were attacked with the disease, all its little savings were spent
to support them. Kald-dzdr not only claimed victims in a family, but left the survivors
impoverished, if not ruined. A case which came under ray personal notice will show what I mean •
I noticed some fine rice land at Ghilani, near Kampur, lying uncultivated, and sent for the
patiadar to question him about it. He came and said— "We were three, my father, my elder brother
and myself. They died of kald-dzdr, and we sold our cattle and all we had to support them'
Wow I am ill, and shall die next year, how can I cultivate the land ?^'
In many instances, an old man or woman, or two or three small children, are all that is left of a
large family. In Nowgong, Roha, and Puranigudam are empty spaces where formerly houses stood
and the same sort of thmg can be seen all over the district. So much land has gone out of cultiva-
tion that It has hardly any value except in the town, near Silghat, and in the Kondoli mauza A
man will not buy land when it can be had for the asking.
I find that the results of the census are amply borne out by the falling ofif of the land reve
ever'^^ h^""^' ^ ^^^^ examined them, mauza by mauza, and they varied in the same proportion
42. The disease is almost as noteworthy for the extent to which it has been a cause
The nature of the disease. °^ Conflict amongst mcdical men as for the mortality it
"as produced. When first referred to in the Sanitary
Reports of the provmce, it is described as an intense form of malarial poisoning which
W4S popularly supposed to be contagious. The Civil Surgeon of Goalpara, however
Chap. ii.J th'e MsOlts of the cmsus. 21
rejected the theory of contagion, and in 1884 expressed the opinion that kald-dzdr was Variations in
sirtiply a local name for malarial fever and its consequences. In 1889-90 a specialist the popu-
(Surgeon- Captain Giles) was appointed to investigate both kald-dsdr and the so-called ^^vm.
beri-beri of coolies, arid he rapidly came to the conclusion that kald-dzdr and beri-beri
were merely different names for anchylostomiasis, and that the mortality was due to the
ravages of the dochmius duodenalis, a worm which lives in the small intestine. This
theory corresponded with the observed facts to the extent that it admitted, what at that
stage of the enquiry could hardly be denied, that kald-dsdr was communicable, the
uncleanly habits of the natives of the province affording every facility for the transfer
of The ova of the parasite from the sick to the healthy ; but the support which was given
to Dr. Giles' views by local medical opinion was withdrawn when Major Dobson proved
by a series of experiments that anchyl'ostoma were present in varying numbers in no less
than 620 out of 797 healthy persons examined by him. In i8g6, Captain Rogers was
placed on special duty to make further investigations, and, in addition to demon-
strating various differences of a more or less technical character in the symp-
tbtflatbloSgy of the two diseases, he pointed out that, whereas kctld'dzdr was extreme-
ly inimical to life, the number of cases of anchylostomiasis that terminated
fatally was by no means large. The conclusion to which this specialist came, after
a very careful enquiry, was that the original view was correct, and that kald-dzdr was
nothing but a vei'y intense form of malarial fever, which could be Communicated from
the sick to the healthy, an opinion which was to a great extent endorsed by the profes-
sion in Assam, successive Principal Medical Officers declaring that, whatever kald-dzdr
was, it had been abundantly proved that it was not anchylostomiasis. The suggestion
that malaria could be communicated did not, however, commend itself to the entire
medical world, and was criticised with some severity, Dt. Giles writing as recently
as 1898 — " Dr. Rogers, like a medical Alexander, cuts his Gordian knot by announcing
t'hat Assamese malaria is infectious. In this he places himself at variance with not
only the scientific but the popular opinion of the entire world." A complete change
in popular and scientific opinion was, however, brought about by the development of
Manson's mosquito theory, and Major Ross, who visited Assam, in the course of his
enquiry into the manner in which infection by malaria 4:akes place, confirmed Rogers'
eonclusions, and in 1899 placed on record his opinion that, as stated by Rogers, kald-
dzdr was malarial fever. The only point of differencebetween kald-dzdr and ordinary
malarial fever lies in the rapidity with which the former produces a condition of severe
cachexia, and the ease with which it can be communicated from the sick to the healthy.
The origin of the disease is obviously a matter which must always be open to doubt.
Captain Rogers is of opinion that kald-dsdr was imported from Rangpur, where malarial
fever was extraordinarily virulent in the early seventies, but this is stiH a matter of
conjecture. What is more to the point is that its advance up the Assam valley seems
to ihave been checked. The plains of Ndwgbng are separated from the plains ol
SibSagat, the next district on the east, by sparsely-populated hills and forests, and though
a few isolated cases have occurred near the boundary of the two districts, the
disease has obtained no foothold. It is true that on the north bank it has reached
Biswanath, but north ol the Brahmaputra it appears to be of a less virulent type, and to
spread with less rapidity. In Nowgong itself the disease is dying out, and there will
probacy be a considerable increase of population during the next decade, as the
district will soon be connected by rail with the comparatively densely-peopled plains
of Sylhet, ixdm which it is expected that there will be considerable migration to the
waste lands of the Assam Valley.
43. After allowing for the alterations due to transfers of territory, the popula-
sn,gags,r. tion of Sibsagar increased by 117,310, or 24-4 per
Total population 1901 ... 697,969 ccnt. The number of persons bom and ccnsuscd
^*" '"-pj^^tlg^ in the district increased by 60,102, or nearly 17
•powiia-tfon per cent., immigrants from other districts de-
va«ation-Tot.i district ... 4-u7,sio ^.4-4 ' crcascd by 4,441, or 33-9* P.^r cent and immi-
Districtborn ... + 60,108 +18-5 grants from bthcr oroviuces lucreascd Dy Ol ,649,
liQinigTants from » y . . t ,.■'.,■'
other districts ...-4,441 -0-9 nr 60 Dcr Cent, The incrcase lu the distnct-born
Immigrants from .„-%'.. • r i^ ^u-i
other provinces ... + 61,649 +12-8 -population IS most Satisfactory, but must obviously
to a considerable extent be due to the district-born chil dren of foreign women, the mean
•Born in province and censused in'Sibsa?ar Born in province and censused in Sibsagar
1001 ... - - -446,357 1891 ... ... ..• 367,311
Deduct district bprni90i ... ... 414,326 District born 189 1 ... ... - 354,224
32,631 Immigrants from other districts 1891 ... 13,087
Dfedact population in 1891 of transferred areas 23,385 Ditto ditto 1901 ^'^ 46
Immigrants from cither districts 1901 ... ^646 Decrease ... - ^''<4'
22 REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, IQOI. [CHAP. 11
Variations in number of whom in the district during the decade was 54,624, and the growth of popula-
the popu- tion in Sibsagar is best measured by the increase in the Assamese castes and indigenous
lation. tribes. After making allowance for the additions to the Golaghat subdivision, it appears
that these persons, who in 1891 formed 73-8 per cent, of the population, have increased
by 30,524, or 8-6 per cent., a rate of increase v^hich seems especially satisfactory when
compared with the decrease in the Assamese population of Kamrup, Nowgong, and
Darrang. Sibsagar, though it has been free from kald-dzdr, has not been particulariy
healthy during the decade, as both cholera and small-pox haVe been unusually prevalent.
In 1897, the public health was unusually bad, but, judged as a whole, it must be
, admitted to be one of the most flourishing districts in _ Assam, as at each successive
census the population has shown a large increase, and is now 88 per cent, greater ■ than
in 1873. The district contains a large number of well-managed tea gardens, which
bring both men and money into the province, and though a great part of its prosperity
is due to the tea industry, the natives of Assam are also able to hold their own,
and are increasing in numbers.
44. The rate of increase is nearly equal in Jorhat and Golaghat, 20-9 and 19-9, and
. is highest in Sibsagar, 32* i, Golaghat has fewer large tea
Distribution of population by ,° ., .,, ° r S .1 lj" •_• „ j ;„ T«»
BubdiviBiSne. gardens than either of the other subdivisions, and in Jor-
popuia- Percent- hat the amouut of good land still awaiting settlement is not
tlon Increase, a^e of . rr-., i* •' •! ■ o -^ ■ 0*1-
1901. Increase, large. The density per square mile is 102 in bibsagar,
Blbsagrar 811,809 +61,506 +sa'l ,° . ti. i • r< ^ i^ I'L- IJ 1 __
Jorhat 219,137 +37,985 +80-9 207 lu Torhat. and 55 in Golaghat, which includes a large
Golaerhat 167,023 +27,880 +19-9 ' A -ii ^ >. r J r ..l. .. - • UU
area of hilly country transferred from the two neighbour-;
ing districts. Round Jorhat, which was the last seat of the Assam Rajas, there
is very little land left unsettled, the density in the Jorhat tahsil amounting to 441 to
the square mile, which for a purely rural population must be considered hi^h.
45. The population of Lakhimpur increased by 1 1 7,343 persons, i.e., by 46' i per cent.
Lakiiimpur. during the decade, 16 per cent, of this increase
Total population 1901 ... 871,398 being due to natural growth, t.e., increase in the
1891 ... 254,063 ^ f ii !• i • .. I . .
number of the district-born, 2 per cent, to im-
o^totai migration from other districts, and 28 per cent.
population. ^ • • .• t ii • Vi • J-
Variation-Total district ...+11,7843 +49-1 to immigration from other provinces. This dis-
PiSrlntr' from ■*'*°'°™ "^^^'' trict has enjoyed remarkable and continuous
immiS^wrom ''" ^'"^ ■*" ^'^ prosperity. At each successive census, the per-
other provinces... +72,119 +28-4 ccntage of increase has been over 40, the present
population is more than three times as great as that of 1872, and though the chief cause
of the increase is to be. found in the numerous tea gardens, and in the coal mines
and other enterprises of the Assam Railways and Trading Company, it is satis-
factory to see that, in this part of the valley, the natives of Assam are also
well to the fore. The indigenous castes, which in 1891 formed 6o'5 per cent,
of the population, have increased by 30,335, or i9"7 per cent., during fhe. last
ten years, and even though a portion of this increase is in all probability due to an
increase in the number of immigrants from other districts, there still remains an increase
of i6'3 per cent, after making deductions on this account. The number of foreigners in
the district is very large, no less than 41 per cenf. of the population having been
born outside the province, and with their children they form the bulk of the population,
the persons returned under the principal indigenous castes in 1901 being only 45 per
cent, of the whole,
46. The population of the sadr subdivision increased by 50"3 per cent,, and that of
Distribution ot population by North Lakhimpur by 33*7 per cent. The increase in
subdwsionB. Dibrugarh calls for little explanation,, as there has been a
^tiS^' ^""Sf '^ percen- great expansion in the tea industry, which has in its turn
1901. decrease tage. stimulated evcry branch of trade. North Lakhimpur,
^ '■ on the other hand, is a very backward tract, situated
gi^rthTa^ '''•''' +''■''' ■'"'■' ' on the north bank of the Brahmaputra, with a population
Khimpur. 84.884 +21,390 +33.7 ^f ^^jy geveuty-two to the square mile. It is generally
supposed to be rather unhealthy, its soil is not parriculariy suitable for tea, communi-
cations are defective, and the general conditions are not such as to conduce to a rapid
rate of progress,^ It is, therefore, the more satisfactory to find that there has been a
very considerable increase in population, as this apparently justifies us in assuming that
the population of Lower and Central Assam will again increase when once it has been
completely freed from the terrible scourge of kald-dsdr.
47. The population of North Cachar has risen from 18,941 to 40,812, which is
North oaohar. equivalent to a rate of increase of 115-4 per cent,, but
thisjsalmost entirely due to the fact that the Assam-
Bengal Railway is still under construction, and if the persons censused by the
CHAP. II.] THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS. 23
railway authorities are deducted, the population of the subdivision sinks to 20,490, Variations in
which gives an increase of 8 per cent. The persons censused on railway land are the popu-
merely temporary visitors, the great majority of whom will have disappeared before lation.
the next census, and it is doubtful whether even the opening of the line will
attract population to the subdivision to any great extent, as the soil is poor, and'
does not seem to be suitable for anything more advanced than \.h.ejhums of the Kukis,
Nagas, and Kacharis, who are its present occupants. North Cachar, although treated as
a separate district in the census tables, is in reality only a^subdivision of the Cachar district,
and the variations in population cannot, therefore, be traced, as Cachar was the district
of birth returned in the schedule, and there is nothing to show whether hills or plains
are referred to.
48. After allowing for the large transfers of area that have taken place since 1891 , the
TheNagaHius popuktion of the Naga Hills increased by 5,765, or 5-9
per cent., but it is impossible to divide this increase in.to
the three heads, — district born, immigrants from other districts, and immigrants from
other provinces, — as no conclusions whatever can be drawn without adjusting the figures
for 1 89 1, and we do not know in what district the people living in the area transferred
to Nowgong and Sibsagar were born. The Naga tribes (excluding the Rengma
Nagas, some of whom lived in the transferred" area), who form 86 per cent, of
the population have, however, only increased by 4,067, or 4*8 per cent., and this can be
taken as a ^fairly accurate measure of the natural increase. Births and deaths
are not recorded in the district, but the Deputy Commissioner reports that the
public health has been bad, and that the rate of increase is as high as he
expected. The people on the whole are prosperous, but for some reason or other not
prolific. In Nowgong and Kamrup, where the figures are not much disturbed by
immigration, there were on the census night 115 and 110 children under 5 for every
ICO married women between 15 and 40. In the Khasi and Jaintia Hills, there were
108 children, yet in the Naga Hills the humber is only 85, though the general health there
must certainly have been better than in Nowgong. On this subject, Major Woods,
the Deputy Commissioner, writes as follows :
When testing the enumeration in this subdivision, I was particularly struclc with the paucity
of children. House after house I visited, and found married people who had in some cases been
married for years and no children 1 Lhotas keep as many wives as they can afford to, so
possibly this may have something to do with the paucity of children and the decrease of the popu-
lation. The Lhota girls marry much earlier than the girls of other tribes, this also may affect
the population. There is no infanticide, even natural children are allowed to live.
In 1897, when I visited this part of the country, I too was impressed with the '
scarcity of children, and was amused at the explanation offered by a Naga, which was
to the effect that the good-looking women were overwhelmed with attentions from
their male friends, and that the ugly ones were neglected altogether; but the true expla-
nation of their sterility has, I think, been indicated by Mr. Davis, who probably knows
the Naga better than any one living, and is of opinion that he is naturally rather
sluggish in sexual matters, and that the hard work done by the women tends to
prevent conception.
49. The total population of the Khasi and Jaintia Hills increased by 4,346, or 2-19
m„ TTT, »* ..,^ T,i.,«n miiB per cent., almost the whole of this small advance
The Khasi and Jaintia Hills. r ^ > . . 1 r 1
Total population 1901 ... 203,260 being due to an increase m tiie number ot the
'®" '"'peroentlge indigcnous inhabitants. Hitherto, the district has
po°puiatfon. shown a steady growth of population, the Increase
Variation-Total district ... +4,846 +2-19 " at the last two censuses amounting to as much as
i°A'l"^a2tT -ftom *'•''' ^'■*' 17-9 and 19-5 per cent., and though part of
^Sd'Brants'*°*ftom ~ *' this increase was possibly due to the greater
otter provinces ... + B64 +0-28 accuracy of the enumeration of 1891, as com-
pared with its predecessors, there is no doubt that the progress of the district
has received a temporary check. The actual number of deaths attributed to the
great earthquake of 1897 was only 916, but it had a most prejudicial effect upon the
health of the people, as pointed out by the Deputy Commissioner in the following
extracts from his report :
The earthquake of 1897 caused a great change in the general health and material pro-
gress of the people it was followed by incessant rain, and, owing to exposure, anxiety,
want and bad food, dysentery and fever were prevalent throughout the district during the latter
half of 1897 and during 1898 and 1899. The orange groves in Sheila, which were the most valuable
property of the people, were entirely destroyed by the sands brought down by the floods. The
people have not been able to recover their loss, and a great many seem in actual want. As to
the effects of the earthquake, I quote below the remarks of one of the Charge Superintendents,
^hich may be found interesting.
24 REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, ipoT. [CHAP. II.
Variations in The Reverend Dr. John Roberts writes :
the popu- "Up to the time of the earthquake the whole of the district was fairly healthy and pros-
lation. ous g^^ after the earthquake a most malignant kind of fever was very prevalent and hundreds
of people died of it. This lasted for about two years. I have been in the district fot close upon
thirty vears, but I never saw such mortality as during the years 1898 and 1899. Another
feature after the earthquake was a marked decrease in the number of births. In this respect
things are righting themselves gradually."
The decrease in fertility observed by Dr. Roberts is clearly brought oiit by
Table VII, from which it appears that while in 1891 there were 117 chvldren under 5
for every 100 married women between 15 and,40, in 190 1 there were only 108; but during
the next decade, unless we are visited by another calamity similar to that of 1897, the
population of the distri'ct will probably increase rapidly, as in normal years the country
is healthy, and the people industrious and prosperous.
50. The population of the sadr subdivision has remained almost stationary, the
total increase being 946, or •7 per cent., which is more
Dlstrll)Ution of population Dy lOldl lin,icd3c uciiig y^ , V-^^OL-ll •.. If U a. ■
subdivisions. ^I^g^o accounted for by the growth in bhiUong itselt, but in
popuia- ^°+r of Percent- Jo^ai there has been an increase df 3,400, or 5*2 per cent.
tion decrease age. ^j. t^ie census of 1 89 1, the rate of increase was highe'r in
sMUon....'™ + ^6 + 0-7 Shillong than Jowai, and this change in the condition of
jowai ... 67,921 + 3,400 + 5-3 affalrs IS due to the fact that the effects or the earthquake
were felt less severely in the eastern portion of the district.
51. The population of the Garo Hills increased by 16,704, or 137 per cent., the
„^ „ „.„ whole of this increase being accounted for by an
The Garo Hills. , , f^ i_ • i_
Total population 1901 ... i38,27'4 mcrease lu the number 01 persons born in the
^^'^ perclnt'ae district, the increasc in the immigrants from other
o\mtfon parts of Assam being more than counterbalanced
Variation-Total district ... +16,704 +13-7 ' by the decrease in the number of immigrants
Sf^fg'rlStfftom +"■"'' ""'*■' from other provinces. The greater part of the
immS^St^'^ftoni "^ ^'^^^ * ^'^ iucrcase has occurred in the plains mauzas, where
other provinces -2,617 -2-1 the population has Hscn from 27,507* to 37,241,
an increase of 35*3 per cent. In the hills the population has increased by 7*4 per
cent., a figure which corresponds closely with the increase amongst the GaroS,
who form 75 per cent, of the population, and is rather less than the ratio of
increase amongst those who speak the Garo language (io'2 'per cent.). The
natural growth of the population, i5*7 per cent., is very considerable, but I am inclined
to doubt the correctness of this figure, as, if the Garos and Nalive Christians, who
are presumably all indigenous to the district, are deducted from the indigenous
population, there only remain 17,477 district born, amongst whom we are asked to
believe that there has been an increase of 5,373 persons, aS the Garos have only
increased by 11,626. Such an increase is on the face of it most improbable, and
I am inclined to agree with the Deputy Commissioner, who has formed the opinion
on other grounds, that the census of 1891 in the plains "mauzas was not exhaustive,
an opinion to which the very high rate (ni increase lends some support. The
only other explanation possible is that persons born in other provinces have been
returned as born in the district, but there is no teason to doubt the figures for
immigrants from other districts, who have increased by 40 per cent., and it does
not seem probable that mistakes would be made in the one case and not in the
other. The actual increase in the indigenous population is probably about 10
per cent., which in a district which has the reputation of extreme unhealthiness must
be considered satisfactory.
The Garos, however, according to the Deputy Commissioner, enjoy a considerable
measure of prosperity. They are in all probability partially immune to malaria, and
as they are no longer decimated by kald-dzdr, there is nothing to prevent a steady
growth in their numbers.
53- Manipur was censilsedin 1891, but the papers were destroyed in the rising, and
Lushai Hills andManipur. ^^^. L.^^hai HiUs were ccnsused for the fitst time last ^aTCh,
so it IS not possible to ascertain the growtli of the papula-
tion in the last decade. Between 1881 and 1901, the population of ManipuT
increased by 63,395, or 28-6 per cent. This increase must be due either to natural
growth or increased accuracy of enumeration, as there is practically no immigration
to Manipur, the State born forming nearly 99 per cent, of the total population.
53. After considering the history and constitution of the different districts, we are now
The province. '" ^ position to Understand the causes which have affected
the growth of population in the province during the last
decade. The population of Assam (excluding Manipur and Lushai) has increased by
* Mauzas VI and VII have alone been taken as plains mauzas.
90
92
m
28
MAP
TO ILLUSTRATE THE INCREASE AND DECREASE
AMONGST THE INDIGENOUS POPULATION OF
ASSAM
Exterior Eastern Bonndary in accordance with trace reed,
with the Secretary to the Chief Oommisgioner of Assam's
letter No. 1^50 Misc. dated 24L January 1901
361 J.
xb
EEFEEENCES
Province or Stale Boundary
District "
Undemarcated •»
1 Area under Political Control
22
96
PERCENTAGE.
Increase or Decrease,
(+or-).
Nowgong —.31 '5
Kamrup — -..S'O
Darrang: — ..8'0
Sylhet .+....V9
Khasi andJaintia Hills riT..2-0
Goalpara rt:..27
Cachar Plains -h.-5'2
North Cachar .+...8-1
Sibsagar. +..8'5
Garo Hills ,....+.10-0
Laktiimpur . rh .16'3
REFERENCES.
Decrease.
Nowgong- 30 7o and o»er.
Darrang...
Kamrup...
5-10%
Increase.
Sylhet
Khasi and
Jaintia Hills...
Goalpara.
Cachar Plains.^
North Cachar.
Sibsagar
Garo Hills
Lakhimpur
Oto5%-
[-5-10 7o
10-20 %
I
^!^
Photo., S. I. 0., Calcutta.
Oachar + B'2
Sylhet + 1-9
Goalpara + 2"}
Eamrup — 8'0
Darrang — 8'0
Nowgiong — 81'5
CHAP. II.J THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS. 25
325,776, or 5-99 per cent., but the number of persons born in the province has only Variations in
increased by 67,200, or i"36 per cent., while immigrants from other provinces have in- the popu-
creased by 50-85 per cent., and now form nearly 13 per cent, of the total population, lation.
It is unnecessary for us to consider here either where the immigrants come from or
to what districts they go, as this branch of the subject will be dealt with in the next
chapter ; and the point which I have endeavoured to bring out in the preceding paragraphs
is the changes that have taken place in the indigenous population, I have shown that in
Estimatea perooutage of Increase or Cachar there has been 3. moderate increase, that
deorea^se amongst indigenous ini^awtants. ;„ gyi^et aud^Goalpara there is vcrv little natural
LSfmpur +18-3 growth, that in Kamrup and Darrang there has
Nagi^Hiu?*'" ^.5^ been a serious decrease amongst the Assamese,
^^asiandjaintia^^^ which in Nowgoug might without exaggeration be
GaroHuis +10-0 characterised as appalling, while* in Sibsagar there has
been a fair and in Lakhimpur a most satisfactory growth in the indigenous popula-
tion. In the Assam range there has been a substantial increase, except in the
Khasi and Jaintia Hills, but the number of persons censused is too small to materially
affect the general result.
For a province so sparsely peopled as is Assam, it cannot be denied that these
figures are most unsatisfactory, but it must be borne in mind that decreases in population
are not peculiar to this province. There has been a decrease of 1 nearly a million
and a half in the population of the Bombay presidency during the last decade, and if
this comparison be rejected on the ground that this portion of the Empire has been
visited by famine and plague, we can find precedents at our very doors. The Kuch Behar
State has shown a decrease at each of the two last censuses, and in 1891 five districts
in Bengal returned a smaller number of inhabitants than they had done ten years before,
though the period was one of normal prosperity. The same can be said of the North-
Western Provinces, where the population of a whole division decreased- between i88i-
1891 by I "3 per cent.
I do not, however, believe that under normal conditions the population of ^ssam
would advance at the slow rate which has been maintained during the last decade.
In 1897 a species of 'death wave' seemed to pass over the province, and in parts of
Sylhet, and Central and Lower Assam, an abnormal mortality was unfortunately not
confined to this year alone. It is probable that the north bank of the Brahmaputra is
not as healthy as Sibsagar and Lakhimpur, and the Kacharis who live on the
grassy plains near the outer ranges of the Himalayas are said to be constitutionally
a short-lived race; but if the Assamese can increase rapidly at the upper end of the valley,
it is only reasonable to suppose that when kald-dzdr has finally disappeared, they will
at any rate stop decreasing in Kamrup, Darrang and Nowgong. The stagnation in
Sylhet is due to special causes, and with their removal, the people will presumably
revert to a more normal rate of increase ; but it is, I think, open to doubt whether in
certain parts of Assam, e.g., Goalpara, Kamrup and Darrang, the conditions of life are
ever such as to be conducive to a rapid growth of the population.
54. It may perhaps be thought that the last enumeration has not been as accurate
as its predecessor, and that the low rate of increase Is
Aoouraoyoftneennineration. partially due tO this CaUSe, but this Is nOtthe CaSC. The
three districts in the province in which the census figures are most likely to arouse
suspicion are Nowgong, Kamrup and Sylhet. In Nowgong and Kamrup, the decrease
in population is accompanied by a proportionate decrease in land revenue, and in both
of these districts, if foreigners be excluded, the number of women exceeds the number of
men— a fact which in India is generally, and I think rightly, supposed to be an indication
of a very accurate enumeration. The same holds good, though in a modified degree,
of Sylhet, as, in the two subdivisions where there has been a decrease in the general
population, the proportion of women is very considerably above the average for the
whole district. Lastly, we have the vital returns, which, though not accurate, possess a
certain relative value of their own. I have already shown how fully they confirm the
figures for the Sylhet subdivisions, and we find much the same in Assam. Population
has increased in Sibsagar and Lakhimpur, and the recorded birth and death-rate are
about equal, whereas in Kamrup, Darrang, and more especially Nowgong, there is a
large excess of deaths, the death-rate in the latter district rising to 45 per mille on
the mean population, as compared with a birth-rate of 25 per mille.
55. When considering the variation in the population, I have made but little reference
to the returns of vital occurrences, and before concluding
System under which vital statis- j.j,jg chapter, It would be as wcll to explain why I have not
tics are collected. thought it necessary to do so. In Assam, the registra-
tion of births and deaths is only compulsory in municipalities, places to which Act IV
G
26 REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, igoi. [CHAP. II.
Variations in (B.C.) of 1873 has been extended, and on tea-gardens. The tea-garden population
the popu-at the time of the census'was 657,33r, and, as far as Act-I coolies are concerned, the
lation. mortality returns are in all probability fairly correct, as the Act-I coolie, when once he
has come upon the garden books, must be accounted for in some way or another in the
statements submitted to Government. Equal reliance cannot, however, be placed upon
the figures for non-Act coolies, while the birth-rate recorded on the plantations is
notoriously incorrect, infants who die within a few months of their birth being usually
omitted from the registers. The population of the other areas in which registration
is compulsory is so small, that it has no effect upon the provincial total, but even in
these places, in spite of the penal provisions of the Act, the record is far from complete.
In the five upper districts of the Assam Valley, the returns are submitted by the
gaonbura or village headman to the mandal of his circle, to whom, in theory at any
tate, he makes a verbaf report twice in every month. Were this a matter of practice,
and not of theory only, the returns would be fairly correct, as though the gaonbura
is, as a rule, unable to read or write, he would have no difficulty in calling to mind
the number of births and deaths that had taken place in his village during the previous
fortnight, but, as a matter of fact, these reports are submitted at much longer intervals.
This, of course, is an infraction of the rules, but as the gaonbura is an unpaid servant of
Government, the only way of punishing him for neglect of duty is by calling him
in to headquarters to explain his conduct, or by depriving him of an appointment to
which he in many cases does not attach any particular value. The system thus
suffers from the serious disqualification of having as a foundation an' illiterate person
of unbusiness-like habits, whom there are no legal means of punishing for disobedience of
orders. Every month the mandal sends in the return for his circle to the tahsildar or
mauzadar, who submits a consolidated report for the area under his charge to the head-
quarters of the subdivision in which it is situated. These reports are then compiled
into a return for the district, which is submitted for the examination of the Deputy
Commissioner and the Civil Surgeon.
The returns are tested on the spot as occasion offers by the police and the revenue
and vaccination staff, but the amount of testing that it is possible to do is so small
in comparison with the total mass, that the fear of detection has but little influence
upon the mandals, who are not as a class particularly amenable to any kind of disci-
pline, and the result is that a large proportion of deaths, and a still larger propor-
tion of births go unrecorded. Column 2 of Subsidiary Table V has been filled up by
adding to the population of 189 1 the number of immigrants as shown by the Immigra-
tion Reports, and deducting the number by which the deaths during the last ten years
exceed the births, or adding the number by which the births exceed the deaths. This
statement shows that, assuming that births and deaths are recorded with equal
accuracy, 9,000 deaths were omitted in Kamrup, 14,000 in Darrang and 41,000 in
Nowgong, but as it is practically certain that more births are overlooked than deaths,
it is obvious that the number of deaths omitted is considerably larger than the number
shown in the statement. To take another test of the accuracy of the returns, the
deaths recorded in Nowgong give a death-rate on the mean population for the last
ten years, of 44*9 per mille. Had this been the actual death-rate during the decade,
there would in all probability have been a satisfactory increase in the population, where-
as, as a matter of fact, the indigenous castes and tribes decreased by 31 "5 per cent.,
and it is plain that the deaths recorded give no indication of the actual death-rate.
In Goalpara the statistics are reported to the police by the village panchayats in
writing, and here the returns are much more reliable than in Assam Proper, as though
both births and deaths are omitted, they are omitted in fairly equal proportions. In
Sylhet and Cachar the reports are submitted verbally by the village chaukidars,
but the proportion of immigrants is so large, that it is not possible even to make an
estimate of the accuracy of the system. Subsidiary Table V would suggest that a
large number of deaths are omitted, and this is almost certainly the case, but a portion
of the difference between the two sets of figures may be due to foreigners leaving the
district — a movement upon which it is impossible to throw any light from the Census
Tables.
56. The statement in the margin shows the birth and death-rate per mille for each
plains district worked out on the mean population of the
Birth-rate. Death-rate, dccade. Everywhere the ratcs recorded are considerably
in defect of those which must actually exist, but they
reach the height of inaccuracy in Lakhimpur and Sib-
sagar, where, with a rapidly-increasing population, the birth-
rate stands at 25 and 24 per mille !
Qoalpara ...
39
39
Sylhet
34
33
Cachar
30
31
Kamrup
27
,32
Darrangr
26
38
Lakhimpur ...
25
27
Sibaagrar
24
24
Nowgoug ...
24
46
CHAP. II.] THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS. 27
Practically, no attempt is made to record vital statistics in the hills, and it is Variation in
obvious that, even in the plains, the returns can never be accurate as long as they are laHojf °*'"'
recorded by a purely voluntary agency, over which there is little or no control.
57. I have already referred to the growth or decay of the indigenous population of
,,^ . each district, and it only remains to consider the Assamese
Decay of the Assamese people. , ', ^-'^ , i-ir i-i
people as a whole. In i8gi the castes and tribes tor which
details will be found in Subsidiary Table III, numbered 1,608,257 in the five upper dis-
tricts of the valley, and formed nearly 80 per cent, of the total population, but during
the last ten years they have been dying out, and the decrease amongst the Assamese
amounts to no less than 6*4 per cent. This decay of what in many ways is a most
interesting people cannot but be regarded with profound regret both by the Assamese
themselves, and by the foreigners who have lived amongst them, and it is to be hoped
that during the next decade the specially adverse circumstances under which they
have been labouring will disappear, and that with their removal the numbers of the
Assamese will again increase.
28
REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, I got.
[chap. II.
SUBSIDIARY TABLE I.
Variation in relation to density since 1872.
Variations
in the po-
pulation.
Percentage of variation, increase (+) or
decrease ( — ).
Percentage of
net variation
in period 1872-
igoi increase
(+) or decrease
. Mean deasity of population per square
mile.
1891 to igoi.
1881 to 1891.
1872 to iBSi.
)
1901. iSgi-
1881.
1872.
X
2
3
'
S
6
7
8
9
Cachar Plains
Sylhet
+ 12*8
+ 4"0
+ 25-1
+ 9-4
+ 43-2
+ 14-5
+ 102-3
+ 30-3
201
412
178
396
142
362
316
Total Surma Valley
+ S'3
+ H-4
+ 17-5
+ 38-0
353
336
301
256
Goalpara
Kamrup
Darrang
Nowgong
Sibsagar
Lakhimpur
-t- 2"0
- 7-1
+ 97
— 24-8
+ 24-4
+ 46-1
+ 1-3
-f 12-6
-1- IO-2
+ 22'4
+ 41*2
+ 15-3
+ 14-8
+ 15-8
+ 2I-0
+ 23-5
+ 48-3
+ 19"2
+ 4-8
+ 43"o
+ 0-3
-f- 88-1
-f-206'2
117
153
99
68
120
88'
114
164
90
90
96
60
167
80
82
79
43
98
146
69
68
63
29
Total Brahmaputra Valley ...
+ 57
+ 9-9
+ I9'5
+ 39-0
108
102
93
78
Total Plains
+ 5-5
+ 107
+ i8-S
+ 38-5
166
157
142
120
Lushai Hills
North Cachar
Naga Hills
Khasi and Jaintia Hills
Garo Hills
+ iiS'4
+ 5'9
+ 2-1
+ 137
-'"s-s
+ I-I
+ 17-9
+ 10-9
— 32-9
+ 34-5
+ 19-5
+ 87
+ 36-0
"+ 44-1
+ 44'o
+ 37-2
II
24
33
34
44
6
II
31
33
39
12
28
35
"18
23
23
32
Total Hill Districts
-t- II-I
+ 10-6
+ 14-8
+ 4i'3
27
23
19
16
Manipur
...
87
67
Total Province excluding Mani-
pur and Lushai •»
Province, including Manipur
and Lushai
+ S'9
+ 11-8
4- 107
+ l8'2
+ 387
109
103
105
91
SUBSIDIARY TABLE II.
Variation in district and foreign born population.
Percentage of district
rercenlage of foreign
Percentage of
increase (+)
Iwr
D in
bore
in
or decrea
e (-) in
Total.
1901.
1891.
1901.
1891.
District
born.
Foreign
born.
•
2
3
4
S
6
7
8
Cachar Plains
69-44
67-84
24-41
25-24
+ 15-50
+ 9-1
Sylhet ...
92-41
94-38
7-35
5-34
+ 1-87
+ 43-29
Goalpara
89-38
88-85
9-02
996
+ 2-65
- 7-67
Kamrup ..-
96-72
97-14
2-40
1-79
- 7-51
+ 2399
Darrang...
70-22
81-60
25-12
14-56
— 5-59
+ 89-31
Nowgong
86-69
92-80
"•34
4-85
— 29-76
+ 75-74
Sibsagar...
69-29
73-69
■^,25-35
18-71
+ 16-96
+ 68-53
Lakhimpur
55-19
64-91
4r-T&
31-77
+ 24-30
+ 89-32
Lushai Hills ...
92'8i
• >■
5-8 1
North Cachar
30-99
98-63
40-45
0-21
+ 11-30
+4i>i75-oo
Naga Hills
94-08
83-68
2-16
1-72
Khasi and Jaintia Hills
9641
96-58
171
1-46
+ 2-00
+ 1-94
Garo Hills
90-14
88-54
3-95
6-63
•f 15-79
— 32*42
Manipur
98-86
...
0*9 1
...
...
{lejiable percentages for Naga Hills are not available owing to transfers of area.
CHAP. II.]
TtiE RESULTS OF THt CENSUS,
29
SUBSIDIARY TABLE III.
Indigenous castes and tribes.
Indigenous Castes.
Abor
Ahom
Alton
Assamese
Barna Brahman
Boria
Brahman
Chutiya
Dafla
Doania
Dom (Nadiyal)
Ganak
Garo
Hari (Brittial Bania)
Hira
Hojai
Jugi (Tanti)
Kachari
Kaibartta
Kalita
Kayastha
Kewat (Mahesya Vaisya)
Khamti
Koch
Lalun^
Mahalia
Matak
Mech
Mikir ...
Miri
Mishmi
Moran
Moria
Mukhi
Namasudra or Chandal
Nat
Nora
Patia
Phakial
Rabha
' Rajbansi
Salai
Shaha (Sunri)
Shan
Singpho
Solanemia
Tokar
'lotia
Turung
KAMRUP.
Number
returned
in 1891.
Number
returned
in igoi.
Difference
+ or — .
DAl^RANG.
Number
returned
in 1891.
Number
returned
in 1901.
Difference
+ or -
NOWGONG.
Variations
in the po-
pulation.
Number
returned
in 1891.
Number
returned
in igoi.
Difference
+ or — .
Total
Added or deducted owing to the
transfer of area ...
47S
38s
969
24.738
1,036
14,826
5.967
5.800
3.72s
4.49«
17,484
94.983
22,468
129.939
4,207
32,239
99,9S2
2,375
I3.S95
218
118
2.335
13,076
954
17.526
2r
7.832
16,423
1,041
6,020
S4S.2IS
85-9 per
cent, on
total po-
pulation
of 1891.
557
94
1,002
23.145
713
10,518
6,048
5.144
2,647
4.063
17,619
92,104
23.331
115.590
4.322
21,143
93,850
1,592
10,593
135
2,391
10,618
700
i6,34'
103
7,426
14.495
736
7,015
494,036
82
— 29]
+ 33
— 1.593
— 323
— 4.308
+ 81
— 656
— 1.078
— 428
+ 135
— 2,879
+ 863
— 14.349
+ lis
— 11,096
— 6,102
— 783
— 3.002
— 217
+
+
— 2,458
— 254
— 1,185
+ 82
— 406
— 1,928!
— 30s
+ 995
— SI. '82
— 9-3 per
cent.
3.136
3,568
4.741
3,546
347
7.!
8,121
617
1,846
1,8
19.957
66,528
246
19,470
1,301
14.239
54.088
4.510
2,362
2,749
265
350
126
132
l6,S94
250
1,065
574
274
10
240,985
— 321
240,664
78' 2 per
cent, on
total po-
pulation
of 1891.
3.454
3.786
6,432
3.533
347
10,782
6,346
547
1,132
1.463
20,414
63,226
387
17.836
1,689
13.236
47.427
2,814
4,176
161
104
205
114
15.431
823
S23
lay
22
318
218
1,691
13
2,794
1,875
70
714
431
457
3.302
141
1,634
388
1,003
"6,661
4,5 '0
452
.,427
246
79
1,163
250
242
S
— 167
— 79
5.265
373
11,612
7.430
10,468
26,223
348
1,048
2,997
i.'56
3.637
22,076
12,514
97
24.034
2,656
20,553
49.791
46,658
857
47.881
243
S8S
6,245
600
3,296
349
116
207
1,009
3.381
14
7.799
6,115
6,663
18,887
137
966
2,146
15,624
11.823
S.930
16,326
2,149
7.34:
— 359
— 3,8)3
— 1.31S
— 3.805
7.336
211
82
851
358
3.471
6,452
691
5.833
7,708
507
13,211
33.553 — 16.238
28,985 — 17,673
- 857
35.730
13
S.299
763
2,327
1S8
638
64
824
— I2,i5r
— 243
— 572
— 946
+ 163
— 969
— '" 161
4- S22
— 143
— I8S
226,417 14,568
321
— 14.247
— 5-gper
cent.
310,424
3,166
313.590
90*2 per
cent, on
total po-
pulation
of 1891
214.750
— 95.674
— J,i66
~ 98,840
or
- srs
per cent..
30
REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM,' igoi.
[CHAP. II.
SUBSIDIARY TABLE III— continued.
Indigenous castes and tribes— contmueA.
Variations
!
SIBSAGAR.
LAKHIMPUR.
1
TOTAL.
in the po-
pulation-
Indigenous Castes.
Number
returned
NuBober
returned
Difference
Number
returned
Number
returned
Difference
Number
returned
Number
returned
Difference
in 1891.
in igoi.
+ or — .
in 1891.
in 1901.
+ or—.
in 1 891.
in 1 901.
+ or — .
I
2
3
4
S
6
7
8
9
16
Abor ...
217
317
+ 100
217
317
+ 100
Ahom ...
97.46s
111,119
+ 13.654
46,870
59.050
+ 12,180
153,211
177,561
+ 24,330
Alton .... ... ...
160
S4
- 76
160
84
— 76
Assamese
16
374
+ 358
16
374
+ 358
Barna Brahman
493
35
- "■ 458
113
240
+ 137
1,364
383
Boria ...
5,319
5,348
+ 29
941
1,294
+ 353
22,409
19,229
— 3,180
Brahman
12.177
M,438
+ 2,261
2,465
3,808
+ J.343
51,551
53,938
+ 2.387
Chutiya'...
54,587
57.030
+ 2,443
17,206
17,548
+ 342
86,843
85,487
— 1,356
Dafla ...
790
600
— 190
1,137
947
■^ 190
Doania
259
■" 263
+ "" 4
453
751
+ 298
712
1,014
+ 302
Dom (Nadiyal) ...
23,564
23,049
— S15
12,185
14,416
+ 2,231
84,786
77,652
— 7,134
Ganak .„
2,0Sl
1,997
- 84
170
178
+ 8
16,687
14,606
— 2,081
Garo ...
468
421
— 47
228
62
— 166
8,161
7,140
— 1,021
Hari (Brittlal Bania)
2,595
2,743
+ 147
879
1,071
+ 192
12,042
9,738
— 2,304
Hira ...
...
...
...
7,641
6,424
— 1,217
Hojai ...
...
»•■
...
...
3,637
166
— 3,471
, ugi (Tanti)
: Cachari
8,622
10,929
+ 2,307
3,162
7,392
+ 4.230
71,301
71,978
+ 677
16,776
16,618
- 15S
23,074
25,163
+ 2,089
213,875
208,934
— 4,94'
Kaibartta
S87
5,169
+ 4,582
522
2,26^
+ 1,742
23,920
37,081
+ I3.i6i
Kalita ...
34.475
36,627
+ 2,152
4,694
5.412
+ 718
212,612
191,791
— 20,821
Kayastha
3.443
3,791
+ 349
1,088
1,744
+ 656
12,694
13,695
+ 1,001
Kew^t (Mahesya Vaisya)
20,615
21,116
+ 501
2,457
2,797
+ 340
90,103
65,634
— 24^469
Khamti ...
...
...
2,976
1,953
— 1,023
2,976
1,953
— 1,023
Koch ... ...
25.656
27.531
+ "1,875
6,047
7.5SS
+ 1,508
235.534
209,916
— 25,618
[.alung ...
5
172
+ 167
569
797
+ 228
49,607
31,546
— 18,061
Mahalia ... ■ ...
196
',235
+ 1,039
5,563
1,235
— 4,328
Matak ...
252
30
— 222
485
614
+ 139
737
644
— 93
Mech .„
104
56
- 48
...
...
**.
104
56
— 48
Mikir ...
1,144
22,91 1
+ 21,767
...
64,982
72,04^^
+ 7,066
Miri ...
15,579
17,632
+ 2,053
18,640
24,911
+ 6,271
37,429
46,730
+ 9,291
Mishmi ...
*..
.••
...
217
98
— 119
217
98
— 119
Moraq .,.
1,676
...
— 1,676
4,130
125
— 4,005
5,806
125
— 5,68l
Moria ...
621
611
— 10
88
31S
+ 227
1,677
1,235
— 442
Mukhi ...
...
...
...
...
...
...
2.335
2,391
+ 56
Namasudra or Chandal
830
650
— 180
402
200
— 202
20,903
16,871
— 4,033
Nat
1,464
2.571
+ ',107
76
138
+ 62
3,220
4,377
+ 1,157
Nora ...
706
142
— 564
...
...
706
142
— 564
Patia ...
...
...
...
3.428
2,441
— 987
Phakial ...
...
...
...
"■ S64
'" SI18
- 346
564
218
— 346
Kabha .„
303
62
— 241
>55
181
+ 26
34,927
32,203
— 2,724
Raibansi .,.
152
200
+ 48
196
256
+ 60
735
8)459
+ 462
Salai ...
6
146
+ 140
...
9,110
— 651 <
Shaha(Sunri)
475
720
+ H5
212
■" 378
+ ""' 166
18,693
16,940
— 1.753
Shan ... ...
500
744
+ 344
...
500
744
+ 244
Singpho
•*•
...
1,461
824
- "■ 637
1,461
S24
- 637
Solanemia
...
274
107
— 167
Tokar ...
...
• ..
1,041
736
— 305
Totla ...
...
...
...
...
• ••
6,121
7,037
+ 916
Turung .., .,.
398
411
+ 113
298
411
+ 113
Total ..,
333,455
385,365
+ 51,909
■53,944
184,279
+ 30,335
1,584,027
1,504,847
— 79,iSo
Added or deducted owing to
transfer of area.
+ 21,385
...
— 21,385
...
...
+ 24,230*
...
— 24,230
354,841
+ 30,524
or
6o"5 per
...
or
1,608,257
...
— 103,410
or
73'8 per
+8-6 per
cent, on
+ 197 per
79*4 per
—6-4 per
cent, on
cent.
tot al
cent.
cent, on
cent.
total
popula-
tot al
popula-
tion of
popula-
tion of
1891.
tion of
1891.
1891.
- ixc^i c=.ci.i.=. 1.110 t#ui,ui»ifuii 111 loyi 01 tne area cransierreo :rom ttie Naga Hills, less 2,000 persons, the estimated number
of Nagas Uvmg there, "■
CHAP. II.]
THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS.
3^
Cd
2
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H
s
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>-
•^
Di
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:3
PERCENTAGE
OF INCREASE
OR DECREASE.
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iP 0\ 0\ 00
p\ CO N CO CO
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1 1 r + +
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vb
1
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O
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S
X
u
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PI 0\ to lO OQ
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00 vo —
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t*
: : " : :
CO
1-t
' M
o
CO
: : c^ : :
CO
cT
,<-
1
in
N C^ CO '^ O
^ a s ^ "
to ■--
Ov
■*
M 1-t to -^ O
o .CO g 2 to
■Tj, <o q, -*
lO "
cC .
i
CO
N •* 00 vo to
vo ov to o\ ►"
t^ CO C^ CO »-^
d; M hT CO lo"
00 c^ c^ to -^
^^ 11 ». CO '-
to
CO
CO
t
«
lO vo vo 0\ CO
O to Ov t^ -^
CJ CO •* ^ , t
to to to ■*" c^
M so « N N
to ►" c» CO >"
Ov
00
to
'^
M
M
: : : : :
a i 1 1 1
E fc s S S
:;^ Q Z (/] U
•
o
H
Variations
in the po<
pulation.
iH
in
c
Si
c4
Fi
1-
!S
3
< s
32
REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, I go I.
[chap. II.
SUBSIDIARY TABLE V.
Comparison of actual and estimated population.
Variations
in the po-
pulation.
Natural divisions and districts.
Cachar Plains ...
Sylhet
Total Surma Valley j ...
Goalpara
Kamrup
Darrang
Nowgong
Sibsagar
Lakhimpur
Total Brahmaputra Valley...
Total Plains
Lushai Hills
North Cachar ...
Naga Hills
Khasi and Jaintia Hills
Garo Hills
Total Hill Districts
Man! pur State
Total Province
Actual popu-
lation by Cen-
sus, I go J.
Population es-
timated from
vital statistics. I
Population es-
timated from
rate of increase,
1881-18QI.
414,781
2;24i,848
2,656,629
402,052
589,187
337;3i3
261,160
597>9G9
37i>396
2,619,077
436,267
2,306,349
2,742,616
454.-357
598.581
35i>466
304,098
594,965
404,662
2,708,129
Actual popu-
lation by Cen-
sus, 1891.
459,890
2,357,670
2,817,560
459,405
623,716
350,980
384,838
593,595
359,612
5,275,706
82,434
40,812
102,402
202,250
138,274
5,450,745
2,772,146
5,589,706
566,172
284,465
6,126,343
17,831
125,805
231,259
134,951
6,099,512
367,542
2,154,593
2,522,135
452,773
634,249
307,440
347,307
480,659
254,053:
2,476,481
4,998,616
43,634
18,941
96,637
197,904
121,570
509,806 478,686
5,477,302
90
28
It
V
94
MAP
TO ILLUSTRATE THE PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE
CENSUSED IN THE DIFFERENT DISTRICTS OF
"A S SAM
BUT BORN IN OTHER PARTS OF INDIA.
Scale of Miles
Eeg. No. L-, Tcnaua, Comr. Aasam.—Fcb. Cf. --lOOO
Exterior Eastern Boundary in accordance with trace reed,
with the Serretary to the Chief Commissioner of Assam's
letter No. 1550 Misc. dated 24h. Januaiy 1901
361 J.
^
REFEEENCES
Province or State Boundary
District »
Undemarcated »
1 Area under Political Control
Percentage of people Censused
in the different Districts of
the Province but born in other
parts of India —
/o
Lakhimpuf ..41'2
North Cachar 40-5
Sibsagar 25'4
Darrang 25'1
Cachar Plains 24'4
Nowgong .11'3
Goalpara 90
Sylhet 7-4
Lushai Hills 5'8
Garo Hills 3-9
Kamrup 2-4
Naga Hills 2-2
KhasI Snd Jaintia Hills Vl
Manipur 0-9
under 2 %-
•2-6%
REFERENCE.
khasi and Jaintia Hills..]
Manipur...
Lushai Hills:
Garo Hills
Kamrup
Naga Hills
Nowgong
Goalpara
Sylhet
Sibsagar.
Darrang.
Cachar Plains
Lakhimpur.
North Cachar Hills.
-7-12 %
^•24-26 7e^
40 7o and over-
fh.2ia , S. I. 0., Calcutta.
CHAP. III.] T^jj^ RESULTS QF THE CENSUS. 33
CHAPTER III.
BIRTH PLACE.
Variation tha,t had tak,en place fn the ndSls nnn.Sff" 'Tf '^-^ .'° ^'"""^ " ^^^
proceedings the a,c,tuai hirth place of he fSLfCv d°ed ^hL'L'^'' ''T °^ '^'
59. The total number of immigrants is 775,844 ^pd th^ percentage bora in each
Percentage 0. °^ ^^^ S^eat 'exporting' provinces is shown in the
Immigrants „i„i i • ,1 ...
p,5^^c?pSXs Sitatement m the margin. Nearly 65 per cent, of the
_ of recruitment. _i.l r . .. m.
ro?fg^western Pro" !U ^^ole come from the neighbouring province of Bengali
Vinoes. / 1 »•» .01
S'atoa^s' ^'°!!"°^' ::: 's":? 14 per cent, from the North- Western Provinces, and iq-8
Nepal ... ... 2'7 J. e f t-i 3
&utana Z Z M P^"" ^^"*- ^"^o™ t"^ Central Provinces, but no other siiigle
All other places ... 2-4 . _, .
Total 1^ province or State sends as many as 3 per cent, of tb^e ^.otaj
number.
60. B.engal sends just over half a million emigrants, to- Assam, who are distribute.^
Bengal ^^^^^ ^^^ "^"^ divisions of that province inihe second state-
ip.eni appended to this chapter. Half of the tot^l number
cptjie frpm Chota Nagpur ; and Burdwan, Patna and Bhagalpur account forlover three-fifths
of the. remainder. Broadly speaking, these immigrants are divided into two classes. There
are of course a certain proportion of traders, clerks and other educate(^ men, wh,o have
come in search of employment to Assam, but their total number is but small and the
great njajority of _ immigrants are either garden coolies or agriculturists, who have
crossed the frontier in search of land. The last named class will obviously be found
in greatest force in Sylhet and Goa,lpara, while persons who are censused in large
numbers in Lakhimpur, Sibs^gar, or Darrang, ^nd, Uot in the border districts, may a<s a
rule, be assumed to be coolies. The following instance will clearly show t,he way in which
the difference between the two classes of immigrants is brought out in the census
tables. No less than 69,323 of the persons censused in Darrang, Sibsagar and'
Lakhimpur returned their birth place as Lohardaga, whereas in Gpalpara there were,
only 284 immigrants from this district ; but these three great tea districts between them
only contained 161 natives of Rangpur, though there were, 15,61 1 persons born in this
district and censused in Goalpara ; and it is obvious that we shall not be far wroriig if
we assume that natives of Lojiardaga are garden coolies, and natives of Rangpur
cultivators. By applying this principle, it appears that immigrants from Chota Nagpur,
Burdwan, Patna, Bhagalpur and Orissa come up tq tea gardens, while those from Dacca '
Rajshahi, Chittagong and the Presidency are cultivators, clerks and traders. The
former class number 420,785, or 83'6 per cent, of the whole, the latter 80,958, or 16
per ceat. The principal districts from which coolies come are, Lohardaga (91,794)
Manbhum (69,728),^ and Hazaribagh (68,772), while persons other than coolies are most
npmerous from Mymensingh (22,056), Rangpur (17,321), Dacca and Tipperah.
Ql. One hundred gnd eight thousand and nine hundred persons were born in the
North-Western Provinces, the principal 'exporting' districts
Tie otter main provlnoes. i • /-i • / ^^ \' ^ ^ '^ , ^'•?P""-'"S, uiairicib
being Ghazipur (42,772) and Azamgarh (20,604) ; Jaunpur,
with .8,677, bfiing n.ext on the list.. TheCentral Provinces have sent us 84,1.7.0 men. aad
women, over 40,000 of whom were born in the two districts of Bilaspur and Jubbulpore,
and over 9,000 in Sambalpur ; while of Madrasis, there were 21,571, nearly 18,000
of whom came from the single district of Ganjam. The only other provinces of India
calling for special mention are the Punjab and Bombay, which were returned by 6,214
and 1,407, persons, respectively, most of whom were attracted to the province by the
A ecam.Rpnoral RaiiwaV.
Assam-Bengal Railway,
i
34 REPORT ON THE CENSUS Of ASSAM, I go/. [CHAP, III.
Birth place. 62- I have already shown that more than three-fourths of the emigrants from Bengal
oKiects with which immigrants Were Originally brought up to the tea plantations of the
come to Assam. provlnce, and we probably should not be far wrong in
classifying as garden coolies all persons born in the North-Western Provinces, the
Central Provinces, Madras and Rewa.* Some of these people no doubt have come to
Assam as clerks or traders, but the number cannot be large, and in all probability is fully
counterbalanced by coolie immigrants from places other than those specified above. f
If this assumption is correct, no less than 645,000,}: or 83 per cent., of the
foreigners in Assam were brought up* to the province as garden coolies, though, as will be
shown later on, a considerable proportion have since been absorbed into the general
population. The natives of Nepal, of whom there are 21,347, are either serving in the
Gurkha regiments and Military Police battalions, or are earning their living as herdsmen,
and in some cases as cultivators, while the emigrants from Rajputana are the shrewd
Marwari merchants who have monopolized the trade of the Brahmaputra Valley.
Turning to the Asiatic countries beyond India, we find that, if we leave Nepal out of
consideration, the largest number of immigrants come from Afghanistan, 1,101 ;
Burma, 1,666 ; Bhutan, 919; and Baluchistan, 655. The Kabulis are the great pedlars
of the province, and come up every year with loads of piece-goods, dried fruits, and
similar articles, which they hawk about through the villages and tea gardens ; but those
who were censused in the North Cachar Hills were probably all working on the railway,
and the same holds good of the natives of Baluchistan. The Bhutanese are temporary
visitors, who only come down from their hills in the cold weather to trade, and the great
majority of the emigrants from Burma are cultivators, who have moved from the Chin
into the Lushai Hills. The total number of Europeans was 1,340, of whom 844 were
born in England, 26 in Wales, 319 in Scotland, and 98 in Ireland, but these 1,287
persons do not represent the total number of the British, many of whom were born
outside the British Isles.
63. The statement in the rnargin shows the distribution of the immigrants from the
Diatrihntion of immigrants In ^0"^ chicf provinces betwccn the Brahmaputra and Surma
the natural divisions of Assam. Vallcys. The majority of the natives of the North-Western
^ cens n sedto ^ Provinccs go to Sylhct and Cachar, as they do not thrive
immi^a°nt°fftSm- f^j™* ^putrn " i" Assam Proper, but the Brahmaputra Valley absorbs the
Bengal 89-8^ ^in^' greater number of the immigrants from Bengal and the
^?tao;7^^*^" ^'°.". 65'5 280 Central Provinces, while Madras is fairly evenly divided
Satoa^s ^''°^'"''" ;:; fa-l lit between the two divisions.
64. Subsidiary Table III appended to this chapter shows that the foreign-born po-
increasem immigration. P"'Y'°" ^^' ^creased by 265 172, or 51-9 per Cent., during
the last ten years. 1 he number of persons born in Bengal
and censused in Assam has increased by 85,516, or 2o:^per cent., but the most striking
feature in the return is the enormous development in immigration from the Central
Provinces. In 1891, there were only 3,844 natives of these provinces censused in Assam,
but the number has now risen to 84,170. Immigrants from the North-Western Provinces
have also increased by88'2 per cent., and those from Madras have more than doubled.
There is a great increase in the number of natives of Rajputana, and as almost the whole
business of the Brahmaputra Valley is in the hands of these Marwari merchants, the
local distribution indicates clearly the effect of the tea industry upon trade in general.
Gauhati contains an important bazar, and is the centre of the mustard trade in Lower
Assam, but the number of natives of Rajputana in Kamrup has only increased by 288
during the last ten years, whereas in the three great tea districts — Darrang, Sibsagar
and Lakhimpur — the figures have risen from 2,617. to 5)957-
Thirty-two per cent, of the total increase in immigration is due to Bengal, 30 per
cent, to the Central Provinces, and 19 per cent, to the North-Western Provinces
after which there is a large drop, to Madras (4 per cent.). *
65. Subsidiary Table I shows that out of every i,coo persons censused in
Assam on March ist 1901, no less than 126 were born outside
pop'Si?Si.°" °' '""^''^""^ *° "'''■' its boundaries, a proportion which is higher than that for any
province in India in 1891, except Lower Burma (129), and
* 4^^"' 'J^°"=a"^s were working on the railways under construction in the province.
n,» f„ A-- "'°7^"'^ ^"? eighteen persons who were censused on tea-gardens were born in Nepal and
the four divisions of Bengal from which coolies are not supposed to come • ^
J Bengal (five divisions) ... ... ... 420 7»c
North-Western Provinces ... . "■ "■■ "" 108 000
Central Provinces ... ... .„ [" [[[ ," 84,170
Madras ... ... ... . ... ,1 'i
Rewa ... ... ... ... . ..^ ... ... ,0^^^
^"^^^ — •" ... ... ... ... — 645i7oo
CHAP. IIl.J tit'E RESULTS Ot^ THE CSNsVS. 35
is very much in excess of that for the whole of India in that year (32). As I have Birth place,
already explained, the tea industry is mainly responsible for this influx of population,
which has grown in volume at each successive census, the proportion of foreigners in
1891 being only 93, and in 1881, 57 ; but there are indications which suggest that the tide
has now reached the flood, and it does not seem likely that the proportion of foreigners
will increase very largely during the next few years. Smce 1891, the area under tea
in Assam has increased by 46 per cent., with the natural result that there has been
a serious fall in prices, and a diminution of profits, and no great development of the
industry is to be expected, at any rate in the near future. The proportion of foreigners
(persons born outside the province) is highest in Lakhimpur, where they form no less
than 41 per cent, of the population, Sibsagar and Darrang (25 per cent.), and
Cachar (24 per cent.), and all of these districts contain a large number of gardens.
Sylhet, though it is an important centre of the tea industry, which has imported
into the district over 141,000 persons of the coolie class during the last ten
years, and, though it receives a considerable number of immigrants from Mymensingh,
Tipperah and Dacca, has such a large indigenous population that foreigners
dnly form 7 per cent, of the total; whereas in Goalpara, where the immigrants are
all of the cultivating class, the proportion is as high as 9 per cent. In Kamrup, there
are but few tea gardens, and little or no immigration of Bengali cultivators, with the
result that 98 per cent, of the people censused there were indigenous to the pro-
vince, and the same proportion is found in the Naga and Khasi and Jaintia Hills, while in
Manipur foreigners form less than i per cent, of the total population.
As compared with the important question of immigration from outside, the move-
ments of the population within the province are of little interest. The Cachar plains
have the largest proportion of immigrants from other districts, as they form as much as
6 per cent, of the total population; in Darrang they are 5, and in Lakhimpur 4
per cent. In Kamrup and Sylhet, they are less than i per cent, of the whole, and
in Nowgong less than 2. The causes which produce these varying results will be
discussed later on, and it only remains to consider the population from the point of view
of the district born, for which figures are also available in Statement I.
Leaving North Cachar out of consideration, it appears that the proportion of
persons born and censused in the district is lowest where the effect of the tea industry
is most pronounced. In Lakhimpur, the rate. is as low as 55 per cent., in Sibsagar* and
the Cachar plains it is 69, in Darrang 70; but in Sylhet and Kamrup, for reasons which
have been already given, it is as high as 92 and 97. In the hill districts, there is little
movement of population, and in no district is it below 90, while in the Khasi and Jaintia
Hills it rises to 96 per cent. . , , . . „
66 The total number of persons who are estimated to have origmally come to
settlement Of .ardencooiie. Assamto work on tea gardens is 645000, and it is
Persons tjornin the Central provin- mtercstmg to trace the extent to which they are being
|?e^^?'^ind'^flvl''?ms?rnrof Bt^li; absorbcd into the general population. I have accordingly
and censused in tue villages of ^^^^^^ compiled totals for persous bom in the coolie-exporting
Sylhet' "■. j;j i|''*i| provinces, and censused in the villages, as distinct from
DaSaSI '•'■'■ '"■ i«'|i^ the towns, gardens, and railway works, of seven out of
. BiZlgl? .'." ■■••' §|>B| the eight plains districts. I have omitted towns and
xakhinipTu: "liriiS railways, as, though cooHcs Undoubtedly drift to these placcs,
- ^°**^ — '— they also contain a certain number of immigrants who have
come to Assam for trade or other purposes ; but in rural areas there are practically no
foreigners other than eA;-cooles or cultivators,— and we are fairly safe, I thmk, in assuming
that the last-named clasi only come from the four divisions of Bengal which
have been omitted from the sstatement in the margin. The total number is 121,368,
and as Mr Gait calculated that there were-97,ii3 such persons in the whole province in
tso'i it is evident that during the last ten years there has been an increase of at least a
arter of a lakh in the number of those who came to Assam as cooheb and settled down
« riiltivators This does not of course represent the total extent to which the tea industry
•= rnlonizing the province, as the children of these persons-have to be taken into consider-
Hon and it must also be borne in mind that merely to fill the vacancies caused by death,
T/n keen the figures at the level of 1 891 would require an annual exodus of about
^"^n npfsons from the gardens; -so that, assuming that the total increase was
a' tributed equally over the ten years, the number of persons who must have passed
every
ited equally uvci liit, iv-w j^"'.' — . , ' , r,,, ;,
vPar from the gardens to the villages is no less than 7,000. 1 hese figures
firmed by the returns showing the land held by g^-garden coolies compiled by thfe
are confirmed by
are ^7"'" . J^ t ^-hich show in the Assam Valley alone an average increase during
••r^'f/frrar f of a little over 5,000 acres a year. The proportion of.
the last ten yearsf of
H,^ it not been for transfers of territory, the positions of Sibsagar and Darrang would have been reversed.
So-gx .. 23,953 acres. 1900-1901 ... 75,09i.
*
t 1890
36 REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, tgoi. [CHAP. III.
Birth place, foreign-born eA:-garden coolies amongst the villagers is becoming very appreciable;.
In Sibsagar, in spite of a considerable Assamese population, thpy form nearly 7 per
cent., in Tfezpur sadr they are 13, ^nd in the Lakhimpur district nearly 15 per cent, of
the village population.
67. Subsidiary Table IV shows the proportion of the sexes amongst immigrants.
The proportion of women coming from the Centra,!
Sexes of lnmaigrants, _-.'^*, ...^ , , *• .1 i_«
Provmces is positively larger than that oi men, there being
1,054 of the former to every 1,000 of thp latter, but there is a considerable prepoxir
derance of the female sex in the country from which they come. Froni R^wa (967),
Madras (891), and Bengal (819), the proportion is fairly even, but from the North-
western Provinces (660), where women are in a minority, it is low. Very few wometi
come from Nepal, the Panjab, Rajputana, and Bombay, but the natives of. these places
are for the most part temporary visitors, who leave their y/iyes and children in the
homes to which, like the English, they hope to return at the conclusion of their,
service.
68. The annexed diagram shows the gain and loss to each district by inteiT-district
, , .. .^ . . migration, which, in comparison with the really important
Inter-district migration. ° . ' . , ' . . ' ■ i li • • t -L
question of emigration from outside the province, is ot but
little interest, and can be dismissed in a few paragraphs.
69. Cachar, including North Gachar, sends out 7,259 emigrants, and receivesi
^^^■^^j. 28,988, the net gain being 2 1,729, The majority of emigra,ats
go to Sylhet and the Naga Hills, and are no doubt culti.-
vators who move their homes across the district boundary, and the same, presumably,
holds good of the immigrants, the great majority of whom come from the neighbouring
district of Sylhet (25,971), and the State of Manipur.
70. Sylhet loses 23,587 persons, receiving 5,271 immigrants in place of the 28,8581
„ ,^ ^ emigrants sent to other parts of the province. As, however,
Sylhet. . . ° ,. . . , % , 1 1 • ■ a" • • 1
this district is the most densely peopjed in Assam) it is only
natural, that it should lose by inter-district migration. Almost the whole of it is carried
on with Cachar, though there is a certain amount of movement across the Khasi and
Jaintia Hills boundary, and Sylhetis, who make good clerks and ^re enterprising traders,
are found, though in small numbers, in most of the districts of the province.
71. -Goalpara is another district that loses by inter-district transfers, the emigraxits
J exceeding the iminigrants by 7,293. ^^Iearly all the immi-
grants come from Kamrup (4,891), and the Garo Hills
(2^,183), and the latter district absoris. more than half the emigrants (7,923) the
remainder having either crossed the boundary into Kamrup, or gone up. the valley to
seek for work on tea gardens. In 1891, the result of inter-district transfers between
Kamrup and Goalpara was in favour of the former district, but, owing to the damage
done by floods in Barpeta, the positions have now been completely reversed.
7S. Kamrup.loses nearly as heavily as Sylhet by emigration, as it only receive^
5,203 persons in place of the 25,835 censused in other parts
"""''■ of the province. The great majority of the immigrants
come from Goalpara, Nowgong and Darrang, while the emigrants go to Goalpara as
cultivators, and to the four upper districts partly as ordinary raiyats, and partly to work
on tea gardens. The number of persons born in Kamrup and censused in other dis-
tricts is 50 per cent, greater than in 189J, but the conditions of the district have been
such that it is a matter for surprise that the increase in emigration has not been even
greater.
73. Darrang gains 13,182 persons, as very few people leave the district, and there
has been considerable immigration from Kamrup (7,260),
Darrang. », / o\ i ^^ i ^'^ 'j
Nowgong (5,278), and over 1,200 people h^ye crossed
the river from Sibsagar. Judging from the disproportion between the sexes, about
4,000 of the persons who have come from Kamrup are Kachari coolies, working on
tea^ gardens, but the rest of the immigrants are probably ordinary raiyats. The
emigration from the Kachari mauzas of Mangaldai is less than I should have expected,
only 1,222 persons born in Darrang being censused in Sibsagar and Lakhimpur, and it
is evident that coolies have no difficulty in getting employment in their own district.
74. Nowgong, as is natural, loses considerably by interdistrict transfers, the
Nowgong. emigrants (15,257)* standing to the immigrants in the
proportion of nearly three to one. Most of the immigrants
have come from Kamrup and Goalpara, and are presumably temporary visitors, working
* This excludes the populatioji of the area transferred to Sibs^ar.
o
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1=5
CHAP. Ill] THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUs'. 37
on. tea gardens, as It is difficult to understand why any one should voluntarily go and Birth place.
settle in this much afflicted district ; though the desire to leave its fever-stricken
villages which evidently inspired the 5,278 persons who moved across the river to
Darrang, and the 7,208 people who entered Sibsagar is quite comprehensible. The
increase in migration to the latter district is very considerable, and in view of the
contagious character of kald-dzdr can hardly be regarded with equanimity by the local
authorities ; but I am inclined to think that a large number of the persons shown as
born in Nowgong and censused in Sibsagar have not really moved their homes at all,
but were living in the area transferred from the Naga Hills to that district.
75. It is not possible to show with absolute accuracy the results of interdistrict
gj^^^ ^^ migration upon this district, as a certain proportion of the
inhabitants of the area transferred from the Naga Hills
and Nowgong have apparently, whether rightly or wrongly, returned themselves as born
in Sibsagar. The total number of emigrants is 8,762, seven-eighths of whom go to
the neighbouring districts of Lakhimpur and Darrang, where the density of population
to the square mile is much lower than in the Sadr and Jorhat subdivisions.
76. Lakhimpur is a sparsely-populated and very progressive district, and, as is natu-
ral, the immigrants largely exceed the emigrants in numbers.
Most of the latter are cultivators who have crossed the
boundary into Sibsagar, but the result of the migration between these two districts is
very much in favour of the more easterly of the two. The immigrants come for the
most part from Sibsagar (6,730), and Kamrup (3,623), the great majority of the latter
being no doubt Kachari coolies working on tea gardens.
77- There is very little movement into or out of the hills. A few settlers from
Manipur have entered the Lushai country, and Sylhet and
The Hiu Districts. ^j^^ ^^^^^ j^.jj^ ^^^^ exchanged a few hundred persons ; but
the only district where migration has gone on to any appreciable extent is the Garo
Hills, where over 10,000 persons have crossed the boundary between that district
and Goalpara, the net results of the transfer being largely in favour of the Garo Hills.
78. The statement in the margin shows the number of persons born in Assam and
censused in the various Provinces and States from which
Emigration. retums havc been received. The total number of emigrants
Statement showing the emigrant from jg c J 323;, as Compared with 43,6ii in i8qi, SO - that there
AssamtootuerPro.^nce.ofIna^a. ^^o ^^^* ^^^ Uttle increase in emigration duringthe decade.
aiS^nlused ?n-°°' """^ '° ''"""' Bengal has absorbed gA per cent, of the Nvhole, and the
inaia ' - ■•• "•'*''- immense majority of these persons were born in Sylhet and
Ba^idi^sutt"'... "•■.• ^g^2 Goalpara and censused in the neighbouring distri-cts of
iomtaw "• *^'^64 Mymensingh, Tipperah, Hill Tipperah and Kuch Behar.
ceSii Provinces '". ^'iw Thov thus belong rather to the category of inter-district
No^-westernProYinces "' than inter-provincial migrants, and have probably only
pSab'^'^*' 103 moved a short distance from their former homes. Only
c^Mn^stkte ."' •"• 2 195 persoHS born in Assam were censused in the Chot'a
c°<"^ ^ Nagpur division, — a fact which suggests that the proportion
of garden coolies who return to their native villages is small, as otherwise we should find
in these districts a considerable number of children who had been born in this province
and accompanied • their parents back to Bengal. Calcutta contained 2,630 natives of
Agsam, a number which, considering all the circumstances, is certainly no larger than
one would expect.
REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, igoi.
[chap. III.
Birth place.
SUBSIDIARY TABLE I.
Immigration per 10,000 of population.
Districts.
Born in
Percentage of immigrants from
outside the province to total
population.
districts where
enumerated.
the province
outside the dis-
trict.
countries or
districts out-
side the pro-
vince.
Total.
Males.
Females.
I
2
3
4
5
6
7
Cachar Plains
Sylhet
Goalpara
Kamrup
Darrang
Nowgong ...
Sibsagar
Lakhimpur ...
Lushai Hills
North Cachar ...
Naga Hills .••
Khasi and Jaintia Hills ...
Garo Hills ...
Manipur
6,944
9,241
8,938
9,672
7,032
8,669
6,929
5,5'9
9,281
5.099
9,408
9,640
9,014
9,886
615
24
160
88
466
197
536
365
138
856
376
189
591
23
2,441
735
902
240
2,512
1. 134
2.535
4,116
581
4,045
216
171
395
91
24-4
7-3
90
2-4
251
11-3
25-3
41-1
5-8
40-4
2-1
17
3-9
09
127
3-8
6-3
17
136
67
13-8
227
4-0
33 '4
17
I '3
23
e-8
117
3*5
27
07
"•5
4-6
ii'S
18-4
1-8
70
0-4
0-4
1-6
009
Total Province
...
...
...
I2"6
7-1
5-5
Divisions.
1. Burdwan(a)
2. Presidency(i)
Rajshahi(c)
Dacca
Chittagong(rf)
Patna(e)
Bhagalpur
Orissa
Chota Nagpur
Bengal, unspecified
Total Bengal
3.
4-
5.
6,
?■
8,
9
10.
SUBSIDIARY TABLE IL
Immigrants into Assam from the several divisions of Bengal.
Number of
immigrants.
53,787
5,796
22,833
36.924
15,405
52,386
51,785
9,477
253,350
2,133
Percentage on the
total immigrants
from Bengal.
107
l-I
4-5
7'3
3*1
io'4
103
1-9
.50"3
0-4
503.876
100
(a) Includes Chandernagar (41). (c) Includes Kuch Behar (1,247).
(A) „ the city of Calcutta. (<i) „ Hill Tipperah (i).
(«) Includes Behar unspecified (214).
SUBSIDIARY TABLE IV.
SUBSIDIARY TABLE III. Proportion of foreign females to 1,000
Increase in immigration. foreign males.
Percentage
Percen-
of increase
Females
Provinces.
1891.
1901.
Difference.
tage
+ or— ■
on total
increase.
Provinces.
to 1,000
maleSk
I
2
3
~"4
5
6
I
2
Bengal
418,360
503,876
+ 85,516
+ 20-4
+ 32-2
Bengal
819
Central Provinces
3.844
84,170
+ 80,326
+ 2,089-6
+ 30-3
North-Western Provinces
660
Ncrth-Western Provinces
57.851
108,900
+ 51,049
+ 88-2
+ 19-2
Central Provinces ...
l,oS4
Madras
10,654
21.571
+ '0,917
+ 102-4
+ 4-1
Madras
891
Kun!ab_
Afghanistan
British Isles
836
6,214
+ 5.378
+ 643-3
+ 2-0
Nepal
306
319
I.IOI
+ 782
+ 245-1
+ 0-3
Punjab
132
831
1,287
+ 456
+ 54-8
+ 0-17
Rajputana
28j
Sajputana
4,877
9.334
+ 4.457
+ V'i
+ 1-6
Rewa
967
Nepal
11,377
21.347
+ 9.970
+ 87-6
+ 3-7
Afghanistan
S
Elsenhere ••.
1,723
18,044
+ 16,321
+ 947-2
+ 6-2
British Isles
Bombay
Total Immigrants ...
192
262
Total
510,672
775,844
+ 265,172
+ Si'9
...
777
o
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Diagram showing the
under the three
1750
SJ
^
; ! '
^
I
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?!
\
^ ^
:; W
s
IBOO
^
:;
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Total Province
•
CHAP. IV.] THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS. 39
CHAPTER IV.
RELIGION.
79. In 1891, the schedule form contained a separate column for sect, but the Religion.
information obtained was thought to be so unreliable that no
Infbrnia,tlon reoorded at the census, ,, i..iiif ia.i
attempt was made to tabulate the figures returned. At the
last census, the Government of India dispensed with a separate column for sect, and left
it to the discretion of Local Governments in the case of non-Christian sects^ (i) either
to omit the return altogether, (2) to record particular sects about which it was
thought desirable to obtain information, or (3) to record all sects, but to abstract those
only which were thought to be of special importance. It was the third course which
was adopted in Assam, and enumerators were instructed to record, whenever possible,
the sects of Hindus and Muhammadans, as well as of Christians ; the religion only being
entered in those cases in which the person enumerated could not say to what sect hf»
belonged. In the abstracting office, the following sects were selected for tabulation:
Vaishnavas, Sivaites, Saktists, Sunnis, Shiahs, Wahabis, or Ahli-ha-dis; and the Vaishnavas
were again subdivided into those who were Mahapurushias and those who were not, the
enumerators having been directed to record the sub-sect as well as the sect of Vaish-
navas.
80. I doubt^ however, whether much reliance can be placed upon the return of sect,
T^.« ,... ^.-^ . as a very large proportion of the population can give no
Dlffloulties of the return. , ■', . =',,.f^., ,' <• t f • 1 1 • • 1
clear and mtelligible account of the faith that is in them ;
and the accuracy of the tables would probably have been increased had the number of
persons shown as Hindus, and nothing more, been larger. In Upper Assam, the distinc-
tions between Saktism and Vaishnavism are not very clearly marked, and a native
gentleman in Sibsagar goes so far as to assert that the Assamese Vaishnavas are in reality
more Saktas than Vaishnavas, as they not unfrequently indulge in animal sacrifice, a form
of worship strictly prohibited by the reformer Chaitanya, to whom all life was sacred. A
similar laxity in practice is said to prevail in parts of Sylhet, and in both valleys there
is a large immigrant population of the coolie class, who are much addicted to the
consumption of liquor and of meat. These persons could not, as a rule, specify the
sect to which they belonged, and I found a certain tendency amongst the enumerators
to make the eating of meat the shibboleth of the Saktist persuasion, and to enter all
meat-eaters under that head, though the persons concerned had up to that moment
been as ignorant of the fact that they were Saktists as M. Jourdain was that he
talked prose. In the case of the converted hill tribes of the Assam Valley, this test
was even more unsatisfactory. The Gosains, who are the great proselytizing agency in
Assam Proper, are almost all of them adherents of the Vaishnavite creed, but their
converts have for generations been accustomed to a nourishing diet of pig and rice-beer,
which they cannot abandon without a struggle, in which the flesh is frequently the victor.
To enter these persons as Saktists, because they from time to time revert to the diet
pf their ancestors, is obviously incorrect, and it would have been better, if in all cases
they had been returned as ' Hindus, unspecified.' Many orthodox members of that
community would no doubt be disposed to deny them this title, but the instructions
issued did not allow the enumerator any discretion, as he was told to accept the
statement of the person concerned, and to enter as such all those who declared them-
selves to be Hindus, whatever his own opinion of the applicability of the term
might be.
81. Assam is probably best known to the Hindu world for the various temples
The Hindu sects. and shrines in the Kamrup district connected with the
Saktism. Saktist religion. This side of Hinduism concerns itself
with the procreative force as manifested in the female, and, according to a text of the
Tantras, the most acceptable form of worship is the adoration of a naked woman,*
though substitutes can, if necessary, be found in the y antra, or triangular plate of
brass or copper, or in a triangle painted on a copper dish. Saktists are divided into
the Dakshinacharis, or moderates, who do not offer wine to the deity, Bamacharis,
who offer wine and meat, and the Kaulas, or extremists, whose worship comprises the
fivefold makara, i.e., flesh, fish (the emblem of ovarian fertility), intoxicating liquor,
sexual intercourse, and mystical gesticulations. f ' One explanation of the Saktist
* Or, according to another translation, " a virgin who has not yet attained puberty."
t Or, according to anothertranslation, " fried articles of food."
40 REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, IQOt. [CHAP. IV,
Religion, doctrines is that the lusts of the flesh prevent communion with God, and that the best
way to overcome them is to indulge them to satiety. This theory is, however, opposed
to the general experience of life, and, even assuming that the primitive desire^ can be
killed by excessive indulgence, the worn-out debauchee who is the result can hardly be
considered an admirable object, either from the physical or spiritual point of view. Those
who are not Hindus would be more disposed to accept the explanation of Babu
Jogendra Nath Bhattacharyya, M.A., D.L., President of the College of Pandits, Nadiya,
who suggests that the Tantric religion was invented to justify the habit of drinking which
prevailed amongst Brahmans, and to enable them to compete with the secular courtiers
in the struggle for the favour of the King.* The apologists of Hinduism, however,
put forward as an alternative explanation that its teachers, realising that the primitive
desires can be controlled, but cannot be eradicated, associated their gratification with
reHgious worship, with the object of restraining them as far as possible, and the close
connection between religion and the most everyday incidents of Hindu life lends a
certain amount of support to this theory,
Babu Padmanath Bhattacharyya Bidyabinod, M.A., has supplied me with the follow-
ing orthodox view of the origin of the religion ; but it "is obvious that, even though the
intentions of the original founders of the creed may have been good, there is great risk
of laxity and corruption creeping in to such a form of worship :
As to the origin of the Tantras, it is said that, as Vedic rites were inefficacious in this
Kaliyuga (iron age), the Tantras were promulgated by Siva for the benefit of the seekers after
God. Of course there are some heterodox Tantras, and as to their origin it is saidt that as
the asuras had begun to achieve might by practising the rites as inculcated by the Tantras-
some evil ones were created to beguile them, so that by following them the asuras might
only dig their own graves. It is, to my mind, only the crying for ' more light ' that led to the
origin of the Tantras. The climax of all philosophy, viz., the Vedanta, declare that the
supreme Brahma was identical with the Psyche in every creature, and that, the final dissolution
of the self consisted in unifying the two. The Tantras took their cue from that, and showed
how to do it in a more practical way than the Yoga Shastra could. The human frame was
said to contain six or seven ckakras (wheels), and the Tantras explained the system by which
Siva and Sakti could be discovered in the body and spiritually united. The subtle(y of the
process itself is a proof positive against any non-Aryan origin, and if the Virachari devotees drank
wine and ate flesh it was because some stimulant was required to screw their determination to the
sticking place, and to give them strength enough to bear the physical strain necessary for the
purpose.
The mpst famous Saktist temple of Assam is that of Kamakhya, built on n. hill
overhanging the Brahmaputra just west of Gauhati, at the place where the pudenda of
Sati are said to have fallen, when her body was cut into pieces by Vishnu. Robinson,
writing in 1841, describes the ritual at this temple in the following scathing terms :
As soon as the well-known sound of the drum is heard calling the people to the midnight
orgies, the dance and the song, whole multitudes assemble, and the crowd becomes dense. The
women employed to dance and sing on these occasions are those consecrated to the service
of the temple, of whom it is reported there ate no less than five hundred. Their presence, together
with their filthy songs and more obscene dances, form the chief attractions. A song is scarcely
tolerated which does not contain the most marked allusions to unchastity, while those which
are so abominable that no person could repeat them out of the temple receive in general
the loudest plaudits.
During the day time, there is nothing about the temple or the people who live
in the vicinity to offend the most delicate susceptibilities, but it must be admitted
that the incidents commemorated at some of the festivals argue a complete want of
any sense of modesty or decency in those taking part in them, and it is possible
that Robinson's denunciations of the midnight orgies are not unduly severe. Other
centres of Saktisra are to be found in Sylhet, as Sati's left leg fell in Jaintia and
her neck in or near the town of Sylhet.
82- Sivaitism is the counterpart of Saktism, being the worship of the same powers
sivaitism. ^^ manifested in the male ; but though it is the duty of a
devout Hindu to worship Siva as well as the four other
deities,-— Sakti, Vishnu, Ganesh, and Suryya, — the natives of Assam are not as a
rule initiated into his mantra, except in conjunction with that of Sakti. There are a
considerable number of templesj consecrated to Mahadeoin the Surma Valley but they
have as a rule been built by Saktists or even Vaishnavas. The Jugi caste in Sylhet is noted
for its Sivaile proclivities, but, though a certain number of them travel through the
valley as Sannyasis, it is believed that they are in reality rather Saktists than Sivaites.
Amongst the Assamese the sect has very few followers, and those returned in the
Brahmaputra Valley are probably all foreigners.
* Hindu castes and sects, page 413. t Vide Kurma Puran. ~
tThe principal ones are at Nirmai in South Sylhet and Badarpur. The large stone temple whose n."
are situated close to Tezpur is said to have been built in honour of Siva by Bana Raja. *
CHAP. IV.] THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS. 4I
83. Sankar Deb, the apostle of Vaisbnavism in Assam, was born in 1449 A.D., and Religion,
was the descendant of a Kayastha, who, according to tradi-
sm. ^j^^^ j^^^ been sent, with six of his caste fellows and seven
Brahmans, to Assam by the king of Kanaijpur as a substitute for the Assamese prime
minister, who had fled to his court for refuge. The licentious rites of Saktism had
aroused his aversion while he was still a boy, and his desire to found a purer system of
religion was increased by the teachings of Chaitanya in Bengal. Like most reformers,
he met with vehement opposition from the supporters of the established order, and he
was compelled to leave his home in Nowgong and to fly to the inhospitable jungles of the
Barpeta subdivision, where, in conjunction with his disciple, Madhab Deb, he founded the
Mahapurushia sect, the main tenets of which are the prohibition of idolatry and sacrifice,
disregard of caste and the worship of God by hymns and prayers only. Sankar himself
was, like a true .follower of Chaitanya, a vegetarian, but the low-caste people, who formed
a large proportion of his converts, found this injunction a counsel of perfection, and the
Mahapurushlas are accordingly allowed to eat the flesh of game, but not of dc^mes-
ticated animals, though, with a subtlety only too common in this country, they observe
the letter of the law, prohibiting the spilling of blood, by beating their victims to death.
The great centre of the Mahapurushia faith is the Sattra at Barpeta, where a large
number of persons persist in living, huddled together, in defiance of all the laws of
sanitation, and resist with surprising pertinacity all efforts to improve^ their condition.
They are a peculiarly bigoted people, and are strongly opposed to vaccinal ion, with the
result that the mortality from small-pox in the neighbourhood of the Sattra is
exceptionally high.
It was not long, however, before the Brahmans re-asserted their influence, and
shortly after Sankar's death, two of his followers, who were members of this caste,
established sects,-, called, after their founders, Damodariya and Hari .Deb Panlhi, which
are distinguished from the Mahapurushlas by the respect paid to the distinctions of caste,
and a certain tolerance of idolatry.
A fourth sect was founded by one Gopal Deb, but it originally seems to have differed
in no way from the Mahapurushia creed, and subsequently its followers adopted the teach-
ings of Deb Damodar. There is, in fact, practically no distinction between the Damoda-
riyas, the Hari Deb Panthis, and the Gopal Deb Panthis, and the Vaishnavites of the Assam
Valley can be divided into the Mahapurushia and Bamunia or ' other Vaishnavas, '
as they have been called in the census tables. The former will accept a Sudra as a
religious guide, worship no God but Krishna, and are uncompromising in their hostility
to idols • the latter will only recognize Brahmans as their Gosains, permit the
adoration' of other deities, such as Siva and Kali, in addition to that of
Krishna, and allow sacrifices to be offered in their honour.
In other parts, of India, the upper classes are, as a mle, Saktists, and Vaisbnavism
occupies the position held by dissent in England, but this is far from being the case in the
valley of the Brahmaputra. The leading Vaishnavite Gosains, who live in their Sattras
or colleges surrounded by their bhakats or monks, are men who exercise great autho-
rity over their numerous disciples, and on tjie whole exercise it wisely and well. The
two principal colleges are those of Auniati and Dakshinpat,* and there is probably
no man whose word would carry greater weight with the Assamese than the Gosain
of the former Sattra. Nearly all the college."? held grants of revenue* free land,
and in most villages the Gosain has a medhi, or agent, who not unfrequently take%
precedence of the gaonbura, the headman appointed by Government. Unlike many
priests, the principal Gosains have always been conspicuous for their loyalty to Govern-
ment their freedom from bigotry and the liberality of their views, and Hmdmsm is
seldom presented in a more attractive form than that which is found in the Vaishnavite
monasteries of the Majuli, the island which is formed by the confluence of the Brah-
maputra and the Luhit.
84. Another sect which has recently attracted some attention, especially in the
Surma Valley, is the Sahaj, or Kisori Bhajan. The follow-
The sanaj Bhajan. j^^ accouut IS giveu of the Sahaj Bhajanias by the Deputy
Cornmissioner of Cachar :
The difference from other Baishnahs lies in the fact that each worshipper devotes himself to
a woman whom he considers as his spiritual guide, and with whose help he expects tp- .secure
salvation for his soul. His religion is a religion of love, and is not confined to any dogmas ;
the caste prejudice with him is much shaken, and in his festivals he mixes with all the |ow caste
Hindus freely. The Bhajanias do not touch meat and wine, and discard the worship of idols.
* These Sattras are said to have been founded by the disciples of peb Damodar, but their connection wilh
Pgrpeta is, I believe, denied by the Gosains.
BilssagaT
+110,755
tekMwiPur
+106,250
Darrang
+ 43,381
Caoliar
+ 39,030
Bylhet
+ 33,180
Nowgooff
— 46,560
KamiMJ^ ..»
— 37,834
G-oalpara
— 6,786
■42 REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, IQOI. fCHAP. IV.
Religion. The general opinion, however, is that a good deal of license goes on under the cloak
of religion, and more or less indiscriminate sexual- intercourse is said to be permitted
at their midnight meetings. The figures were only compiled for one district, i.e.,
Cachar, where 2,461 persons were returned, but as this sect has an evil reputation,
many of its adherents were no doubt entered under other heads. A similar sect is
said to exist in the Assam Valley under the style of the ' Rati-khoa Bhakats,' who
permit themselves great license in the gratification of their sensual cravings, and " as "—
to quote from a native gentleman — " the satisfaction of animal desires is considered
to be happiness by the vulgar," it is said to have a large number of followers, who
would, however, refuse to publicly avow themselves as such.
85. Fifty-six per cent, of the total population of the province are Hindus, of whom
all but an insignificant proportion"^eside in the plains. In
^° '"^ ™' the Surma Valley, where the followers of the Prophet are
numerous, exactly half the population profess Hinduism, but in the Brahmaputra Valley,
where the teachings of Muhammad have ijever made much progress, and Animism is its
most serious rival, 72 per cent, of the people are Hindus. The gross increase
in the numbers returned under this religion amounts to i4"4 per cent., but a considerable
portion of this increase is due to the inclusion of the Hindus of Manipur, who did not
figure in the return for 189!, and, if they are excluded, the percentage of increase
sinks to 8'7.
86. The statement in the pargin shows the actual increase or decrease that has
taken place in the Hindu population of the eight plains
districts during the last ten years. In Cachar,, the Hindus
increased by i6'2 per cent., as compared with an increase of
i2'2 per cent, amongst Muhammadans, and a decrease of
nearly 42 per cent, amongst the Animistic tribes, a large
number oi whom, no doubt, came over to Hinduism during
the last decade. That Hinduism should increase more rapidly than Islam seems at first
sight strange, but this unusual phenomenon is due to the large number of Hindu immi-
grants who come up to the Cachar tea gardens. In Sylhet, where the population is
too large to be seriously affected by immigration, the Hindus have increased less rapid-
ly than the followers of the great rival religion, their numbers having risen by only 3*2
per cent, during the decade, as compared with 5'o per cent, amongst the Muhamma-
dans.
The decrease in Goalparais apparently due to more careful scrutiny by the enumera-
tors of the claims of members of the aboriginal tribes to be entered as Hinc^us, the
Animistic population of the. district having increased by 8 percent. InKamrup, the
same cause was probably in operation, but the decrease in the Hindu population, 8"4 per
cent., is not much in excess of the general rate of decrease for the district (7* i)^ and may be
due to heavier mortality amongst the followers of this religion;. In Nowgong, the percent-
age of decrease amongst Hindus is lower than that for the district as a whole, being
2 1 7, against 24"8. Kala-dzdr was, however, particularly deadly amongst the hill tribes
in this part of Assam, and the ranks, of the Hindus were to some extent reinforced by
coolies who came up to work on the tea gardens and the Assam-Bengal Railway. In
Sibsagar and Lakhlmpur, there is a large increase, mainly due to immigration,
the figures for Muhammadans and the Animistic tribes lending no support to the theory
that conversion was the cause ; but in Darrang though the greater part of the increase
amongst the Hindus is undoubtedly due to immigration, Hinduism has claimed a
considerable number of the hill tribes, the number of Hindu Kacharis, Rabhas, Mikirs
and Miris having risen from 4,786 to 1 1,089 du.ring the last ten years.
87. Turning now to the figures for the Hindu sects, we find that out of the 3,429,099
statistics Of Hindu sects. Hindus, 2,017,828 have been returned as Vaishnavites,
702,185 as Saktists, 102,858 as Slv.^Ites and 603,764 as
Hindus unspecified. In the Surma Valley nearly half the total Hindu population are
Vaishnavas, 30 percent, are Saktists, 5 per cent, are worshippers of Siva, and nearly 16
per cent, returned no sect at all. In the Assam Valley, Vaishnavisra is the dominant
creed, and is followed by no less than 64 per cent, of the Hindu population, while Saktism
claims 15 per cent, cl the whole, and Siva less than 2 per cent. The figures for the
Brahmaputra Valley give, however, a somewhat misleading idea of the real hold of Saktism
upon the people. In Kamrup, whicli is said to have been the cradle of the Tantric worship,
and which is rendered sacred by the presence of numerous shrines and temples pecu-
liarly dear to the gods less than 2 per cent, of the Hindu population have returned
CHAP. IV.] THE RESULTS OF' THE CENSUS.
43
themselves under this head, and it is in Upper Assam that we find this side of Hinduism Religion.
most strongly represented. These so-called Saktists are, •
Percentage of^Hindus returned as however,_ merely coolie immigrants, who have been entered
Darrang 19 under this head, because they eat flesh and drink intoxica-
ElKhfrnpur ■.;; ■.:; ;;; at ting liquor, though this is not so much an indication of their
Percentage of Hindu garden popu- adherence to the goddcss Kali, as of the uncertainty of their
, lation returned ais saiitists. ^jtle even to the name of Hindu. Amongst the Vaishnavas,
srtT^Jil ■." ::: ::; ^ also, the figures for the Mahapurushias are far from con-
iakhimpur ... 34 vincing. It is only natural to suppose that this sect
would be most numerous in the neighbourhood of the famous Kirtanghar at
Barpeta, and would not be found in great force in Upper Assam, where the influence
of the Bamunia Gosains is particularly strong. The statement in the margin shows,
however, that the proportion borne by the Mahapurushias to the total Hindu population is
much higher in Sibsagar and. Nowgong than in Lower Assam, and it is difficult to believe
percentage of Mahapurushias to total ^.^^ ,^^^'^, figUff'caO be COrrCCt. It appears that in Sibsagar
Hindu population. Hiudus who did not know to, what sect they belonged were
ti^ils&? ::: ■■■ i" entered as Mahapurushias, if they did not worship idols,
DaSaSg ::: •■• \l though it is obvious that this is hardly a suitable test
Goa?pSS"' ::: ;;; u '■° '"^PP^y' ^"^ '^^ ^^ probable that similar mistakes were
made in Nowgong. If we assume, as does not seem
unreasonable, that the proportion for Kamrup Jiolds good for the Brahmaputra Valley,
the numbers of the sect in Assam Proper sink from 480,584 to 357,399.
88. Rather more than one-quarter of the population of the province are followers
^ ^ ^ of the Prophet, and of these 83 per cent, were enu-
Muhammadans. ,. j • ri c tr ii /- i i • i ,
merated in the burma Vnlley, Goalpara being the only other
district in which they form any considerable portion of the population. Sylhet was
conquered at the end of the fourteenth century by a small band of Muhatrimadans under
the leadership of the famous Fakir Shah Jalal, and so strongly did they establish their
influence there, that at each of the last three censuses more than half of the popula-
tion were returned as followers of this religion. Cachar has been largely colonised from
Sylhet, but the continuous immigration of garden coolies has tended to increase the pro-
portion of Hindus, and Muhammadans, in consequence, form only 31 per cent, of the whole.
89. The first Muhammadan invasions of Assam are said to have taken place in the
^, , . „ thirteenth century, when one General penetrated as far as
Islam In Assam Proper. r-ii- i i ii " -iir
Sadiya, and another left, as a memorial, the famous stone
bridge near North Gauhati. Three hundred years later Turbuk advanced to Koliabar
(Silghat), and there was killed, leaving his army to become the degraded class of Muham-
madans known to later generations as Morias ; but it was not till the seventeenth century
that Goalpara and part of Kamrup were annexed to the Mussalman empire, and Mir
Jumla succeeded in making the Ahom king a tributary, at least in name, to the great
Moghul. During the seventeenth century Kamrup and Goalpara were occupied by the
Muhammadans, the Nawabs held their court at Rangamati and Hajo, and the influence of
the faith was strong ; but on the break-up of the Moghul empire the Mussalmans in Assam
were cut off from their co-religionists, and not unnaturally became lax in their observances
and doctrine. In the Census Report for 188 1, the Muhammadan peasantry of Assam
are described as being extremely ignorant qjE all that concerned their faith, some of
them never even having heard of Muhammad, and others imagining that he corre-
sponded to the Hindu Rama ; but during the last twenty years considerable advances
have been made, and ignorance as complete as this is no longer common. Naturally,
however, they are to some extent influenced by their surroundings, and planted, as they
are, in the midst of a large Hindu population, they are free
SfSfooo of tKPat^o" from the bigotry which in some countries is a prominent
feature of this religion. The effects of the various inva-
sions of Assam are to be seen in the table in the margin,
which shows the proportion of Muhammadans to the
general population. In Goalpara, they are fairly numerous,
and even in Kamrup they form over 9 per cent, of the inhabitants, but their numbers
steadily decrease as we go eastwards, and in Lakhimpur they are only an insigrrifi-
ca^it fraction of the population, a result for which the large proportion of foreigners,
who are generally Hindus, is partially responsible. Islam has never had any attrac-
tion for the hill tribes, and though in the Garo Hills five per cent, of the population are
followers of the Prophet, they are not converted hillmen, but Mussalman peasdntry who
have moved from Goalpara into the plains portion of the" district. The Muhammadans
censusedin the North Cachar Hills are merely temporary visitors who have come up to
work on the railway, and will have left the district long before the next census comes round.
L 3
Goalpara ...
8,779
Kamrup
911
Darrang
S15
Nowgong ...
482
Slhsagar
416
liakhlmpnr _.
321
Perceijtage of
variation.
Mnham-
General
madans.
population.
Cachar Plains
+ 12-2
+ 12-8
Sylhet
+ 5'0
+ 4-0
Goalpara
+ 3-1
+ 2-0
Kamrup
— 2-9
- 7-1
Darrang
- 5-8
+ 9-7
Nowgong
—11-0
—24-8
Sibsagar
+26-6
+24-4
LakMmpttr ...
+«-4
+46-1
44 REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, igoi. [CHAP. IV.
Religion, 90- The statement in the margin shows the increase or decrease that has -occurred in
the plains districts of the province (a) amongst Muhamma-
spread of M^ammadanism. jg^g ^^^ (^) amongst the total populatioD. Mr. O'Donnell
points out in the Bengal Census Report for 1 891, that the
great increase which has occurred amongst Muhammadans
in recent years in Eastern Bengal is due, not only to pro-
selytism, but to the greater fertility of the followers of this
religion. The Mussalman, with his more varied and nutri-
tious dietary, is probably a more vigorous man than the
Hindu, the number of ill-assorted marriages is not so large,-
and widows, instead of being condemned to a life of sterility,
not unfrequently obtain a second husband, if they have not passed the reproductive period.
In Assam all variations in the population are complicated by the ever present factor of
immigration, but in the Surma Valley it is fairly evident that if outside influences
are excluded, Muhammadans increase more rapidly than Hindus. In Cachar, they have
grown by I2"2 per cent., but it is impossible to determine how much of this is due
to migration from Sylhet. In Sylhet they have increased by 5 per cent, (which is one
per cent, more than the increase for the total population), in spite of the fact that no less
than 141,650 coolies, the immense majority of whom were probably Hindus, have
entered the district since the last census. In Goalpara, the increase (3'i) is small,
but it is I'l per cent, more than the increase on the population as a whole, and in
Kamrup and Nowgong, Muhammadans, though they have been affected by the abnormal
unhealthiness of the decade, have decreased less rapidly than their neighbours. In
Sibsagar and Lakhimpur, the faith seems to have held its place, and to have shared in
the general prosperity of the district, but in Darrang there is a marked decrease. This,
at first sight, seems strange, as the district, as a whole, has increased considerably
in population since 1891 ; but when we analyze this increase, we find that it is
entirely due to immigration, and that the district-born population of Darrang has
decreased by 5'6 per cent, during the last ten years. A considerable number of the
persons returned as born in Darrang are the children of Hindu immigrants born after
their parents have settled in the district, and, had all outside influences been removed,
there is little doubt that the decrease amongst the Muhammadans would have been
less rapid than that amongst Hindus or the Animistic tribes. In the hill districts the
Muhammadans are all temporary immigrants, with the exception of the Garo Hills,
where they are found in considerable numbers in the terai. The increase in this district
during the last ten years has been very appreciable, the figures having risen from 5,597
to 7,804, but it is impossible to ascertain what proportion of this is due to the excess of
births over deaths and what to migration from the adjacent districts, though it is proba-
ble that the last-named cause had most to do with the matter.
91. The three sects selected for special compilauon were the Sunnis, Shiahs* and
Ahli-ha-dis, or Wahabis. Both Shiahs and Sunnis are in
Muliammadan sects. ... , , . , i- . . ...
accord with regard to the essential parts of their religion,
but differ in minor doctrinal points and in certain details of ritual. Sunnis regard the
four companion? of the I'rophet, — Abu Bakr, Omar, Osman, and Ali, who succeeded one
another in the Kbalifate, — as being of equal merit and piety, but the Shiahs consider the
first three to be mere usurpers, and maintajp that Ali was the first legitimate successor
to the Prophet. The Shiahs also consider a pilgrimage to the field of Karbela, where
Hussein, the son of Ali, was killed, as necessary to their spiritual welfare as a visit to
Mecca itself: a view which is not held by the Sunnis, who regard the practice
of commemorating this death at the Mohurrum with tasias and images as savou-
ring of idolatry. In matrimonial matters, also, the Sunnis hold stricter views than the
Shiahs, and do not permit the temporary marriages sanctioned by the other sect.
Turning to minor points of ritual, we find the Sunni praying with his hands crossed
over his stomach, while the Shiah lets them fall at his side. The Shiah, too, can say the
midday and evening prayers t<3gether, and the sunset and midnight prayers at the same
time, but the Sunni has to repeat the five prayers at the five appointed hours. In the
month of Ramzan, however, it is the Shiah who poses as the disciplinarian, as he will
not eat till it is dark, though the Sunni breaks his fast when the sun sets ; and the former
declines to eat eels and other finless fishes, which according to the Sunni are permit-
ted to the Faithful.
More than 98 per cent, of the Muhammadans in the province returned them-
selves as Sunnis, the total number of Shiahs being only 2,724. Forty-seven persons
returned themselves as members of the Ahli-ha-dis, or Wahabi communion, a sect
of reforming Muhammadans with very strict and puritanical views on the subject of their
religion, who thirty years ago were suspected of active disloyalty to the British
CHAP. IV.] THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS. 45
Government. In the Assam Valley 19,166 persons entered themselves as Mussalmans, Religion,
and nothing more, a fact which is some indication of the backward condition of Islam
in,that division,
92. During the last ten years the Christian population of the province has more than
Christianity. dbubled the figures having risen from 16,844 to 35,969.
2,099 of these persons are members of European and allied
races, 275 are Eurasians, and 33,595 are natives of the country, the percentage of
variation that has taken place amongst the three classes being + 24, — 28, and + 128,
Sixty-six per cent, of the ^Europeans are members of the Anglican communion, and
only three other sects, — Presbyterians, Romanists, and Baptists, — have any appreciable
number of followers.
The Eurasians are a small body, the very great majority of whom are either mem-
bers of the Church of England or of the Roman Catholic Church, there being 142 of
the former, and*74 of the latter, out of a total population of 275.
93. Amongst the native population, Christianity has made great strides during the •
past ten years, their numbers having risen from 14,762 to
Native Christiana. ' _ ^ ■'rr.. . • . , / \ . • ■ ,• '/,\
33)595- -l his mcrease is due {a) to immigration, {b) to
excess of births over deaths amongst the Christian community, and {c) to conversion ;
but it is to the last-named cause that the great bulk of the increase is due.
94. The chief proselytizing agency in the province is the Welsh Mission, whose efforts
in the Khasiand Jaintia Hills have been extraordinarily
res y e ans. successful, the number of native Christians having risen
from 6,941 to 17,125. There is no caste system or social prejudice amongst the
K basis to act as an obstacle to conversion, they come but little under the influence
of Hinduism, and their readiness to accept the Christian faith can be judged from the
fact that 8'6 per cent, of the total population of the district have returned themselves
under this head. Amongst them, however, as amongst the other hill tribes, the stricter
standard of morality is a stumbling-block. One Khasi Christian of my acquaintance
became a Unitarian, because, as he expressed it, the " Christians had so many sins," — they
objected, amongst other things, to his going to market on a Sunday, — -and he ultimately
had to leave the Unitarian Church, because they took exception to the very occasional
bouts of drunkeness in which he indulged. The rigid views with regard to the relations
of the sexes are also a trial to a people who indulge in what almost amounts to a
system of free love, and if the missionaries were able to relax their moral code, the
numbers of their converts would in air probability be largely increased.
95. The Baptist Mission has also met with a large measure of success, the numbers
of this sect . having risen from 3,767 to 10,045. Their
other Missions. ^^^.^ ccntrcs are in the Garo Hills, Goalpara, Kamrup and
Sibsagar, and in the first two districts their numbers have nearly . trebled, while in the
\i.st two 'taken together, they have more thati doubled. In the Naga Hills, also, the
number of Baptists hi-s increased by one-and-a-half-fold, but the total number (563) is
small and the Nagas do not apparently adopt .Christianity as readily as the hill tribes to
the west. In comparison with these nonTConformist bodies, the efforts of the established
church seem to have been singularly unblessed, the native Anglicans of Darrang
having only increased by sixty souls during the past decade ; but it must not be forgotten
that the attractions of Hinduism are much greater in the plains than in the hills, where
Christianity has practically no rival in the field. Since 1891 the Roman Catholics have
started a mission amongst the Khasis, and have succeeded in making 551 converts. In
Svlhet also, there is a colony of Romanists who date back to very early times, but
to judge from the smallness of their numbers (126) no serious attempt can have been
made to obtain new converls. Under the head of minor denominations there are 3,196
natives distributed over all the districts of the province. These persons consist, for the
most part of those who have returned themselves as Native Christians, and nothing more.
96. The statement in the margin shows the distribution of Buddhists by districts
* Buddhists. at the last two censuses. The total increase that has
1901. 18M. +or-- occurred is 1,214; but for this, the Lushai Hills and
syihet ^'""'"^ gj „| -^ ^^ Manipur, which were not censused in 1891, and Sibsagar
Kam^r ••'• 8" |1| Z a^ are largely responsible ; and the increase in the last-
nSwIws- ■••■j3 g|,» t eA named district is hardly genuine, as in 1 89 1, the 706 Noras
ESimpnT "■' t^sra 4.462 % ^l enumerated there seem to have been classified as Hindus,
Nortf c^har 2 "L -^t though they are in reality Buddhists. Buddhism has taken
Kiis^^ani ^*' ^ + 63 "o hold upon the people of Assam, and the numbers in the
oiro^Hfi^""^ zra 392 -180 various distficts remain Very coustaut. The great bulk of
pfo^n™ '•'•• 8.911 w*' +i'»^* those returned in Kamrup, Darrang and Goalpara are
* In ,891 they were shown as Methodists, and on the present occasion as Presbyterians, • Protestants unspeci-
fied ' have been included under this head in both years.
46 REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, igot. [CHAP. IV.
Religion. Bhutias, who have come down for the cold weather to trade in the plains ; but in Sibsa-
gar and Lakhimpur, there are small colonies of Noras, Turungs, Shans, Aitonias, and .
Phakials, who profess the Buddhist faith. These persons originklly came from
Burma and settled in the province about eighty years ago, but they have not as yet
been absorbed into the surrounding population, and only marry in their own community,
a fact which no doubt does not conduce to a high rate of increase.
The proportion of Buddhists to the total population of the province is the sameas in .
1891, i.e., 14 out of every 10,000 persons. The ratio is sufficiently low, but is higher,
than that prevailing in most of the other provinces,
97. There are 1,797 Jains in the province, of whom no Tess than 1,600 are found in
the Brahmaputra Valley. The great majority of these persons
are shrewd Marwari merchants, who have succeeded in rno-
nopollsing the trade of the valley, but who do not, as a rule, make it their home or bring
their wives or children with them ; a fact which accounts for the great disproportion
between the sexfes, there being only 295 women to 1,502 men.
98. The Sikhs areanother small community, numbering only 505 souls. In 1891,
they were only found in Goalpara and Nowgong, but at the
^'^''^' present census Sylhet, the Garo Hills, and Manipur are the
only districts, in which the religion has not a single representative. The colony in
Nowgong'has risen in numbers from 6'^ to 214, and, strangely enough, the women out-
number the men, but the greater portion of the increase is no doubt due to the employ-
ment of Sikhs as military policemen on the Assam-Bengal Railway.
99. One small sect remains to be noticed, the members of the Brahmo Samaj, who
make up in intellectual culture for what they lack in numbers.
"^^ ™°^' The followers of this religion- have increased from 239 to
360 daring the past ten years, but most of them are emigrants from Bengal serving
in ministerial appointments, and the reliiiion has made practically no progress amongst
the common people. In 1891, these persons were included amongst the Hindus, but the
orthodox Hindu in Assam declines to admit that they are members of his society, and
they have therefore been shown separately on the present occasion.
100' Lastly, we come to a religion, or group of religions, which, judged from the
numerical standpoint, is of considerable importance in this
°™ ' province. Animism, the name given to the aboriginal beliefs
of the hill tribes, has been defined by Dr. Tiele in the following terms :
Animism is the belief in the existence of souls or spirits, of which only the powerful, those
on which man feels himself dependent, and before which he stands in awe, acquire the rank of
divine beings and become the objects of worship. These spirits are conceived as moving freely
through earth and air, and either of their own accord, or because conjured by some spell and thus
under compulsion, appearing to men. But they may also take up their abode either permanently
or temporarily in some object, whether lifeless or living it matters not, and this object, as endowed
with higher power, is then worshipped or employed to protect individuals or communities.
For the purposes of the census, Animism can, however, be more readily defined by
the nee;ative method, as the creed of those members of the aboriginal tribes who did
not claim to be followers of the main recognised religions.
101. Animism is not unfrequently described as ' devil worship,'* and there is a
„ . ,^ _ ,, <...,„ ^ ,. «. tendency to look upon the religious ideas of the hillmen as
Brief description of Animistic Belieft. ,.-' i-i ii , < ,,
somethmg peculiarly savage and absurd, worthy only of
contempt and abhorrence ; but as a matter of fact these primitive systems of religion,
which, though they vary in detail in each tribe, have much in common with one
another, are far from discreditable to the intelligence of their founders. Amongst most
tribes there are legends of the creation of the world which do not compare
unfavourably with the accounts given in many of the recognised religions.
As an example, I may quote the Mikir account of the Creation as detailed by the
Reverend P. l\. Moore:
A long time ago, two gods, Hemphu and Mookrang, held a consultation to decide about
creating the universe. They determined the limits and set four great posts to show the
boundaries of the world, which remain to this day, as they were fastened immoveably with sij?
hairs which the two gods got froni their mother. Having set the limits, they proceeded to plan
the creation, but they had no seed that could produce an earth, so they called in one
hundred other ,gods and their wives to advise them, and after long consultation decided
to send one of the wives to get a little earth from the god Hajong. Hajong, however
refused to give any seed to help a rival earth to be formed and sent the goddess away
empty, but as she returned she noticed the little bits of earth at the holes of the earth-,
worms, and stole a 'small piece and hid it in her bosom. Even with this half-pound of
mud the gods were not able to make an ear.th, so they sent for the king of the earthworms
who worked so well at the bit of mud, that in one day it became about ten feet in diameter'
* This expression seems to me singularly unfortunate, suggesting, as it does, the adoration of devils, as ChrFstrans
adore God. The hillraan, however, fears the evil spirits and endeavours to propitiate them, which is a very different
thing from the respect and reverence usually connected with worship.
CHAP. IV.] THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS. 47
and eventually grew into oqr globe. Even then, however, another difficulty confronted Religion,
them. It was only worm mud, so soft that no one could travel on it, so Kaprang was called, and
he with a blacksmith's bellows caused a wind to blow that eventually dried the mud to solid
earth. The gods then brought seeds from the far west, and from them grew reeds and traces and
all kinds of vegetables, and then came the creation of animals. The elephant, being the greatest,
was told to be the servant of man, and to the tiger was entrusted the duty of eating the wicked.
Last of all came man, who was provided with two wives, one a Mikir, the other an Assamese. The
descendants of this Adam increased and multiplied exceedingly, and, tired of the mastery of the
earth only, they determined to conquer the stars. With this object they began to build a tower to
reach unto heaven, but the gods, in fear lest they might attain their purpose, confounded their
speech and scattered them to the four corners of the earth, and it was from this time that men
began to speak, different languages.
The Garos also have legends of the gradual creation, of the World by a goddess
named Nastoo, who sprang from a self-begotten egg. Streams of water issued from
her womb and became rivers, all kinds of reeds and grasses sprang up, and then came
fish and other reptiles, birds, and animals, and lastly man. From the scientific point
of view, these accounts no doubt leave much to be desired, but the same can be said
of most other stories of the Creation.
Amongst nearly all the tribes there is a belief in beneficent gods, who, as they
entertain friendly feelings towards men, do not require much in the way of sacrifice, but
the thing which impresses itself most forcibly and painfully upon the mind of the
uneducated hillmen is the existence of apparently unmerited pain and trouble. He, is
confronted with the problem, to which no satisfactory solution has yet been found,
of innocent persons suffering misfortune, sickness and death, and he attempts
to solve the difficulty by assuming the existence of malignant spirits, who take
delight in tormenting man, and who have therefore to be propitiated by any means
that are likely to prove acceptable. Such a view can hardly' be called unrea-
sonable by any one who has had any experi.ence of the useless misery so commonly
met with in this life, and equally temperate and reasonable are the views of the ordinary
hillman with regard to a future state of existence. Their attitude is well brought
out by the reply given me by some Miris on the north-east frontierj who told me
that they believed in a future life, but added, with intention, that they had never heard
pf a dead man who had returned to this earth. The feeling ' non omnis moriar^
seems to be strongly implanted in the minds of these uncivilized men, but they
are at the same time fully conscious of the impossibility of obtaining any definite
information with regard to the life after death, andso, sensibly enough, decline to trouble
themselves niuch about, the matter. Some tribes, more especially the Nagas, have
adopted the theory of the transmigration of souls from their Hindu neighbours, but the
general idea is that after death they live again much the same life that they have spent
upon this earth, either in some place beyond the stars or in some village far removed
from their ordinary settlements.
The Garos believe that the souls of the dead go to live on Chlkmang, a peak of
the Tura range ; the Mikirs say that aftef death those who have been cremated with
due rites will go to a village called Chum Arong. Amongst this tribe there is a distinct
idea of different degrees of bliss in a future life. People who have not been properly
cremated can only get into the fields of Chum Arong, and not into the village itself ;
and separate villages are provided for those who have been killed_ by drowning, by
bears, wild [elephants and tigers, the last named being the 'most undesirable of all, nearly
all hill tribes looking upon sudden and violent deaths as an indication of some
s-pecial unworthiness in the u,nf,ortunate victim. There is also a special heaven amongst
the Mikirs, called ' Booikoon,' into which the * unco guid ' alone can enter, and they
too only, if they possess the rather peculiar qualifications of having danced the one-
legged dance and eaten the fat of the great lizarcl, and duck, pheasant, and cocoanut.
The Tajgkhul Nagas place their heaven in a state to the west, and the Kukis to the
north, and the popular theory amongst all tribes is^that the dead journey to some
place' behind the most distant ranges visible from their villages. There is also a
widespread belief that the spirits of animals and men slain by the deceased in this
life will attend on him in the next world.. The Garos before our occupation of their
country used to kill slaves when their chiefs died, and still sacrifice dogs, who it is
supposed will show the spirit the way to Chikmang. The Khasis sacrifice a cock, which
acts not only as a guide, but wakes the dead man every morning, sp that he can
pursue his journey.* The Kukis think that all the enemies a man has^ slain will be his
slaves in the next world, and that his farm will be stocked by the animals that he has
eaten and much the same view is held by the Tangkhul and Kacchhk Nagas. The last
named. tribe have the somewhat curious belief that the spirits of the dead remain for
* A parallel to this quaint practice is to be found amongst the Hindus, who are supposed to dedicate a cow at
death to help them to cross the rivdr Baitarani, which flows before the palace of the Hindu Pluto.
48 REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, IQOI. [CHAP. IV.
Religion, a year in their own homes, and rice is in consequence offered to them at the time
when the family are taking their meals ; but the dead man is not as a rule welcomed
so hospitably, and, though a small shed is often built for his use near the grave, steps
are taken to guard against his' revisiting his home, and terrifying the inmates. One
exception to the general belief in the future state is to be found, however, in
the Hojais and Kacharis, who practically ignore all possibility of a life after death,
102. For each of the class of evils to which men are commonly subject, a special
„ „ , demon is usually made responsible. The following account
Hostile spirits. . . , ,/ »t n r i i- i. • 'l. u
is given by Mr. Needham of the malignant spirits who
trouble the Padam Abors :
The Padam religion consists in propitiating certain malignant spirits by offerings of mithan,
pig, fowls, liquors, etc. The chief are the Apom or Epom, and his younger brother Pomsa.
Their habitat is the rubber tree, and they are chiefly propitiated when sickness occurs. Urom
is another malignant spirit, who is'said to reside in unclean places. He has the power of attacking
people after dark, and causing stomachaches and headaches. He is generally offered some
dried bones and liquor. Then there are the Kilu Dele (male and female), who are supposed to
reside under ground and turn their attention to destroying crops and other field produce.
Sacrifices to these spirits are usually made under a granary, and they require two cooked
fowls, pounded rice, tamul, pin, etc. Nipong is a demon who is essentially bent on harming
females, so almost all ailments from which women suffer, specially at the time of parturition
or menstruation^ are attributed to him ; but, although he pays particular attention to females, he
does not spare men either, for all cases of haemorrhage or severe stomachaches, which cause
the sufferer to roll about like a woman in travail, are attributed to him. He is said to live in
plantain groves or amongst stinging-nettles, and to exist on the seeds of that plant.
103. But though special demons are appointed to preside over special classes of
„ .. ,^^ . ,. misfortune, it is generally thought advisable to call in a
System of divination. ,' , ^ , ■' ° ... ,.
person learned in these matters to decide who is respon-
sible for the trouble, and what particular form of sacrifice is required. There are
various methods in force for lobtaining the desired information. That of egg-healing
amongst the Khasis is thus described by Mr. J. B, Shadwell :
An expert is set downfbefore a board, in the centre of which he places an egg on a few
grains of rice ; after invoking the egg to speak the truth he sweeps the rice off the board, except-
ing one grain, left on any spot his fancy dictates. Then, naming a particular spirit, he asks that,
if he be the cause of the evil, a part of the shell of the egg may be deposited near the grain of
rice ; he then strikes the egg sharply on the board. This process is repeated, if necessary, till
the desired information is obtained. The next thing is to discover what sort of offering will be
acceptable to the spirits. This is ascertained in a precisely similar way, but the desired result
is often not arrived at till much time and many scores of eggs have been expended.
Amongst the Miris a different system is in force, which is thus described by Mr.
F. J. Needham, CLE.:
The modus operandi is as follows : Two spear-headed leaves, which should point to the
eastward or northward when about to be plucked (those dropping to the westward and
southward are alleged to be untrustworthy), are plucked and drawn through the right hand
to wither them, after which each one is slit into six strings with the right thumbnail and
left attached to their stalks. Each leaf is then taken up in turn in the left hand held aloft and
adjured to prognosticate truly, after which the diviner gathers the six strings in his right hand,
draws them through it a few times to further wither and make them more pliable, and then,
gathering them together, proceeds to twist them several times round and round, and ties four of
the string ends into two pairs. When both leaves have been treated in this fashion, he opens them
out, i.i., untwists the strings and examines the lay of the two loops and the spare strings.
I will here premise that in cases of sickness the right-hand loop represents the house
of the patient and the righthand string the patient himself, while the left-hand loop repre-
sents the abode of the spirits supposed to be causing the sickness and the left-hand string the
spirit itself. Should the two loose strings fall inside the patient's loop or house it is a very bad
omen, as the spirit afflicting him is actually closeted with him, and if the string representing the
spirit is outside, and on the right-hand of the patient, it is likewise a bad omen.
An inspection of the liver and entrails of the victim is amongst many tribes
supposed to enable an expert to foretell the future, or a fowl is throttled, and the way
in which it crosses its legs is noted. There are other signs of approaching misfortune
vouchsafed spontaneously by the spirits. The Padam Abors and Miris consider it
to be most unlucky to see a dog dragging its hind-quarters along the ground,
or to have a bird fall dead near to them ; and the Nagas think that the songs of some
birds are lucky when heard on the right of the path, unlucky if they come from the left.
But, with all this fear of and propitiation of evil spirits, there is also a widespread
tendency to offer sacrifices to secure prosperity and success. Amongst the Mikirs
there is a distinct sense of the power of the gods to protect, and a man engaged in a
lawsuit will sacrifice a goat on the path which his opponent will take to the cutcherry
and pray for his discomfiture. Every Mikir, too, should sacrifice once a year to God to
obtain good harvests and ensure good health, and this practice obtains amongst the
CHAP. IV.] THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS. 49
majority of the Animistic tribes. Amongst the Hojais and Lalungs this annual sacrifice Religion,
was invested with great ceremony, and the most acceptable of all offerings, human life,
is said to have been made prior to our occupation of the country.
104. The connection between morality and religion is, however, loose and ill-defined,
conneotion Detween religion and and amongst the Mikirs at any rate success in theft is said to
morality. ^^g jyg |.q g{jj]| jj^ sacrifice. The following catalogue of sins
has been supplied me by a Khasi, — murder, serious assault, adultery, rape and theft, and
these five offences are, I think, a fairly exhaustive list for the hill tribes of Assam, whilst
amongst many of the Naga tribes the first two would be omitted from the category, at any
rate as regards all persons outside one's own particular khel. The simplicity of their moral
code has much to recommend it, and seems far from unattractive when compared with
religious systems, which to the impartial observer appear to deliberately invent sins, and
civilisations which attempt to base themselves on a denial of the laws of nature.
105. One superstition remains, which fortunately is not widely spread, but is of so
Thien Strange a character as to deserve special mention. The
Khasis, who are in several ways a most exceptional race,
are peculiar also in this, that they think that certain families are cursed or blessed
with a familiar spirit that bears the name of Thlen. This spirit may assume the form
of a snake, stick, or bundle, but at certain seasons of the year it rouses itself, and can
only be appeased with blood. A man and a woman must be murdered, and parts of
their clothing mixed with rice and blood drawn from the hands, feet, and nostrils
offered to the Thlen, who appears in the shape of a cat and plays with the offering,
which then takes the form of miniature representations of the murdered man and woman.
If the Thlen is not fed in this manner, it will kill or trouble the members of the family
amongst whom it lives ; and there is, I believe, little doubt that in the wilder parts of
the district, people are murdered on account of this strange superstition, children being
taken for the purpose and reported as drowned, if adults are not obtainable. The
Khasis themselves have a keen appreciation of the risk of their falling victims to the
Thlen, and during the months when it is supposed to crave for human blood are very
reluctant to go about alone after dark.
106. One million sixty-eight thousand three hundred and thirty-four persons, or
rather more than 17 per cent, of the population of the
Distribution by aistricta. proviucc, have been returned as followers of the Animistic
religions. In the Surma Valley, the proportion is but small, there being only 19 out of
every 1,000 of the population in Cacbar, and 5 in Sylhet, but in Assam Proper the
ratio is as high as 178 per mille. In the hills they form, of course, the great mass of the
population (846 per mille), and even in Manipur they are over one-third of the total.
In the Lushai and Naga Hills over 95 per cent, of the inhabitants are Animists, but
in the Khasi Hills, where Christianity is a factor to be reckoned with, and in the Garo
Hills, where there are an appreciable number of Hindus and Muhammadans in the
plains portion of the district, the ratio sinks to 88 and 82 per cent., respectively. In
Sibsagar and Lakhimpur, the proportion of Animistic persons is but small, being only
7 and 5 per cent., but in the other four districts of the Assam Valley they form an
important section of the population, ranging from 31 per cent, in Nowgong to 21 per
cent, in Kamrup.
107. Statement VI, appended to this chapter, shows the variation that has occurred
in the different districts of the province during the past ten
Increase or decrease. rp*. • j_ i. _ .. t_ ^
years. The gross mcrease amounts to lo'i percent., but
this is due to the inclusion of the figures for Manipur and the Lushai Hills. If they are
omitted from the calculation, there is a decrease of 4-48 per cent. This decrease is not to
be wondered at, as, while Animism loses considerable numbers to Christianity and Hindu-
ism it makes no converts ; and the indigenous population of three of the plains districts,
in which it is most prevalent, i.e., Nowgong, Kamrup, and Darrang, has decreased very
seriously during the last interceiisal period. The decrease of nearly 30 per cent, in the
Surma Valley is due no doubt to the pressure of public opinion, the unconverted tribes
being numerically an insignificant community in the midst of a large Hindu and Muham-
madan population. The increase in Goalpara must be due either to a higher standard
of Hinduism having been exacted on the present occasion, or to a more rapid rate of
increase amongst the Animistic tribes ; and the same explanation must be offered for
Kamrup where the decrease amongst the Animistic tribes is considerably less than
that amongst the total population. In Nowgong and Darrang, the decrease is due to
the ravages of kald-dzdr, which attacked the tribes in the south of Nowgong with
peculiar severity, and to conversions to Hinduism. The increase in Sibsagar is explained
bv the transfer of territory from the Naga Hills.
■' M
5° REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, I901. fCHAP. IV.
Religion. 108. Subsidiary Table VII shows the distribution of the main religions in Assam
DistributiontyreiigioBin Assam ^"^ ^^^ °^ ^^^ principal provinces of India. The propor-
and other provinces. . 1 t« • 1 1
tion of Hindus is comparatively low, the Punjab, where
there are a very large number of Muhammadans, being the only province in which they
form as small a section of the total population. The percentage of Moslems is
fairly high, for, though it is surpassed by the figures for the Punjab and Bengal, it is
considerably in advance of that of the remaining three provinces. The Animistic
tribes are very strongly represented, as they form 17-4 per cent, of the whole,
and though in the Central Provinces they are also numerous, elsewhere these simple
forms of belief have but few followers. Thanks to the labours of the missionaries,
amongst the hill tribes the number of Christians is also fairly large, and they form 6
per mille of the total population, as compared with 3 in Bengal and 2 in the
Central and North-Western Provinces and the Punjab ; but Madras still easily maintains
its position as the most Christian province. There is one Buddhist to every thousand
people, as compared with three in Bengal : elsewhere Buddhism is practically
unknown.
CHAP. IV.]
THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS.
5'
SUBSIDIARY TABLE I.
Di!>tributton of population by religion.
Religion.
fgoi.
iSgi.
s iSlil.
Percentage of variation
increase (+), decrease
Net variation.
Religion.
Number.
Proportion
per
10,000.
Number.
Proportion
per
10,000.
Number.
Proportion
per
10,000.
1891 to igoi.
1881 to 1891.
1881 to igoi.
1
a
3
4
5
6
1 \ 8
9
10
Hindus ...
Sikhs ...
Jains
Buddhists
Muhammadans
Christians
Brahmos
Animistic
Others ...
3,429.099
505
1,797
8,911
',581,317
35,969
360
1,068,334
51
5,597
I
3
14
2,581
59
I
1.744
2,997,072
83
1,368
7.697
1,483,974
16,844
...
969,765
30
5,472
3
140
2,710
3'
1,770
14
'58
6,565
',321,903
7,100
177
'3
2,591
14
(■+ 14-4
1+ 8-7
+ 5085
(■+ 31-3
1+ 307
+ 157
(+ 6-5
1+ 5-8
(■+ 113-5
1+ 113-2
( + "'io-i
I- 0-48
+ 70-0
+493
+ 765
+ 17-2
r+ 12-2
L+I2-6
+ 137
f+ 40'
1+ 466
+ 1.639
j + 2,346
t + 2,214
( + 259,414
( + 259,212
3 + 28,869
\ + 28,824
+ 183
+ 51
Total ...
6,126,343
10,000
5,476,833
10,000
5,102.496
...
C + ir86
t+ 6-66
J+ 7-33
1+11-30
(+1,023,847
I + 941,413
Hindus and Animistic, — Column 0. — The figures for 1S81 are not given, as the distinction between Hinduism and Animism was not properly observed
in that year.
Column 8. — The lower set of the figures in brackets shows the variation, excluding Manipur,
Column g, — In the lower set of figures, totals for Maciipnr and the Lushai Hihs have been excluded.
Column 10.— Totals for Lushai Hills have been excluded from the lower set of figures,
SUBSIDIARY TABLE II.
Distribution of religions by natural divisions and districts.
HINDUS.
MUHAMIMADANS.
AN 1 MISTS.
Variation per 10,000 (+)
or (-).
Natural divisions and districts.
Proportion per 10,000 in
Proportion per 10.000 in
Proportion per 10,000 in
from i8gi to igoi in
igoi.
i8gi.
1881.
igoi.
i8gi.
1881.
igoT.
1891.
1881.
Hindus.
Muham-
madans.
Animistic.
■
i
3
4
S
S
1
8
9
10
11
12
13
Cachar Plains
Sylhet
6,725
4,680
6,528
4,715
6,449
4,821
3,05s
5,265
3,070
5,217
3,145
5,1 57
194
50
378
64
330
18
+ 197
— 35
— 15
+ 48
— 184
— 14
Total Surma Valley...
5,000
4,409
6,914
7,095
6,422
8,855
8,979
4,864
5,029
4,920
4,884
4,905
73
2,719
2,132
2,326
656
484
no
58
+ 136
+ 36
— 37
Goalpara ...
Kamrup ...
Darrang ...
Nowgong ...
Sibsagar ...
Lakhimpur
4,63'
6,367
6,226
9,157
8,944
7,374
8,836
9,213
8,040
9,173
8,460
2,779
911
515
482
416
321
2,75'
873
599
411
433
318
2,348
782
567
388
423
323
2,567
2,077
2,985
3,343
355
493
263
364
177
1,560
373
910
— 222
— 105
+ 728
+ 196
— 302
+ 35
+ 28
+ 38
- 84
+ 71
— 17
+ 3
+ 152
+ 55
— 659
— 289
+ 30s
— 9
Total Brahmaputra
Valley.
Total Plains
7,182
6,983
8,504
950
979
918
1,782
1,973
533
+ 199
— 29
— 191
6.083
5,967
6,754
3,949
2,971
2,926
921
1,028
294
+ 116
— 22
— 107
Lushai Hills
N'orth Cachar
Naga Hills
Khasi and Jaintia Hills
Garo Hills
409
5,858
327
265
960
368
4,340
361
230
937
4,478
133
336
1,448
25
1,422
14
55
564
49
8
17
41
460
I
9
33
377
2,656
9,565
8,815
8,192
9,578
5,65'
9,571
9,366
8,472
5,S«9
9,853
9,504
8,099
+ 41
+ 1,518
— 34
+ 35
+ 23
— 24
+ 1,414
— 3
+ 14
+ 104
— 36
—2,995
— 6
— 551
— 280
Total Hill Districts ...
870
598
848
266
135
120
8,460
9,080 8,955
+ 272
+ I3«
— 580
Manipur ...
5,996
5,597
...
S.920
365
...
220
3.631
1,743
... 3,857
...
...
...
Total Province
5,472
6,273*
2,58 1
2,709
2,698
1,770 1,000'
" + 125
— 128 — 27
Columns 4 and 10.— Little or no reliance can be placed upon these figures, as the distinction between the Animistic tribes and Hindus w^s ^ot
properly observed in iSlii.
52
REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, 1901.
[chap. IV.
Religion.
SUBSIDIARY TABLE III.
Distribution of Christians by districts.
Natural divisions and districts.
Number of Ciiristians in
Variation, increase (+) or decrease (— ).
igoi.
1891.
18S1.
1891-1901.
I88I-I89I.
x88i-igoi.
I
2
3
4
S
e
7
Cachar Plains
Sylhet
957
744
809
643
765
379
+ 148
+ 101
+ 44
+ 264
+ 192
+ 365
Total Surma Valley
1,701
1,452
',144
+ 249
+ 308
+ 557
Goalpara
Kamrup
Darrang
Nowgong
Sibsagar
Lakhimpur
3,495
1,479
1,358
593
2,489
3,112
1,632
948
849
1,365
1,606
513
366
371
254
804
837
+ 1,863
+ 531
+ 509
+ 176
+ 1,124
+ 1,506
+ 1,119
+ 582
+ 478
+ 163
+ 561
+ 769
+ 2,982
+ i,i'3
+ 987
+ 339
+ 1,685
+ 2,275
Total Brahmaputra Valley
12,526
6,8 17
3,145
+ 5,709
+ 3.672
+ 9,381
Total Plains
14,227
8,269
4,289
+ 5,958
+ 3.980
+ 9.938
Lushai Hills
North C;ichar
Naga Hills ...
Khasi and Jaintia Hills ...
Garo Hills
45
601
17,321
3,647
'5
I
231
7,144
1,184
2
25
2,107
670
+ 30
+ 82
+ 370
+ 10,177
+ 2,463
— I
+ 206
+ 5,037
+ 514
+ '" 81
+ 576
+ 15.214
+ 2,977
Total Hill Districts
21,697
8,575
2 804
+ 13,122
+ 5,756
+ 18,848
Manipur
45
...
7
...
...
+ 38
Total Province
35,969
16,844
7,100
+ 19,080
+ 9,736
+ 28,824
Total Province, column 5.— As the census was not taken in Manipur in 1891, no variation there can be shown, and the number ot the Christians
returned at the last census has been excluded from the total variation for the Province.
Total Province, column 6-— Excludes the figures of Lushai Hills and Manipur,
Ditto ditto 7.~Excludes the figures of Lushai Hills.
SUBSIDIARY TABLE IV.
Distribution of Christians by race and denomination.
Denomination.
EUROPEAN AND
ALLIED RACES.
EURASIAN.
NATIVE.
TOTAL.
Variation
Males.
Females.
Males.
Fenr.ales,
Males.
Females.
1901.
1851.
C+) or (-).
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Anglican Communion
Armenian
Baptist
Calvinist
Ccngregalionalist
Greek
Indefinite beliefs
Lutheran and allied denomi-
nations
Methodist
Minor denominations
Presbyterian ...
Quaker
Roman Catholic
Salvationist
1,022
2
36
I
3
a
7
5
10
1X2
239
2
105
370
I
31
I
3
I
19
66
1
60
96
'" 8
3
16
7
40
46
I
1
10
13
34
941
5,194
17
106
744
1,687
7,634
428
899
4,775
10
"ii6
679
4
1.509
8,446
406
3,374
3
10,045
29
6
2
229
1,428
19
3.353
16,405
3
1.373
4,346
2
3.767
13
24
790
6,831
2
332
2
734
I
— 972
•+ I
+ 6,278
+ 29
— 7
+ 2
+ 205
+ 638
— 6,812
+ 3,351
+ 16,073
+ 1
+ 339
— I
Total
1.546
553
170
105
«6,75«
16,844
35.969
16,844
+ 19,125
CHAP. IV.]
THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS.
S3
SUBSIDIARY TABLE V.
Proportion of Sakttsts, Sivaites, and MahapurushiaSi
Natural divisions and districts.
Proporfidn per 16,006 Hindus in
each district.
Natural divisio ns and districts.
Proportiori per jo.obo Hindus in
each district.
Saktist.
Sivaites.
Mah-apuru-
shias.
Saktist.
Sivaites.
Mahapuru-
shias.
I
2
3
4
I
2
Jf
4
Cachar Plains ...
Sylhet
3,062
2,988
642
548
• ■*
■ Nowgong
Sibsagar
Lalchimpui'
Total Brahmaputra Vallfey
Total Plains ...
783
2,448
2,286
38
152
272
4,9SS
3,418
1,879
Total Surma Valley
3.003
563
Goalpara
Kamrup
Darrang
5|6
180
1,880
328
69
1,442
I.9I1
1. 945
1.499
142
2,554
2,122
318'
1,513
Religion.
SUBSIDIARY TABLE VI.
Percentage of increase or decrease of Hindus, Muhdmmadans, and
Animists by divisions and districts^
HINDUS.
MUHAMMADANS.
ANIMISTIC.
Natural divisions and districts.
Total.
Percentage of
variatioD
(+)or(-).
Total.
Percentage of
variation
Total.
Percentage of
variation
(+) or {-).
1
2
3
4
5
6
1
Cachar Plains
278,964
+ i6-2
126,698
+ 12-2
8.079
— 41-8
Sylhet ...
1,049,248
+ 3"2
1,180,324
+ 5-0
",337
— 17-sr
Total Surma Valley
1,328,212
+ 57
1,307,022
+ 5-6
19,416
- 29-9
Goalpara ... ...
203,696
— 27
128,388
+ 3-1
125,618
+ 8-1
Kamrap
407.363
- 8-4
53,701
— 2-9
125,599
- 4-6
Darrang
239.318
+ 22" I
_ 17,372
- 5-8
78,458
— 14-5
Nowgong
167,709
— 217
12,578
— ll'O
79,767
— 30-6
Sibsagar
529,480-
+ 26-4
24,878
+ 25-6
39,203
+ 141 "3:
Lakhimpur
333.4S4
+ 467
11.925
+ 47-4
17,973
+ 43*2
Total Brahmaputra Valley
1,881,050
+ 9'9
248,842
+ 3-5
466,618
— 3"5
Total Pl^ns
3,209,262
+ 8-1
1,555,864
+ 5-3
486,034
— 4-9
Lashai Hills
3,373
...
202
...
78,657
...
North Cachar
23,908
+ 190-8
5.804
+38,593
10,839
+ 1-2
Naga Hills
3,351
— 24-4
142
— 32-0
97,948
- 16-7
Khasi and Jaintia Hills
5,354
+ I7"2
1,118
+ 36-3
178,275
- 38
Garo Hills
13.274
+ i6-5
7,804
+ 39*4
113,274
+ 9'9
c
49,260
+ 62-9
15,070
+ 1 197
478,993
+ 4'4
Total Hill Districts ... ^
45,887
+ 6o-3
14,868
+ 123-8
400,336
— 3'9
Manipur
170,577
...
10,383
...
103,307
...
Total Province
3,429,099
+ i4'4
1,581,317
+ 6-5
1,068,334
+ lo-i
Total Hill districts.— The lower set oi figures indicates the totals and percentage of variation, excluding the Lushai Hills,
N
54
REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, /go/.
fCHAP. IV.
Religion.
SUBSIDIARY TABLE VII.
Dtstrtbution of main religions in Assam and other provinces.
Number in
I, coo of the population.
Provinces.
Hindus.
Muhammadans.
Christians.
Animists.
Buddhists.
I
2
3
4
5
6
Assam ...
S6o
258
6
174
I
Bengal ...
633
324
3
350
i
North-Western Provinces and Oudh
853
141
2
...
Central Provinces...
821
26
3
«47
Madras
892
64
40*
12*
...
Punjab ...
407*
514*
2*
...
...
The 6gure5 marked with an asterisk are for 1891.
90
28
MAP
TO ILLUSTRATE THE PROPORTION
OF FEMALES TO MALES IN
ASSAM
Scale of Miles
o »2.
E^g. No. 621, Cewma Comr., A,!':"-.— Teb. OS.— 1,003.
Exterior Ilastem Sonnduy in SfCcordancB with Tru^ reed,
with The Secretary to the Chief Commissioner of Assam's
Utw No. 1550 Miao. dated 24h. January 1901
361 J.
BEFEBENCES
Frovlnce or State Boundary
District
Undemarcated »
1 Area under Political Control
REFERENCE
Exaot proportion of females
to males
Lakhimpur
86
Sibscfgar
89
GoUpa'ra
90
Cachar Plains .
91
Darrang
92
Nowgong
96
Sylhet
96
Garo Hills
97
Nagi Hills
98
North' Cachar*
100
Ka'mrup.
101
Manipur
104
Kha'si & Jaintia Hills
108
Lushai Hills
111
* Exclusive of the Railway population.
Photo. S. I. O., Calcutta.
CHAP, v.] TH^ RESULTS OF THE CENSUS. 55
CHAPTER V.
SEX.
109. In the majority of European countries, where we assume, and no doubt rightly, Sex,
,^^ ^ that statistics are collected and compiled with greater
Aocnracy of the returns. i ■ i r i i i i
accuracy than m other parts of the world, the census returns
disclose a considerable excess of women. In France, in 1891 there were 1,014
females to every 1,000 males. In the United Kingdom, including the army, navy,
and merchant service abroad, the proportion was 1,048, and in Germany 1,037 > so
that when we find that in Assam there were only 949 women to every 1,000 men,
we are at first inclined to doubt whether our figures can be correct.
The position of women in India, is, however, so different from that accorded to
them in Europe, that it would obviously be most unsafe to assume that what is
true of the one place will of necessity be true of the other, and the most reliable
test of the accuracy of our figures will be found in a comparison with those returned
in the other provinces of the Empire. The first thing to do is to eliminate the
foreign element of the province. Nearly 13 per cent, of the persons censused
in Assam were emigrants from other parts of India, amongst whom the proportion of
women is notoriously low,* and, if we confine our attention to persons born in the pro-
vince, we find that there are 977 women to every 1,000 men. This rate is undoubt-
edly low when compared with the Central Provinces (1,031), or Madras (1,027), but is
considerably in advance of the North-Western Provinces (937), and the Punjab (856),
and though it is below the rate for the whole of Bengal (998), it is higher than the pro-
portion recorded in the two divisions that adjoin Assam, i.e., Dacca (972), and Rajshahi
(934). Successive censuses have, moreover, confirmed the view that there is actually a
scarcity of women in Assam. In 1881, the rate (excluding foreigners) was 966, and
at the next census 968, so there has been a substantial advance on the present
occasion ; and, whatever may be thought of the census of twenty years ago, there can be
no question of the care with which the enumeration was made in 1891.
The explanations offered 'of the omission of women from the schedule are, either
that the householder looks upon his women-folk with such contempt that he is unable to
believe that it is a matter of any importance whether their names are recorded or not, or
that he is of so jealous a temperament that he does not like to allow even the Government
to become aware of their existence, but neither of these explanations seems to be
suitable to this province. In Assam Proper the number of women who remain behind
the purdah is too small to affect the figures, and as the great bulk of the female
population take their share in the cultivation of the land, they are too important to be
ignored, while the fact that the great majority of the Assamese have to pay for their
wives in cash or kind, or to serve for them, as Jacob did for Rachel, suggests that
the deficiency of women is a genuine one; and, though the conditions of life in Sylhet
and Cachar are somewhat different, I have been informed by gentlemen whctare natives
of those districts that there is no reason to suppose that females were omitted either
intentionally or through an oversight.
110. There has been a steady increase in the proportion of women to men amongst
Causes affecting the proportion of the natives of the province at the last three censuses, and,
the sexes. though this is generally supposed to be an mdication of the
superior accuracy of theenumerarion, I do not think that this is the correct explanation of
the increase that has occurred during the last decade. An increase in the number
of women in the indigenous population must be due either to an increase in the
proportion of female births, or to a decrease in female mortality," or to both of
these causes combined. Assam has been unhealthy between 1891 and 190 1, and,
according to the Madras Census Report of i88i,t this would justify us in
expecting a large proportion of female infants. Unfortunately, our confidence in thig
Jiypothesis is rudely shaken bv Mr. Baines,J who quotes a theory, which is entirely
opposed to that of Sir Lewis Mclver, to the effect that underfed and weakly women are
more likely to bear boys than giris. The Vital Returns give us very little help in
attempting to decide which of these absolutely contradictory opinions is correct.
During the last ten years, the proportion of giris born to one thousand boys in
* It was 777 to 1,000 men.
t Page 81—" It seems likely that there is a physiological explanation of this, and that women who have been
affected and enfeebled by insufficient sustenance so as not to. be capable of bearing male children may yet be able
to bear female children."
J Census of India, 1891. General Report, page 351,
56 REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, IQOI. [CHAP. V.
Sex Goalpara (950) was much higher than the proportion in Nowgong (915). and as Nowgong
has been very unheaUhy, these figures support the theory quoted by ^ Mn Barnes ; but
as the registration of births is much les", accurate in Nowgong than in Goalpara, and
as, when registration is inaccurate, girls are more likely to be omitted than boys, it is
N.»i,e.of ^istoi.000.0.3 impossible to place ""^^ '•^^'^"'^^ °"J„^^^f '^ l^^
''TelJXi'^- 935|june 93. table in the margin showing the P^«P?J''?" ""L vl
January ... 935 July 944 to female births amougst children conceived in tne not
Mtor^"^ :;: ^gls^lt^mber 939 ^^^ cold seasou canuot be said to be very conclusive, but
as far as it goes it suggests that the Madras Report is right, and that the chances of
the infant being a female are increased when the vitality of the parents is low.
Leaving aside, however, the vexed question of the causes which aftect the sex ot
the unborn child, it is obvious that the proportion between the sexes must largely
depend upon the rate of mortality amongst those who have succeeded in getting born.
It has been suggested that women have greater vitality and more power of resistance
than men, and this theory derives some confirmation from the figures for the various
districts of the province. Assam, as a whole, has been unhealthy, and if we
exclude foreigners, the proportion of women to men has risen from 968 to 977. laking
the figures for those who are born and censused in the district, we find that in Cachar
the ratio has increased by only 4, in Lakhimpurit has increased by 12 (from 939 to-gsi),
and in Sibsagar it has decreased by 10, from 945 to 935- These three districts have been
healthy, but in Kamrup, where there has been a serious decrease in population, there
has been a rise in the proportion of 45, from 994 to 1,039, and in Nowgong, where the mor-
tality has been appalling, there is an increase of 70, from 962 to 1,032. In Darrang,
where the indigenous population has been as unhealthy as in Kamrup, the proportion
amongst those born and censused in the district is 984 as compared with 964 m 189 1,
and the facts recorded in Sylhet are in complete accord with the theory stated
above. I have already explained how in three of the subdivisions of this district the
public health has been good and in two bad, with the net result that the natural growth
has been less than 2 per cent. The proportion of women, excluding foreigners, is also
practically stationary, being 970 in 1891, and 971 in March last ; but in South Sylhet,
where there has been a good deal of sickness, the ratio is as high as 981, and in North
Sylhet, where there has been serious mortality, it reaches 987, which is no less than 20
per mille more than it was ten years ago. It is possible that this deficiency of males
Is due to their having moved to healthier parts of the district, leaving their women-folk
behind them, though there is no reason for supposing this to have been the case,
and this explanation will certainly not cover the facts in Nowgong or Darrang, and
only partially those in Kamrup;* so that there seem some grounds for assuming that
the female element tends to increase in those parts of the country where the public
health is bad and vitality low. The figures for the Lalung tribes can be quoted
in support of this hypothesis. During the last ten years there has been terrible mortality
among these people, and in 1901 there were 1,119 women to i,ooo men. Iti 1891
the proportion of women was only 1,001.
111. The difference between the proportion of the sexes in the various districts of
the province is very great, ranging from 1,080 in the Khasi
Sez aiBtrllmtlon l)y districts. ,'t . .• tt-ii ,. oe: • T i !-• J iU
and Jaintia Hills to 862 m Lakhimpur, and as there is no
reason to suspect the accuracy of the enumeration in those districts in which women are
in a minority, these variations throw some light on the comparative vitality of the sexes.
In the hill districts, the position of women is not much inferior to that of men.
Marriage is, as a rule, deferred to an age when a girl is well fitted to become a mother,
the strain of child-bearing is not as great as amongst more civilized races, the average
number of children in a family is small, and the result is that the proportion of women
to men amongst those born in the hill districts and censused in the province (1,061) is
higher than in England or Germany. In the Surma Valley, on the other hand,
girls are given in marriage at a very early age, the mortality in childbirth is in
all probability high, and in the enervating climate of the plains the female con-
stitution does not seem to be able to entirely recover from the exhausting
effects of maternity. The life of seclusion imposed upon women by the customs
of the country can hardly be conducive to good health, and, as girls are less
welcome additions to a family than boys, it is possible that a certain portion of the
deficiency is due to neglect in early life. In Assam Proper, however, we meet with a
different set of conditions. The great majority of the women move about as freely
1S91.
* Proportion of women to l,ooo men amongst persons born in (Nowgong ... i,oi6 957
district and censused in province. (.Kamrup ... 981 966
CHAP. V.J THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS. 57
as the men, irarriage is deferred to a more reasonable date, and wheii it takes place Sex.
it is the father of the bridegroom who is put to expense, and not the father of the bride ;
so there is nothing strange in finding a preponderance of women in Kamrup
and Nowgong, and a fairly high ratio amongst those born and censused in the
district of Darrang. The same conditions hold good in Upper Assam, yet amongst
the district born of Sibsagar and Lakhimpur the proportion is only 935 and 951.
It is difficult at first sight to suggest any explanation of such a marked contrast
between Upper and Central Assam. It cannot be due to omission of women, as there
is probably no district in which a more accurate census was taken than in Sibsagar,
where there is' a large and unusually intelligent staff. The same holds good of
Lakhimpur, for, though this district is not particularly easy to census, the castes
by which it is peopled would have no objection to giving information about their women,
so there is no reason why one sex should be omitted more than the other, while
the fact that the proportion has. been unusually low at each of the last three
enumerations* seems to justify us in assuming that the deficiency is a genuine one.
It rtiay perhajis be thought that the small proportion of Animistic persons in Sibsagar
and Lakhimpur is the cause of the excess of males, but I do not beUeve that this
explanation is the correct one. Below 5, the girls exceed the boys in numbers, but
at all the successive periods of life, except 15 — 20 in Lakhimpur, the men are in a
substantial majority, and it is evident that there is some cause prejudicial to female
life at the later ages.
The real explanation must, I think, be that the figures for 1901 for Kamrup and
Nowgong are abnormal, and are due to the exceptional unhealthiness of the last ten
years, and I venture to put forward the following theory, which is in accordance, to some
extent at any rate, with the ascertained facts. In Europe, as in India, women are
exposed to the strain of maternity, but in a temperate climate, where marriage is
defer-red to a reasonable age, and child-bearing takes place under favourable conditions,
the effect produced on female life by this strainf is not more serious than the efTect
produced on male life by exposure, work, and dissipation, and the net result is that women
exceed the men in numbers. In a hot climate great fertility seems to be attainable only
at the expense of the sex upon whom is laid the burden of the reproduction^ of the
species ; and this phenomenon is to be seen in Europe as well as in India, for in Italy,
where we find a deficiency of women, the average family $ is unusually large. _ We should,
therefore, expect to find an excess of women in the hilly parts of the province, where
the relations of the sexes are not unlike those prevailing in Europe, and a deficiency m
the plains, and this is what, broadly speaking, the census figures disclose. The
excess of women in Nowgong§ I attribute to the greater resistant capacity of the female,
to which I have already referred, and it only remains to consider why there should
be fewer women in Upper Assam than in Sylhet and Cachar. _
The best explanation that 1 can offer is that, though the conditions of female lite
in Sylhet are bad, those in Sibsagar are worse. Life behind the purdah can hardly
be conducive to health, but it is quite conceivable that stooping in a field of mud
transplanting paddy seedlings under a July sun is still less so, and I should be inclined
to ascribe the deficiency of women in Upper Assam to hard work earned on under
unfavourable conditions, coupled with excessii^e child-bearing.
1 am aware that an entirely opposite view has been taken of the matter, and in
i8qi an excess of women in Chhattisgarh was ascribed to the fact that they were
"employed in agricultural and other out-door pursuits, and the strength and physique
thus acquired secure them a longer span of life than is enjoyed by their wealthier, but
more effeminate, sisters in other districts." But, whatever may be the case in the Central
Provinces, I can hardly believe that in Assam hard work in the plains during the rainy
season can tend to prolong the days either of man or woman.
In brief, in temperate climates, where families run small, women preponderate; in
the plains women are in a minority, which is especially pronounced in those districts in
which they have to labour in the fields ; but where public health is particularly bad,
and the men are exposed to an abnormal strain, the greater resistant capacity of the
woman comes into play, and she approaches or even exceeds th2 other sex in numbers.
isigi. itlSi.
* Proportion of women to 1,000 men amongst those ^Sibsagar ... 935 945 034
born and censused in the district. iLakhimpur ... 951 939 957
+ The oroportionof women whenever marry is much higher in Kurope than in India but this need
hardly be tS into account, as matrimony seems to be conducive to health .n this quarter of the world, vtdc
Newsholme's Vital Statistics, page 124.
X Number of births to 100 marriages (A.D. 1876), Italy 51S. England 463-
& In Kamrup, there is not an excess of women, if allowance is made for emigration.
S8 REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, igOT. [CHAP. V.
9
+ 424
10
... — 811
11
„. — 36
12
... — mi
13 »
... — 89
14
... — 190
Sex. 112. Taking the population of the province as a whole, and excluding tea gardens, we
find that females are in a majority below 5, that they are in
Proportion of sexes at different ages- ^ ^^^jj minority between 5 and lo, and are largely in
defect at the next age period, when there are only four girls to every five boys.
Between 15 and 25 the women preponderate, but after that the men are m a majority,
till the period of old age is reached. Though the number of girl babies under one
exceeds that of boys, there is no reason to suppose that Assam is any exception
to the general law of an excess of male births. The death-rate amongst infants is
extremely high,* boys are notoriously more difficult to rear than girls, and if the girls
have gained as much on their brothers in the first year of life as they do in the second
Females. and third, they must have been in a considerable minority at
birth. The great deficiency between 10 and 15 is as much
apparent as real, as will be seen by a glance at the figures
in the margin, which show the actual excess or defect of
females at each year from 9 to 14 in 100,000 of each
sex. From this it is evident that boys have a pronounced tendency to return
themselves as 10 or 12 ; and in the Chapter on Age it will be shown that women have a
marked preference for the three years 18, 20 and 22, a preference which goes far to
explain the predominance of females between 15 and 25. It is impossible, in fact, to place
much reliance upon these age returns. In England, the death-rate of females is higher
than that of males between 10 and 15 and 15 and 20, and this no doubt is true, though
to a greater extent, in Assam ; but the great deficiency between 10 and 15 is, as I
have said, chiefly due to lumping by boys on the ages of 10 and 12, and to a tendency
to return unmarried girls as 7 or 8 and married girls as 16, 18, or 20. The
decrease in women over 25 is no doubt genuine enough, and must be ascribed to
the fact that women in Assam Proper, at any rate, are as much exposed to the unfa-
vourable influences of the climate as men, and are worn out by their special burden of
child-bearing. Their families are, as a rule, large, and, as I have already pointed out,
large families, even in the warmer parts of Europe, do not seem to be conducive to
longevity amongst the mothers.
113. Subsidiary Table IV shows the proportion of females to males alive at each age
period for the main religions and in the different divisions
of the province. In the Brahmaputra Valley the figures
for Hindus and Muhammadans are so seriously affected by immigration that
they scarcely repay examination, but in the Surma Valley, it appears that, though
the proportion of women is slightly higher amongst the Muhammadans than amongst
the Hindus, it is chiefly due to lumping on the ages between 15 and 25, when
the proportion of women is obviously incorrect. After 25, the Muhammadan woman
has a shorter life than the Hindu, the average number at each of the higher age periods
being 884 in the one case, and 824 in the other. The explanation is probably to be
found in the greater fertility of the Muhammadan women, a fertility which in this
country seems to be incompatible with old age. Amongst Animistic persons, girls below
5 outnumber the boys, between $ and 15 the girls are in a minority, but between 15
and 30 exceed the men in numbers. Over 30 in the Assam Valley the males are always
in a majority, but in^ the hills the females predominate at 30 to 33, 40 to 45, and' from
55 onwards. It is impossible, however, to attach much importance to these figures
which are largely the result of the extraordinary inaccuracy of the female age returns •
but this much is clear, that amongst Animistic people the value of a woman's life, even
in the valley, is nearly as great as that of a man, while in the hills it is slightly higher.
The total ' shortage' of women in the province is 161,041, which is slightly less
than the figures at the last census, but largely in excess of those for 1881. Immigration
is, however, chiefly responsible for these results, and if foreigners are excluded the
deficiency decreases at each successive census, the figures being 1881 (79,242) 1891
(78,643), 1901 (63,559).
114, Subsidiary Table VI I shows the number of women to 1,000 men in different
sex l,y caste. Sf^^t^i ^"4 *"be^- /^.^ ^'t^' 'j^f^^^^'e ''St, with 1,191.
The Superintendendent of the Hills informs me that the
Lushais themselves acknowledge that women are in a majority amongst them, but he is
unable to offer any explanation of the extraordinarily large preponderance disclosed bv
the census. Next come the Lalung and the Khasi, with 1,119 and 1, 118. Both of these
tribes profess Animism, and the districts in which they live have been especially unhealthy
during the last decade, so that it is probable that the riiortality among males has be
abnormal. Of the eight castes amongst whom the females are at a premium, the Gan^k
js t he only one which can lay claim to social distinctio n, as Khatri is the name usuall
* In Bengal in 1899 it was 246 per mille.
Diagram showing tlie proportion of females to i
different age periods.
,000 males at
Age periods-
isoo
1475
1450
1425
1400
137 5
1350
1325
130
1275
1250
1225
1200
1175
1150
1125
1100
1075.
1050 A
H
1025
1000
975
350
325
900
875
850
825
800
77 5
750
725
700
a-b.
5-1.0
10-15
15-20
20-2E
25-30
30-35
3S-4C
40-45
45-'50
50-6^
5b-60
eOANO
OVER
ALL
AGLS.
1500
147S
1450
1425
1400
1375
1350
13a S
1200
1275
1250
1225
1200
1175
1150
U25
UOO
» 1075
10 SO
' 1025
1000
975
«S50
925
900
875
850
825
II
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All religions (V.)-
Hindua "I — -] , .
Su-rma ValleyJt"J"
Hill Districts; W-
CHAP, v.] THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS. 59
assumed by Manipuris ; but a deficiency of women is by no means confined to castes ^^^»
standing high in the Brahmanical scale, as the Namasudra and the Chutiya have only
957 women to 1,000 men, and the Kachari only 954, though the great majority of this
tribe are Animistic. The Brahman and Kayastha are at the bottom of the list, but the
deficiency of women is no doubt partially due to the immigration of foreigners belonging
to these castes, while the Kayasthasare suspected of giving their daughters to wealthy
bridegrooms of lower castes, and thereby depriving them of their inherited position in
the Hindu social system. The highest pure Assamese castes, after the Brahman and
Ganak, are the Kalita and Kewat, and they have a smaller proportion of women than the
race castes, such as the Ahom, Chutiya, and Koch.
6o
REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, 7 go/.
[chap.
Sex.
SUBSIDIARY Tj^BLE I.
General proportion of the sexes, by natural divisions and districts.
Natural divisions and districts.
Females to i,ooo males.
Cachar Plains
Sylhet
Total Surma Valley ...
Goalpara ...
Kamrup
Darrang ...
Nowgong ...
Sibsagar ...
Lakhimpur ...
Total Brahmaputa Valley
Total Plains
Lushai Hills
North Cachar
Naga Hills
Khasi and Jaintia Hills
Garo Hills
■'otal Hill Districts
Manipur
Total Province
913
964
956
903
1,011
916
963
886
862
i8jl.
18S1.
1872.
891
957
947
924
940
','13
491
(•,co3)
982
1,080
974
911
976
906
936
903
863
873
969
956
923
935
910
1,035
968
1,092
986
985
1,037
949
1,019
942
947
960
919
936
902
867
857
953
942
93'
943
684
982
1,103
957
1,022
1,017
l,O0O
919
921
927
919
874
933
938
1,000
1,000
1,068
1,000
1,027
952
945
North Cachar (igai).— The figure within brackets shows the proportion, excluding foreigners.
SUBSIDIARY TABLE II.
Proportion of females to 1,000 males in Assam and other countries.
Province or coantry.
Females to
1,000 males.
Province or country.
Females to
1,000 males.
1
a
I
1
Assam —
(a) Total Province, 1901
(A) Province, excluding foreigners, 1901
Ditto ditto, 1891
Ditto ditto, 18S1
(c) Foreigners, igol
Bengal—
(a) Total Bengal, 1901
(4) British territory, „
(c) Dacca Division, „
(d) Rajshahi Division, „
(e) Chittagong „
949
977
968
966
777
"998
999-8
972
934
1,-04
Central Provinces, 1901
North-Western Provinces, 1901
Punjab, 1901
Madras, „
Italy, 1881
France, 1891
Greece, 1896
Germany, 1895
United Kingdom, including army, navy,
and merchant men abroad, 1&91.
1,031
856
1,027
995
1,014
921
1,037
\ 1,048
SUBSIDIARY TABLE III.
Proportion of females to t, 000 males, excluding the foreigners, in the Plains districts of Assam.
Cachar Plains ...
Ditto, proportion for persons born and censused in the district
Sylhet
Goalpara ... ... ... ... ... \
Kamrup ... ... ... ... ... \
Ditto, proportion for persons born and censused in the district '.
Darrang
Nowgong
Ditto, proportion for persons born and censused in the district .
Sibsagar
Ditto, proportion for persons born and censused in the district '.
Lakhimpur ».
Ditto, proportion for persons born and censused in the district.'
913
976
971
967
1,033
1,039
942
1,005
1,032
906
935
899
951
1891.
903
972
970
979
990
994
942
949
962
918
945
914
939
905
979
971
976
968
970
942
947
954
924
914
938
957
CHAP, v.]
THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS-.-
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Sex.
62
REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, 190I.
[chap. V.
Sex.
SUBSIDIARY TABLE V.
Proportion of females to 1,000 males at each age period.
Females to i.ooo males.
Females to >,oao males.
Age.
Including tea
gardens.
Ejcloding tea
gardens.
Age.
Including tea
gardens.
Excluding tea
gardens.
1
a
3
•
3
3
0— I
I — 2
2-3
3—4
4—5
0-5
5-10
10-15
15—20
20-25
1,016
1,039
1,062
1,062
I 030
1,041
978
811
1,113
1,222
1,013
1,037
1,061
1,058
1,026
1,038
980
804
1,110
1. 1 83
25-30
30-35
35—40
40-45
45—50
SO- -55
60 and over
All ages
986
883
707
«35
^39
8p8
804
1,008
949
957
894
738
867
754
903
80s
1,007
950
SUBSIDIARY TABLE VI.
Actual excess or defect of females by natural divisions and districts.
Natural divisions and districts.
Number of females in excess (+) or in defect (— ).
1901.
1891.
18S1.
1873.
1
3
3
4
5
Cachar Plains
Sylhet
— 18,831
— 40,272
— 21,204
— 47,283
— 19,854
— 30,561
— 15,719
— 41,121
Toul Surma Valley
— 59.103
— 68,487
— 50,415
— 56,840
Goalpara
Kamrup
Darrang
Nowgdng
Sibsagar
Lakhimpur
— 23,318
+ 3.449
— 14,747
— 4,830
— 36,001
— . 27,322
— 20,953
— 15,000
— 11,441
— 24,715
— 18,755
— 12,066
— 13,162
— 11,502
— 10,381
— 20,113
— 12,777
+ 1
— 23,695
— 9,666
— 9,824
— 13,291
— 8,117
Total Brahmaputra Vjtlley
— 102,769
— 98,673
— 80,001
— 64,592
ToUl Plains ...
— 161,872
— 167,160
— 130,416*
— 121,432
Lushai Hills ...
North Cachar
Naga Hills ...
Khasi and Jaintia Hills ...
Garo Hills ...
+ 4,426
— 13,898
— 910
+ 7,808
— 1,796
— 2,044
+ 339
— 1,531
+ 8,692
— 856
• ••
— 160
— 1,322
+ 8,274
— 2,354
• ••
+ I
+ 4,652
Total Hill Districts
— 4,370
+ 4,590
+ 4,438
+ 4,653
Manipur ... • ... ... ...
+ 5,201
...
+ 1,956
>••
Total Province
— 161,041
— 162,570
— 124,022
— 116,779
Province, excluding persons born outside the boundaries
— 63,559
— 78,643
— 79,242
• ••
Manipur, 1891— Census papers destroyed in the rising.
Lushai Hills. 1881 and iSia, and Manipur 1873.— Not censased.
SUBSIDIARY TABLE VIL
Number of women to i,ooo men in different castes.
Lushai
Lalung
Khasi
Ganak
Boria
Shaha
Khatri
Bhuinmali
1,191
Jugi ...
1,119
Garo ...
1,118
Mikir ...
1,038
Koch ...
1,027
Das* ...
1,014.
Miri ...
1,013
Ahom...
1,008
Nadiyal (Dom,
Brahman
Patni)
989
988
973
970
967
965
961
958
8l2
Namasudra
Chutiya
Kachari
Kaibartta
Kewat...
Kalita...
Teli ...
Kayastha
957
957
954
944
928
913
904
863
•InclodcB also Halwa Das, Sudra Das, and Sudn.
CHAP. VI.] THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS. ' ' 6^
CHAPTER VI.
MARRIAGE.
115. Figures illustrating the conjugal condition of the total population of the province Marriage,
will be found in Subsidiary Tables I and II, which show the distribution by age periods
of ten thousand 'persons in each of the three forms of civil condition, and the distri-
bution by civil condition of ten thousand persons in each of the main age periods.
There is, however, so much difference in the practices enjoined or permitted by the
various religions, and even by the same religion in different parts of Assam, thaCit is
little use considering the figures for the province as a whole without first discussing
those for the main forms of belief.
116. It is by no means easy to decide what constitutes a valid marriage in Assam
Proper, and the enumerators were told to accept the state-
The'?hfm''?Sa^'ceremon|f°'"'^'^- mcnts of the pcrsons concemcd," and to enter them as
married if they returned themselves as such, even though
they had not complied with all the requirements of the Hindu law. Brahmans,
Ganaks, and Kayasthas, are invariably married by the hom pura rite, a ceremony which
is being very generally adopted by other castes lower down in the scale of Hinduism.
The proceedings begin with the despatch to the bride's house of a present from the
bridegroom, consisting of cloths, ornaments, molasses, curds and other articles of food,
and on the evening before the marriage day both of the parties to the ceremony
are solemnly bathed. On the wedding morning, the bride is taken from her bed at dawn,
anointed with buttermilk, and dressed for the reception of the groom, who, on his
arrival, is placed on a wooden stool before the gate of the house, and is smeared with
sandalwood and crowned with flowers. The party then pass on to the place where the
actual ceremony will be performed, and after a cow has been let loose,* a reminiscence
of the times when Hindus killed and ate the fatted calf on all occasions of ceremony,
the sacred fire of mango wood is lighted, and rice, flowers and ghi are thrown upon
it, by the priest in the case of the lower castes, hut by the bridegroom himself if he is
a Brahman or Ganak. The officiating priest then ties together the thumbs of the young
couple with a wisp of kusha grass, and after the appropriate mantras have been
pronounced, they are declared man and wife. Amongst Brahmans, this part of the
ceremony must be performed before the girl attains puberty. When she reaches that age,
the second marriage, called Kesha Korshon or Shanti Bibaha^ takes place, and she
is then at liberty to go and live with her husband.
117. The lower castes, however, often content themselves with the gift to the girl
of cloths and ornaments, and a feast to the friends
Marriage amongst the lower orders. ^^^ relations, after which the bride is taken to her
lover's house. No fire is lighted, and the services of a Brahman are not required. This
ceremony is called Kharumoni pindha ox juron, and is common in Upper Assam, where
it is used by large numbers of persons, who live together and bring up a numerous
progeny without being united by any more legal tie. In Lower Assam, there is a slight
elaboration of the ceremony called agchauldia. When the bride reaches the bride-
groom's house, she is seated with the groom in front of a lamp and a vessel filled with
rice. Their cloths are tied together, and the women of the fanjily take up pinches of
rice, wave it round their heads and throw it into the air. The bridegroom then
hides a ring in the vessel, which the bride has to find, and tliey exchange cups filled
with a mixture of milk curds and honey. Four of the Assamese Munsifs at present
serving in the Brahmaputra Valley were of opinion that the performance of this
ceremony by persons of the lower castes constituted a legal marriage, while
two declined to recognise any binding force, and asserted that the woman could,
if she wished, leave the man, and be united by the hom pura ceremony to
another person. It is true that the latter ceremony is more common among the
lower classes now than it was a generation ago, and that at village ceremonies the 'abiyai,'
as those who have not performed the hom ceremony are called, occupy a slightly
lower posirion than the 'biyai'; but, inasmuch as the unions are usually of a
permanent nature, the offspring are accepted as legitineate heirs, and no social
stigma attaches to the contracting parties, it is only reasonable to treat them as
married persons, and not as persons living in a state of concubinage. Jhis view is
upheld by an Assamese official, whose social position justifies me in attaching
* This is the orthodox praqtiee^ which is more honoured in the breach than in the observance.
PI
64 REPORT ON THE: CENSUS OF ASSAM, igoT. [CHAP. VI.
Marriage considerable weight to his opinions on the customs of his fellow countrymen.
I was informed by this gentleman that not only did the monipindha ceremony
constitute in his eyes a valid marriage for the lower castes, but that he was prepared
to assign the same position to the practice of obtaining a wife by service. The
' gaponiya; as he is called, lives with his father-in-law for a specified term and works
on his farm. At the end of this period of bondage he gives a feast to the villagers, and
takes his bride to his own. house, but from' the date that he "enters the house of the
father-in-law, he is allowed unrestricted* access to the girl, provided that she, has
attained the age of puberty, and she is in fact considered to be his wife, though she is
still living in her father's home. This form of marriage is, however, looked upon with
some contempt, as only a poor man will consent to work for his bride in this manner.
Another interesting survival in Assam is a modified form of marriage by capture.
Assamese boys and girls have plenty of opportunity of becoming acquainted with one
another and falling in love, but the price demanded for the bride is often more than
her lover can. afford to pay. .When this is. the case, the girl sometimes arranges
that she shall be the victim of an abduction. By special request, the lover and a fe_w
of his friends are in waiting at the appointed place, and as the object of his afTectiops
is passing along with her companions, he descends upon her and carries her off amidst
tears and lamentations, which are more hearty than genuine. Having secured posses-
sion of the girl, it is generally possible to come to terms with the parents.
In the Surma Valley, the marriage customs of the Hindus are similar to those of
Eastern Bengal.
118. iSubsidiary Table HI shows the distribution of Hindus by civil condition and
sex at each of the main age periods. The first thing to be
Universality of marrlasre amongst .•i-,i , i / •_!.
Hindus. noticed is the extreme prevalence oi marriage, only 4
per cent, of the men over 40 and i per cent, of the women being still single. Taking
the population as a whole, 54 per cent, are bachelors and 38 per cent, spinsters, the
corresponding. figures in England being 62 and 59, and, great though the difference is,
it would be still more pronounced were it not for the large foreign population of the
lower grades of Hindu society, amongst which is found an abnormally high proportion
of single men and women. The age of marriage for boys is much later than that for
girls, but there are no signs of a tendency, which has been noticed in Bengal, to defer
the time for undertaking the responsibilities of a wife and family, the proportion of
bachelors between 10 and 20 being lower than in 1891. The great majority of the
people are, however, agriculturists, who have little or no inducement to refrain from
marriage on economic grounds, and though the bhadra lok or uppsr classes may
have some difficulty in supporting their families, their numbers are too small to produce
any appreciable effect upon the total for the province.
119. Amongst boys, early marriage is far from bdng^ the rufe. Eig^hty-five per cent.
^ ■ of the lads between 1=5 and scare still bachelors, and even
Age of marriage. , , , , "-" • c i i -i . i i
between 20 and 40 the proportion of husbands is lower than
amongst those who have passed their fortieth birthday. The customs that govern
a woman's life are, however, very different. Between 15 and 20, only 22 per cent, are still
unwed, and between 20 and 40 there are only three women out of every hundred
who have not performed the marriage ceremony.
120. This brings us to the consideration of the strange phenomenon of child
Child marriage. marriage, which is described by Mr. Risley as being witliout
a parallel (at any rate on so large a scale) elsewhere in the
world, and which cannot be referred to any of those primitive instincts which have
tisually determined the relations of the sexes. Three theories have been put forward
as to the origin of the practice. Mr. Nesfield points out that in the oldest type of
society a woman was exposed to a double evil, the stain of communism within her
own clan so long as she remained there, and the risk of forcible abduction into an alien
clan, whsre she became the wife- slave of the man who captured her. He sees, therefore,
in infant marriage an attempt on the part of the Hindu lawgivers to protect women
against these dangers by directing that they should be married to members of another
clan, before they reached the age at which it would be possible for them to become
wives, in iici as well as in name. To this Mr. Risley objects that the society depicted in
the Rig and Atharva Vedas had got far beyond, if indeed they ever passed through, the
stage of communal marriage and forcible abduction of wives, and suggests that the
origin of infant marriage may be found in the custom of hypergamy. Many castes are
divided into groups of different social merit, and where this practice is in force, a man
may seek a bride for his son either in his own group or in one immediately below, but
must marry his daughter to a husband who is at any rate not inferior to her in 'rank
The natural result is that in the highest groups of all, the girls have difficulty in obtain-
* I am told that this is not the case in Lower Assam.
q^AE. yi.] THE. RESULTS OF THE CENSUS. 6S
ing ^lusbati^s, 3n4 the father is tempted to marry his dayig^iter whenever ^favourable Marriage,
opportupity offers. Child marriage thus becaniei'rnore or lesis of a necessity for ' thi
aristocracy, and was subsequently adopted by the lower pastes, who have a natural
tendency to imitate their superiors in the social scale.
A third eixplanation is suggested by Mr. O'Donnell, who writes as follows in the
Bengal Census Report for 1891: ' ' I '
When the institutes of Mana liecame the social law of the Hindus, and the idea of the
supr^nieidegradatioa involved in a marriage '.outside the caste group grdw into a universal social
axiom, a degradation which damned not only the individual, but her or his parents and the whole
family, things matrimonial had reached a degree of importance too great to allow them to
depend on the fancies of a love-sick maiden. A woman will, it is said, go to the end of the world
for the man she loves, whatever his rank in popular esteem, and the Hindu father, like a Eui-opean
parent, would prpbabiy have often been willing to let her have her own wlay, and lie in the
befl sjje had made for herself, if she alone were concerned. Biit when it was in the power of
evecy girl to bring more than disgrace, in factj^ocial and religious ostracism, on her family, it
was highly desirable that she should be fitted with a helpmate of the right caste and of the most
reputabte section of the caste available, before she became old enough to look around her and fix
her affections on some undesirable, it might be some absolutely ruinous, alliance.
It would be presumptuous on my part to express any opinion as to which of these
theories is correct, but, whatever may have been the origin of the practice, the native
gentlemen with whom I have discussed the matter have expressed views in accordance
with those set forth by Mr. O'Donnell. A Hindu girl is rnuch restricted in the choice
of a husband, and there seems td be a genera:l impression that if she is not disposed of
at a v6ry early age, she may eithesr refuse to marry the man selected for her, or become
hopelessly compromised with a detrimental: At first sight it seems strange that the
national lawgivers should have had so little confidence in the self-restraint and virtue of
their women, as there are other nations amongst whom girls have but little voice in the
choice of their husbands, but yet are expected to, and Actually do, attain to a high
standard of chastity, without being married at an early age ; but to the native gentlemen
who have favoured' me with their views upon th,? matter, the precaution does not seem
unnecessary or exfcessive. They look upon it as a matter of vital importance that a girl
should marry the man selected for her, and that she should come to him a virgin ; ar^d
they seem doubtful whether these results could be obtained if she were not given
away before reaching the age at which it could be conceivably possible for her to
lapse from the path of virtue.
It cannot be debied that the severity of the Hindu, teachers is to some extent
justified by the customs of the Assamese hill tribes. Amongst these people, the pro-
portion of girls who are no longer virgins on their wedding da^ is large; and if at the
time when the ordinances prescribing child marriage were laicf down, the Arya,hs were
surrounded by peoples who were still in this stage of civilization, their leaders' may
perhaps be forgiven for the poor opinion they entertained with regard to female
chastity. Even amongst the Assamese, there is g. certain amount of laxity in the
prenubial relations of the sexes, and a lawgiyer in Assam Proper who wished to ensure
virginity in every bride would probably feel it necessary, even at the present day, to
frame very stringent rules upon the subject.
121. Leaving aside, however, the question of the necessity of the custom as a
safeguard, there can be no doubt that it is conducive to
utility of practice. i'-, f^i ii-i • • .. t •% a.
the mamtenance of the Hmdu jomt-famiiy system.
In most countries a man forsakes father and mother and cleaves to his wife, and
where thiis is the case, a certain degree of independence in the woman is no obstacle
to a happy married life. Amongst the Hindus, however, the bride is absorbed
into the family of her husband, and is placed to some extent in a position of sub-
servience to her mother-in-law, and it is obvious that there would be considerable
risk of friction between the parties if a grown woman, whose tastes and character
were already formed was suddenly called upon to assume this role. It must certainly
make for peace and happiness, in the joint family if the wives of its members are
trained in early youth to obey the elder generation, though I would not venture to
suggest that it was for this purpose that child marriage was ordained.
122. The most extreme form of infant marriage is when one or both of the con-
tracting parties are less than five years of age, and here.
Prevalence of infant marriagre. ^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ j^ ^j^^ figures on both occasions are _ equally
correct, we find some improvement ; as, though there has been a considerable increase
■in the total Hindu population, only 159 children below 5 were returned as no longer
single, as compared with 411 in 1891. The sorters were directed to report every case*
* Unfortunately, a considerable number were otritied from the sorters' registers, and so could not be verified.
On the other hand, there is reason to suppose that a certain number of married persons under 5 werealtered^tp J2,
13, or 14 by the sorters, to avoid the trouble of making a reference ; but my impression is that the actual number
of persons married below 5 is smallerthan that shown in the tables.
66
REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, IQOI.
[chap. VI.
Percentage of girls under 12, who are
married.
Sylhet.
Braluuan .
Jugl
Shaha
Namasudra
Brahman
Ganak
Kallta
Dom (Patnl)
Kalbartta
Kayastha
Das
Kammp.
12
3
Kalbartta and
Kewat
Koch
Shaba
Bona
Brahman
Nowgong.
I Nadlyal (Dom)
Slbsagar.
2 I Chutiya
Marriage, in which children under 5 had been entered on a married or widowed slip, and the entry
was sent to the officer concerned for comparison with the enumeration books, and, it
necessary, local enquiry. In the great majority of cases, it was found either that the
slip had been wrongly copied, or that a mistake had been made by the enumerator,
and there can, I think, be little doubt that child marriage below 5 is extremely rare.
1 am told that in Kamrup, a mother who has lost several children occasionally gets
her infant married at a very early age, with the idea that the evil fate that has hitherto
dogged her family may be averted by linkingthe fortunes of her child with those of
another ; but this practice is said to be far from common, and to be only resorted to in
very extreme cases.
Three hundred and forty-six girls are married out of 10,000 between 5 and
10, as compared with 308 ten years ago; but between 10 and 15 the propor-
tion of single girls is higher than it was in 1891, 67 percent, being still un-
married, as compared with 64 per cent, in that year. Above 15, the proportion
of those who have entered the marriage state increases, and the number of spinsters
over 20 is very small.
123. Subsidiary Tables VI and IX show the extent to which child marriage is
practised by the different castes. It is most prevalent
amongst the Brahmans and Ganaks of Kamrup, where 18
and 12 per cent., respectively, of the girls under 12 are
already married. In Sylhet, the largest percentage of
married girls below that age is found amongst the Brahmans,
Jugis, Namasudras, and Shahas, each of which has 9 per
cent. ; but even such humble castes as the Dom Patni or
Nadiyal and the Kalbartta marry 8 and 7 per cent, of their
girls before they reach the age of j 2. In Assam Proper,
early marriage is not common except amongst the
Brahmans and Ganaks. In Kamrup, only 3 per cent, of
the Kalita girls under 1 2 are married, and 2 per cent,
of the Koch, Shaha, and Kewat, but this district has to
some extent been affected by the fashions of Bengal ; and Sibsagar and Nowgong afford
a more reliable index of the customs of the Assamese. Here we find that only
2 per cent, of Brahman girls of this tender age are married, whilst out of 10,000
Nadiyal and Boria girls under 1 2, only 44 and 29 have performed the marriage
ceremony. At first sight, it appears strange that in Kamrup, where the mass of
the people are opposed to infant marriage, the number of child brides amongst
Brahmans should be higher than in Sylhet; but the explanation is probably to be
found in the fact that while in the Surma Valley husbands cannot be easily obtained
amongst the upper classes, and fathers are compelled to postpone the marriage of
their daughters till they can discover a suitable bridegroom, in Kamrup it is the
bridegroom who has to pay, and the temptation is to hurry on rather than to postpone
the ceremony.
124. In the Surma Valley, where Hinduism is of a more orthodox type, efforts are
made to comply with the law directing that girls should be
given to a husband before they attain the age of puberty,
and the number of unmarried women between 15 and
20 is not large. Out of 10,000 single women, the largest
number falling in that age period amongst any of the
castes abstracted for Sylhet is 84 amongst the Dora
Patnis, and the average ratio is between 50 and 60.
In Kamrup, there are amongst to,ooo Brahman spin-
sters only 46 of that age, and amongst the Ganaks only
24. The Kalitas have as many as 262, and other castes
proportions ranging from 476 amongst the Koches to
866 amongst the Churiyas.
In Assam Proper, in fact, Brahmans and Ganaks are
strict with regard to infant marriage. The Kalitas are inclined to regard it as the
better way, but are very lax in their practice, and the other castes are still content
to follow the custom which prevails in most parts of the world, and, as a rule, defer
marriage till the bride is old enough to enter upon her new duties as wife and mother.
Girls, as is only natural in a warm climate, where they develop early, marry young, and
a large number of them are brides before they are twenty, but there is no absolute
pbligation in the matter,
Out of 10,000 single girls number
aged between 15 and 20—
Dom (Patni)
Brahman
Das
Brahman
Sylhet.
... 84 I Kalbartta
... 64 I Kayastha
... 62 I Shaha
Kamrup.
66
63
62
Oanak
Kalita
?4
I Kalbartta and
Kewat
Koch.
Shaha
489
476
S28
Nowgong.
Nadiyal (Dom)...ei8 I Borla
Sibsagar.
Brahman ... 71 1 Ohiitlya
780
866
Brahman ... 1,001
SalliarUa ... 1,180
Shaha - 1,171
Jugri ... 1,S64
Ganak ... 1,667
Ealbartta and
Eewat ... 486
CHAP. VI.] THE RESDLTS OF THE CENSUS. 6']
125. The castes which indulge in infant marriage are also opposed to the remarriage Marriage.
ReBtriotions.on widow remarriage, of widows. In Sylhct, the practice is apparently in great
Number of widows amongst 10,000 disfavour amongst the better castes, as for none of those
women between 16 and 80. shown in'Table VII IS the proportion of widows between
^'s^^^' 15 and 20 much lower than that for Brahmans, amongst
Dom(Patni) MS ^hom widows presumably never remarry. In Assam,
iSyartblf* 918 Brahmans and Ganaks do not remarry, but all other castes
Kamrup. 2ire free frofti^prejudice on this point, the number of young
Brahman ... 1,729 shaha ... 858 widows, even amongst the Kalitas, being particularly small.
„ , " The difference in practice is clearly shown in the figures
■KID Kallta ... 269 . , . ^ o u • 1 • r.'
sibsagar. *" the margin. Of 10,000 Brahman girls in Kamrup
°^^**'^* "^ between 15 and 20, 1,729 are widows, and for Ganaks
also the figure is as high as 1,667; while Kalitas have 259, Koches 323, and the
Chutiyas in Sibsagar only iii. To produce this result two causes are at work.
On the one hand, young widows not unfrequently remarry, on the other, the difference of
age at marriage being less pronounced than amongst those who practise child marriage,
the number of women who lose their husbands is also diminished.
126. Table V illustrates the prevalence of child marriage and of widow remarriage,
in Sylhet and Lower, Central and Upper Assam ; and
Comparison with Animistic tribes. •' . ^ ^ r ^i • r j i -.^i .1 \ • • ^•
compares the state of things round there with the Animistic
people in the Lushai, Khasi and Jaintia and Naga Hills. In a noriftal state of
Number of wives Qut socicty which has not been affected by Hindu ideas on the
of 10,000 girls aged- subjcct, marriage bclow ten is practically unknown, only 5
NagaHiiis .. ~6 189 girls out of io,ooo of that age in the Naga Hills being
f^het''''*''*^!!f ™"%iS 6,489 married, and only lo in the adjoining district. In Sylhet,
Ka^p* ::: we Elalo however, amongst Hindus, the number is 315, and in
Sibsagar ... 66 1,080 Goalpara, 437; but in Kamrup it sinks to 136, and in
Sibsagar to as low as 56.
Two per cent, of the Animistic girls between 10 and 15 in the Naga Hills, and 4 per
cent, in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills are married, but in Sylhet no less than 55 per cent,
are wives, and in Goalpara 58. For Kamrup the figure is 23, and for Sibsagar 1 1 ;
and it is thus evident that though in Assam Proper the age of marriage for girls has
been depressed below the standard found in communities unaffected by Hinduism,
it approaches very much more closely to that standard than to the one prescribed by
Manu.
127. The figures for widows between 10 and 15 are also instructive. In Goalpara
there are 412 to every 10,000 girls of that age, in Sylhet
Young widows. o • 17 j • o-u o u- u • i
281, in Kamrup no and m Sibsagar 30, which is lower
than the rate in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills. At first sight, it may be thought strange
that in Goalpara, where the proportion of Animistic tribes is large, the ordinances of
orthodox Hinduism should be observed more strictly than in Sylhet, but a little
reflection shows that this is really what we are entitled to expect. The great majority
of the Hindus of Goalpara are Rajbansis, who are mostly persons of the Koch and
Mech tribes, who have assumed this name on conversion to Hinduism. It is only
natural that they should be afraid of being suspected of Animistic practices, and with
the zeal of converts they out-Hindu the Hindus in their observance of the dictates
of the law.
Table IV shows clearly the difference of custom amongst Hindus in matters matri-
monial in the different parts of the province. Out of 10,000 girls between 10 and 15,
5,134 are married in the Surma Valley, 5,823 in Goalpara, and only 1,435 •" Assam
Proper. Between 15 and 20, the figures are 8,433, 8,285, and 5,722. The proportion
of young widows in Assam Proper is also much lower than in the Surma Valley and
Goalpara.
128. Table III shows how much later is the age of marriage for men than girls. In
10,000 of each sex, there are only 272 men married
Age of marriage for men. ,' ,_ j'..u __'l id..
between 10 and 15, as compared with 3,123 girls. Between
,15 and 20, there are only 1,386 husbands to 7,119 wives, and even between 20 and 40,
the sexes are far from equal. Over 40, the married males are in a large majority, the
great bulk of women at that age being widows. Taking the sexes as a whole, we
find that while the proportion of married persons is about equal, 38 per cent, of the
women are single and 20 per cent, widows, while 54 per cent, of the males are
bachelors, and less than 6 per cent, are widowers. Table VIII shows the same facts in
a different form. Between 10 and 15 there are nine married girls to every married boy
of that age, and seven widows to every widower, and at subsequent age periods the
number of women in the widowed state is three times that of the men.
168 REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, igoi. [fcHAP. ^\.
Marriage. 129. Little light is thrown upon the extent to which polygamy prevails aiilongst
the Hindus by the figures for this province, in consequence
oygamy. 6f tlie presence of a large number of foreigners who have
left their wives at home. In Assam Proper, niarried men are in a majority, but in the
Surma Valley there are i,o 1 2 wives to every i,odo husbands, and in Manipur 1,025.
It is evident that polygamy is far from common, but it is r^ot possible to say how many
husbands have a second wife, as the surplus , may all be absorbed by one or two
rich men.
130. Marriage is in no sense a religious obligatio,n amongst Muhammadans, arid they
are as free to consult tlieir natural inclinations in the matter
Marriage amongst Muiammadans. ^g Christians or hill men ; but they have -been to a great
pej^centage^ofsingie^ gj^jg^j affected by their Hindu neighbours. The statemerit
Males. Females, jn the margin shows that abiongst men the proportion xif
SSimmadan V.; 59 4? bachelors IS larger than among'st either Hitidus orAnjrfiikt^
ES|iiua° ::: S eo and tiia:t of husbands and widowers smaller ; while amongst
Married Women the proportion of wives is large and of widows
'"Males! i^^Ii^I^ Comparatively sniall. The Muhammadan does not, as a
Hindu ,,-. ... 40 41 rule, marry as early as the Hindu, but btetween 20 and 40
totoMttc***" ::: « t? the proportion of bachelor^ is larger amongst Hindus
ngaud ... ss 33 than amongst the followers of the Prophet- This is pro-
, — _^'^;^ff;: ^ bably due partly to the absence of any rbligious ihotive ftjr
Males. Females, cclibacy, an,d partly to the fact that amongst immigrants,
Hindu ... 6 20 1 r l' - TT- 3 • • j_ ' \ ^
Mpiaminadan ... 3 16 most 01 whom are Hmdus, marriage is not so prevalent as
Enguind^° "! 4 'i in the general population. There is also a marked objection
to a, solitary life, and the proportion of Mussalraan widow'-
ers oyer 2o is little more than half of that prevailing amorigst the Hindus. This
no doubt is due to tH'e fact that many of the followers of the latter religion cannot affor'd
to marry again — a disability under which the Muhammadan does not labour to such a
marked extent, as, failing all else^ he can, at any raie, obtain a lyidow with little difficulty.
Girls, as a rule, marry earlier thaft amongst the, Hindus, only 62 per cent, between IK>
and 15 being single, as compared wit^ 67 per cent, for that religion. In 1891, the
??.''yF^P;°"^^^g figures were 59 and 64. The explanation is to be found iri the fact that
ipost of the Muhammadans live in Sylhet and Goalpara, where, aS I have already shown,
it is the fashion to marry early ; while the Hindu population includes a large number of
Assamese and low-caste foreigners^, y/ho have not adopted the practice.
The proportion of widows js not large. Out of lo.boo girls between 15 and
20, there are 474 Muhammadan to 666 Hindu widovirs, and between 20, and 40 the
figures are 1,581 and 2,091. Over 40, Muhammadan widows are commoner than Hindus,
The explanation is no doubt to be found in the fact that the elderly R^ussalman widower
remarries litiore freely than does the Hindu, and therefore more often leaves a relict to
mourn his death.
131. Subsidiary Table VIII shows tfiat there are 1,011, wives to every i,pdo
Proportion ofwives to husbands. husbauds. As I have pointed out above these- figuries
., . givel us but little idea of the extent to which polygatii/
prevails, as a certain number of married men are immigrants who have left their wives in
their own country. It is obvious, however, that in a country where the men outnumber
^QS^"vt ^®^°"^ ^^^^ 's ^ luxury, which can be enjoyed but by few.
133. There are considerable differences in the marriage customs of tlie various hill
Animistic tribes. Marriage customs, t^bes ; but, as a rulc, the.cercmony take,s place at a miibh
. , . . . , 'ater date than amongst the Hindus or Muhammadans arid
girls prior to marriage are not required to remain chaste. Exceptions can of course be
lound to every proposition laid down upon this subject, and amongst the GaroS mariv
fi'tv Zl\f^X^fl ^^'' ''^''%'^' "°Jr ^""^P"^" ^ ^"^' though a light one, for uncha£
tity, and the Lhotas have a preference for virgin brides. Amongst the Kukls. where
marriage by service iscommon, a strange custom is in force, cfhabitation is freely
permitted during the tiine that the lover is serving in the house of his fatherTn-law and
fKr7l,'"'^"'!;,"°. disgrace, but the girl musi not bring forth a living chird.Aboljt
the seventh month after conception an old woman skilled in these mattSrs is ca£d in
This worthy dame locates the position of the baby's head in the womb and strikes
and tfc?V r k'^ ^fl^V'°^tv^^^^ '"^^ result that premature delivery ak"s p fcfe
forthevonlt^^r ^'tf' ^Ws s|range practice is fraught with considerable rS
l.Vnn/n ^'"°i^^'''/"^'r'".''°'?^^ ^"^^'^^^ f^-^™ * tTme whcn prenubial lax W
vinLe r;"li f^- ^^^•■"'^' ho^^ever, the fullest freedom is allowed.to the girls of the
village, and little or no disgrace attaches to the birth of illegitimate childrenf provided
that their parentage is acknowledged. Marriage is usually by purchase or servic? the
GHAP. VI.] THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS. 6g
price of a wife varying considerably in different parts of the province. Amongst the Marriage.
Kacharis a girl costs from Rs. 60 to Rs. 100, the Mikirs and Lalungs of Nowgong
generally consider a feast to the villagers sufficient, and amongst the Padam Abors,
a few dried squirrels are all that is asked of the groom. The Miris and Dafllas, however,-
pay heavily, and amongst the Miris^ near Sadiya, there is the following curious custom,
which is thus described by Mr. F. J. Needham, C.I.E.:
No betrothal is ever agreed to, unless at the time a female belonging to the bridegroom's
family is promised for some male member of the bride's, that is to say, the first preliminary is
for both parties to contract to exchange a female from each of their families. For instance, if
A desires B's daughter as a wife for his son, he must agree to give B some female member of
his family in marriage to some male member of B's, but it does not necessarily follow that the
two marriages take place simultaneously, for it will often happen that one of the contracting
parties has no female of age at the time,, though it would be much better if such were the case,
for it is here that the shoe pinches, and the rottenness of their marriage custom shows itself.
Let us suppose that A, after promising a female from his own family, has secured B's
daughter for his son, and that the marriage has been completed according to custom ;
that two years or so later B, finding that A's daughter (or some other female promised) has
reached the age of puberty, asks for her as a wife for his son, or other male relative, and the
reply from A is, " she has gone off with some one else," what happens ?
B, acting strictly according to the custom of his tribe, takes back his daughter from A's
son, although she may have had two or more children by him (for they have then been living toge-
ther virtually as man and wife for five years), and makes her over to C, who promises his sister, or
some other female -relative, in exchange for her. If after a time C likewise fails to fulfil his
part of the contract, B takes her away from C, and makes her over to D, and so on, and so on.
Cases of the kind are constantly happening, and cause untold misery to more persons than one, and
I have known more than one case since I came here of a girl having been married to four or five
different men, and having chjldren by each one.
Adultery is with some tribes a more or less trifling matter, which can be settled by
the imposition of a fine of a pig or a few rupees ; but with others it is an extremely
serious offence. Mr. Colquhoun informs me that amongst the Gachi Miris a very heavy
fine is imposed, and in extreme cases the guilty couple are tied face to face, killed, and
thrown into the river. Mr. Needham reports that amongst the Padam Abors the injured
husband is allowed to strike the seducer a severe blow over the head with the back of_ his
dao, and then to mulct him in damages ; while, if the village elders,_ who enquire into
the matter, are of opinion that the woman rather courted than avoided the attentions
of her lover, she is stripped and tied up in the' moshtt^p (village hall) and publicly
subjected to a form of physical punishment which, to the savage mind,_ must seem
peculiarly appropriate to the offence of which she was guilty. To the minds of the
hillman a wife is a chattel, purchased and paid for, whose value is diminished if
she is visited by another, and their attitude towards adultery is summed up in the
remark once made to me by a Miri — " I have paid for my wife, why should any one else
use her ?" Widow marriage is not only tolerated, but is frequently enjoined, the widow
amongst the Garos and some other of the tribes in the north-eastern corner of the
valley being taken over with the rest of the property by the heir of her late husband.
133. From the statement in the margin it appears that though Animistic girls marry
much later than their Hindu or Musalmani
Numi)er married out of 10,000 ofsameage. sistcrs, the boys select their partners at an
earlier date than the followers of these two
"~^®' ^^~^°" religions. At first sight, this seems strange,
Males. Females. Males. Females. as It might have been supposed that the
generous treatment accorded by a hill girl
;gi„a„g 273 3,133 1,386 7,119 to hcr lovgr would have tempted men to
AnSfo*"'"'.. 3s* '24« i'.909 '.'8™ f^efer the date of marriage ; but, as the
figures are borne out by those of 1891, it is
evident that amongst these tribes the pre-
mature concession of marital rites in no way tends to curb the desire for a more perma-
nent union. Between 20 and 40 the wives slightly exceed the husbands in numbers,
but after 40 there is a great excess of married men, widows of that age having naturally
much difficulty in obtaining a second husband.
134. Christians, as a rule, marry later than the followers of the other religions. Be-
tween 5 and 10, only 13 persons were returned as married,
Christians. ^^^ ^^^^ between 10 and 15, there are only 93 brides ;
the number of married girls out of 10,000 of that age being only 475, as compared
with 1,246 amongst the Animists, and 3,123 amongst the Hindus. Above 15
the proportion is much the same as amongst the Animistic peoples. Amongst men,
too, there is a tendency to defer the date of marriage. Between 10 and 15, there are 77
husbands out of 10,000 boys of that age, as compared with 272 amongst the
Hindus, and at the next age period only 929 have wives, as compared with the 1 ,386
7°
REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, IQOT. [CHAP- VI.
Marriage. Hindu husbands. Taking the population as a whole, the figures for men are much
^the same as those for Muhammadans, while those for women resemble more closely ^ the
distribution of the Animistic tribes. There are in the province iS5 more qhristian
wives then husbands. This is due to the fact th^t in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills, the
Christian wife is not unfrequently yoked with the unbelieving husband.
135. Subsidiary Table II shows the distribution of the population by civil condition
at the last three enumerations. The proportion of married
comparison with previous enume- men is higher than in i8qi, but lower than it was twenty
rations. , o ^ '
years. ago. The proportion of widowers has, also increased,
as is only natural in an unhealthy decade. There has evidently been no change in
the marriage customs of the province during the last, ten years. Twepty-six :per miUe
of the boys between lo and 15 were or had been married in 1891, and 27 per
mille at the last census; and between 15 and 40, the proportion of husbands
has only varied by I in 10,000. The proportion of unmarried girls above 10 is
considerably higher than it was in 1891, but I do not know that we are entitled to
draw any inferences from this, as, the inclusion of the Animistic people of Lushai and
Manipur is probably enough to account for the difference ; neither can we say that
the fact that there are more wijdows now than there were ten years ago, is a sign of
widow remarriage falling into disfavour, as the ratio of increase amongst women who
have lost their husbands is not nearly as high as that amongst -husbands who have lost
their wives.
136. It is unsatisfactory, however, to find that the reproductive section of the population,
i.e., married women between 15 and 40, is steadily decreasing. In 1881, out of
10,000 women of this age, 7,983 were wives, in 1891, 7,913, and in 1901, 7,667.
The decrease in-the number of wives during the last twenty years is almost entirely
accounted for by the increase in the number of women who have lost their husbands.
The corresponding figures for Bengal and the Central Provinces, for the census of 1901
are 8,217 and 8,017, so it is evident that Assam is to some extent hampered in the race
for population by a dearth of mothers.* Taking the population as a whole, 55 per cent.
of the men are single, 40 are married, and 5 widowers, figures which correspond very
closely with those of the previous census. Amongst women, 41 per cent, are single, 41
per cent, are married, and 18 per cent, widows, the difference in each case between
these figures and those for 1891 being less than one,
* In the Central Provinces, 167 per niille of the total population are married women between 15 and 40, in Bengal
J64, and in Assam only 157.
CHAP. VI.]
THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS.
71
SUBSIDIARY TABLE I.
Diilribution of 10,000 of each sex by age and civil condition.
Marriage.
M,ales.
Females.
Age.
Unmarried.
Married.
Widowed.
Unmarried.
Married,
Widowed.
I
2
3
4
S
6
7
— I
628
...
go8
...
• ••
I 2
314
•■•
464
...
...
2—3
, 543
...
...
820
...
...
3-4
547
. . .
...
826
• ••
...
•
4—5
546
...
...
799
...
...
0—5
2,578
07
07
3,817
2
I
5— to
2,718
1 21
14
3,695
103
21
10—15
1,980
73
35
1,632
681
76
15—20
i,«43
277
143
485
i,53>
281
20—25
740
817
471
187
1,957
521
25—30
457
1,645
1,023
70
1,999
801
30—35
185
1,841
1,272
40
1,512
1,091
35-.40
82
1,522
1,184
21
827
1,005
40—45
53
1,331
1,302
22
679
1,460
45-'5o '.,.
19
720
843
7
259
867
50—55
20
763
1,192
10
247
1,388
55—60
6
284
550
3
76
501
60 and over
19
705
1,970
•
II
127
1,987
Total - ...
10,000
9,9997
9,9997
10,000
1 0,000
10,000
7^
REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, IQOI.
[CHAP. VL
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CHAP. VI.j
THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS.
73
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Animistic Females.
Ltishai Hills
Naga Hills
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Garo Hills
Hindu Females,
Sylbet
Goalpara
Kamrup
Sibsagar
1
Marriage.
74
REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, igoi.
[chap. VI.
Marriage. SUBSIDIARY TABLE VI.
Number of untnarried girls under 12 out of 10,000 females of that age in certain castet.
Sylhet—
Brahman
... 9,064
Das
- 9.537
Dom (Patni) ..
... 9,234
Jugi
... 9,078
Kaibartta
- 9,319
Kayastha
• ... 9,306
Namasudra ..
...,9.138
Shaha • ..
... 9,093
Goal para —
Rajbansi
.. 9,064
Nowgong —
Dom (Nadiyal)
... 0,956
Kamrup —
1 oria
... 9.971
Brahman
.. 8,211
Sibsagar—
Ganak
.. 8,800
Chutiya
... 9>949
... 9,828
Kaibartta and Kewat .
■• 9,813
Brahman
Koch
,. 9.822
Man! pur—
Kalita
•■ 9.739
Manipuri
... 9.952
Shaha
.. 9.827
, Das includes also Haliva Das, Sudra and Sudra Das.
SUBSIDIARY TABLE VII.
Out of 10,000 females of selected castes at two different age periods number who are widows.
Caste, tribe, or race.
15—20.
20—40.
Sylhet—
Brahman
Das^
Dom (Patni)
Jugi
Kaibartta
Kayastha
Namasudra
Shaha
Goalpara —
Rajbansi
Kamrup —
Brahman
Ganak
Kaibartta and Kewat
Koch
Kalita
Shaha
Nowgong —
Dom (Nadiyal)
Boria
Sibsagar —
Brahman
Chutiya
1,001
3,124
986
3.436
903
3,270
1,264
3,680
1,180
3.850
918
3,466
972
3,109
1,171
3,342
1,103
2,941
1,729
3,613
1,667
■ 3,707
486
1,800
323
1,635
259
1,796
356
2,002
509
2,121
212
2,263
808
2,264
III
783
* Das includes also Halvia Das, Sudra and Sudra Das.
SUBSIDIARY TABLE VIII.
Proportion of the sexes by civil condition for religions.
Number o£ females per i,coo males.
Religion,
At all ages.
— 10.
10-15.
IS— 40.
40 and over.
■a
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4
, 5
6
7
8
9
10
II
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»3
14 IS
16
Hindus
An'mists
Mubafflmadans
Christians
958
1,028
1, 01 1
1,022
6S7
89s
679
76S
3,281
2,936
5,613
3.258
5.537
2,220
4,680
1,167
991
1,008
1,000
993
4,660
3,258
12,483
9.185
3.321
1S.717
S.4'2
553
852
481
840
7.215
3.436
15,816
6,000
1,222
1,312
1.324
1,279
179
Coo
106
400
3. 153
2,383
4.434
2,670
328
S8I
2S8
499
239
859
297
235
3.345
3.313
6,409
3.774
CHAP. VI.]
THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS,
75
n-
B
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[chap. VI.
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C HAf>. VII.] THE 'RESULTS OF THE CENSUS. 79
CHAPTER Vlt.
AGE.
IS?. Before entering upon any discussion of the age returns ^f the people, it is neces- Age.
sary to point out that the unadjusted figures have but the
Inaccuracy of the return. ,. ■', * . . J , , =" ■ _ • i-<
sligtitest connection with actual facts, hven in Europe
many illiterate persons do not know the exact number of years which they have lived,
but the estimate offered is at any rate not grossly incorrect. In Assam, however,
we are dealing with people, a large proportion of whom are entirely devoid of the
arithmetical sense. They see nothing absurd in a son returning himself as the same
age as his mother, and in many cases do not even J<now within what periods youth,
maturity, and old age must fall ; a wrinkled whitehaired old hag declaring herself, in
perfect good faith, to be 20 years old. The enumerators were, of course, allowed to
exercise their own judgment and, wherever possible, to correct obvious errors ; but,
unfortunately, they not unfrequently did not know their own ages, and so had no standard
by which to measure the inaccuracy of the replies given to them. There is, however, as
pointed out by Mr. Gait, no marked tendency either to under or over estimation, and, as
in a large number of cases the mistakes neutralise one another, the net result would not
be very wrong, were it not for the fact that there is a natural predisposition to mention
a round number when the exact figure is not knoivn, and that there exists a distinct
preference for certain particular years.
138. The tendency to error can be most clearly seen in Subsidiary Table I — Age
distribution of 100,000 persons of each sex by annual
Character of mistakes made. . . „,, r , • ^ ^ • • l' • -.i: 1 -ij
periods, The first mistake is in connection with children
aged I, but less than 2. The, enumerators were warned that the expression 'infant '
should only be applied to babies less than twelve months old ; but it seems impossible to
overcome the tendency to use this word for every child that still depends upon its
mother for nourishment, and, as 'babies in Assam are generally nursed for more than
twelve months, the first year of life has profited largely at the expense of the second.
The period o — i also includes all babies born in the month or five weeks during which
the preliminary enumeration was goijpg on ; but I fear that very seldom, if ever, were
corrections made for infants who celebrated their first birthdays in this period. One
and less than 2 is, however, an age which is peculiarly hated of the enumerator, and
it seems that, if a baby was no longer at its mother's breast, it was assumed to be 2, 3,
or even 4. In a normal population it is obvibus that the number of persons alive at each
successive age period must steadily decline, as a certain proportion of children in each
year bf life die'before they see another birthday ; yet we find that out of 200,000 people,
there are only 3,186, aged i, but less than 2, though there are over 6,000 living at e^ch
Successive year till 9 is reached ; while the number of children aged 8 is larger than
the number at any of the preceding years, except o — i. It is possible that a very
triafked fluctuation in the birth-rate might produce an actual excess of children at a later
aoe, but it is obvious that this cause could only account for a very slight excess in
numbers; and, as a matter of fact, the recorded birth-rate ia 1899 and (900 was higher
than at any other period of the decade.
139. In addition to this special inaccuracy with regard to the first completed year
of life, there are other flagrant errors in the age returns
of both sexes. Not only do we find a marked tendency
to lump on fives and tens, which becomes more pronounced
as we reach old age, of which I quote a few exarfiples in
the rnargin, but each sex displays a certain preference
for difi^erent ages. Boys affect 10 and 12, girls 16, 18,
20, 22, and 35. The effect of the difference of fashion
between the sexes is to show that between 10 and 15
'the mortality is higher amongst girls than boys, which is probably true, though not to
•the exldnt indicated by the figured ; but that between 15 and 25 men die more rapidly
than women, which is almost certainly incorrect.
Out of 100,000 per-
sons
Of each sex
. ^umher aged—
Males.
Females.
- 19
20
669
: 793 i
. 3,491
5,225
11
...
637
.782 ,
462
397
ss
3i742
3,835
86
•>•
652
473
69
, 84
93
60
2,255
2,293
61
.!.
, . 53
66
8o
REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF A^SAM, IQOl. [CHAP. VII.
Age 140 In Table II will be found the distribution by age of 10,000 persons of either
sex at each of the last three enumerations. There is a close
Decrease to proportion of children, ^.^i^^j^jj bctween the proportion of the SBxes alive at each age
Males. period^at each census, but the figures abstracted in the
imI: TstiT '^.. margin show a steady diminution in the number of young
Sriso •-: ''92I 'Isl '-95? children and an increase in the proportion of those in middle
l?4? ::; it? ^\ f?t age. At first sight, one might be tempted to imagine that
this is due to the large number of adult immigrants who enter the province, but the tables
out of 10 000 per- for Animistic tribes, who are all indigenous, and_ those for
Tgeai-5^'' Muhammadans, who affe mainly so, negative this supposi-
Animistic- '5^es~Fi^;? tiou. Assuming that the age figures are equally incorrect
males, jjemaies. a . ".'-■, -■ ' r L'lJ
1891 1.820 1,885 ^t each census, this decrease in the proportion of children
■sT-h dana- * ' must be duc either to a decrease in the death-rate, which
iV"'"'!'.. " ... i,7« 1,879 would leave a larger number of adult persons alive, or to
1901 !;: .'.'.' i.'sw' lisss ^ decrease in the number of children born.* It is difficult
to believe that there has been any improvement in the expectation of life in the province
as a whole, and the figures in Subsidiary Table III lend strong support to the theory
that a succession of unhealthy seasons has not only killed off the population, but
has diminished their reproductive powers.
141. In Nowgong, there are now 313 children under 10 to every thousand people as
Fertility of different diBtricts. Compared With 329 ten ycars ago, and in the Khasl and Jain-
TaDie-iii. lia Hills 294, as compared with 306 ; that is to say, in these
two districts the proportion of adults has increased. We are practically _ certain that
this increase is not due either to a decline in the death-rate or to immigration, and
the most plausible explanation is that it is the result of a decrease in the fertility
of people who have been exposed to exceptionally unfavourable conditions. That there
is a close connection between a high mortality and a fall in the birth-rate is to be
seen from the Provincial vital returns. The year 1897 was very unhealthy, arid in 1898
the regarded birth-rate fell to 29-4 per mille, as compared with 32-6 per mille in the
preceding and 35*4 per mille in the following year. In Sylhet, too, where public
health has been bad, the proportion of children has fallen from 315 to 304, in all
probability owing to a decrease in the number born.
In Goalpara, the proportion has risen from 320 to 331, and it seetas probable on
other grounds that in this district both causes may have been at work, a rise in the^
birth-rate being accompanied by a decline in the death-rate. The figures for Kamrup
seem at first sight strange, as the proportion of children (336) is higher than in
any part of the province at either of the last two enumerations. The death-rate
must have been high, and, on a priori grounds, I should have expected this phe-
■nomenon to be combined, as in Nowgong, with a decline in the birth-rate ;,and the
increase of the youthful element must, I think, be due to the emigration of adults to
work on the tea gardens of Upper Assam. The figures for the great tea districts
hardly repay examination, as it is impossible to ascertain the exact effect of immi-
gration, and we can pass on at once to the hill tracts. Amongst the Garos, as is
only natural in a growing population, the proportion of children has increased, but
amongst the Nagas the ratio is extraordinarily low. I have already referred to the sterili-
ty of the Naga in Chapter II of the Report, and this phenomenon must apparently be
accepted as a fact, though its causes are obscure. In the Lushai Hills, the proportion ,
of children (283 per mille) is very small. This is possibly due to a lower death-rate,
which would produce a greater preponderance of adults than in the plains ; but, as
amongst the Lushais the women considerably exceed ^the men in numbers, one would
expect to find a large juvenile population. It is true that this tribe decline to
allow an infant to enjoy the hfe it has obtained at the expense of its mother, and if the
latter dies bury her baby with her, but the mortality from child-birth amongst hill people
is not likely to be sufficiently high to seriously prejudice the rising generation.
142. Subsidiary Table IV shows the age distribution of the three main religions.
Aseaistributionoftiiemain Amongst Hindus, the proportion below 10 is lower, and
'*"^°°°" _ that between 20 and 40 higher, than amongst Animists
and Muhammadans ; but this is what we should expect, as the majority of immigrants
are both Hindus and adult. I doubt, however, whether sufficient reliance can be
placed upon the figures to enable us to draw conclusions of any value. The propor-
tion of children under 5 is 1,600 for Muhammadans and 1,723 for Animistic tribes and
* It might also be due to an increase in the death-rate amongst the infant but not amongst the adult populatiQn,
This'does not, however, seem a very plausible explanation, *
Numter of children
, under 10 to every
1,000 married women
between IS and 40.
. 1901. 1891.
Hlndas
... 1,791 1,924 -
Ilaliamiiiadana
... 2,088 2,11?
Animistic ..
... 8,157 2,147
CHAP. VII.] THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS. 8r
this suggests that the Animist is either more prolific or shorter lived than the Muhara- Age.
madan ; but, if we take the proportion under lo, we find the Muhammadan with 3,374
children; and the Animist with 3,254, so that the two sets of figures give contradictory
results. The Muhammadan figures for 5-^10 must obviously be very wrong, as it is
impossible that the proportion of children of that Age should so largely outnumber ■
the proportion und^r 5. At both of the last enumerations, the proportion of Animistic
males has been less than that of Muhammadans between 15 and 30, but higher
at succeeding ages. I can suggest no explanation of this fact, if it be a fact, which
I am much inclined to doubt, as I do not think that the volume of Muhammadan
immigration is sufficiently large to have any appreciable effect upon the figures ; and,
though it is possible that the Animistic races may be shorter ived than the Musulman,
it does not seem likely that the death-rate would be higher in adolescence and the
prime of life, and lower after 30.
143. The figures in the margin show the fertility of the followers of the three main
religions, and lend considerable support to the view that
Fertility of religions and castes. jf j-^g reproductive powers of a wo man are brought into
pj^^ ^^ ^^^ early an age, they soon succumb to the strain
put upon them. The difference between Hindus and the
Animistic tribes is very marked. In 1891, 1,000 Hindu
wives had 223 children less than an equal number of
Animistic married wonxen, and at the last census the
deficiency was" as much as 366, i.e., broadly speaking, the Animistic wife has six
children where hae Hindu sister has only five.
The figures* for the various castes are not very suggestive. The Koch has the
largest number of children under 12 (2,447), and is followed by the Kalita (2,442) ; next
come the Brahman (2,316), the Rajbansi (2,299), and the Dasf (2,280), all three of them
~ being castes that practice infant marriage. The Chutiya (2,288) is very low on the list,
but it must be borne in mind that many of the mothers of the three preceding castes are
not wives, but widows, and if we take the proportion of children to women between 15 and
40, the Chutiya with 1,770 children is considerably in advance of the Das with 1,589.
The: proportion is lowest amongst the Kayastha (1,480 children to 1,000 women
between 15 and 40), and the Namasudra (1,442). The women of the last-named caste
work in the fields, and it is possible that their mode of life may have a prejudicial effect
upon their reproductive powers.
144. It would be interesting if we could ascertain the actual birth and death-rate In
this province, and in 1891,, Mr. Gait made an attempt
Birtii and deatn-rates. j.^ jJq g^^ fjjg estimate, howcvcr, makcs the following
assumptions :
First, it assumes tliat the data furnished by the proclaimed clans are reliable-; spcondly, that
these data are applicable to Assam, i.e., that the rate of juvenile mortality in the two provincesj
is. approximately the same; and thirdly, that the calculation of boys under ten years of age is
correct. Fourthly, and lastly, it assumes that the annual rate of increase has been uniform in the
period under consideration. It may be said that a birth-rate based on so many assumptions is
not worth much, and I admit that it is only a rough approximation.
On. the present occasion we can feel fairly confident that the second, and fourth
assumptions would not be correct, and as the age statistics will be examined by a profes-
sional actuary, I do not propose to anticipate the result of his researches by calculating '
birth and death-rates upon which we could place little or no reliance.
I have, however, attempted in a previous chapter to frame estimates of the
natural growth or decline of the population in the various districts of the province,
and from these estimates it is possible to ascertain the relation borne by the averagfe
birth-rate to the average death-rate during the last ten years. In England, between
1 88 1 and 1891, the average birth-rate was 34 per mille, the average death-rate
26 : so that the birth-rate; exceeded the death-rate by 14 per mille. In the province,
as la whole, the birth-rate has exceeded the death-rate by only i per mille, the
excess of -births being most pronounced in Lakhimpur, where there is a surpljjs
of 15, and Sibsagar, where there is a surplus of 8. In Kamrup and Darrang
the death-rate exceeds the birth-rate by 8 per mille, and in Nowgong by as much as 37,
* These figureshaye been compiled from Table XIV-A, Volume 11.
t Das also includes Halwa Das, Sudra Das. and Sudra.
" X '•«'i Assam and the North-West Provinces.
82 SEPOBT-mmS CENSUS G¥ ASSAM, igor. [CHAP. VII,
Age. Mi-. Gait's calculations tesiilted in a birth^raite l6rihe "provittcte, excluding pirden9,'6{
about 49 per tnille, atid, a'ssuming that this rate htilBs^ood for'tJppef'Agsa-m»'lhe death-
fate amotigst the Assamese must have been '^4 per 'fWiiUe in Lalihiftjput anfl ^i per
ffiilie in Sibsagar. ~I have Already shoWn that the age returns do not -suggest any
decrease ill the binh-rate in'Katnrnp, but, tven if we suppose that in 'this ^disrfitJt jtnd
Barrangit fell'to 45 permille, the death-rate ift ihis part of the province must 'feaVte
teen as high as 53. It is ptbbable that in NoWgdng tbie repfoUuctive powers of thle
people were affected by the abnormal untiealthines's of the decade, but I sbuuld
'd'Otibt whether the bifth-rare would fallbelow 35'ptr "milte, and.'if this isso, ib'e avetage
annual death-rate over the whob district for ten years must 'have 'been noless^han
^i pet mille.*
145. For men, I have alssumeS that the productive age lies between i^ and .55,
The productive ages. wliilc for women, for whom the reproduction of the species is
o^t'of every 1,600 ^ "lore important duty than the production of wealtlj, 15 —
'" *SttiSSl?^*^°' 40 seems to ie the most' important period. From the
MaMB females Statement in tlje Margin it iappcats that tlie 'prcfport'iQH of
*toA^" "^ria «""" bcth sexes in these periods is "considerably higher than that
tfteSiiSi ::tli' 405 in Aissam in iSgi.w that in iBetigal at -the last census.
Bensai;i9oi -...529 401 fj^^ jngyease ^in the proportion o'f potential mothers is
iparticukrly saarked, and at first sight it -seems strange ►that it should be combined iwlih
a deerease infertility. The marriage tibles, however, show that the proportion of
married women between i5'and 4o:has decreased dtfreng the.ksti ten -y ears, and, as 1 bav«
already pointed out, there have been causes alt wopk which :haveieen pre JAjdi^ial tb ^thfe
-mtural growifh of ithe .people.
146. The mean age of the population is 23 jte^fs 2 Tttonths, ilhSt terinjialeslaetfigiissj
^ years 7 months, and-thaa: for females 1 1 imowBhstes. Ttesfe
The mean Age of the popnlaticAi. -U ' - \- ii ..i ^ . .^i i , '••iwo
figures are yracticalfy 'the samfe as :;those -woiffced sotit 4^
'Mr. Gait'imSgi-. The mean age of a population 'depends ^opon the ■combined ^ff^SI
of the birth-itate and death-rate. Where the'bicth-Kttie ksiow,fthe mean age 'Will 'aS %
itu\e be high, as the procportion'of young peTsons to itheitotsrlipopuVation is small, and 4t
will be highest when a 'low bittb-fate iand 'death-Tate ^re combii^. in Assam, 'h&wev&r,
we have an ^actly opposite set of conditions, ;z>;,:a high biPth-r&t&coMbiwed'With'&fh^
.fd«ath-rate. The iresuk ofsthis-is thatthe proipcntiOniof young peopte.fe»la»ge, and Ihfe
number of those who attain to old age is small, so that ithemeansagse ofcth^^populati^
must of necessity be low.
147. The figures in the margin show. themean. ages of the three main religions
'Mean«. wre«^.n. The high mean ^age of HIndusisjpHrttrdufe rjo the
deficiency of children to which I have alreadk
^^aieB^_^^_pemaiea^ referred, and .partly to the influx of adult imm-
'HitwwB Years. Months. Y^B.^onti.s. grants. In a.previous paragraph, I ihave ipointed
^^^madans... || ^ ^ u out the difficulty ^of ^deciding -whellher.th^ .M^ham-
madaniOr ^the^Aniroist is Jthfe more •prolific, 'tio the
^gures for males 'do Hot jifttify us in looking'upon the hill man/as a 'better 'life fhan
his Moslem brother; but it is-'quite cleat llhat the Animistic woman I5 b"etter o"ff ^hSn
others of her sex.
148. The diagram annexed to the Chapter shows'theline'tff life for iOo;ooG villageT-s
„ , .. ,.v, .,. of eitlher sex, sorted in annual periods, Ub to do fa") a;s'fhp
Explanation of the diagram. ' ^.^ . j • .^i , . A^ i ' ^'"...v r. ^ / "^ '■^^
ages were returned in the schedules, and (5) ^fter they had
been smoothed by Bloxham's method. ^ The figures actually retordedby the enumerators
jare obviously grossly incorrect, and it is this inaccuracy in the returns which renders
their examination a somewhat thankless task. The chief value of -the age 'taljles is
to throw some light on the age conStitulion eff the people, -and 'to enable us to calcu-
late the birth and death-rates prevailing in 'the province. The unadjusted' figures are
however, so misleading that it is 'doubtful ^Whether It Serves any 'Useful object to
attempt to express in figures, what we know on other 'grounds to %e true ihit the
tbirth and death-rate are alike high.
149. Subsidiary Table V compares the-age distributiori bf Assam with 'bengal and
'Comparison with Bengal and Eng- England. Talking Bengal first, "it appearstlfit iheproDbr-
^""^ tion -of child-ren -berow -fa is about the same in both
provinces. Between 20 and 40, the balance is in favour of Assam, owing to the large
* These suggested death rates may be thought to be excessive/but it must'be'borneinmmd that the ieco*H,A
death rate for the whole province in 1897 was 50-6 per mille and the actual death was probably considerably in
6XC6SS ^ tnlSt - • /
CWAP, VH.] Tffi USSUZTS OF 'THE CENSUS. 83
number of immigrants of thesb ages, biit over 40 the proportion falls rapidly, Age,
showing, what no doubt islrae, that the escpectaJiian of life is not so high in this
province -as in -Bengal, When comparing our figures with those for England^ we
are -at bnce «trluck ^byithe large preportderianoe of children under 10 in Assami
coupled with a deficiency both of bqyis and girls between 10 and 20. The
proportifDn of peteons alivie between 20 and 40 is higher irt Assam than in England,
.partly because this age 4>eriod has in tMs province gainep at the Expense of the one
preceding it, and partly because Assam gains, and En^gland loses, by the migration of
persons tin the prime of life. After 40, the {JFopotrtion-alivie falls ofi rapidly in India.
84
REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, igoi.
[chap. VII.
Age,
SUBSIDIARY TABLE I.
Unadjusted age return of 100,000 persons of each sex.
Age.
Persons.
Males.
Females.
Age.
Persons.
Males.
Female.".;
I
2
3
4
I
2
3
4
Below I year
7,616
3,605
4,011
Brought forward
195,727
97,815
97,912'
I
. .
3,i85
1,347
1,839
2
■ • •■
6,862
3,236
3,626
y
3 .
» • • •
6,809
3,256
3,553
4
6,521
3,091
3,430
5 •
1 • ■••
7,415
3,674
3,741
61
119
53
66
6 .
>• ..>
6,061
2,976
3,085
62
339
163
176
7
6,673
3,3"
3,362
63
64
32
32
8 .
.
7,576
3,837
3,739
64
89,
53
36
9 .
4,712
2,144
2,568
65
499
270
229
10
7,0 1 9
3,915
3,104
66
51
27
24
II
.
2,656
1,346
1,310
67
113
' 62
51
12
1 1 1 •
5>979 ,
, 3,475
2,504
68
140
• 66
74
>3 •
• •*•
2,119
1,104
1,015
69
81
38
43
14 .
• 1 1 1
3,384
1,787
1,597
70
1,065
542
523
15 •
• t » «
3,888
1,975
1,913
71
42
24
18
16 .
» xt
4,344
2,021
2,323
72
115
64
51
17
■
1,659
703
956
73
16
7
9
18
.
5,218
2,341
2,877
74
20
10
10
19 .
.
1,352
559
793
75
207
109
98
20 ;
.
8,716
3,491
5,225
76
29
17
12
21
.
1,269
537
732
77
30
20
10
22
3,627
1,623
2,004
78
64
39
25
23 .
• ••
1,272
632
640
79
27
16
II
24 .
• ■>
1,798
835
963
80
787
370
4'7
25 .
• ••
9,384
4,428
4,956
81
15
5
ID
26 .
.
1,805
936
869
82 - —
24
12
12
27 .
...
1.973
1,037
936
83
5
2
3
28 .
.
3,913
2,021
1,892
84
15
5
10
29 .
...
1,269
669
600
85
66
37
29
30 .
.
11,354
5,493
5,861
86
6
2
4
31 .
■
629
341
288
87
9
5
4
32 .
• >. .
2,893
1,653
1,240
88
12
4
8
33 -
* 1 * .
571
309
262
89
9
9
34 ,
•
849
452
397
90
126
67
59
35 .
■
6,577
3,743
2,835
91
6
5
*J7
I
36 .
.
1,125
652
473
92
10
7
3
37 .
• •••
724
399
325
93
• ' '-^
38 .
.
2,107
1,199
908
94
2
I
I
39 .
• l.i
719
415
304
95
14
9
5
40 .
.
9.476
4,992
4,484
96
3
3
41 .
' ...
409
232
177
97
2
I
I
42 .
.
1,176
698
478
98
3
I
2
43 .
.
321
163
158
99
5
2
3
16
44 .
. .11
348
185
163
100
32
16
45 .
. .« «
3,460
2,048
1,412
101
46 .
...
266
139
127
1 02
I
I
47 .
.
437
263
174
103
I
I
48 .
.
1,031
592
439
104
49 .
.
3M
164
150
105
50 ■
* ■■*
6,435
3,360
3,075
106
I
I
51 .
. 1 * *
202
III
91
107
I
I
52 .
.
742
418
324
108
53 ■
.
189
94
95
109
54 .
.
230
138
92
110
4
3
I
5| '
• ■«•
1,333
745
588
III
56
«••
3 "4
177
127
112
I
I
57 .
•
225
120
105
120
2
2
58 .
481
270
211
125
I
I
...
59 .
.
177
84
93
* ■ •
60 .
.
4,548
2,255
2,293
Total
'
Carriec
1 over
195,727
97,815
97,912
200,000
1 00,000
100,000
CHAP. VI 1.]
THE RESULTS OF THE. CENSUS.
85
AGES OF THE PEOPLE.
SUBSIDIARY TABLE If.
Age distribution of 10,000 of each sex.
Ag!e.
1901.
1891.*
1881*
Age.
Males.
Females.
Males.
Females.
Males.
Females.
I
2
3
4
5
6
7
— I
348
373
339
368
263'
299
I — a
174
191
182
203
281
306
2—3
301
337
324
366
345
387
3—4
304
339
339
383
366,
416
4-5
303
329
332
364.
398.
418
0—5
1.430
1.569
',516
1,684
'.653..
1,826
5—10
»,5i6
1,564
1,507
1,564
'>485 .
1,387
10—15
1,128
965
1,140
969
1,053
890
15 — 20
75'
881
747
851.
734
795
20 — 25
758
977
757
928
764
847
25—30
957
995
883
928
929
1,043
30—35
896
833
865
835,,
827
763
35 — 40
708
527
671
506
648
562
40—45
621
547
623
557..
535
489
45—50
337
263
324
242
388
334
50-55
371
351
389
352
336
338
55—60
•43
121
136
109
214
195
60 and over
384.
407
442
475
434
532
• Manipur has been excluded from the calculaticns, as the, papers in 1891 were destroyed in the rising, and
figure in the form given above are not available for 1881.
SUBSIDIARY TABLE III.
Proportion of children under 10 per 1,000 of total population.
Pen.mille.
■
Districts.
1901. 1891.
1
i
2'
' 3
Cachar Plains
•
290
305
Sylhet
... ...
...
304
315
Goal para
...
...
...
..t ••"
331
, 320
Kauirup
. . .
. • .
•*« . • .
..
336
321
DarraiiCT
,
...
...
t.« •••
293
30 1
Nowgong
...
■ ••
...
.. •••
313
329
Sibsagar
• ••
...
... ...
291
308
Lakbimpur
. . >
• •*
...
• ■•
279
295
Lushai Hills
■ • •
• ••
... ...
..
283
• ••
North Cachar
• «•
... ...
• t ■■•
179
318
Naga Hills
...
!•• . . .
269
293
Khasi and Jaiht
ia Hills
... ...
...
294
306
Garo Hills
■ ■«
..4
... ...
...
335
323
j^lan^pur
...
...
...
...
S03
• ••
u
86
REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, IQOl.
[CHAP. VII.
Age.
SUBSIDIARY TABLE IV.
Age distribution of 10,000 of each sex by religion.
Age.
Hindus.
Muhammadans.
Animists.
Males.
Females,
Males.
Females.
Males.
Females.
I
2
3
4
S
6
7
— 1
335
363
383
418
344
343
1 — 2
158
176
169
188
237
239
2—3
271
309
3.8
356
377
393
3—4
274
313
314
360
391
391
4—5
270
300
333
363
366
366
0—5
1,308
1,461
1,517
1,685
1.715
I;732
5—10 ^ ...
1,401
I;474
1. 731
1,824
1,588
1,476
10—15
1,090
939
1,264
1,030
1,047
948
15—20
754
845'
782
989
687
834
20—25
793
1,000
731
975
673^
903
25—30
1,027
1,071
910
909
782
881
30—35
953
882
803
726
840
835
35-40
765
565
614
423
659
561- ■
40—45
641
560
540
470
679
617
45-50
357
282
292
210
341
277
50—55
387
372
319
308
401
353
55—60
158
137
108
79
145
133
60 and over
366
412
389
372
443
450
SUBSIDIARY TABLE V.
Age distribution of 10,000 persons in Assam, Bengal, and England.
Age.
Assam, 1901.
Bengal, 1891.
England, 1891.
Males.
Females.
Males.
Females.
Males.'
Females.
I
2
3
4
5
6
7
— 10 ..
10 — 20
30 — 30
30—40
40—50
50—60
60 and over
2,946
1,879
1. 715
1,604
958
514
384
3,132
1,846
1.972
1,360
810
472
408
2,941
2,035
1.543
1.456
993
563
469
2,964
1,807
1.723
1,386
930
580
610
2,463
2,174
1.693
1.305
1,003
687
675
2,333
2,087
1,740
1,32^
1,012
723
781
Total
.
10,000
10,000
10,000
10,000
10,000
10,000
CHAP. VIII.] THE RKSULTS OF THE CENSUS. 8j
CHAPTER VIII.
LANGUAGE.
" 150. There Is probably no countr)' in the world which affords a richer field for the Language.,
philologist than Assam, for, though the population barely exceeds six millions, no less
than one hundred and sixty-seven different languages were returned at the last census.
I do not, however, propose to discuss Table X, which deals with these matters, at any
great length, as in the report for 1891 will be found an admirable description of the
languages of the province, to which I have nothing that I can add from my own per-
sonal experience. Even were I able to make some contribution to this store-house
of knowledge, the fact that a linguistic survey has been taken in hand by Dr. Grierson
renders the insertion of a philological treatise in a census report a matter of questionable
utility.
151. As pointed out by Mr. Maclagan in the Punjab Census Report for 1891, " the
, - main use of our language figures is to show, and
Value of the return of languages. ,,. . rii°i i ri
this very imperfectly, the spread or decrease of the
various vernaculars in use :" and of the imperfection of this demonstration Assam
affords abundant instances. The main languages of the province are Bengali,
Assamese, and a large number of indigenous forms of speech belonging to the Tibeto-
Burman family. The growth of BengaH is obscured by the fact that this language
is returned, whether rightly or wrongly, by a large proportion of the foreis^n population ;
and but little reliance can be placed on the returns for Assamese and the Tibeto-
Burman family. Nearly all the aboriginal tribes who live in the plains of the
Brahmaputra Valley speak Assamese in addition to their own tribal lingo, and it is to
some extent a matter of chance which of the two is entered in the schedule. This
point will, however, be dealt with at greater length in the paragraph on the Bo do group.
The returns for foreign languages must of necessity be very incomplete. The
enumerator has but the vaguest idea of the languages spoken in India, and would prefer
to enter everything as Bengali, Deshwali, or, if he is dealing with a native of Nepal,
Naipali, and the person enumerated is almost equally ignorant. The result is that
this section of the table throws but little light either upon the extent to which a lan-
guage is in use, or upon the number of persons in Assam belonging to the tribe or caste
by which it is usually employed ; and I therefore propose to confine myself to a very
brief review first of the indigenous, and then of the foreign languages returned at the
census. 1 am indebted to Dr. Grierson, who has kindly placed some of his notes at my
disposal, for the little that I am able to say about the languages of Assam.
152. The two main indigenous languages of the province are Bengali, which is
spoken by 48 per cent, of the population, and Assamese,
Bengali an ssamese. which has been returned by 22 per cent. Bengali is the
common vernacular of the Surma Valley, where it is spoken by 61 per cent, of
the inhabitants of the Cachar plains, and 92 per cent, of those in Sylhet. In
Goalpara, too, it is the language of the -people, and has been returned by 69
per cent, of the persons censused there ; but in the remaining five districts of the Brah-
maputra Valley its placd is taken by Assamese. It is true that it has been returned
by 19 per cent, of the inhabitants of Darrang and Sibsagar, and 21 per cent, of
those of Lakhimpur ; but it is doubtful whether BengaU in this case means anything
more than " a foreign language," which is just as likely to have belonged to the
Munda or Dr^ividian stock as to the Indo-European family, of which Bengali is a
member. The language was entered against 2,948,183 people, nearly nine-tenths of
whom were censused in the Surma Valley and Goalpaia. The increase during the
decade was 206,236, and is due partly to natural growth and partly to immigration.
Assamese is the speech of 1,349,784 people, nearly 99 per cent, of whom were
found in the five upper districts of the Assam Valley. It is spoken by 83 per cent.
of the population of Kamrup, 66 per cent, of that of Nowgong, and 59 per cent, of
that of Sibsagar. In Darrang, it is used by only a moiety of the population, and
in Lakhimpur it is the, exception rather than the rule to talk Assamese, rather more
than half of the persons censused there using languages foreign to the province. During
the last ten years, the number of those returning this vernacular has diminished by 4-5
88 REPORT ON THE CENSUS OP ASSAM, igOl. [CHAP. Vltr.
Language, per cent., ^hich is considerably less than the decrease which has occurred amongst the
Assamese people ; end it is probable that coolies, who in Upper Assam frequently adopt
this tnngue as their customary form of speech, have returned it in the census schedules.
I endeavoured in the abstracting office to trace the extent to which this practice is in
vogue, but 1 unfortunately had to reject the figures when compiled, as I found them to
be unreliable.
The relation between Bengali and Assamese was well described in the report for
1881, an extract from which was reproduced on page 157 of the last census report, and
need not therefore be reprinted here. Incidentally, however, I may remark that
Haijong, which is used by 1,102 persons, is a dialect .of Bengali, and is not a member
of the Bodo family, as was thought in 1891.
153. The main languages of the Bodo group are Bodo, or- plains Kachari, Dimasa,
„ „ or Hills Kachari, Garo, Rabha, Lalung and Tipura. Bodo
The Bodo group. , .... ', . ' _ , ' -^° '^i t^
is prmcipally spoken m Goalpara, Kamrup and Darrang,
where it is the mother tongue of the tribe of that name, who are, however, generally
known as Mech in Goalpara and Kachari in Assam Proper. Cachar is the home of
Dimasa, the Garo Hills of Garo, Gcalpara of Rabha and Nowgong nf Lalung, while
the great mdjority. of those who speak Tipura are emigrants from the hills of that name
to Sylhet. There seem to be good reasons for supposing that Bodo in one s^hape or
another was originally the prevaiHng form of speech in the Brahmaputra Valley, the
Garo and North Cachar Hills, the Cachar plains and Hill Tipperah ; but, like all
primitive tongues, it has a tendency to die out when brought into competition with a
language of a higher type.
Subsidiary Table HI shows the number of persons speaking each form of language
at the last two enumerations, and the proportion which they bear to the total number
of the tribe ; the latter set of figures being required if we are to gain a clear idea
of the process of growth or decay, as in some cases it is not so much the language
as the people themselves who are disappearing. Garo is the one vernacular which
may be described as being in a thoroughly healthy condition, as not only is it
used by the whole of the Garo tribe, but they have succeeded in imposing it upon a
certain proportion of their neighbours, Bodo and Dimasa are spoken by 76 per cent, of
the Kachnris, as compared with 85 per cent, in 1891, and Lalung has suffered a serious
relapse, the percentage being only 46, as compared with 77 ten years ago. In this case
however, I am inclined to think that it is the people as much as the language which
has died out. The mortality amongst the Lalungs in the south of the Nowgong
district has been terrible, and it is this section of the tribe who were the great Lalung
speakers in 1891, as, according to Mr. Gait, those who lived north of the K^lang had
forgotten their own special language.
The causes of this decay of the primitive forms of speech are so obvious as
hardly to require mention. The development of the province, the growth of tea
gardens, on which considerable numbers ofKacharis are employed, the improvement
of the means of communication, and the spread of education, have all combined to
produce a state of afTairs, in which the tribesman finds it necessary to know some
language which will be _ intellioible to people living outside bis own village ; and
each successive census will no doubt show a decreasing proportion of those 'tribal
languages, at any rate in the plains portion of the province. At the same time '
it must not be supposed that Kacharis or Mikirs have of necessity forgotten their
mother tongue, because they have not returned it in the schedules. The great
majority of these tribes are bi-lingual, and the enumerator is often uncertain whether he
should enter Assamese or Bodo, so that the variations disclosed by the census
tables do not of necessity represent an actual variation in the number of Bodo speakers.
A good illustration of this will be found in the case lof Rabha. In 1 881, it was returned
by 56.499 people, in 1891 by 509, but at the last census the figures again rose to
20,243, and it is perfectly obvious that the startling vanations disclosed have no
connection whatever with actual facts. Again, the Chutia language, which was declared
by Mr. G^it to be dead, has been returned by 2,364 people, as compared with 7 In
it9i; and 78 people have actually reported 'that they speak Moran, though that
language had not a single adherent at either of the two preceding enumerations.
An excellent account of the Bodo languages will be found on pages 159" to 162
of thd last census report, to which I have very little to add. Dr. Grierson describes
Bodo, or plains Kachari, as being a faii^Iy rich language^ which is remarkable for the great
ease with which roots can ba compounded together to express a compound idea
Lalung forms a link between Bodo and Dimasa or Hill Kachari. In 1891, Bodo and
Dimasa were shown under the same head (Kachari), but Dr. Grierson informs me
that they have less in common than French and Spanish, though they both no doubt hs^d
CHAP. VIII.] THE RESULTS OF THE tENSVS. 89
a common ancestor. Chutia is the language of the old Chutiya* kingdom, which was Language,
overthrown by the Ahoms at the beginning of the sixteenth century, and appears to
have preserved the oldest characteristics, and to most nearly approach the original form
of speech from which the Bodo group was derived ; it and Kachari represent the two
Districts in which Bodo languages cxtremes, the Icast developed and the most developed of
are spoken. jj^g group. It is spoken by the priestly caste of the
Chutiya tribe, who have not yet attorned to Hinduism, and still maintain their old
traditions ; but the main body of the people have, like the Koches and Ahoras, to all
intents and purposes become a Hindu caste. A ' Grammar of the Chutia Language ' has
been published by Mr. W. B. Brown, C.S.
154. The North-Eastern group includes Aka and Mishmi, Dafla, Miri, and Abor.
Aka and Mishmi are spoken by tribes who live beyond the
The North-Eastern group. t i • i i . 1 i . 1 • 1 1
Inner Line, and the persons returned under this head are
temporary visitors to the plains in the cold weather. Of these two laiaguages, practically
nothing is known. The Akas are a small but very independent tribe, with no taste for
philological investigations. When I was in charge of the Darrang district, I endeavoured
to induce the chief, who knew a little Assamese, to translate the parable of the prodigal
son into Aka, but my attempts met with no success, and as far as I am aware there
are no reliable specimens extant of this form of speech. Three vocabularies of the lan-
guage have been compiled, — one by Robinson, one by Hesselmeyer, and one by Mr. J. D.
Anderson in 1896. The last two differ entirely from the first, and from them it appears
that Aka, in alt probability, belongs to the Tibeto-Burman family, though it differs widely
from all the other members. Abor and Miri are practically identical, and Dafla is very
closely akin to them. The Daflas live in the hills to the north-east of Darrang, and
the Abors to the north of Sadiya, so that the number of persons returning these languages
is naturally not large. The Miris, however, have migrated in large numbers to the
plains, and Miri is spoken by no less than 40,472 persons, the great majority of whom
were censused in Sibsagar and Lakhimpur. The use of the tribal form of speech seems,
however, to be declining, the proportion of Miri-speaking Miris being only 86'6 per
cent., as compared with 94*9 ten years ago.
155. We next come to the Naga group, under which no less than eighteen langua-
ges have been returned, which are spoken by the remarkably
The Naga group. Small aggregate of 247,772 persons; 151,934 of whom
were returned under the two heads, Mikir and Naga unspecified, so that 95,848 people
divide sixteen languages between them. The Mikirs live in the hills that bear their
name in Nowgong and Sibsagar, the Khasi and Jaintia Hills, and Kamrup, and have
been very faithful to their own form of speech, 94 per cent, of the tribe returning it as the
language ordinarily used, as compared with 95 per cent, in 1891.
Although such a large number of languages has been recorded, the return of
Naga dialects is, 1 regret to say, not complete, and the persons who in Sibsagar
and Lakhimpur probably spoke Mutonia and Namsangia have been shown under
Naga, pure and simple. In Manipur, also, the generic term has been preferred, and
people have been returned as speaking Naga, instead of the local dialects, such as Khoirao,
Kwoireng, Khongoe, Phadang, et hoc genus omne. I cannot, however, feel that this
fact reflects any discredit upon the census staff. In this part of the country, the
enumerators were, as a rule, Gurkhas or Manipuris, who were very slightly, if at all,
acquainted with these numerous subdivisions of the Naga group, and had a natural tend-
ency to lump all hillmen together under the generic nanne ; and they rather, in my opinion,
deserve commendation, for having succeeded in recording as many as sixteen different
kinds of Naga, than blame for having overlooked distinctions of which few, if any, people
in the district at the time of the census had heard. f This abnormal growth of languages
is due to the unsociable character of the tribes by whom they are used. The pacification
of the Naga Hills is of comparatively recent date, and before the introduction of the do-
minant power there was but little intercourse even between neighbouring villages. Mono-
syllabic languages such as those of the Naga group grow apart from one another rapidly
when there is neither a literature nor social intercourse to bind them together; and the con-
sequence is that villagers who live within sight of one another cannot converse, except in
a foreign language common to both, and persons who have moved even a short distance
from the parent village have developed a perfectly distinct form of speech in the
course of t;wo or three generations. Mikir and Kachcha Naga are links between Bodo
and the typical forms of the Naga language, which fall into three groups,—Western,
Central, m ^ Egtstern.
* I follow iKe spelling of the last Census Report, Dr. Grierson describes Chutia as the language of the Chutiya
tribe, and idhutiya as a dialect of Miri.
t Dr. Grierson 's ' Index of Languages ' was not received till May 1901,
90
REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, igoi. [CHAP. VIII.
Language. 156. The Western group includes Angami, Kezhama, Sema, and Rengma, and the
most characteristic feature which distinguishes them rom
The Western group. the Central sub-group is that the negative particle follows
the word it governs, instead of preceding it. 40,850 persons were returned under this
group, the great majority of whom speak Angami.
157. The central sub-group includes Ao,— with its two dialects Chungli and Mong-
sen,— Lhuta and Yachumi : 45,132 persons were entered
The central grrof p. under these languages, the majority Speaking one or other
of the Ao dialects. Yachumi is spoken beyond our frontier, and only 35 persons were
shown in the census schedules as using this language.
158. The Naga languages belonging to the Eastern sub-group are used by the tribes
living in the hills which are bounded on the west by the Aos,
The Eastern sroup. ^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^ p^^^^j^ ^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^3^ by ^^e Kachin
country. The inhabitants of this tract are split up into small tribes speaking dialects
which have a considerable affinity to one another, though members of one tribe cannot
understand or make themselves understood by their neighbours. Only i ,92 1 persons were
returned under this group, the majority being shown under Chingmegnu or Timlu.
These languages form a link between the other Naga languages, and Kachin or Singpho.
Tableng, Tamlu, and Mojung have a special characteristic of their own, in that_ they
possess an organic conjugation of the verb ; a development which is not found in the
other Naga languages and Singpho, and only to a small extent in th^ Bodo group.
A long description of the Naga dialects will be found in the census report for 1891
(pages 163—176).
159. The next group is the Kachin, which has two representatives in Assam, Singpho
^^ ^ ^, and Doaniya, which are spoken by a few persons censused
The Kaohln group. . ,,,.■'' , ^., "■ rrii , i i i j
in Lakhimpur and Sibsagar. The total number returned
was Singpho 1,053 and Doaniya 717, as compared with 1,886 for the two languages in
1891, when no separate return was prepared for Doaniya. An account of Singpho will
be found on page 185 of Mr. Gait's report.
160. The- Kuki-Chin group includes the ten languages noted in the margin.
Manipuri, or Meitei, is used in all districts of the province
in which natives of ihat State have settled. Jangshen
and Sairang have been returned from the Naga Hills, and
Mhar and Hallam from Sylhet, but the great centre of
this group of languages is the tract of country included in
.the Cachar district, Manipur, and the Lushai Hills, so no
comparison with the figures of 1891 is possible.
The word ' Kuki ' has been applied to the various tribes
that have at different times occupied the Lusliai Hills,
and have been driven northwards by successive waves of
emigration from the east and south. The Rangkhols and Betes were the first to move
on to the plains, and to them is applied the term ' Old Kuki,' while their successors, the
Thadois and Jangshens, who were in their turn driven out by the Lushais, are styled
' New Kukis '; though the use of the latter term is to be deprecated as suggesting a
connection between the Rangkhols and Jangshens which does not exist. This group
of languages belongs to the Burmese branch of the Tibeto-Burman family, but they
are descended from a language which must have had in many details a more antique
form than Burmese, and which sometimes agreed with Tibetan. They are also connect-
ed with Bodo and the Naga group. The languages are still in that inconvenient stage
in which there are distinct names for each kind of thing in a particular class, but no
word to express the class as a whole. Thus, in Lushai there are no less than twenty
different translations of the simple word ' basket,' and different words for each kind of
deer, but no word for ' deer ' as a whole. There is no word even for the simple idea
' sister,' though there are separate names for an elder sister, a younger sister, a sister
next to one's self in age, and so on. There is no word for ' father ' in the abstract,— a
f^her must be thought and spoken of as the father of someone.
161. The Tai or Shan family has five representatives, — Khamti, Aitonia, Nora,
Tai family. Phakiyal, and Turung, — but the total number of persons
returned is only 3,362, all of whom were censused in
Lakhimpur and Sibsagar. According to Dr. Grierson, these forms of speech are not
separate languages, but are merely dialects of Northern Shan. The Khamtis were the
first section of the tribe to split ofT from the parent stock, and their dialect, which is
spoken by 1,490 persons, is less like Shan than the speech of the other sections of the
tribes, who have migrated into Assam in more recent times. Turung has the closest
The Kuki-Chin
group.
Language.
Numher
returned.
KuM ...
47,043
Manipuri
265,765
Chin ...
2,149
Hallam
21
Lushai
72,011
Mhar
169
Eangkhol
4,766
Jangshen
8,399
Sairang
71
Lakher
3,216
CHAP. VIII.] THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS. 9 1
affinity to Khamti, but there is no certainty whether the twelve persons shown in the Language.
tables as speaking Turung really use that language, or whether it is Singpho that is
meant. The Turungs on their way to Assam were taken captive by the Singphos,
who did not allow them to use their own form of speech, and the result is that, though
there is a distinct Turung dialect, the ordinary language used by a Turung is Singpho.
Aitonia is very closely allied to Shan, and was returned by 1,569 people, as compared
with 2 only in 1891, when they must, I think, have been shown as speaking Khamti or
Shan unspecified.
162. In 1891, Khasi was classed as a language by itself, as at that time all
attempts to affiliate it with any of the great linguistic
nam am y. families had proved unsuccessful : but the labours of Professor
Kuhn have shown that it is not an isolated form of speech, but a member of the Mon-
Anam family. Both in vocabulary and the structure and form of the sentence, Khasi
is closely connected with the Palaung — Wa group of dialects which are used by tribes
living on the upper middle course of the Mekong. The extent to which this discovery
throwsiight on the origin of the Khasis, who differ in such material particulars from the
tribes which surround them on every side, will be discussed in the chapter on caste.
163. Of ioreign languages spoken in the province, the one most, commonly returned
was eastern Hindi, which is used by 334,100 persons, 58
Foreign lan^ageTK ^^^ ^^^^^ ^j ^j^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ j^ ^^^ 3^^^^ y^jj^^^ ^^^
27 per cent, in the two districts of Sibsagar and Lakhimpur.
164. The coolie groups of languages are fairly well represented, as will be seen from
1901. 1891. the statement in the margin, but the figures are, I fear, of
" sa^tttr Z fa% fv9i very little value. The number of Mundas, Santals, and
o?aon v.". loirei ";433 such-Hkc folk Can best be ascertained from the caste
Kandhi ... 11,837 1,341 table, and, owing to the invincible tendency of the enumera-
tor to enter Bengali or Deshwali for any foreign language, the returns do not indicate
in any way the actual extent to which a dialect is in use. No less than 1 15,000 persons
were returned in Sibsagar as speaking Bengali, but it is, I should think, doubtful
whether Bengali was really the correct entry for as many as 15,000 ; and similar discre-
pancies between the census returns and the actual state of things are to be seen in
Darrang and Lakhimpur.
In this connection, Statement No. Ill suggests some interesting reflections. Oraon
is spoken by 45 per cent, of the Oraons, as compared with 53 in 1891 ; Mundari by
46 per cent, of the Mundas, as compared with 44 per cent.; but Santali by only 39 per
cent, of the Santals, as compared with 83 per cent, ten years ago. The figures for the
language are 1901 (30,129), 1891 (19,191), and for the caste 77,680 and 23,220, and
the great discrepancy in the percentage of Santali speakers makes me doubt whether
the figures for the caste in 1901 are correct. The main Dravidian castes and tribes are
split up into a large number of sub-castes, and a considerable number of persons returned
the sub-castes, instead of the proper designation. Manv of these sub-castes have the
same name, and I am inclined to think that Mundas, Oraons, and other persons of
this class have got themselves tabulated as Santals, owing to our inability to discover
the main caste to which they really belonged. It would have been impossible to stop
the work to verify all the cases in which a sub-caste was returned, and in one case
in which I did make a reference the people themselves were unable to throw any light
on the matter.
165. Pelugu and Tamil together are returned by 7,756 persons, which is probably
considerably below the actual figure, as over 21,000 persons
Teiugu and ami . ffiexQ bom Ip Madras. Even here, we cannot definitely
measure the actual amount of error in our figures, as coolies, after they come to the
province, learn to speak a mongrel dialect, or ' coolie bat,' and often cease to use, and
ultimately forget, their own language.*
166. The return for Naipali ^^20,193) is also probably far from correct. Naipali is
an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the upper classes in
Naipali. Nepal, whereas the minor Nepalese languages, such as
Gurung, Magar, Jimdar, Yakha, etc., are members of the Tibeto-Burman family ; and it is
probable that a large number of persons returned themselves under the head of Naipali,
who should really have been shown under the Tibetn-Burman group. We can hardly,
however, blame our enumerators for this, as they could not, as a body, be expected to
be acquainted with all the languages of Nepal. Nepalese themselves, when questioned,
nearly always describe themselves as NepaH by caste and Nepali by language, and the
true caste and language can only be elicited by a patient cross-examination, conducted by
a man who has sufficient knowledge of the people to be able to tell when an answer is
* It is quite possible also that the figures may be correct, as a large number of the persons born in Madras no
doubt spoke Oriya,
REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, IQOl. [CHAP. VIII.
Language, wrong. Special efforts were made on this occasion to get a correct return of the Nepalese
languages, and the result is far from unsatisfactory. In 189 1, only three minor languages
of Nepal were returned, and the total number of speakers was 231 ; on this occasion
we have details for sixteen languages, which were spoken by 6,098 people.
167. It has been suggested that a return of the books published in the vernaculars
of the province may throw light upon the movement in
conciuainiT remarks. j^^^^^ ^^ ^ ^.^^j^^l ^j vcmacular literature ; but I doubt
whether there is any marked tendency in this direction in Assam. During the last ten
years, 2 1 7 books have been published in Assamese, 37 in Khasi, 19 in Garo, 19 in
Manipuri, and 9 in Naga. Most of these works are no doubt of an educational charac-
ter, and many of them have been published by or under the auspices of the Missionaries
residing in the province. Seventy-eight Bengali books have been registered in Assam,
but the number written by natives of the Surma Valley and registered in Calcutta is in
all probability largely in excess of this.
It is doubtful, however, whether the language table in Assam can ever be of much
value from the statistical point of view. I have already shown that it throws but little
light on the problem of the growth or decay of the indigenous forms of speech, as too
much has of necessity to be left to the discretion of the individual ; and for foreign
languages the return can never be correct till our philologists have become enumerators.
CHAP. VIII.J
THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS.
93
SUBSIDIARY TABLE I.
Population by language.
Language,
Language,
Persons,
Males.
Females.
Proportion
per 10,000 of
population.
I
2
3
4
5
Nagpuri
5,8"
2,898
2,913 1 9
Marwari ... .., ... \..
7,202
5.609
1,593
12
Hindustani ...
17,873
13.158
4,715
29
Eastern Hindi
334,100
188,082
146,018
545
Assanae^e ...
1,349,7^4
685,0^8
664,6.8.6 .
2,203
(Bengali
2,948,183
1,512,642
1,435,541
4,812
Oriya
23,761
12,328
",433
38
Kandhi or Khond
11,827
5,832
5,995
19
lOraon
10,791
5,724
5,067
17
Telngu
5,259
2,812
2,447
8
Mundari
37>4ii
19,282
18,129
61
Santali
30,129
16,055
14,074
49
Naipali
20,193
-14,258
5,935
^2
Miri
40,472
21,515
18,957
66
Bodo, or Plains Kachari
218,049
ioS,595
109,454
35.&
Dimasa, or Hills Kachari
19,776
10,343
9,433
32
Garo
133,411
67=355
66,056
.217
Lalung'
16,414
7,864
8,550 ,
25
Rabha
20,243
9,272
10,971
33
Tipura
10,403
5,235
5,168
17
Naga
69,641
35,041
34,600
113
Mikir
82,283
42,512
39,771
'34
Kuki
47,042
22,754
24,288
76
Manipuri
255,765
126,509
129,256
41.7
Khasi
123,549
58,719
64,830
.20:1
Synteng
54;253
24,982
29,271
88
English
2,234
1,635
599
3
Angami
27,865
13,980
13,885
45
Ao Chungli ...
m
17,623
8,375
9,247
28
Ao Mongsen
10,512
5,018
5,494
1,7
;Kachcha Naga
6 296
3,255
3,041
10
Lhota
16,962
8,933
8,029
2?
iLushai or Dulien — - ••• •••
72,011
32,030
39,981
11,7
w
94
REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, igoi.
[chap. VIII.
Language.
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CHAP. VIII.]
THE RESULTS OP THE CENSUS.
95
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96
REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, IQoZ.
[chap. VIII. ,
Language.
SUBSIDIARY TABLE III.
Percentage oj tribe speaking tribal language at the two last enumerations.
Number
returned
ia 1901.
Number
returned
in 189 1.
Difference.
Ferce ntage ou tribe.
Tribe total.
IBOI.
iSgl.
1901.
1891.
I
2
3
4
S
6
7
8
Oraon
10,791
9,433
+ 1,358
45-2
S3- 1
23,861
17,736
Mundari
37,411
20,227
+ 17,184
46-3
437
80,693
46,244
Santali
,30,129
19,191
+ 10,938
387
82-6
77,680-
23,220
Miri
40,472
35,53°
+ 4,942
86-6
94-9
46,720
37,430
"Bodo, Dimasa and Mech
237.825
266,547
— 28j722
75-5
85'o
314,787
313,579
Chutia
2,364
7
+ 3,357
...
...
...
...
Hojai
164
2,799
— 2,63s
...
...
...
Garo
133,411
120,473
+ 12,938
I0I-2
ioo'6
131,746
"9,754
o '
Koch
3,742
3,604
+ 138
...
...
O
ffl-
Lalung
16,414
40,204
—23,790
46-2
766
35,513
52,423
■
Moran
78
...
+ 78
...
...
...
...
■
Rabha
20,243
509
+ 19,734
SO'.o
7
67.285
69,774
_Tipura
10,403
8,017
+ 2,386
...
...
...
...
Mikir
82,283
90,236
— 7,953
94-2
95' I
87,335
94,829
SUBSIDIARY TABLE IV.
Number of books - registered in Assam during the ten years fromiSgi to 1900.
Books in
Assam laiig.
uages publish
Language.
cd in Bengal
during the
decade from
Grand total.
1
1
s
To
1
1
0.
CO
1
if 91 to I goo.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
II
12
13
14
Bengali
17
14
10
10
14
13
78
78
Assamese
I
I
...
4
2
6
31
25
16
86
118
204
•Khasi
I
...
...
...
13
7
21
13
34
4
18
'Sanskrit
2
I
...
...
...
...
I
4
-Garo
I
...
.r.
...
1
17
English and Bengali ..
4
I
I
...
*«a
...
6
6
Bengali and Khasi
...
...
...
...
..-.
...
I
I
Bengali and Sanskrit ..
3
2
...
.. .
5
5
2
■English and Khasi
...
...
...
2
2
English and Assamese
• •0
I
3
4
6
10
2
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...
.*•
„ Bengali
...
...
...
...
..•
I
Mikir
...
...
...
...
...
• •■
I
2
Naga Ao ...
...
...
...
...
...
...
2
„ Angami
...
...
...
■ ■•
...
...
■ *•
4
I
4
I
,, Tangkhul
...
...
...
...
<**
...
...
„ unspecified
...
...
...
...
...
...
2
Garo and Bengali
...
...
w.
...
Manipuri
...
...
.,
...
...
.<•
13
4
13
4
,„ and Bengali .
..
...
...
...
„ and Hindi
...
,„ .English and Bengali
31
5
19
II
10
18
IS
6
31
...
...
...
I
I
Total
..
42
28
212
1 87
399
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CHAP. IX.] . THE RESULTS OP THE CENSUS. 97
CHAPTER IX.
EDUCATION.
168. Out of the 6, 1 26,343 persons censused in the province, only 222,386 have Education,
been returned as knowing how to read and write, of whom 209,252 were men, and 13,134
women ; or, to put it in another way, 67 men and 4 women in every 1,000 of each sex
are literate.
169. The return of literacy is beset with a certain amount of difficulty. In the first
^ , place it is not always easy to determine what the expression
Accuracy of return. tii-ii a -iii 1 r 1
should include. A considerable number of people can
read and write, but only, as the Scotchman jokes, " with difficulty," and it is not easy
to say at exactly what stage the, claimant to the title should be described as literate.
The standard of knowledge exacted was probably low, as the average enumerator is not
a man of great literary attainments himself, and would be contented with but little in
others ; but any excess in this direction must have been to some extent corrected in
the abstracting office, as literates may have been occasionally overlooked, but never
improperly inserted in the tables.
170. The proportion of literates to every thousand males amongst the four main
religions of the province is Christians '?2'i. Hindus go, Mu-
Educatlon by religion. , ^ , '•»••. rni 1 • 1 1 r i . ■
hammadans 44, Animists 9. Ihe high degree of education
amongst Christians is due to the fact that this religion includes the European and
Eurasian population, amongst whom the proportion of children is small and of illiterate
adults inappreciable, and to the efforts of the missionaries, who generally succeed in
imparting a certain amount of instruction to their converts. The disregard by Muham-
madans of the advantages of education is very marked, and there does not seem to be
much prospect of change in the near future, as the proportion of literate boys between
10 and 15 (37 per mille) is very small in comparison with that for Hindus (92 per
mille). The extremely low rate amongst the Animistic tribes is partly due to the fact
that education spreads very slowly amongst them, partly to the tendency amongst
those of their numbers who can read and write to become either Christians or
Hindus.
171. The figures in the margin show the distribution of literate males in four age
Education uy age. periods. It IS noteworthy that the proportion of literates
out of 1,000 males number iiterate- between 1$ and 20 is lower than that_ between 20 and 40.
^jg 13 A boy, if he is ever going to master the intricacies of reading
Jgjo :" :" '". % sn<5 writing, will presumably do so before he is 1 5, and the
aoandover 94 fact that Only 92 out of every 1,000 are literate at this age
period, as compared with 94 at 20 and over, suggests that education is not spreading
very rapidly amongst the younger generation. The Muhammadans are, however,
responsible for this stave of affairs; as for Hindus, Christians, and Animistic tribes, the
converse holds good, the highest proportion of literates being found between 15 and
20.
172. The order in which the different districts stand with regard to education will
be found in Subsidiary Table III. The Cachar Plains are
Literacy by districts. g^^^^ ^.^j^ ^^ literate males in every 1,000, next come
Sy\het and {mirabile dt'ciu) the Khasi and Jaintia Hills bracketted with 81. This
great development of education amongst the hillmen is due to the efforts of the
Welsh Missionaries, to whom reference has already been made in Chapter IV. The
large proportion of literate males in North Cachar (76) is accounted for by the
presence of the Assam-Bengal Railway staff, as the hillman in his normal state has
a healthy contempt for book learning, and in the Naga and Garo Hills the ratio is as
low as 25 and 15. The number of educated men censused in the Lushai Hills (51)
is very high for a newly-annexed district, but the Lushai is, I believe, easily wooed from
the paths of barbarism. In the Assam Valley the proportion of literates is low,
ranging from 68 in Kamrup to 49 in Goalpara,— but nearly all the inhabitants are
cultivators, who, after all, do not require to go to school _ to learn to follow the plough.
The extent to which education is advancing in the different _ districts can best be
learnt from an examination of the reports of the department which is concerned with
these' matters, but the figures showing the proportion of literates amongst the rising
Z
pS REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, IQOl. [CHAP. IX.
Education, generation throw a certain amount of light upon the question. The proportion of boys
between lo and 15 who know how to read and write is highest in the Khasi and Jaintia
Hills (96 per mille), next comes Sylhet with 80, Kamrup with 75, the Cachar Plains
vA\h 73, and Sibsagar with 63. This order is much what we should expect to find,
except with regard to Cachar, which has shown the highest proportion of literates af
both of the last enumerations.
173. It is by no means easy to measure the progress of education during the last
Progress of education during the ten years, as in 1891 the population was divided into three
last ten years. groups, — leamers, literate, and illiterate, — learners including
all persons still under instruction, whether they were able to read and write or not. At
the present census no attempt has been made to ascertain the number of persons under
instruction, and before we can make any comparison with the figures for 1891, we
must make some estimate of the proportion of learners in that year who are entitled to
be classed as literate under the rules of 1901.
The simplest method is to have recourse to the age table. We are fairly safe in
assuming that all learners over 15 have mastered the beggarly elements, and Sub-
sidiary Table VI accordingly compares the proportion of literates over 15 in 1901
with the proportion of literates plus learners of that age in 1891. The first thing
that attracts our attention is that, in a considerable number of districts, the proportion
is lower than it was ten years ago. In the hill districts, the ratio for males has risen
from 27 to 43, in Kamrup from 45 to 56, and in Darrang and Nowgong the proportion
has advanced by 2 per mille ; but in the Surma Valley and in Goalpara, Sibsagar and
Lakhimpur, the proportion of literates has declined. Between 1881 and 1891, there
was a great spread of education, and though, as pointed out by Mr. Gait, it cannot be
expected that the same proportional increase would occur in each decade as took place
in the first, when education was still in its infancy, we should hardly expect to find
a positive decrease in the proportion of those who know how to read and write. A
moment's reflection, however, shows that a considerable part of the increase in
population that has taken place in several of the districts of the province is due to the
importation of garden coolies. These persons are practically all illiterate, and as, when
calculating the proportion of literacy, they make a considerable addition to the divisor
and no appreciable one to the dividend, we must, if we wish to form an accurate estimate
of the spread of education amongst the general population in the tea districts, eliminate
the effect produced by this influx of ignorant persons. We know the total number of
coolies imported into each district during each of the past ten years, but we do not
know the rate at which they have been decreasing or the proportion of the total
who are males. An annual decrement of 20 per mille seems, however, to be a
sufficient allowance to make for the excess *of deaths over births and for those
who return to their country, and I have assumed that the provincial proportion
of sexes hold good, and that 55 per cent, of the total are men. , If these
assumptions are correct, there were censused in Cachar 37,646, Sylhet 70,728,
Darrang 40,283, Sibsagar 73,083,* and Lakhimpur 74,900 males of the garden coolie
class who ought not to be taken into account when calculating the proportion of
literates. We are still left with our uncertainty as to the proportion of learners who
were literate in 189 1, and as we are no longer able to apply the age test^ I have
assumed that 75 per cent, of the learners were able to read and write. If these sup-
positions are correct, it appears that, after allowing for the effect produced by the
influx of ignorant immigrants, the proportion of male literates has risen in the Cachar
Plains from 108 to 110, while in Sylhet it has been stationary. In Darrang it has risen
from 50 to 67, in Sibsagar from 68 to 79, and in Lakhimpur from 73 to 99. The
absence of any appreciable advance in the Surma Valley seems strange, but it is borne
out by the age returns. Anyone who has been in charge of a census office must be
aware that there is an appreciable risk of entries of literacy being overlooked by the slip-
copyists; and, as I was dissatisfied with the figures for this portion of the province I had
the enumeration books re-examined for Cachar and for three out of the five subdivi-
sions in Sylhet. By this means I have, I think, succeeded in eliminating any error due
to the system under which the figures were compiled, and a reference to Subsidiary
Table III shows that the census office cannot be responsible for the apparent stagna-
tion in matters educational in the Surma Valley.
In any community in which education is in a flourishing condition, the proportion
of literates will be highest between 15 and 20, as the number of boys who do not learn
to read till they are over 20 must be very small ; while the period 20 and over includes a
large number of people who had passed the school-going age before pathsalas were as
* This includes the male population transferred from Nowgong and the Naga Hills, practically all of whom
are illiter."le.
CHAP. IX.] THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS. Qg
common as they are now. In the districts in which education is making progress, and g^jy^^^j^jj
in which the figures are not seriously disturbed by the influx of literate and adult
foreigners, we find the proportion of literates considerably higher at 1 5 — 20 than at 20
and over. In Kamrup the proportion is 1 16 in one case, 100 in the other, in the Lushai
Hills 89 and 78 and in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills 122 and i lo. Whereas in the Cachar
Plains the proportion at 15 — 20 is 1 17 and at 20 and over 130, and in Sylhet the
figures are io6.'and 115.
As I have said above, it is quite possible that a slip-copyist or sorter might over-
look an entry of literacy, but these omissions would obviously be distributed over every
age period, and though the proportion of literates between 15 and 20 might be reduced
it would still remain higher than the proportion at 20 and over. The low rate between
15 and 20 in the Surma Valley must, therefore, be due either to an actual decrease
in the school-going tendencies of the population, a supposition which, on the face of it,
is improbable, and which is negatived by the reports of the Education Department, or to
enumerators having thought that the instructions of 1891 were still in force, and having
in consequence declined to enter as ' literate ' persons still under instruction, even in
those cases in which they were really able to read and write.
174. The literate woman is almost a negligible quantity, as only 4 out of every 1,000
can read and write. Amongst Christians, the proportion
Female education. . t-t r tt-i-.. rnirii
IS as high as 2 1 7, for Hindus it is 4, for Muhammadans
it is 2, and for Animists i.
In the Khasi and Jaintia Hills, where the proportion of Christians is very large,
and where women enjoy exceptional advantages, the proportion is as high as 34, but in
the remaining districts it varies between 5 in Lakhimpur and North Cachar and in
Manipur, where only 62 women knew how to read and write.
175. Twenty thousand five hundred and forty-nine persons returned themselves as
Numuer of persons literate in being literate in English, of whom 19,222 were males
^"^"^^- and 1,327 females. Out of every 1,000 men, English is
known by 115 Christians, 8 Hindus, 3 Muhammadans, and i Animist. If we
deduct the figures for Christians, many of whom are foreigners, to whom English
is their mother tongue, it appears that 17,096 men and 242 women have acquired
this form of speech. A knowledge of English seems, however, to be spreading, as
between 1 5 and 20, 8 per mille of the Hindus are acquainted with this language, as
compared with 5 per mille at 20 and over. Subsidiary Table IV shows the extent to
which English is known in the different districts. The Khasi and Jaintia Hills
head the list, and it is not uncommon to find Khasis who can talk and understand
English better than the lingua franca of India, — Hindostani ; but outside Shillong
the number of persons who possess more than a smattering of the language is small.
In Sibsagar and Lakhimpur, 21 -per mille of the boys between 15 and 20 have returned
themselves as literate in English, in Kamrup 15 and in Sylhet and Darrang 10.
The proportion in the Cachar Plains is very low, and points either to a rigorous
scrutiny by the enumerators of the claims put forward or to some mistake in abstrac-
tion ; but as the literate slips were recopied for this district, the assumption is that
they were correct. The proportion of English-knowing boys between 15 and 20 is
only 9 in the Surma Valley, as compared with 15 in the valley of the Brahmaputra;
but my own experience is that, in Sylhet at any rate, English is not as extensively
employed as in Assam. In Sylhet town the Bench is often addressed in the vernacular,
though such a thing is rare, even in a subdivision in the other valley ; and in the
course of my tour I came across a considerable number of charge superintendents
in Sylhet who only understood Bengali.
176. Subsidiary Table V shows the proportion of liter.ites in selected castes. At
the head of the list we find the Barna Brahman, with 500,
Education ty caste. and the Baidya, with 419 literate out of every 1,000 per-
sons. These castes, however, are not strongly represented in the province, there being
only 3,144 of the former and 5,154 of the latter, and they cannot be considered typical.
Next come the Brahman and Kayastha, with 297 and 279 per mille, and after them the
Native Christian, with 224 : the Missionaries, as a rule, rriinistering to the intellectual as
well as to the spiritual needs, of their flock. It is a significant fact that three out of
the next'four castes — the Shaha, the Das and the Brittial Baniya — are discontented with
the position they occupy in the Hindu social system, and the degree of education
to which they have attained suggests that their manner of life enritles them to a higher
place than that usually accorded to them. The figures for the Brittial Baniya are par-
ticularly suggestive. In the Assam Valley this caste would generally be ranked even
below the Nadiyal, yet they have a higher proportion of literates than the Kalita, a
caste of undoubted respectability. The race castes, such as the Ahom, Rajbansi, Chu-
lOO REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, jgoi. [CHAP. IX.'
Education, tiya and Koch, come fairly low down on the list, the two last having only 24 literate
persons out of every 1,000. The humble Hindu castes, such as the Hira, Kurmi,
Muchi, Namasudra (Chandal) and Bhuinmali, have proportions ranging from 17 to 13,
the Bhumi] and Bhuiya have 6, the Munda and Santhal 2, while amongst the Oraons
only I person in every 1,000 can read and write. Of the hill tribes, the Khasi is
the most educated, with 23 per mille, and after him comes the Lushai, with 12. Then,
there is a considerable fall to the Kachari, 7, and the proportion continues to
dwindle down through Miris and Lalungs to the Mikirs, who have only i per mille, and
the Nagas, who have even less, only i person out of every 4,300 having been entered as
' literate ' in the schedules.
Out of every 1,000 literate people in the province, 146 are Brahmans and 109
Kayasthas ; after this comes a great drop,— to Dases 48, Kalitas 45, Shahas 42 and
Native Christians 34. The proportion borne by the literates in a caste to the total lite-
rates is the result of (a) the numbers of the caste, and (3) the extent to which its
members have availed themselves of their educational opportunities, so that these figures
in themselves do not suggest any conclusions of special interest.
Table VII shows the proportion of persons in each district literate in the various
vernaculars. Bengali is the usual language in the Surma Valley and Goalpara, and
Assamese in Kamrup, Darrang, Nowgong and Sibsagar. In Lakhimpur, owing to the
large foreign population, more than half the literate population are literate in languages
other than Assamese.
CHAP. IX.]
THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS.
lOI
SUBSIDIARY TABLE I.
Education by age and sex.
GENERAL POPULATION.
Education.
Number in 1,000.
Number in 1,000 literate
Age period.
Literate.
Illiterate.
in English,
Both
sexes.
Males.
Females.
Both
sexes.
Males.
Females.
Both
sexes.
Males.
Females.
Literate.
Illiterate.
Literate in
English,
•
2
3
4
S
6
1
S
9
10
II
12
»3
O— 10
ID- IS
15—20
20 and over
All ages
7
65
92
67
2
7
8
5
4
993
961
952
9-W
964
987
935
908
906
933
998
993
992
995
996
4
6
5
3
I
6
II
9
6
I
I
125
87
96
49
63
1,020
862
1,217
1,011
1,012
169
54
69
SUBSIDIARY TABLE II.
Education by age, sex and religion.
Number
in 1,000.
Number in 1,000 literate 1
in English. |
Females to 1,000 ir
Age period.
Literate
lUiterati
•
Both
sexes.
Males.
Females.
Both
sexes.
Males,
Females.
Both
sexes.
Males,
Females.
Literate.
Illiterate.
Literate in
English.
X
2
3
4
S
6
7
8
9
10
■ I
12
13
Hindus,
0— 10
II
19
2
989
981
998
...
I
...
98
1,024
23
10—15
54
92
7
946
908
993
5
9
60
874
15
15-20
65
123
8
935
877
992
8
16
...
69
1,177
15
20 and over
66
121
5
934
879
995
5
10
• *•
36
1,019
10
All ages
49
90
4
951
910
996
4
8
46
1,016
12
Muhammadans.
— 10
4
7
I
996
993
999
...
...
...
97
1,018
98
10— IS
22
37
2
978
963
9p8
2
3
...
47
791
15
IS— 20
27
56
2
973
944
998
3
5
...
51
1.251
17
20 and over
38
69
2
962
931
998
2
4
...
24
954
12
All ages
24
44
2
976
956
998
2
3
...
33
978
14
Christians.
•
0— 10
68
75
61
932
925
939
16
18
14-
799
1,009
760
10— IS
S44
352
334
656
648
666
50
57
43
831
902
664
15—20
394
460
341
606
540
659
73
84
64
921
1,512
944
20 and over ...
351
433
258
649
567
742
143
186
95
533
1,169
456
All ages
272
325
217
728
675
783
89
"5
62
634
i>099
510
A-rti mists.
0— 10
I
I
...
999
999
1,000
...
...
2l8
1,013
gi
10—15
6
10
2
994
990
998
...
I
...
209
95°
III
15—20
10
20
3
990
980
997
I
I
!•■
186
1,286
163
20 and over
7
12
I
993
988
999
I
I
...
129
1,063
40
All ages
5
9.
I
995
991
999
...
I
...
152
1,050
64
A A 2»
I02
REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, igoi.
[chap. IX.
Education.
SUBSIDIARY TABLE III.
Education by age, sex and natural divisions and districts.
Literates per milie.
Literate per 1,000.
Natural divisions and districts.
All ages.
0— 10.
10— ij.
15—20.
20 and over.
Total.
Males.
Females.
IVlales.
Females.
Males.
Females.
Males.
Females.
Males.
Femalei.
I
3
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
zx
. 12
Cachar Plains
Sylhet
50
43
91
81
4
4
19
19
2
2
73
80
79
6
6-
117
106
6
6
130
IIS
4
5
Surma Valley
44
83
4
2
2
3
i
4
5
19
7
13
9
7
II
8
2
I
I
I
I
I
I
6
108
6
118
5
Goalpara ...
Kamrup
Darrang
Nowgong ...
Sibsagar
Lakhimpur ...
27
35
28
28
34
35
49
68
52
54
61
62
46
75
45
49
63
55
4
4
4
3
6
5
63
n6
72
72
88
85
3
5
6
3
8
"6
73
100
72
79
8i
84
3
3
3
3
i
Brahmaputra Valley ...
32
58
3
10
I
58
5
85
97
6
82
4
Total Plains...
38
71
4
14
I
69
5
6
100
4
Lushai Hills
North Cachar
Naga Hills ...
Khasi and Jaintia Hills...
Caro Hills ...
25
52
13
57
8
SI
76
25
81
IS
1
5
I
34
2
2
3
3
18
I
I
10
I
20
19
14
96
II
2
3
3
89
S7
39.
122
21
2
5
3
66
5
''I
96
36
no
24
I
7
3
35
3
Total Hill Districts
32
50
14
8.
4
47
27
75
28
70
14
Manipur
9
19
...
i
..t
7
...
22
I
31
I
Total Province ...
36
67
4
13
2
65
7
92
8
94
5
SUBSIDIARY TABLE IV.
English education by age, sex and natural divisions and districts.
Literate per i ,000.
Natural divisions and districts.
— 10.
10—15.
15—20.
20 and over.
Males.
Females.
Males,
Females.
Males.
Females.
Males.
Females.
I
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Cachar Plains ...
•Sylhet
...
...
I
5
...
3
10
5
7
I
Surma Valley
5
9
...
7
. . *
Goalpara
Kamrup
Darrang
Novvgong
Sibsagar
Lakhimpur
...
'
8
6
4
6
13
II
. . .
I
I
9
15
10
8
21
21
I
I
I
6
8
10
7
13
16
2
I
Brahmaputra Valley
8
•••
■ 15
I
ro
I
Total Plains
...
6
12
...
9
I
Lushai Hills
North Cachar
Naga Hills
Khasi and Jaintia Hills
Garo Hills
2
I
3
I
5
18
" 6
3
5
5
23
I
I
"" 8
• •a
7
16
3
23
2
2
4
Total Hill Districts
I
...
8
2
10
3
12
2
Manipur
...
• ••
...
...
2
...
2
Total Province ...
I
...
6
...
II
I
9
I
CHAP. IX.]
THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS.
103
SUBSIDIARY TABLE V.
Education by selected castes, tribes, or races.
Education.
Number literate out of uooo
Out of I
,000 literate
persons.
Number literate in
EnKlish
io each caste.
num
jer in each caste.
out of 1,000 in each caste.
Cartes, tribes, or racei.
■
Pefsons.
Males.
Females.
Persons.
Males,
Females,
Persons,
Males.
Females.
I
%
i
4
S
8
7
8
9
10
Barna Brahman ...
500
868
5°
7
7
5
59
60
38
Baidya
419
596
206
10
8
37
351
442
35
Brahman
297
517
27
146
149
lOI
III
115
29
Kayastha
279
471
56
109
los
172
177
193
16
Native Christian ...
224
271
176
34
22
226
155
186
107
Shaha ...
181
355
10
42
43
19
52
53
20
Ganak ...
142
282
7
13
14
6
38
39
14
Das ...
64
121
5
48
49
29
40
41
3
Brittial Baniya (Hari)
61
110
13
2
2
4
143
154
57
Barui ...
^l
107
5
5
S
3
30
31
...
Tell ...
56
104
3
10
10
4
29
29
20
Manipuri
S3
102
2
»i
"
3
12
12
...
Kalita ...
50
^3
2
45
47
13
86
86
41
Napit ...
47
87
3"
7
7
3
23
24
...
Kewat ...
37
V
2
II
II
4
78
80
...
Jugi
33
62
2
24
24
IS
13
13
5
Sutradhar
31
6i
I
2
3
I
29
30
...
Ahom ...
31
59
2
25
26
II
163
16s
80
Rajbansi
30
58
I
16
17
6
39
40
35
Boria ...
27
54
I
2
2
I
66
68
...
Chutiya
24
46
...
9
10
I
lOI
102
...
Dhoba ...
24
46
I
2
2
I
31
32
...
Koch ...
24
46
I
24
25
5
67
68
29
Goala ...
23
40
2
4
4
4
38
40
...
Kumar
23
44
I
3
3
I
43
42
56
Khasi ...
23
36
10
II
9
46
125
151
40
Malo (Jhalo)
22
37
2
2
2
I
15
'5
...
Kamar
22
42
2
3
3
2
46
46
37
Nadiyal (Dom-Patni)
20
37
2
17
18
13
25
26
...
Kaibartta
18
34
I
7
7
2
52
52
37
Tan'ti ...
l8
32
3
2
2
2
79
83
31
Hira ...
17
34
I
I
I
...
7
7
...
Kurmi ...
16
26
I
I
2
I
30
28
83
Muchi ...
15
25
I
I
I
I
...
...
...
Dhobi ...
14
27
<
I
I
I
24
25
Namasudra (Chandal)
14
26
I
10
II
7
10
10
12
Bhuin-mali
13
26
I
3
3
2
4
4
...
Lushai ...
12
25
I
3
3
2
II
II
...
Bauri ...
Kachari
9
7
17
14
I
2
8
2
8
I
4
14
76
14
78
:::
Chamar
7
12
...
1
I
...
...
...
••■
Hari ...
Bhumij...
Bhuiya...
Rabha ... •■■ - —
Synteng •••
Miri
7
6
6
6
5
4
13
II
12
13
9
8
1
2
• 1.
I
I
2
I
I
2
I
3
94
46
65
33
34
92
97
46
68
33
41
93
45
Musahar
Lalung...
Garo ...
Munda...
4
3
2
2
7
7
4
\
3
1
I
I
I
I
3
2
9
63
29
80
9
68
33
80
29
Mech ...
Santai ...
2
2
I
I
I
57
57
""56
Oraun ...
I
2
2
14
15
Mikir ...
z
...
Kuki ...
I
I
I
".
...
...
324
324
...
Naga ...
...
...
.. .
• ■■
• •■
Pan ...
I04
REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, IQOI.
[CHAP. IX.
Education.
SUBSIDIARY TABLE VI,
Progress of education since 1891 by natural divisions and districts.
Natural divisions and districts.
Number of literates
in 1,000 males.
Number of literates
in 1, 00b females.
Variation, + or —
1901.
1891.
1901.
1891.
Males.
Females.
I
a
3
i.
5
6
7
Cachar Plains ...
Sylhet
77
66
91
69
3
3
2
2
—14
— • 3
+ I
+ I
Surma Valley ...
68
73
3
2
— 5
+ I
Goalpara
Kamrup
Darrang
Nowgong
Sibsagar
Lakhimpur
42
56
45
46
5«
54
46
45
43
44
57
^5
2
2
2
I
3
4
I
I
I
1
2
2
— 4
+ 11
+ 2
+ 2
— 6
— 11
+ I
+ I
+ I
+ I
+ 2
Brahmaputra Valley
50
49
2
I
+ I
+ I
Lushai Hills ...
North Cachar ...
Naga Hills _ ...
Khasi and Jaintia Hills
Garo Hills
49
74
23
64
13
32
II
15
43
13
I
4
I
24
2
12
I
+ 17
+ 63.
+ 8
+ 21
+ I
+ 4
+ I
+ 12
+ I
Hill districts ...
43
27
10
5
+ 16
+ 5
Manipur
18
...
...
...
...
Total Province
55
58
3
2
— 3
+ I
SUBSIDIARY TABLE VII.
Education by language and districts.
Number in 1,000 literate in
Districts.
Assamese (and
Khasi in Khasi
and Jaintia
Hills).
Bengali.
Other
languages.
English.
I
3
3
4
5
Cachar Plains ...
Sylhet
Goalpara
Kamrup
Darrang
Nowgong
Sibsagar
Lakhimpur
Lushai Hills
North Cachar ...
Naga Hills
Khasi and Jaintia Hills
Garo Hills
Manipur i..
...
18
22
23
15
I
I
46
43
42
23
6
7
6
8
12
3
20
2
5
7
5
6
2
3
3
4
3
4
9
20
30
10
5
2
4
2
3
3
3
4
3
6
7
2
9
I
10
I
I
CHAP. X.] Tjj^ RESULTS OF THE CENSUS. I05
CHAPTER X.
INFIRMITIES.
177. The four infirmities selected for record at the census were insanity, deaf- Infirmities.
Aoouraoy of return. mutism from birth, blindness and leprosy ; but before ex-
. . amming the results disclosed in the tables at the end of the
. chapter, it would be as well to consider the extent to which the figures can be accented
as correct. The returns were collected by unprofessional persons, and on this ground
alone should be accepted with some reservation, and in addition to this disqualification
there are several causes which would tend to affect their accuracy. The instructions
laid down that only those who were deaf and dumb ' from birth ' should be entered in
the schedules ; but there was at first amongst many of the enumerators an impression
thatthis restriction should also be applied to the remaining three infirmities and it is
possible that a certain number of those who were afflicted by blindness, leprosy and
msanity in latter hfe Were omitted on this account. Special stress was laid on the
necessity of entering blind ' of both eyes, ' and when kana was found in the schedules
the person concerned was excluded from the return, as, strictly speaking this epithet
IS- only apphcable to those who have lost the sight of a single eye. The adjective is
however, loosely used in Lower Assam to indicate complete blindness, and it is possible
that some of the kanas entered on the schedules had really entirely lost the power of
vision. People who were returned as deaf only were assumed not to be dumb bat
dirmbness was treated as genuine deaf-mutism, unless it was expressly stated that' the
individual in question could hear. The return of lepers in Assam is always likely to be
unduly swelled by the inclusion of leucoderma and the ulcers known as Naga sores and
the reduction in the. proportion of the provincial population affected probably repre-
sents a closer approximation to the actual state of affairs than the figures for 189 1.
The system adopted for the compilation of the tables has also to be taken into
consideration. In 1881 the total number of afflicted persons was 10,620; in 1891 the
numbers rose to 20,262 ; and the Superintendent in his report expressed the opinion that
this large increase was due not so much to an actual increase in the number of infirm
persons, as to an improvement in the system of compilation. At this census the figures
have fallen to 17,932, but I am not disposed to attribute this decline to any defect in the
system under which the figures were prepared.* In a considerable portion of Assam,
the public health during the past decade has been phenomenally bad, and where ail are
sufferers it is not unreasonable to suppose that the infirm would suffer most, and that
the death-rate amongst them would be higher than amongst the rest of the population.
Such increase of population as has taken place in the Valley of the Brahmaputra is
chiefly due to immigration, and amongst immigrants the proportion of infirm persons is
of necessity small, — the blind, the deaf-mute and the leper seldom leaving their homes
to seek their fortunes in another country.
At the same tinie, it is only probable that the infirmity returns of this as of other
censuses are defective. No one, except the professional beggar, is anxious to publish
his infirmities, and to such an extent does this reluctance affect the accuracy of the
tables, even in England, that the Commissioners of the Census of 1891 felt themselves
constrained to admit in their reporfthat they feared that the returns of persons suffering
from these several defects, and especially of those suffering from deafness and mental
derangement, were in all probability excessively inaccurate. I was naturally, however,
inclined to regard with suspicion any decrease in the number of cases reported, and, as
an additional precaution, I had the books of two districts (Darrang and Sibsagar), in
which the deficiency was particularly marked, re-examined. The result was only a
small increase in the number of infirmities, and, although the work was done over again
with especial care, the proportion of afflicted persons still remained lower than in 1891.
in other districts, though the proportion for one infirmity fell, it rose for another, e.g., in
Cachar the number of male lepers per 10,000 fell from 16 to . 1 1, but the number
of male deaf-mutes rose from 5 to 9 ; and if the figures were prepared accurately
for one infirmity, it follows from the system employed that ihey must be equally
* The three other provinces for which the figures for igoi are before me also show a decrease :
1891. 1901. 1891. igoi. i8gr. 1901.
■ Punjab ... 123,245 113,134 Bombay .„ 78.407 42,374 Madras ... 89,693 79,889
BB
jQg REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, igoi.
[chap. X.
Infirmities.
correct for tl. others }" NorU. C^cJ^ '^±^:7^^r^:^£^ S^U
tion of the afflicted ; but half of the°tal population o^^^ obviously free from
Ir^TcllTSt oTtht wTuMr brwtJe'^h^r:?; and the -ten/population
L moreoverl so small, that great variations in percentages are only natural.
INSANITY.
178 From the statement in the margin, which shows the number of persons in
17». l^romtnesi ^^^^^ ^^^^ &^^^ .^^^^^ .^ ^^^^^^ England the Indian
«umi,erinsanejn 10.000 of either g-^ -^^ ^^^j selected provinces, it appears that, though
Males. Females, the ratio fof insanity in Assam has decreased during the
issam, 1901 ... I I last ten years, the proportion is still considerably higher
^^^Cll^^ ■". * 3 than that of the Indian Empire and the three northern pro-
^^??SSesTf89r "■": 2 1 vinces in 1 89 1. Mr. Baines in the report for that year was
^??ifBilma,i89r:. il 13 inclined to attribute this cvil prc-eminence to cretinism,
SkgfenTW ::: si si ^^ich followed the Brahmaputra, and to trace some con-
nection between mental derangement and the proximity of mountains ; but the district
Sgures shown in Subsidiary Table I at the end of this chapter do not lend much support
To ?Ms view. Darrang consists of a long and narrow strip of land between the Himala-
yas and the Brahmaputra, intersected with numerous hill streams ; bu the proportion
yasauuLc f of lunatics of both sexes per 10,000 m the district, after
DiatriDution and cause of insanity. jjgjy(,tjjig those in the asylum wbo Were born in other
districts or provinces, is only 3, i.e., considerably less than the provincial average;
while Lakhimpur, which is surrounded by hills on three sides, has the lowest rate of
any district in the province. . ' • j u ^u
It is possible that the comparative immunity from mental disease enjoyed by these
districts is due to the presence of a large body of immigrants who, though addicted to
the consumption of intoxicating drugs, must include amongst their numbers but a small
oroDortion of congenital idiots ; but in the hill districts themselves the rate is low, being
only 4 for the Assam Range. In the Lushai Hills, the proportion is extraordinarily high,
being 29 for males and 25 for females. The explanation offered is that the proportion
of inlane is actually above the average, and that there is a tendency to enter as such,
persons of weak intellect, who in other districts would probably be omitted from the
return It is a noteworthy fact that Goalpara, as at the two precedmg enumerations,
has a much higher proportion of lunatics than any other district in the province, except
the Lushai Hills.* This seems to indicate a certain tendency towards diseases of the
brain in the Koch race, as the neighbouring district of Kuch Behar, both in 188 1 and
1891, had a larger proportion of insane persons than any other division of Bengal. _ The
connection appears to be racial rather than geographical, for the conditions of life on
the north bank of the Brahmaputra do not vary much, there being a large liquor-drinking
population both in Kamrup, Darrang and North Lakhimpur, in all of which places the
rate is low. , , , t • 1 1
179. The connection between insanity and the abuse of stimulants, and more
^ oarticularlv of s'an/a, is well known, but cannot be traced
Connection between drugs and pcii in-mctii;' ui gu,,tj^, >
insanity. in the ceusus tables. In Lakhimpur, where the number of
insane persons is phenomenally small, the average expenditure per head of the popula-
tion on country spirits and ganja is as high as in any other district of the province,
whereas in Goalpara the incidence of the excise revenue is particularly low. The same
contrasts were to be seen in 1 89 1, and seem to justify us in the conclusion that the
abuse of drugs produces no appreciable effect upon the sanity of the people. t
180. Subsidiary Table IV shows the number of insane females to 1,000 similarly
affected males at each of the prescribed age periods.
Proportion between e sexes, Bclow 5, fcmalcs largely preponderate, but the total number
of cases reported is too small to render any inferences possible. Between 15 and 25 the
ratio is fairly high, due no doubt to insanity induced by puerperal fever and other
uterine disorders ; but for the rest of life till 60 is reached the proportion of afflicted males
largely exceeds that of the female insane. It is probable that this deficiency amongst
women, which, for the whole province, amounts to no less than 2 per 10,000, is
largely natural, women being less given to excess of any kind and less exposed to
mental worry. It is a significant fact, moreover, that in the hill districts, where women
* In North Cachar, in 1891 the proportion of lunatics was higher than in Goalpara, but Mr. Gait considered lh«
total number of cases reported to be tflo small to justify any conclusions being drawn.
t In individual cases no doubt thp effect of drugs is most injurious, but the number of these cases is not
Butficiently large to appreciably affect the insapity returns of the people as a whole.
CHAP, X.] THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS. IO7
and men are more on an equality, the ratio of insanity is the same for both sexes, while Infirmities,
in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills, where women, thanks to the matriarchal theory, have
almost assumed the position of the dominant sex, the ordinary proportion is reversed.
181. From Table II, which shows the distribution of 10,000 insane persons by age
Distribution of Insanity by age periods, it appears^ that men are most liable to mental
periods. ~ disease in early manhood and middle life, i.e., between 20
and 45, while for women the reproductive period and the period of the change of life
have special dangers. This table does not, however, give a very correct idea of the
connection between insanity and age, which is more clearly brought out by Table III,
which shows the proportion of lunatics in each age period to the total number of persons
living at that age. The latter table suggests that either a considerable number of cases
of senile dementia have been included in the return, or that insanity does not tend to
shorten life, the proportion for males being higher in the 55 — 60 period than in any other;
while amongst women the only period that shows a higher rate than 55 and over is
40— 4S.
182. The extraordinary freedom from insanity enjoyed by Assam, when compared
with England, requires but little explanation. In the first
Comparison with England. , ^ c \.^ 1 fj i-L f
place, apart from the abuse of drugs, — a cause which, as I
have shown above, it is by no means easy to connect with mental derangerhent, — there
is little or nothing likely to produce diseases of the brain amongst these peaceful leisure-
loving agriculturists. The death-rate of Assam again compares most unfavourably with
that of the British Isles, and many idiots are probably allowed to die who in England
would have lived to swell the census rolls. Lastly, we have to consider the compara-
tive accuracy of the two enumerations. In England, in 1891, 82 per cent, of the
mentally deranged were censused in asylums, where there could be no question of their
omission . Had the return of insanity been collected, as in Assam, by a house-to-house
enquiry conducted by a most imperfectly-educated staff, there can, I think, be little
doubt that the ratio would have been very largely reduced.
DEAF-MUTISM.
183. The statement in the margin shows the number of deaf-mutes, male and
jTumberofdeaf-mutes In 10,000 of female, in cach io,ooo of the population. At the three last
either sex. CBususes deaf-mutism has been more prevalent in the hill
emae . ^jg^ricts than in the plains, and on the present occasion the
ilsaSiMi '.'.'. 10 8 distinction is very marked; the proportion per 10,000
No?th-'wTst e r"i " males being 1-6 in the hills and 8 in the two Valleys, while
pS'a^riaw.'^^'' "^ 12 8 for females the corresponding figures are 13 and 6. It is
EfmayisSr^*' ^^*! lea well-known fact, however,, that there is some connection
England, 1891 ... s 4 betweeu hilly country and this particular infirmity, though,
whether the actual cause is to be found in the water of the mountain streams, or in the
consanguineous marriages which ase far from uncommon amongst hill tribes, is still
uncertain. Malaria and deaf-mutism are also supposed to have some bond of union, a
theory which finds support in the fact that Nowgong, which has been more than deci-
mated by kald-dzAr during the last ten years, has a higher rate for males than any other
plains district ; while Sibsagar, which is situated in the healthiest portion of the Assam
Valley, is singularly free from the affliction. The same can, however, be said of
Kamrup, where public health has been bad, while the Garo Hills, another feverish district,
is also comparatively free, so that in Assam, at any rate, the connection can hardly be
established. Equally difficult is it to discover the supposed link between deaf-mutism
and insanity, the latter infirmity being at a minimum in Nowgong and Lakhimpur,
where deaf-mutism is fairly common.
In the Naga Hills, the proportion is phenomenally high, being 49 for men and 45
for woaen. The Deputy Commissioner, who was consulted as to the accuracy of the
'figures, writes :
I am not at all surprised to hear that the rate is very high, as m almost every village, cer-
tainlv amongst the Angamis, there are deaf-mutes. In some of the smaller villages almost every
second person is either deaf and dumb or insane. This I know from my personal experience.
The small villages to the north of Kohima are the worst in this respect. I can only attribute the
prevalence of the infirmity to the results of intermarriage, and the fact that it is more prevalent
iti the smaller villages would corroborate this; as Nagas, as a rule, marry in their own villages.
184. Table III shows that the orders to restrict the return to those afflicted from
birth were, as a rule, borne in mind, the proportion in both
Distribution by age. ^^^^^ ^aQvag considerably higher between 5 and 25 than at
the later ages ; though the marked rise in the rate at 60 aiid over suggests the inclu-
sion of a certain number pf elderly people.who bad lost their sen^e of hearing. It is
I08 REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, IQOl. [CHAP X.
Innrmities. obvious that the numbers of those afflicted from birth must decline at each successive
age period, as there are no means of repairing losses by death ; but it is equally obvious
that a return of deaf-mutism must be very incorrect for the first years of life, as this
infirmity can hardly be detected in a small infant, and parents, even after their suspicions
have been aroused, are extremely loath to admit that their children are deaf and dumb.
It is permissible, therefore, to correct the return by assuming that deaf-mutes under 5
bear the same relation to the total population under 5 as deaf-mutes between 5 and 10
do to the population of that age. If this correction is made, the number of afflicted
in the province rises to 3,072 males and 2,093 females.
185. The proportion of deaf-mutes in Assam is exactly equal to that prevailing over
„ _ ..^ ^ the whole Indian Empire in 1891 and lower than that in
Comparison wltli other countries. „ i iiT-i-r-.i <- i i- t
Bengal and the Punjab m that year. Some explanation of
this is to be found in the proportion borne by foreigners to the total population of the
province, as the congenital deaf-mute is not likely to leave his home to search for em-
ployment elsewhere ; but this in itself is not enough to account for all the facts, — the
rate in Lakhimpur, where the number of immigrants is very large, being comparatively
high ; while Kamrup, the great centre of the indigenous population, has been remarkably
free from this affliction at the last three censuses. But though, in comparison with the
rest of India, Assam is comparatively free from this infirmity, it contrasts but unfavour-
ably with England, the rate being nearly double of that prevailing in the British Isles.
The explanation is no doubt to be found in the absence of medical aid and the insanitary
conditions in which the great bulk of the population Uve.
186. The proportion between the sexes is also noteworthy, there being only 675
Proportion i,etween the sexes. afflicted females to every thousand males Deaf-mutism is
an infirmity which can scarcely be concealed, and there is
no reason to question the accuracy of the figures ; a similar phenomenon being observ-
able in England; where the Censiis Commissioners' remarked in "their last report that
*' amongst the deaf-mutes, as is the general, though not quite universal, rule amongst
those who suffer from various forms of congenital malformation, the males far out
number the females."
THE BLIND.
187. The proportion of blind has always been very low in Assam in comparison with
Number of Wind In 10,000 of either thc/est of the Indian Empire and the last census has proved
no exception to the rule. Poverty, and the inferior quality
Males. Females, ^f ^ jjg f^^j which it entails, overcrowding in unventilated
Assam, 1901 ... 10 9 i \ ii i-.- i. -*-
Assam, 1891 ... IX n Houses, glare and dust, the irntatine smoke given out bv
Bengal, 1891 ... 10 10 11' i i • ^ i '' ^
North- Western Pro- smouldcring cowdung, malaria and leprosy are amonest
vlnees, 1891 ... 82 00 .1 i • i 1 » "^ . •' .. P
Punjab, 1891 ... 34 S7 tne causes wtiich nave been suggested as predisDOsino'
Upper Burma, 1891 82 42 i. iU' • n -^ 1 r .1 c r° . V '-"-'••^t'">""S
MaciraB,i89i ... 10 10 to this inhrmity, and from the first four Assam is undoubt-
India, 1891 ... 16 17 JI / • 1 r t o • 1 . . — ^^^^•jt.
England, 1891 ... 9 7 edly tairly tiee. In 1 891 it was shown in the Punjab and
Madras that the proportion of the blind was as high
in the rainy as in the drier portions of those provinces ; but it is almost impossible
to resist the conclusion that glare and dust are largely responsible for the high rate in
Upper India, and that Assam has to thank her cloudy skies and luxurious vegetation
for her comparative immunity from this affliction.*
Turning to the provincial statistics, we find that the infirmity is always more com-
mon in the hill districts than in the plains, the rate being 15 for males and 18 for
females, as compared with 9 and 8 in the two valleys. Ophthalmia is, I am told a very
contagious malady, and would probably spread rapidly in a hillman's hut ; and the diffi-
culty of obtaining treatment in the earlier stages of the disease may also have something
to do with the matter. Blindness is most common in the Naga, Garo and Lushai Hillf
and in the first two districts the ratio for women is a-s high as 25 m 10 000 The least
affected districts are, as on the last occasion, Sibsagar and Darrang, where onlv .J
persons in every 10,000 cannot see. The presence of a large body of immigrants pos-
sibly accounts for this fact, as also for the comparatively low ratios in Lakhimpur and
Cachar In Goalpara Kamrup and Sylhet the rate is above the average for the plains
but in Nowgong it is fairly low, sinking to 7 in 10,000, ^ '
188. Assam forms an exception to the general rule in India, but is in accord with
Distribution by sex. niost Other countnes in having a larger proportion of male
than female blind, there being 10 blind-men to every q blind
women m an equal number of the sexes. In the hill dis tricts, however, the propor-
* Colonel Macnamara, i.m.s., informs me that blindness in Assam is eenerallv due to cataract anH „ni= *• 7
the cornea, following neglected ophthalmia. The former is usually causirKkandTs tSre not 1^^^^^^^^
common in Assam, where the people are certainly not longlived, ^ ^ ' ^"^retore not likely to be
Assam, 1901
13
i
Assam, 1891
18
e
Bengaljl891
9
3
Nortli- western Pro-
vlnoaa, 1891
6
1
Punjab, 1891
3
1
Tipper Burma, 1891...
16
s
India
7
aj
CHAP. X.] THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS. I09
Uons are reversed, there being i8 afflicted women to 15 men. Table II shows how infirmities
intimate is the connection between bHndness and old age. Out of 20,qoo sightless
persons of both sexes, there are only 3,590 below the age of 20, while 6,777 ^""e 60
years or more. The number afflicted in middle life is not large, and the proportion of
cases of congenital blindness is evidently small, the number below 5 in both sexes being
only 673, which is less than in'any other age period. Table III presents these facts in a
still more striking manner. Up to 20 the number of blind at each age period to 10,000
of the population does not exceed 5 for either sex. From 20 ta 50 the ratio varies
from 5 to 1 7 in the case of males and from 3 to 20 amongst women ; but at 60 and over
it is 82 for the forme^and 79 for the latter sex,
LEPROSY.
189. There has been a decrease in the percentage of cases of leprosy reported, as,
Numberof leprosy In 10,000 of either compared With 1891, but the ratio 'is still very much
Males. Females, higher than that for the Indian Empire in that year; and,
as the tendency is to return as leprosy leucoderma, sores
and syphilitic ulcerations, the return, for males at any
rate, is probably still rather in excess than defect of the
actual facts.
190. Contrary to what was found to be the case at the last census in other parts of
India, the hill districts are singularly free from the disease.
Distribution In tlie province. ., .• r 1 ,• i^J t-i . ,
the ratio tor them being only 6, as compared with 15 in the
Surma and 13 in the Brahmaputra Valley (I am referring here to males only, the ratio
for females being obviously incorrect). Goalpara still maintains the evil pre-eminence
assigned to it at the last two enumerations, the ratio being as high as 21,* the next
district in the scale being Sylhet, with a ratio of 15. In Kamrup, the malady seems
to have spread during the last ten years, the proportion being 14, as compared with 10
and 7 at the two preceding censuses, but Darrang and Nowgong continue to be com-
paratively free, and the reduction in the Naga Hills is very noticeable, the. figure having
fallen from 12 to 3 per 10,000. The enumerators in the latter district are, however,
required to distinguish leprosy not only from leucoderma, but also from the affliction
known as Naga sores, and as it was generally supposed that many cases of the latter
complaint were wrongly included in 1891, it is possible that on the present occasion
they fell into the opposite error, and omitted actual cases of leprosy from their books.
191. It would be superfluous to attempt to suggest any explanations either of the
prevalence of leprosy in Assam, as compared with the rest
Causes of leprosy. r t j- t i.u ..• • v • i i i
or India, or of the comparative immunity enjoyed by the
hill tracts of the province. The Leprosy Commission, who enquired fully into the
causes and origin of the disease in India in 1890 and 1891, came to the conclusion that
lepro'sy was not diffused by hereditary transmission or, except to an exceedingly small
extent, by contagion, that it did not affect any particular race or caste, and that it was
not directly originated by the use of any particular article of food nor by any climatic
or telluric conditions, nor by insanitary surroundings. The causes and origin of the
disease having entirely baffled a board of medical experts, it is obviously not to
be expected that any further light could be thrown upon the matter by the statistics
recorded in one small province. It is worthy of note, however, that a decrease in the
number of cases reported is, according to the Commissioners, only what one is entitled
to expect, as the disease has a natural tendency to die out.
192. In 1891, Mr. O'Donnel came to the conclusion that leprosy attacks the male
sex more frequently or more severely and manifestly than it
Distribution between the sexes. does the female, but it is by no meaiis likely that the dis-
proportion between the sexes is in reality as great as the figures indicate. It is obvious
that the conditions of life and the difference in clothing render concealment more
possible in the case of females, and the head of the family would naturally be reluctant
to admit that any of his womenfolk were afflicted with this loathsome disease. The
disproportion between the sexes is especially noticeable in Sylhet and Goalpara,
where the seclusion of women is more commonly practised than in the rest of the
province, the difference between the figures for male and female lepers being 11 per
10,000 in Sylhet and 15 in Goalpara, while in North Cachar and the Naga Hills
it sinks to I. Strangely enough, the disproportion between male and female lepers is
* Dr. Henderson is inclined to think that a large proportion of the cases returned as leprosy are in reality
syphilitic ulcerations ; syphilis being very prevalent in the Goalpara district.
I lO REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, igOT. [CHAP. X.
Infirmities, ^^^st at the earlier stages of life, i.e., for persons under 25, when the temptation to
conceal leprosy amongst females must be at its maximum, but the figures are too small
to admit of conclusions being drawn from them with any degree of certainty- Tables II
and III show that the proportion of lepers has a distinct tendency to increase with
advancing years. Below 30 the ratio for males does not exceed 13 per 10,000.
From 45 — 60 it is 31 or 32, and over 60 it is as high as 46 per 10,000, and a
similar progress in ratio is to be found amongst females, though the actual figures are,
of course, much smaller. Colonel Macnamara informs me that leprosy has a tendency
to attack the aged, and that the disease has a long period of incubation, so that it is
only natural that it should be most prevalent in the later stages of life.'
CHAP. X.]
THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS.
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REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, igoi.
[CHAP. X.
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THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS.
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REPORT ON THE CENSUS' OP ASS^Aif I go I.
TCHAP; X.
Infirmities.
SUBSIDIARY TABLE IV.
Propoirtion of females afflicte.d toc i,ooo males at each age\
Age period.
Total
afflicted.
Insane.
Deaf-mutes.
Blind.
Lepers,
t
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615
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55—60 ...
60 and over
710
681
736
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511
448
500
467
626
578
705
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828
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479
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543
686
597
700
537
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694
686
715
893
582
627
584
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450
589
681
775
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812
759
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881
1,046
911
963
547
557
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424
268
301
214
228
209
308
331
228
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CHAP. XI.] THE RESULTS OP THE CENSUS. II5
CHAPTER XL
CASTE.
193. In the Assam Census Reports for 1 88 1 and 1891, the longest and, to the Caste.
general reader at any rate, the most interesting chapter is
Scope of the chapter on caste. fu .. j r vl ii ' i .' Pli •
that dealing with the manners and customs of the various
tribes and castes of the province. Several causes, however, combine to deter me from
attempting to follow in the paths of my predecessors. The work begun by Mr. Stack
has been so ably carried on by Mr. Gait, that little has been left for me to do, while
what little still remains will be treated at greater leisure and in fuller detail than would be
suitable in a census report by the Superintendent of Ethnography who has recently been
appointed. This officer will, however, I presume, confine his attentions to the castes
and tribes which are indigenous to the province ; and as Assam includes a large number
of foreign castes, I have appended to this chapter a brief alphabetical glossary, in which
I have endeavoured to explain the meaning to be attached to the various names returned
in Table XIII. Full accounts of the majority of these castes are to be found in the
works of Mr. Risley and Mr. Crooke, but unfortunately these books do not as a rule
form part of the library of a District Officer in Assam ; while, even were this not the
case, it must, I think, be admitted that it is desirable that a census report should be
intelligible in itself, and should not require a reference to other works for the elucidation
of its figures.
Before it had been definitely decided by the Census Commissioner that the
ethnographic matter in the census reports shoald be reduced to a minimum, certain
gentlemen, amongst others Mr. Needham, Assistant Political Officer of Sadiya, Captain
Kennedy and Mr. Noel Williamson of the Naga Hills, ' the Revd. P. H. Moore, of
Nowgong, Mr. Clark, Subdivisional Officer of Jorhat, and Mr. Colquhoun, Subdivisional
Officer of North Lakhlmpur, had kindly furnished me with interesting accounts of the
tribes with which they had been brought in contact ; and some apology, I feel, is due
for the small extent to which I have been able to make use of their notes. The papers
have, however, been handed over to the Superintendent of Ethnography, and will no
doubt find a more fitting and permanent place in the pages of his work.
194. Before describing the various castes in detail, it will not be out of place to
consider for a moment the meaning usually assigned to the
■What iB caste ? , /-> . i -jii. .ru-' i
term. Caste may be said to have a two-fold origin, and
may be looked upon as being connected either with race or occupation. The tendency
amongst the natives of the present day is to assume that caste is primarily a matter of
function and this view has met with support from some of the ethnographists of India.
Messrs. Ibbetson, Nesfield, and Risley defined 'caste' at the conference held at Lahore
in 1885 as ' the largest group based upon community of occupation ;' and this theory has
the support of Mr. Nesfield, who. in his " Brief view of the caste system in the North-
West Provinces and Oudh" writes that the bond of sympathy of interest which first
drew together the families or tribal fragments of which a caste is composed, and bound
them into a new social unit, was not, as some writers have alleged, community of creed
or community of kinship, but community of function. Similar views have been expressed
by Mr. Crooke in " The tribes and castes of the North-Western Provinces and Oudh "
(page cxxxix) :
We have thus, -mainly on the evidence of anthropometry, endeavoured to establish the fact
that as we find the existing population, the theory of the ethnological basis of caste must to a great
extent be abandoned; We have, then, to search for some other solution of the question of the
origin of our present castes. This can only be found in community of function or occupation,
and by Mr. O'Donnell in Bengal ; but- Mr. Baines and Mr. Risley have held that,
though caste is to some extent connected with occupation, it has also a racial origin.*
195.' I have laid stress on the fact that caste is not necessarily connected- with
occupation, because we find that in A^sam Proper it is
caste in the Assam Valley racial. ^i^q^^ entirely a matter of Tace. It is true that functional
castesare not absolutely unknown. The Hira is said to be a Chandal who became a
» But granting that there is sjmethinginherent, as it were, inthecanditio-ns of life in India, that fosters the
•sentiment oF which the caste system is the expression, and granting again that the forms, or collection of forms, that
fh exoression has taken' is the outgrowth of the Brahmanic creed, it seems within the bounds of reasonable
hvpothesii to attribute to its present developement an origin distinctly racial. Indian census of 1891, General
Report, page 183^
Il6 REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM /got. [CHAP. XI.
Caste. potter, and the Mukhi a Koch degraded for burning lime, and there are functional sub^
divisions of the main castes, such as the Kumar, Nat and Bej Kalita, the Jaliya, Mali
and Teli Kewat ; but the castes themselves are apparently racial in origin. Who and
what the Kalitas originally were is still a matter of doubt, but the most plausible theory
put forward is that they were the descendants of the early Aryan invaders who entered
Assam before the various professions had crystallised into castes. The Koch and
Rajbansi are race castes ; the Kaioartta, or Kewat, seem to have been originally a
tribe occupying a commanding position in the delta of Bengal ; and the Doms, accord-
ing to Mr. Risley, "belong to one of the races whom, for convenience of expression,
we may call the aborigines of India." The same explanation must probably
be given of the origin of the Chandal or Namasudra, while the Boria, a caste
peculiar to the Assam Valley, is composed of the offspring of Brahman and Ganak
widows and their descendants, and is a living example at the present day Of the castes of
mixed parentage which Manu used as a device to explain the presence of aboriginal
tribes in the Hindu social system. To these we might perhaps add the Ahom and the
Chutiya. At the last census the Chutiya were included under the category of ' forest
and hill tribes,' and the Ahoms were classified as a ' non-Indian Asiatic race ;' but
as more than six centuries have now elapsed since the last named tribe entered Assam,
and as both they and the Chutiya have long been converts to Hinduism, it seems
doubtful whether, like the Koch and the Rajbansi, they should not be allowed to take
rank as a Hindu caste.*
The racial origin of caste in the Assam Valley has been clearly stated by Mr. Gait
in the report for 1891, from which I quote the following passage :
Now, what is the present, .position of caste in the Brahmaputra Valley? We have the
Brahman and the Kalita, and we h^ve also the different race castes, that is to say, we have the
castes of Manu, except that the Kalita takes the place of the Kshettriya, Vaisya and Sudra.
The modern profession castes, which have taken the place of the Kshettriya, Vaisya and Sudra in
other parts of India, are none of them found here. There are, of course, gardeners, barbers, potters,
blacksmiths, etc., but the persons following these occupations do not constitute separate castes.
The oilman is generally a Kewat, the potter a Kalita, a Kewat, or a Chandal ; ^the barber is usually
a Kalita, and so for all the rest. The profession castes are non-existant.
Occupation, in fact, can in no way explain caste at the present day in the Valley of
the Brahmaputra. In the first place, the occupation of the majority of castes is agri-
culture, and as far as their manner of life goes there is nothing to distinguish the Kalita,
the Kewat, and the Bor Koch, or for the matter of that the Saloi and the Shaha ; while
community of occupation by no means implies community of caste or equality of status.
The Kumar Kalita and the Hira are both potters, but they are widely separated in the
social scale, and the Jaliya Kewat, even when he is still a fisherman, will not intermarry
with the Nadiyal. In the same way, in theory at any rate, a caste or sub-caste does not
rise, even when it abandons the occupation which is the source of its degradation. The
Jaliya Kewat remains a Jaliya Kewat, though he can claim several generations ©f cultiva-
ting ancestors ; and the status of the Brittial Baniyas remains low, in spite of the fact that
they have availed themselves largely of the advantages afforded by modern education.
196. No less than 83 per cent, of the persons shown in the Assam scheme of pre-
Diifcreooe between Assam and ccdence are members of undoubted race castes,! and it is by
Bensai In caste matters. j,o means Certain whether all of the remainder are functional.
In Assam Proper, in fact, the whole of the Hindu social system is very different from that
found in Bengal. Caste has been said to be a generic term, usually referring to tradi-
tional occupation, which links together a large and heterogeneous group of sub-castes the
members of which cannot intermarry, and do not usually eat together, the whole
organization being one of extreme complexity, and including a large number of connubial
groupings ; but this description would hardly apply to the Valley of the Brahmaputra.
1 have already shown that in Assam Proper caste as a rule is racial and not functional*
and in matters matrimonial we also find that what holds good of other parts of India is
not applicable here.
Kven in Sylhet, which follows the usages of Bengal more closely than Assam there
is no KuHnism amongst the Brahmans, and the endogamous sections such as Rarhi
Barendra and Baidik are unknown ; and though there are mels to which some of the best
Brahman families belong, they are not endogamous groups. The restrictions on marriage
are, indeed, so much relaxed that even clearly defined castes like the Kayastha
and Baidya intermarry, and wealthy Shahas and Dases are allowed to buy brides and
bridegrooms from the higher castes without the parents losing their position in society.
• In Sibs^ar at the last census certain Kacharis wanted to be returned, not as Kochs, the caste usually favoured
by the Kachari convert in Lower Assam, but as Ahoms.
t Kalita, Kewat and Kaibartta, Koch, Rajbansi, Ahom, Chutiya, Boria, Nadiyal and Chandal, "
CHAP. XI.J THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS. II7
It is true that the Brahmans observe the rules of exogamy based upon the gotra, but as Caste.
the majority of the lower classes all belong to the same gotra' (in Assam Kasyapa and in
Sylhet Alimyan), the whole object of the institution is entirely lost. In Assam Proper
the boundary line between the various castes is not very clearly defined, and it is quite
conceivable, that a Kachari family might in the course of generations rise through the
various stages of Koch, Kewat and Ralita into a full-blown Kayastha.
Another point that is noticeable in the caste system of the Assam Valley is the
high position enjoyed by castes which in Bengal occupy a comparatively low place in
the social scale. The Ganak ranks only a little below the Brahman, and if we leave out
of consideration the few genuine Assamese Kayasthas, the next caste is the Kalita,
who make no pretence to be twice-born, and whose profession is agriculture. The
Shaha's water is taken by Brahmans ; and the Doms, to use the name by
which they have been known for centuries, are a respectable fishing caste, who
have never, as far as I am aware, consented to undertake the unsavoury duties
assigned to the Doms in Bengal. The Mahapurushia sect was founded by a Kayastha
and in many Sattras the Gosain is stjll a member of the Kayastha or Kalita
caste. The same phenomenon, though in a less pronounced form, is to be found in
the Surma Valley. The water of the Halwa Das is taken by Brahmans, and
their position in the: material world is so good that they claim to rank above the
Nabasakh, while the Sfiahas are in possession of considerable wealth and influence.
In the whole province, in fact, Hinduism is imbued with a spirit of liberality, and"
is free from many of the less attractive characteristics which are found in other parts
of India. Child marriage is rare amongst the Assamese, and women who have lost
their husbands are seldom condemned to a life of perpetual widowhood.
197- But the main tendency amongst Hindu -castas, which is disclosed at each
successive census, is the tendency to level upwards, and the
Tendency to level upwards. ^^j^^^j ^j ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^^ ^j ^^^ ^^^j^, ^^^^Q lO
acquiesce in the humble positions assigned to them. In the Assam Valley, the
Kayasthas and Kalitas are putting forward claims to take precedence of the Ganaks.
The Kalita, who has reached a position in which it is^ no longer necessary for him to
drive the- plough, calls himself a Kayastha; the Dom is no longer contented with the
name Nadiyal, and wishes to be called a Jaliya Kaibartta ; and the Kewat, in fear of being
confounded with the Nadiyal, styles .himself a Maheshya Vaisya. The Hari returns
himself as Brittial Baniya, and denies all connection with tha sweeper caste ; the Jugi
poses as one of the twice-born ; and even the upper class of the Ahoms, as to whose
racial affinities there can be little or no doubt, wish to be called Daityakul Kshatriyas.
In the Surma Valley, the Halwa Das repudiate the prefix Halwa as suggesting an
unduly close connection with agriculture, and the Shaha calls himself a Baidya or
Kayastha. , , ,
This tendency, though liable, if carried much further, to destroy the whole system
of caste, is only natural. The Assamese Dom resembles the Jaliya Kaibartta in his
manners' and customs : he is a devout Hindu, who is rising in the world, and there is
nothing strange in his objecting to a caste name which, to> foreigner, might suggest
that he is connected with a degraded body of scavengers. The Brittial Baniya
who has become a clerk in a Government office not unnaturally resents any suggestion
that he is descended from a sweeper, and the wealthy and educated Shaha, who has
no connection with trade in any. form, decHnes to look upon himself as a degraded
seller of wine. , , . • • j-
198. Appended to this chapter will be found two tables showing the main indigenous
. . ^ „<■ r,™ castes of the Assam and Surma Valleys arranged in order of
eeifne^e. '^"'""'^ *° "' '^ precedence. I have divided them into three groups, showing
ia) twice-born castes who, according to Hindu ideas, are not degraded ; \b) clean Sudra
castes from whose hands Brahmans usually take water ; and {c) castes who are not
included in the latter category. Within each table I have arranged the castes in the
rank which as far as I can ascertain, is assigned to them by popular opinion. This
is a point upon which I desire to lay some stress. I have made no attempt to go
behind, general opinion, or to consider the grounds upon which it is based. The
tables therefore, do not profess to represent what should be the position of the castes
in the Hindu social system if all the facts were known, but the position which, as far as
I can ascertain is generally assigned to them by their co-religionists. In the case of
the lower castes, I have taken the opinion of the better castes as final, as there does not
annpar to be any reason why a Brahman should, to take one case as an example, desire
fn exalt the Nadiyal at theexpense of the Brittial Baniya. Where the higher castes
cnrh as the Ganak, are concerned, I have looked rather to the opinion of the lower classes
than to that of the upper ; as the Kalitas and Kayasthas in Assam would obviou&ly be
E A
l8 REPORT ON- THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, igoi. [CHAP. XI.
Caste, not altogether impartial judges, and even the Brahmans might conceivably be jealous of
the pretensions of a caste immediately below them.
I further feel it necessary to point out that the lists appended to this chapter have
no binding force upon any one. From some of the memorials that have been
received, it might be imagined that the Government of Assam had assumed the functions
of Ballal Sen, and had undertaken to definitely fix the position of, the various Hindu
castes. This can obviously only be done by the leaders of the Hindu community, and
any erroneous impressions that I may have received cannot affect the real position of the
caste concerned in any way.
Two more points require notice. Many of the castes, e.g., the Kalita, Kewat, and
Koch, have subdivisions which rank below the main caste, and which would sometimes
fall even in another group. These sub-castes have not, however, been recorded separately
in the census tables, and have therefore been ignored in the scheme of precedence.
The Koch has been shown in group II, because Brahmans take water from the h&nds
of the Bor Koch, but the expression includes such sub-castes as the Madahi and the
Sarania, who rank but little above the Kachari.
The position of other castes varies in different districts, e.g., the Patia has been
placed above the Kewat in Nowgong, but below him elsewhere. In these cases I
have followed the grouping of the district in which the majority of the caste is found.
Little exception can, I think, be taken to the order of groups I and. II. Nobody
probably would dispute the fact that the Kayastha takes precedence of the Kalita,
the- Kalita of the Kewat, and the Kewat of the Koch. I have placed the Patia above
the Kewat, because this is the positioa assigned to that caste in Nowgong, which is
the only district in which it is found in any appreciable numbers ; and for the same reason
I have placed the Saloi »i>ovcaadfije Shaha below the Koch in accordance with the
recommendation of the Kamrup committee. With group HI I have had more difficulty.
The Ahoms enjoy a very good position in Sibsagar, where, till comparatively recently,
they were the ruling race, but, as Brahmans do not, as a rule, take water from their
hands, I have included them in the last group. The Ahom gentry lay claim to the title
of Kshatriya, a claim which, if admitted, would place them above the Kayastha ; but the
claims to the title of Kshatriya made by aboriginal tribes in Assam can hardly, I think,
be taken seriously. The Chutiya, again ,are a race caste, and it is, therefore, a little
difficult to fix their position, but I have been given to understand that the Hindu and
Ahom Chutiyas, at any rate, take precedence of the Jugis. The Brittial Baniyas do not
acquiesce in the low position assigned to them, but, as far as I can ascertain, there can
be little doubt that popular opinion places them below the Nadiyals. 1 have naturally
made no attempt to classify foreign castes in any order of precedence ; and the castes
for which details are given in the list only represent 65 per cent, of the Hindu popu-
lation of the Assam Valley. Group I forms 38 per cent., group II 36*3 per cent,
and group III 25*6 per cent, of the Hindus in the Brahmaputra Valley.
The scheme of precedence for the Surma Valley calls for few remark*. I have
bracketted the Baidya and Kayastha, as the two castes intermarry, though I gather that
the general opinion of persons other than Kayasthas is that the Baidya is slightly the
more aristocratic of the two. The Das, with whom I include the Halwa Das, claim to
rank above the Nabasakh and immediately below the Kayastha ; but though this caste
includes, no doubt, a large number of wealthy and influential men, their claim to rank
above the Nabasakh is not, as far as I can learn, admitted by other Hindu castes • and
I am told that, according to strict Hindu ideas, the Das should come immediately after
the Sudra, as Srotriya Brahmans will not, as a rule, serve as their priests. From the
purely material point of view, the Das should possibly take precedence, even of the
Nabasakh, as they are a numerous and apparently an influential community ; but in
a matter of this kind these considerations have little or no weight. The Ganaks and
Barna Brahmans I have placed in group III, as Srotriya Brahmans do not take water
from their hands in Sylhet. 3"3 per cent, of the Hindus in the Surma Valley fall in
group I, 28 per cent, in group II, and 40 per cent, in group III,
199. From the preceding paragraphs it appears that the caste system of the
companion between the ca«te ^^^^"^ Galley has somc points of rcsemblance with th e social
system of Assam and the traditional Organization 01 the primitive HluduS. AcCOrdinCT tn Mr
theory of caste. tj „, r^\ j t\ S^t. • l\- tt ■ -w, • "*'*-"-""'"S •■'-' ••■"'•
Romesh Chander Dutt, in the Epic Period, which he places
between B.C. 14000 and B.C. 1000, "the body of the people (except the priests
and soldiers) still formed one united Vaisya caste, and had not been disunited into
such .miserably-divided communities as in the modern day. The body of the people
were still entilled to religious knowledge and learning, and to perform religious
rites for themselves, just like Brahmans and Kshatriyas. And even intermarriage
CHAP, xi.y
THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUSi,
,119
the professions
(circa fourth or
is only towards
, that some of
caste system of
between Brahmans, Kshatriyas, and Vaisyas was allowed under certain restrictions,"*
The same authority informs us that the descendants of a member of one caste might
enter another by following the profession of th« latter ; and that there were numerous
instances of men of loV birth, but of exceptional wisdom and virtue, becoming members
even of the priestly caste. In the rationalistic period (B.C. 1000 to B.C. 242), the
constitution of the four main castes had become more rigid, and it was no longer
possible for members of the othercastes to, become Brahmans ; but
had not yet crystallised into castes. Even in the time of Yajnavalkya
fifth century A, D.), caste appears to be a racial organisation, and it
the close of the Pauranik period, i.e., about the tenth century A.D.
the lower professions were beginning to be formed into castes. The
Bengal is, in fact, a comparatively modern growth, and Assam, which, for the most
part, has been under the rule oPnon-Aryan dynasties, has escaped the baleful influences
of the reforming Hindu kings. The profession castes are still in the process of
formation, and we have the clean Sudra castes, like the Kalita and Kewat, who take
the place of the Vaisyas of tradition, and the aboriginal tribes who are being converted
to Hinduism. The clean Sudra castes are not, of course, as homogeneous a group as
were the Vaisyas, but the barriers between them are not as. impassable as elsewhere,
and they, are not split up into the numerous endogamous sub-groups, which are
found in other parts of India. T he Hindus of Assam have lived under non-Hindu
rulers, they have been called upon to absorb foreign races into their system, and the
consequence is that their social system has remained fresh and elastic, and still suited
for the needs of a living people.
The orthodox Bengali is perhaps inclined to look down upon the Assamese Hindu,
and to regard him as unpardonably lax in the observance of his religion ; but this laxity
is to all seeming much more in accordance with the practice of the early Aryans
than the minute subdivisions of the social system, and the rigid barriers interposed
between one man and another which are found in other parts of India, and which, after
all, are apparently a product of a later and less wholesome and vigorous age.
The same can be said, though to a lesser degree, of the Surma Valley, for though
the profession castes are found in Sylhet, the system, as a whole, is not so rigid as
that of Bengal. Kayasthas and Baidyas intermarry, the Das or Halwa Das are
admitted into the category of castes from whose hands a Brahman can take water,
and public opinion tolerates the giving in marriage of Kayastha girls and boys to
persons of lower castes.
200. Provincial Table V analyses the racial constitution of the tea-garden popula-
settiement of oooue castes in the tion, and throws some light On the extent to which cdolies
province. ^^g settling in the province. In Part I, I have shown the
village and urban population of certain castes which are not indigenous to the province,
and which there can, I think, be little doubt have been brought to Assam to work on
tea-gardens ; and from this it appears that there are now living in the villages of the
Surma Valley and the five upper districts of the Valley of the Brahmaputra 141,152 per-
sons, who are either garden coolies or their descendants, while 7,01 1 of these castes were
censused in towns. In Lakhimpur i5"i of the village population are members of these
castes ; in Sibsagar 8 6 ; in the Cachar Plains 7-8 ; and in
Darrang 7*4. In Sylhet there are no less than 18,830
coolies in the villages, though they form only n per
cent, of the village population.
It is obviously impossible to decide exactly what
castes are, and what are not, mainly composed of garden
coolies, but in cases of doubt I have as a rule decided
against the coolie, and the number of persons improperly
classified under this head is, I think, but small. Some
mistakes have no doubt been made, but the number of
persons wrongly included must bave been more than
counterbalanced by the number of those improperly omitted from the return. The
following castes have been censused upon gardens in comparatively large numbers : —
Dhobi and ,Dhoba (3,931), Goala (16,390), Kamar (6,008), Kumhar (3,238), Manjhi
(.055), Tanti (16,112), Teli (6,854), and it is, I think, practically certain that some of
the persons in the villages, who have returned themselves under these caste names,
must have been ^;>i;-garden coolies ; but I have omitted them from the return, as
in the case of these castes it was impossible to distinguish between the na'tive and
the foreigner. Mathematical accuracy in a matter ol this kind is obviously out of
Caste.
Number Peroent-
of coolie age on tII-
castesln laere po-
vUlagres. pnlatlon.
Cachar Plains.
Sylhet*
Surma Valley
Kamrapt
Darrang'
Nowgong
Sibsagar
Lakhimpur
Brahmaputra
iValley
Total
21,748
18,830
40,578
2,432
18,923
8,047
37,149
34,023
100,574
141,152
7-8
11
2-1
0-5
7.4
3-4
8-6
15-1
6-3
4^
• Excluding Sunamganj.
t Excluding Barpeta.
•Ancient India, Volume I, page 239.
120 REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, IpOI. [CHAP. XI.
Caste, the question, but we should probably not be far wrong in assuming that Assam was
indebted to the tea industry for between 145,000 and 150,000 of its village population
on the census night.
201. It remains to consider whether it is possible to classify the Animistic tribes of
the province. To the most casual observer the Assam range
Animistic tribes of Assam. ^^^^ ^^ ^^ ^^^^^ of interest. At the western extremity we
find the Garos, in the centre the Khasis and at the eastern end the Nagas ; and, as these
three races differ not only from one another, but also from the great bulk of the inhabit-
ants of the two valleys into which the range abuts, one cannot but wonder how they ever
reached the localities in which we find them.. Another point which must strike any one
who examines the caste statistics of the province is^the extraordinary number of aboriginal
races enumerated in Assam. Living in the hills on the north of the Brahmaputra we
find the Mishmis, the Abors, the Miris, the Daflas and the Akas. In the plains at the -
foot there are the Kacharis, Rabhas, and Meches ; in Nowgong the Mikirs, Lalungs and
Hojais ; in the Assam range the Garos, the Khasis, the Kukis and the Nagas. It would
be a mistake, however, to imagine that because these tribes are called by separate names
they must therefore of necessity be separate races. The names by which we know
these people are not, as a rule, the names which they use amongst themselves, but are titles
given to them by the Assamese, and it is obvious that different people in different places
are likely to call the same thing by different names. The Abors, Miris and Dafias
are closely allied to one another, and are probably connected with the ^reat
Bodo race to which the Kachari, Rabha, Mech, Garo and Tippera, and probably the
Mikir and Lalung, belong. The linguistic affinities of the Khasi language suggest that
its' speakers are the remains of a different wave of emigrants, the majority of whom are
now to be found in Annam and Cambodia, though whether the Khasis are an off-shoot
left by the horde on its way south, or sections who were forced north again when the main
body reached the sea, seems uncertain ; while it is from the south and east that the
various Nag|i and Kuki tribes have apparently come.
In a note, with which 1 have been favoured by Dr. Grierson, he observes that North-
Western China between the upper waters of the Yang-tse-kiang and the Ho-ang-ho
was the traditional cradle of the Indo-Chinese race, and that from this starting point
successive waves of emigrants entered Assam and India. The first to arrive were the
Mon-i\iiam, who are now found in Annam and Cambodia, but who have left a colony in
Assanj' in the shape of the Khasis. A second, wave of emigration brought the Tibeto-
Burm^ns, the ancestors of the Bodo tribe, who colonised the valley of the Brahmaputra,
and occupied the Garo, Tipperah, and a" portion at any rate of the Naga Hills. Another
branch came southwards down the Chindwin, settled in the Chin Hills, and were
compelled by the pressure of population to move northwards into Cachar, Manipur, and
evei^ into the Assam range.
It cannot be pretended that this description of the successive waves of Tibeto-
Burman immigration can lay claim to historical or scientific accuracy, and it seems
doubtful whether the Naga is as closely allied to the Kachari as the Lalung or Garo.
The head-hunting instincts of the tribes that inhabit the Naga Hills suggests a connection
wi|ih the races of the Malay Peninsula, and tends to differentiate them from the members
of the Bodo family, amongst whom, as far as 1 am aware, the custom is unknown even
tc| tradition. It is true that the Kacharis have been the- subjects of a more or less
cjvilised Government for centuries, but head-hunting is not practised, even by the tribes
who live in the hills to the north of the Brahmaputra, and who are still in a condition of
freedom in which their natural instincts can have full play. The custom is of such a
striking character, that we should, I think, be almost justified in drawing a provisional
distinction, at any rate, between tribes that take heads and those which do not • and
1 should thus be inclined to place the Aniniistic tribes of the sub-Himalayan Hills' the
Brahmaputra Valley and the Garo* and Tipperah Hills in one group, the Khasis' and
Syntengs in another, and the Kukis and Lushais in a third, in which I should be
disposed to include the Naga tribes. SUch a classification is, of course, purely tentative
and will very probably be modified by the ethnographic survey of the province but'
taking it for what it is worth, it appears that of the tribes 60 per cent, fall in the first
group, 15 in the second and 25 in the third. f
202. Before passing on to an examination of the caste statistics, it would be as well
Difacuities In oonneotion with the to refer briefly to the difficulties under which the tahlf» Viae
been compiled. As far as the natives of the province were
themselves concerned, we had but httle trouble. The number of sub-castes amongst the
* According to Colonel Dalton, the Garos used to kill a Bengali and preserve his skull on. the occa<!lon n( tu^ t •
of their chiefs, but this is not quite the same as ' head-hunting.' ^ occasion of the funeral
t A large number of Christians in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills have been treated as Khasis and Garos respect! el
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Assamese is small, and such subdivisions as do exist were well known to the enume- Caste,
raters ; so that the only difficulty with which they were confronted was in regard to
low caste persons, who endeavoured to get themselves returned as members of castes
of higher rank in the Hindu social system. But when it came to the enumeration of
the foreigners, it was a very different matter. Most of the castes are split up into
sub-castes, and in a large number of cases it was a sub-caste or a title, and not the
caste that was entered in the schedule. The labour of classifying these sub-castes
under their proper heads was very great aind in many cases, as the name returned
was equally applicable to several main castes, it was impossible to make certain that
the classification was correct. The spelling of these foreign names was an additional
source of confusion. The caste was entered on the schedule by the enumerator as
he thought it ought to be spelt, copied by another man who not unfrequently had
never heard of the name that he was copying, and finally entered by the sorter on his
ticket, with the inevitable result that in a certain number of cases the name which
appeared upon the sorter's ticket was not the name of any known caste, tribe, race or
profession. The mere sorting of the names returned was also a most tedious and trying
operation, as can be judged from the fact that no less than 460 caste names were found
in a box containing 11,456 Hindu slips.
These numerous difficulties have, however, affected the accuracy of the caste table
less seriously than might at first be supposed. Although (he number of cases in
which we were puzzled to know what was meant was large, there were, as a rule, only
one or two persons returned under the ambiguous entry, so that the total number of
persons affected by these mistakes was small, and the entries for all the castes of any
numerical importance can be accepted without hesitation as correct.
ALPHABETICAL GLOSSARY.
[NOTE.— Castes which are Indigenous are marked as follows :— (S) when Indigenous to Surma
Valley only; (A) when Indigenous to Assam Valley or the Hill Districts; (P) when Indigenous to both
Valleys.!
SOS- Abor (A). — A tribe inhabiting the hills to the north of Sadiya between the
1901 .,. ... 321 Dihong and the Sesseri, whose violations of our territory
1^^^ - ••• ■■■ iiccccjjltcit.ed a -ptinit4ve_exDedition in 1894. They are
divided into numerous clans, but, unlike the majority of hillmen, act together in
all matters affecting the general welfare of the tribe. Colonel Dalton quotes with
disapproval the theory that the Abors are connected with the Mishmis, but thinks
that they are the same people as the Hill Miris, Dafias and Akas, though in personal
appearance at any rate they differ very materially from the last-named clan. I have
received an interesting account of the Padam Abors from Mr. F. J. Needham, C.I.E.,
which I only refrain from pubHshing, as it will be more in place in the ethnographic
survey of the province.
Agaria. — A cultivating caste found in the tributary mahals of Chota Nagpur.
jgoj gig Colonel Dalton describes them as being tall and well
1891 ••• - - 57^ made, with Aryan features and tawny complexions. The
majority of the persons censused in the province were working on tea gardens in
Sylhet and Sibsagar.
Agarwal. — A wealthy trading caste of Upper India, who claim to represent
^ggj 4182 the Vaisyas of Manu ; 4,003 of this caste were censused
1891 ::: ... ... 2;325 |„ [^g Brahmaputra Valley, where they are known under the
generic term of ' Kayah.'
Agrahari. — A trading caste of Upper India. Twenty-five females were censused
j^ggi 28 in Cachar, the men apparently having been returned under
1891 ■ - ■■■ 6 some other name.
Ahir. — This name indicates either a section of Ghasis or a sub-caste of Goalas,
^ggj 8,928 out there is nothing to show to which caste these Ahirs
1891 ... ••. •• ' belonged. In 189 1 the sub-caste, as well as the caste, was
returned, and it was thus possible to classify these people under their proper head.
Seven thousand one hundred and sixty-five Ahirs were censused on tea gardens, and
the majority were probably Ghasis {q.v>)
Ahom (A).— The Ahoms are the descendants of a Shan tribe who entered Assam
1901 .., 178,049 in the t3th century, and, after overthrowing the Chutiya
Jlli :;: ;:: .■■; ifLlil and Koch kingdoms, became rulers of the Brahmaputra
Valley. The Ahoms are divided into three sections, — the Chamuas, or gentry, the
Kheluas or functional sections, and the Meluas, or servants of the rOyal family. These
sections' are not endogamoqs, though there is a natural tendency for men to take
wives from families in their own rank of . life, and intermarriage between certain
Chamua families, such as the Handikoi and the Pakimara, is prohibited for reasons
F F
1901.
1891.
Darranff
.. 3,454
3,136
Nowgong
.. 3,381
5,266
Sibsagar
... 111,119
97,465
Lakhlmpur
... 59,050
46,870
Other districts
... 1,045
792
Provlnoe
... 178,049
153,528
122 REPORT Oli THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, IQOr. [CHAP. XI.
Caste, which are not very clear. The Kheluas .were originally purely functional groups;
the khels being formed by the selection of men of various families, to whom sp^ecial
occupations were assigned. The figures in the margin
show the distribution of Ahoms by districts. As is only
natural, the great majority are to be found in Sibsagar
and Lakhimpur, for, though their kingdom included at one
time the whole of the Brahmaputra Valley, they never
colonised Central and Lower Assam. The provincial
figures at the last three enumerations fluctuate in a rather curious manner. In 1891
there was a great decrease, which Mr. Gait explained as being—
Partly to be attributed to the gradual disappearance of the Ahoms as a distinctive race and
partly to the additional caste column having rendered it possible to classify under the proper
head persons of other tribes who returned themselves as Ahoms in the main caste column. There
is, for instance, a sept of Chutiyas called Ahom Chutiyas, and '['bengal Kacharis and Morans
also often claim to be Ahoms. In 188 1, when there was only one column for caste, it i.s possible
that some of these appeared as Ahoms. But the first cause is doubtless the main one.
As compared with the "previous census, the Ahoms have increased by i5'9per cent.,
and the figures closely approach those of 1881. A large part of this increase is no doubt
due to natural growth, but this can hardly be the only explanation, nor can the increase
which has occurred in Lakhimpur, and w'hich amounts to no less than 26 per cent., be
altogether explained by the assumption that, owing to the absence of a second caste
column, a certain number of Kacharis and Chutiyas have on the present occasion been
returned as Ahoms. The figures afford a good instance of the difficulty of obtaining
a really accurate return of caste.
I. Aiton (A). — A small section of the Shan tribe, who are said to have supplied
1001 ... ... ... 85 eunuchs for the royal seraglios. They have not yet attorned
^^^^ ^^^ to Hinduism and, like the Noras and Phakiyals, are still
Buddhists. Only one Aiton was censused outside Sibsagar. Some of them have
possibly been returned as Shans.
Aka (A). — A small and independent tribe occupying the hills to tie no^rth of
1001 28 Tezpur between Towang and the BhorelH. Colonel Dalton
1891 14 considers- them ta-tn;-T;Wo«lj-«4HetrTcrthe Daflas, Miris and
Abors, but they differ froni them considerably in appearance. They are more cleanly
than the Daflas, and the young men often have a remarkably effeminate appearance,
looking like rather pretty girls. In spite of this, they are warlike and independent.
They evidently have trade relations with Thibet, as their chiefs wear the flowered silk
robe's and curious enamelled hats obtainable in that country. As far as I am aware, no
Akas have settled in the plains.
Amat. — According to Mr. Risley, a cultivating caste of Behar, many of whom are
jgQj 1,2 employed as personal servants. The seven Amats censused
1891 - - ••■ 86 jjj Goalpara probably came to the province in that capacity,
Asura. — A small non-Aryan tribe of Lohardaga, who in their own country are
j^ggj _ ___ 1205 smelters of iron ; 364 were censused on tea gardens.
1891 .'.'.' '■" "■'■ '513
Atit. — This term may indicate either a religious mendicant or a guest. The
i|gi ;;■ ;;• |5 majority of Atits censused in the province were females.
Babhan. — The origin of this caste is not quite clear. One set of legends connects
j^gQj^ . 220 them with Brahmans, but Mr. Risley is of opinion that they
1891 765 ^j.g probably a branch of the Rajputs. In Behar their
social status is good, but it is apparently only the poorer members of the caste who
come to Assam, as 171 were censused on tea gardens.
Badyakar (P). — A functional title used by persons of several castes, who play
1901 350 on drums on ceremonial and festive occasions. The
1891 persons who returned themselves under this head were
probably Dom Patnis or Nadiyals, but the same sub-caste is found amongst the Muchis
and Haris. In 1891, the second column made it possible to refer these people to their
proper head.
Bagdi. — According to Mr. Risley, a cultivating, fishing and menial caste of Central
1901 9,109 and Western Bengal, who appear to be of Dravidian
i^^i - - - ^'°^* descent. They rank low in the social scale with Bauris and
Bhuiyas, and indulge freely in flesh and liquor; 7,061 out of the total number
enumerated were censused on tea gardens.
Baidya (S). — The physician caste, who are said to be the same as the Ambastha
1901 5,154 of Manu, i.e., the offspring of a Brabrnan father and Vaisya
1891 *'608 mother. They hold a high position in Hindu society and
* There has been a decrease of 4,005 in the number of Morans censused in Lakhimpur. These persons were,
probably all entered as Ahoms..
CHAP. XI.] THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS. 1 23
apparently take precedence even of Kayasthas. In Bengal they wear the sacred Caste,
thread, but this is not as yet the practice in Sylhet, and they observe, like Sudras, thirty
days asaucha (impurity after birth or death). The great majority of the Baidyas are
found in Sylhet, where they intermarry with Kayasthas. They abstain from all manual
labour.
Bairagi (P). — A term indicating a religious mendicant, generally devoted to the
1901 3,270 worship of Vishnu, who may be of any caste. Most of
■"■^^^ ■■■ •" ••■ *'^°^ those enumerated were censused in Sylhet.
Baniya (P).-— The term has a wide connotation, and, properly speaking, is not
1901 ... ... ... 4,440 a caste name at all. Those returned in Kamrup were pro-
^^^^ ^■■'■*^ bably Sonars, who are natives of the province, and the name
is^also used by Gandhabaniks in Sylhet, and by foreigners who trade in grain and other
articles.
Barhi. — Theoretically, the carpenter caste of Behar, but many of its members have
1901 ... ... ... 278 taken to agriculture, and those found in the province have
^^^^ •■■ ■•■ ■•■ ^^^ apparently come there as garden coolies, 195 having been
censused on tea estates. In Behar Brahmans will take water from their hands.
Barna Brahman (P). — Under the term Barna Brahman, I have included the
1901 ... 3,144 priests of those castes to whom a good Srahman declines
^^^^ •• ■■• •■■ ^'^^^ to minister. These persons are either genuine Brahmans,
who have been degraded, or members of the caste they serve, who by a fiction have been
created Brahmans. The return of such a caste is obviously most unreliable, and in
many cases the qualifying epithet Barna has been omitted, the deficiency being most
conspicuous in the Assam Valley.
Barnasankar. — The term Barnasankar is applied to the offspring of illicit
1901 ... ... ... e intercourse between the members of different castes. It
^^^^ - •■■ - ° was only reported from the Surma Valley.
Barui (S). — The Barui are cultivators of the betel-vine, and their pan gardens
x»o3-_ 18,488 are to be seen on the banks of many of the rivers in the
1891 ... — -_, ... 22',58i Sylhet district, which contains eight-ninths of the total
number enumoratcTi~-.>4^^tJae^ cengiia^ . T he, Baruis are members of the Nabasakh,
and. have a Srotriya Brahman as their priest ; but they are not contented with their
position, and endeavour to get themselves entered as Kayasthas, a fact which no
doubt explains the decrease in their numbers. In 1881, they were so successful in
concealing their real caste that only 4,429 were returned in the whole province.
Baud. — A cultivating caste of Western Bengal of non-Aryan origin. Their social
1901 42,473 status IS Very low, and, according to Mr. Risley, they eat
^^®^ ^^'^*® beef, pork and fowls, and are much addicted to strong drink.
They are employed as coolies in Assam, 35,473 of them having been censused on the
tea plantations.
Bediya. — It is obviously impossible to be certain whether the persons returned
1901 1,722 under this name are Bedias or Bediyas. The Bedias are
^®^^ ^'"^^ a small agricultural tribe of Chota Nagpur, who are sup-
posed to be connected with the Kurmis. The majority of the people returned under
this head were censused in Sibsagar and Lakhimpur, and were probably Bedias.
Bediya, according to Mr. Risley, is the generic name of a number of vagrant gipsy-
like groups.
Behara. — A title of Bagdis, Bauris, Chandals, K-ahars, and others. The absence
1901 ... 27 of a second column for caste rendered it impossible to
^^^^ ° ascertain the true caste of the persons returned under
this name.
iloi ::: ::: ::: ^^% Bej. — Possibly a synonym for Bediya.
Beldar. — An earth-working caste of Behar and Western Bengal. They are
1901 321 akin to the Nunias, but will only carry the earth in
1^^^ ^''^ baskets balanced on the head \ 247 were censused on
tea-gardens.
1901 ^ 109 Besya(P).— A title of prostitutes, used in Sylhet and
1891 ^^ Goalpara.
1001 157 Bhakta. — A titleof Sunrisand Kaibarttas. It was only
1891 ••• •■■ ° returned from Sibsagar.
1^01 55 Bhandari(S).— A title applied to indoor servants in
1891 •" *^ Sylhet, where 54 of the Bhantlaris were censused.
Bhangi. — The sweeper caste of Hindustan ; 7 were censused in the North Cachar
jgoi 7 Hills, to which place they had been^ imported by the
1891 - •" - railway authorities.
1901
1891
...
1,068
24
1901
1891
...
498
65
Bhuinhar.-
-A
title
1901
1891
;•;
61
Bhuinmali(S).
,— An
1901
1891
;:: ;;;
...
42,185
50,940
124 REPORT ON THB CENSUS OF ASSAM, tgOl. [CHAP. XI.
Caste. Bhar. — A small Dravldian caste of Western Bengal and Chota Nagpur "; 10,465
1901 ... ... ... 13,265 were censused on the tea-gardens of the province, the great
^^^^ ®'^^^ majority being found in the Surma Valley. Their social
status seems to be a little higher than that of the majority of coolie castes, and, accord-
ing to Mr. Risley, in Manbhum the higher castes take water from their hands.
Bhat (S). — A respectable caste ranking above the Kayastha, whose traditional
1901 ... ... ... 1,002 occupation is that of genealogist and family bard. In
^^®* ^'^'■^ Sylhet they claim to be Kshatriyasj and a certain number
have probably returned themselves under that name; but though Brahmans will take
their water they will not take food cooked by them. Very few Bhats were censused
outside the Sylhet district.
Bhatiya. — A term applied in Goal para, to 'down river'
Muhammadans who come to Assam to trade.
Bhi(. — A Dravidian race of Central India, the majority
of whom were found in the Surma Valley,
of Bhumij Mundas and Oraons. It is impossible to
say to which of those three castes these 61 people be-
longed.
indigenous caste of Sylhet, who are said to be allied
to the Haris. The majority of the caste are now cultiva-
tors, palanquin bearers, tank excavators and so forth.
In 1881, these persons were all shown as Mali, and the decrease in numbers at the
last census as compared with 1891 is probably due to an increased use of this term.
Very few Bhuinmalis were censused outside the Sylhet district.
Bhuiya. — An aboriginal tribe of Chota Nagpur which is in great request on tea
1901 ... ... ... 49,447 gardens, where 38, 193 Bhuiyas were censused. They were
""■^^^ 32,186 found in considerable numbers in every tea district, but
were most numerous in Sibsagar.
Bhumij. — 'A Dravidian tribe of Chota Nagpur closely allied to the Munda^jrKey^
1901 34,259 are still in a primitive stage of Hinduism, and consume
^^®^ 2o;632 fowls and liquor Probablv ^'^ ^'^° Btrarwij censused in
the province came to ic originally as coolies, and 25,223 were censused on the tea-
plantations.
Bhutia. — The decrease in the number of Bhutias is more apparent than real, and
1901 ... _. 704 seems to be due to their having been entered under other
^^^^ ^'^°^ names, such as Buddhist unspecified; 1,654 people returned
themselves as speaking the Bhutia language, and they were probably all Bhutias.
The majority were censused in Kamrup and Darrahg, these being the two districts
between which and Towang (a small province under the control of Tiiibet which
touches our frontier near Udalguri) and Bhutan there is most trade.
Bind. — A large non-Aryan caste of Behar and Upper India, who are connected
1901 3,113 with the Nunias. Their social status is low, and they are
^^^^ •■• •■• - ■^'®^-'- generally employed as fishermen, earth workers, and daily
labourers ; 2,032 were censused on tea-gardens.
Binjhia.— An agricultural tribe foutid in the south of what was formerly^ the
1901 279 Lohardaga district. They are still in the earlier stages
^^^^ ^^® of conversion to Hinduism, and according to Mr. Risley
eat fowl and wild pig. In Assam they are employed as garden coolies.
Birhor.— A small Dravidian tribe of Chota Nagpur, who. according to Mr. Risley
1901 225 live in the jungle in tiny huts made of branches of trees,
^^®^ '^^ and eke out a miserable living by snaring hares and
monkeys and collecting jungle products. The Birhors censused in Assam have been
imported as garden coolies.
Boria (A). — A caste which, as far as I know, is peculiar to Assam, and is formed
1901 19,417 from the offspring of Brahman and Ganak widows and
^^^^ - • ^^'^^^ their descendants. Boria is said to be derived from
' bari, ' a widow, but the people prefer to call themselves Sut. This term is said
by some to be connected with the word Sudra, and by others to be derived from
Sut, the expounder of the Puranas, who was himself the son of a Brahman widow but the
most plausible explanation seems to be that it is an abbreviation of Suta, the name given
in the Shastras to the offspring of a Brahman woman by a Vaisya or Kshatriya father.
One authority defines a Boria as the child of a Brahman widow, and a Sut as the
result of union between a Sudra widow and a Brahman, but I doubt whether this expla-
nation is correct, as in the latter case the child would presumably be of the same caste
as its mother. The children of Brahman girls who have attained puberty before marriage
CHAP. XI.J
THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS.
125
1901.
1891.
Kammp
1,002
- 989
Darrang
. 3,786
3,563
Nowgong
7,799
11,612
Slbsagar
. 5,348
5,319
Lakhimpur
1,294
941
Other districts ..
188
112
Province
19,417
22,521
a,nd so have to be married to men of a lower caste, are also classed with Borias. It is a
singular fact that Borias are more numerous in Nowgong than in any other district, though
the number of Brahmans there is comparatively small. I pointed this out to an educated
Brahman belonging to one of the priestly family of Nowgong, and the explanation
offerred by him was that the Gosains and Mohants of that district had put pressure
upon householders to give away young Brahman widows in marriage to men of lower
castes, to prevent the society from becoming demoralized. The suggestion seems
a strange one from the mouth of a Brahman, but I give it for what it is. worth.
The figures in the margin show the distribution of Borias by districts. There has
been little change except in Nowgong, where the whole of
the indigenous population has decreased in very nearly the
same proportion.
Brahman (P). — Described by Mr. Risley as the highest of the three twice-born
1901 109,446 castes and originally the priests of the Aryan community.
^^^^ 97,001 jjj j.{,g eleventh century Ballal Sen, a king of Bengal, insti-
tuted a careful enquiry into the qualifications of the Brahmans in his kingdom, and
a certain proportion were found deficient in their knowledge of the Hindu ritual
and lax in their practice. According to one tradition, these ignorant Brahmans were
the ancestors of the greater part of the Brahman community in Assam, and though
their numbers have from time to time been recruited by priests who were imported
from India by the various native kings, the Brahmans of Assam are not so highly or-
ganised a community as those of Bengal. There is no Kulinism, in Assam Proper there
are no sub-castes, and in Sylhet the Rarhi and Barendra sub-castes are almost
unknown. In Lower Assam, Brahmans are said to take
ga-dhon when they give their daughters in marriage, and
there is a certain amount of laxity in their observance of
the rules regarding the gotra. The figures in the margin
show the distribution of Brahmans by districts. The large
increase in their numbers is chiefly due to the inclusion
of figures for Manipur, and partially to the fact that more
Barna Brahmans have omitted the qualifying prefix than
in 1 891.
British. — The term British includes those who have returned themselves as English,
1901. 1801. Scotch, Irish and Welsh. In 1901 there were 1,384 males
and 423 females, as compared with 1,029 males and 352
females in i8gi. There has been a large increase in the
British population of Sibsagar and Lakhimpur, but in the
Cachar Plains it is positively less than it was ten years
ago, the depression in the tea industry during the last
few years having necessitated a considerable reduction in
the European establishment. As is only natural, the British
1,807 1,381 3''6 most numerous in the great tea districts, i.e., Lakhinv-
pur, Sibsagar, Sylhet, Cachar and Darrang.
Brittial Baniya (A) — At the last census this caste was returned under the name
^QQ^ 7^784 of Hari, and the following remarks were recorded about
1891 them in the report :
Their position has of late years much improved, especially in the Brahmaputra Valley,
where they have taken largely to trade and to working in gold, and many of them now describe
themselves by euphemistic terms expressive of these occupations, such as Brittiyal and Sonari.
As has been shown in Chapter IX, the proportion of educated men amongst the
Brittial Baniyas is unusually large, and the leaders of their community submitted a me-
morial to the Chief Commissioner, in which they denied all connection with the sweeper
caste, and asked to be allowed to abandon the terra Hari. This concession was granted
to them, and there can be no question as to the fact that at the present day. the
Brittial Baniyas are clerks, {;okismiths, and agriculturists, and decline to acknowledge
any sort of connection with the scavengering class. Whether they were originally the
sweeper Haris, as has been stated in previous census reports, or goldsmiths, who from
their pilfering habits were called Apahari, as the Brittials themselve allege, it is not for
me to decide. The claims put forward by them have, however, been rejected by all
G Q
Caste.
1901.
1891.
Cachar Plains
.. 3,590
4,880
Sylhet
.. 39,761
37,093
Goalpara
.. 3,206
2,063
Samrup
.. 23,145
24,738
Darrang
.. 6,432
4,741
Nowgong
.. 6,115
7,430
Slhsagar
.. 14,438
12,177
Lakhimpur
.. 3,808
2,465
manipur
.. 7,295
Other districts .
.. 1,656
514
Province
. 109,446 97,001
Cachar Plains
248
251
Sylhet
299
246
Qoalpara
40
43
Eamrup
31
29
Darrang ... • ...
195
161
Nowgong
88
34
Slhsagar
301
199
Lakhimpur ...
403
263
Lushal Hills ...
15
13
North Cachar
42
1
Naga EiUs ...
16
8
Ehasi and Jaintia Hills
102
133
Garo Hills ...
Manipur
7
20
Province
126 REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, IQOI. [CHAP. XI.
Caste. high-caste Assamesej with whom I have had any correspondence* or conversation on
the subject,
Chamar. — The tanner caste of Behar and Upper India. They are largely
1901 43,675 employed as coolies, especially in the Surma Valley, and
^^^^ - 17,879 30,693 were censused on tea gardens. They stand at
the very bottom of the scale in the Hindu social system.
Chasa. — According to Mr. Risley, the chief cultivating caste of Orissa, who,
1901 3,230 though probably of non- Aryan origin, rank sufficiently high
^^^^ ■•■ ^'^'^ for Brahmans to take water from their h;mds ; 2,006 were
censused in the Sibsagar district, to which place they had no doubt been imported as
garden coolies.
1901 91 Chaudhari. — A title of Halwais, Goalas, Sunris,
■"■^^•^ ■■• ° Kalwars, Kurmis and many other castes.
Chero. — A cultivating caste of Behar and Chota Nagpur, which there enjoys
1901 . . .. 95 a fairly good position ; 52 Cheros were censused on tea
1891 ... ... ... 176 gardens.
Chhatri.— A synonym for Rajput. The majority of the persons who returned
1901 17 372 themselves under this title had probably but little real
i««i - ^ 5'2oo claim to it.
Chunari. — An occupational title indicating a lime-burner; 270 persons were
1901 288 returned under this head in Sylhet.
1891 ... ... 33
Chutiya (A). — One of the race castes of Assam. Robinsonf describes them as
being a branch of the great Shan family, who in all
1891 ::; ;;; .".' I?;!!? probability settled in the province a short time prior to
the invasion of the Ahoms, but linguistically they are con-
nected with the Bodo, and, according to an old Assamese Buranji, they entered Assam
from the north, crossed the Subansiri and settled near Sadiya, where they overthrew a
Hindu Pal dynasty. At the time of the Ahorn invasion they were the dominant
power in Upper Assam, but they were completely crushed by the Ahoms at the beginning
of the 161 h century. Hinduism had made great strides amongst the Chutiyas, even
before their overthrow, and they are now divided into three classes, — Hindu, Ahom, and
Borahi Chutiya. The first two sections of the tribe have been completely Hinduised, but
though they intermarry, the Hindu Chutiya claims to take precedence of the Ahom
Chutiya, and I am told that the presence of the latfer in any house debars a Brahman
from drinking water there, though the same restraint is not exercised by the Hindu
Chutiya. 'i hey are served by a Patit Brahman, and their manners and customs are
those of the ordinary low-caste Assamese. The Borahi Chutiya, as his nart\e signifies,
is still unconverted, and an eater of swine's flesh, but he will not touch goat, which is
permitted, of course, to the Hinduised section of the tribe, a survival, no doubt, of some
totemistic theories on the .subject. The position of the caste in society is a low one
and education has made but little progress amongst them.
The figures in the margin show the distribution of the
1901. 1891.
Kamrup ... ... 713 1,036
Now|?&;:: ::; I'Ml ■&%%% caste bv districts. There has been little change except in
SllDsagar ... ... 57,030 54,587 ° ^
Nowgong, where Chutiyas, like the rest of the population,
Lakhlmpur ... 17,548 17,206
Other districts ... 342 848
Province ... ... 85,829 87,691
~ have suffered heavily.
Dafia (A).— A tribe who live in the hills to the north of the Tezpur and North
1901 954 Lakhimpur subdivisions. Colonel Dalton considers them
^^^^ /'^^^ to be closely allied to the Hill Miris, and Mr. Penny, of
Biswanath, who has visited their hills, says that they are akin to and intermarry with the
Abors. The Dallas have a reputation for cowardice, and as politically they are very
disunited, they are at the mercy of the Akas, their less numerous but more warlike
neighbours on the west. Their clothing is scanty, and Its most distinguishing feature
* District A. — " Hari or Brittial Baniya. Their original occupation was probably sweeper or mehtar. AH of
them have now departed from it. Their present occupation is goldsmith and cultivation." •
District S. — " Brittial, Hari, these two intermarry ; they are one and the same caste in practice."
District C.—" The theory that HarWs a. corruption of Apahari, meaning; a stealer of gold, is quite fanciful
During the Ahom rule they were professional scavengers. Latterly, many of them took to the profession of goldsmith "'
District D—" Brittial Baniya. This is a new invention, they are pure and simple Haris, and are inferior in
position to Doms or Nadiyals."
Srijui A.—" Bvittia\ Bamy a. No doubt this class or caste, if it means anything, has been newly created
Whether they should be returned by this name or called Hari is a question, which it is useiess to aiscuss. That thev
are inferior to the Nadiyals does not admit ot any doubt." ' "
t History of Assam, page 323.
CHAP. XI .] THE RESJJLTS OF THE CENSUS. 12']
is a cane cap with a fringe of bear skin or feathers, which gives them a very curious Caste,
appearance. The men wear their hair in a plait, which is coiled into a ball on
the forehead, to which they fasten their caps with a long skewer. They keep slaves,
and, though they treat them kindly, will not allow them to marry free women. On more
than one occasion, I have seen Bengali coolies who had run away into the hills and been
converted into Daflas, and the effect was very curious. They do not seem to be parti-
cular about the chastity of their women, and 1 have heard of a case in which a Dafla
proposed to barter the services of the lady who was accompanying him, presumably
his wife, in exchange for a bottle of whisky. A certain number of Daflas have settled
in the plains, but the variation in the figures depends upon the number who happen
to be down from the hills on the census night.
Dami. — According to Mr. Risley, a Nepalese caste,
1891 ;;; :;; ;:; ^®o whose traditional occupation is tailoring,
ilgi ::: ;;: 1,021 Darzi. — An occupational rather than a caste name,
indicating a tailor.
Das (S). — The people who have returned themselves under this name were called
1901 ... .., .,. 71,092 Halwa Das in 1891. According to their own account, the
^^^^ ° Das were oiiginally a warlike race of Bengal, who had great
power and influence in Sylhet, and they now claim to rank above the Nabasakh and
in some parts of the Surma Valley to be superior to Kayasthas. These claims are not,
as far as I can ascertain, admitted by the higher castes of Hindus, and I am told that
there are some places even in the Sylhet district* where water is not taken from their
hands by a Brahman, while it is quite the exception for the water of a Das priest to
be drinkable by the higher castes. From the memorials submitted by the Das, it
would appear that there has been some confusion in their minds between earthly and
heavenly rank. Their position in this world may be one of wealth and influence,
but this fact does not necessarily prove that the caste has a high position in the Hindu
social system.
The statement in the margin gives details by districts for Halwa Das in 1891 and
1901. 1891.
Caohar Plains ... 1,050 ^ 1,242
sylhet ... ... 119,221 140,996
Das, Sudra Das and Halwa Das at the last census. The
§til?*Striots .".■ iio ■'■'277 great decrease in their numbers in Sylhet is due to the use
ProTlnoe ... 121,473 143,536
1901 23
1891 ... ". ••■
of the term Sudra.
Dasnami. — A title used by Sivaite religious mendic-
ants.
Deh"an (S). — A small caste in Cachar, who are said to have formed part of an
j^ggj^ 394 expedition despatched from the Assam Valley in the time of
1891 - - - 870 -^^y. Narayan. They claim to be Koches or Rajbansis.
Deori (A). — The priestly caste of the Chutiyas, who are still to be found in
^^^^ 361 Sibsagarand Lakhimpur, though in the former district they
1891 .'." have been shown in the census tables under the head of
Chutiya.
Their original home was on the banks of the Kundil river east of Sadiya, but when
the Ahom power began to decline, they were harried by the hill tribes in the neighbour-
hood and at the beginning of the century they migrated to North Lakhimpur, and from
there moved to the Majuli, the Dikrang river, Sissi MukK and the Baligao mauza in
Torhat. The Mongolian type is much more strongly marked in them than in the
ordinary Chutiya,. and they might easily be mistaken for Miris. _'Jhey keep pigs and
fowls but their most peculiar characteristic is the enormous size of the houses in
which they dwell. These houses are built on changs, and are enlarged from time
to time to make room for the increasing size of the family. There are frequently as
many as sixty persons Hving in one long barrack, and Mr. Clark, the Subdivisional
Officer of Jorhat, to whom I am largely indebted for the information embodied in this
note informs rne that the Chutiyas themselves say that there are somelimes double
this number living under one roof.
The Deori Chutiyas on the Majuli profess to be Hindus, but beef is the only
article of food from which they abstain, and Mr. Clark infonns me that all that they
could remember of the instructions of their Gosain was that they were to pray to God,
and keep their instructions secret, and it was possibly with the idea of avoiding any
risk of indiscretion that they had so carefully forgotten all that they had been told.
Their temples are copies in wood and thatch of the famous copper temple at Sadiya,
* e.g., in parganas Bejura and Kasimnagar.
128 REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, IQOI. [CHAP. X.
Caste which was at one time a centre of worship for all the hill tribes on the north-east
frontier, but has long been in ruins. These models are small-domed buildings about
eight feet square, raised on high bamboos and not unlike pigeon houses in
appearance standing in enclosures, into which no one but the temple officials are
allowed to enter, and in the principal village on the Majuli a copper roof is being
placed on the model to render the resemblance more complete. Mr. Brown, who
was at one time Assistant Commissioner in North Lakhimpur, reports that the Deoris
attach great importance to their own religion, but that a knowledge of its mysteries
is apparently confined to the priests and the older men. There are four priests
attached to each khel, the Bor and Saru Deori and the Bor and Saru Bharali. The two
Deoris alone are entitled to enter the temple, and the Bhoralis, as their name implies,
are mainly concerned with the temporalities of the goddess. The chief gods are
three — Gerasi Geri (Assamese *Bura-buri') worshipped by the Debongia khel;
Pishadema (Assamese ' Boliya hemata '), the elder son, worshipped by the Tengapa-
niya khel ; and Peshasl (the daughter), who is also known as Tameshari Mai (the mother
of the copper temple), and Kechakhati (the eater of raw flesh). The latter name
is given in memory of the annual human sacrifice which in former times used to be
offered to the goddess, the victim being provided by the Ahom Raja. This abomina-
tion was discontinued during the reign of Gaurinath Singh, and according to the Deoris
it was from that date that the power of the Ahoms began to decline.
1901 104 Dhai. — A midwife, the majority of those returned were
•^^^^ ° Muhammadans,
Dhangar. — According to Mr. Risley, the name is functional and signifies an
1901 195 agricultural labourer in Chota Nagpur, and not a caste or
^^^^ ^^^ tribe. The Dhangars in this province are garden coolies.
Dhanuk. — A cultivating caste of Behar. Their social position according to
1901 382 Mr. Risley, is respectable, as they rank with Kurmis and
^^^^ ^^^ Koiris, and Brahmans will take water .from their hands ;
215 were censused on tea gardens.
1891 !:: Dhari. — A class of women who play, sing and dance.
Dhenuar. — A small Dravidian caste of Chota Nagpur, possibly akin to the
1901 423 Mundas ; only 4 were censused outside tea gardens.
1891 ... .. ... 38
Dhoba (S).— According to Mr. Risley, the Dhoba are the washerman caste of
Dhoba. Bengal and Orissa, and the Dhobi the corresponding
i9?044 24^299 caste in Bihar ; but it is obvious that, as the names are so
Dhoti. much alike, very little reliance can be placed upon the
^*'^®* ^^'®®^ figures. The social position of the caste is low, and they
rank with Chandals and people of that class, a fact which no doubt explains the
preat decrease thai has occurred in Sylhet, which is probably due to Dhobis having
returned themselves as Sudras.
Dholi (S). — A functional caste which has possibly sprung from the Dom Patni
1901 10,278 or Kaibartta. They rank very low in the social scale,
^^^^ ''^^-^ and their traditional occupation is drumming. Only 175
Dholis were censused OutJ-.ide Sylhet.
1901 30 Dhunia. — A Muharamadan caste, if the term be per-
■^^^^ - - ••• ^^ missible, of cotton carders.
Doaniya (A). — A mixed race, descended from Singphos and their Assamese
1901 1,015 slaves, 263 were censused in Sibsagar and 7si in La-
1891 715 khimpur. '^
1391 ;.: " Dogra.— A Punjab caste of Rajput origin.
Dosadh. — According to Mr. Risley, a degraded Aryan or refined Dravidian caste
1901 9,761 of Behar and Chota Nagpur. Their social status is very
^^^^ ^'^^^ low, and they will eat pork, tortoises and fowls. 6,-0^
Dosadhs wtre censused on tea gardens, the majority being found in the Surma Vailev
Fakir (P).— According to Mr. Risley, an Arabic word properly denoting
1901 66 Muhammadan religious mendicant, but loosely used to
^^"^ . ■■• ^^^ denote beggars of all kinds. Eighteen Fakirs returned
themselves as Hindus.
Gadharia.— A section of Goalas in Behar. The name returned was possibly
1901 7 Gadariva, a synonym for Gareri, the shepherd caste "
1391 ... ... ... 1 11..
1901.
1801;
Sylliet
... 5,610
6,859
Eamrap
... 6,048
5.967
Darraner
... 6,246
8,121
Slbsagrar
... 1,997
2,081
Other districts
... 634
711
Total FroTince
... 20,535
23,739
CHAP. XI.J THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS. 129 '
1901 278 Gain. — A title applied to low caste Muhammadaa Caste.
1801 ... ... ... singers.
Ganak (P). — According to the Brahma Baivartta Puran, the Ganaks are de-
1901 ... 20,535 scended from the wife of a Brahman, who miraculously
^^^^ •■• , - :•• 23,'739 gayg jjirth to a child shortly after she had been ravished
by a son of the sun-god. In the Surma Valley, whether on account of their origin, or of
their traditional occupation — astrology, — Ganaks are looked upon with much disfavour,
and are placed below the castes from whose hands high-caste Hindus take water. In
Assam, however, t^eir position is one of great respectability, and Mr. Gait wrote of
them in 1891 :
Several Gosains of Upper Assam, who were consulted by Lieutenant Gurdon, bear testimony
to the high position occupied by the Assam Ganaks, but admit that they cannot act as priests.
There is, however, no doubt that, though socially inferior to Brahmans, they rank above all other
castes, their high position being doubtless due to the favour in which they were held by the Ahom
and Koch kings.
The Ganaks of Mangaldai, and the Tulsijaniya Ganaks of Sibsagar, are, however,
said to be degraded, and in parts of Assam Kayasthas and Bor Kalitas have put
forward claims to take precedence of Ganaks. This movement is apparently due to
a desire on the part of the h'gher castes amongst the Assamese to apply the rules of
Bengal to the valley of the Brahmaputra. As far as I can ascertain, the lower classes
still place the Ganak immediately after the Brahman, and the opinion of the higher
castes in a matter of this kind has obviously to be received with a good deal of caution.
The statement in the margin shows , the distribution
by districts. The decrease in Sylhet and Darrang is
probably due to Ganaks having returned themselves as
Brahmans.
Gandapal (P). — A small caste which is practically confined to Sylhet and
1901 460 Goalpara, One theory of their origin is that they were
^^^^ - ^^^^ hillmen who were employed as guards on boats navigating
the haors of western Sylhet, where there used formerly to be a good deal of river.
<lacoity, and who subsequently took to boating as a profession. They are said to rank
first amongst the fishing castes. A considerable number of the Gandapals must, I
think, have got themselves returned under other caste names.
Gandhabanik (P). — The spice-selling, druggist, and grocer caste of Bengal.
1901 .. ... ... 1643 They are sometimes called Baniyas, and of 1 ate years have
^^^ ®^^ taken to the manufacture ot jewellery. They are a clean
Sudra caste, and are included amongst the Nabasakh ; 1,066 were censused in Sylhet
and 540 in Goalpara.
Gandhar.' — A small caste, who sing and play on musical instruments. The
JIgJ ■•; :;; •;; q solitary Gandhar was found in Kamrup.
Gangota. — A cultivating and labouring caste of Behar. They rank with Kurmis
JIgJ ;■; I and Koiris, and Brahmans take water from their hands.
Ganjhu. — A title of Binjhias, Gonds, Khandaits, Kharwars, Musahars and others.
jgoj . 2,472 In 1891, the additional column in the schedule made it
1881 ' o possible to ascertsin to what caste the Ganjhus belonged ;
1,162, persons on tea-gardens returned theraselve-s under this title.
Gareri. — The shepherd and goatherd caste of Behar. According to Mr. Risley,
jgpj 747 the caste in Bengal is a pure one, i.e., Brahmans can take
1881 •■• •■■ - ®2* their water ; 327 were censused on tea-gardens.
Garo (A). — An Animistic tribe, whose present home is in the hills which bear
jgpj 128,117 their name. They are probably a section of the great Bodo
1891 ••• - 119,754 tribe, which at one time occupied a large part of Assam.
103,538 Garos were censused in the Garo Hills, 10,842 in Goalpara, 5,144 in Kamrup
and 5,768 in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills ; elsewhere, the number is small.
i|oi - ;;; § Gharti. — A Nepalese caste or sub-caste.
Ghasi. — A Dravidian fishing and cultivating; caste of Chota Nagpur. They rank
12722 with Doms and Musahars, eat beef and pork and are
1891 "• »'"2 greatly addicted to drink. The Ghasis are a coolie castq,
and 10,256 were censused on tea gardens.
H H
130 REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, IQOI. [CHAP. XI.
Caste. Ghatwal. — This is not a caste, but a title of many castes such as Bhuraij,
1901 21,677 Kharwar, Bauri, etc., who. have been brought to the
18^1 ■•• 3;329 province as garden coolies. There was nothing to show
to what caste these persons really belonged. 9,514 Ghatwals were censused in
Sibsagar, 4,589 in Cachar and 3,905 in Lakhimpur.
Goala (S). — The cowherd caste of India. In Behar they rank as a. clean caste,
1901 38.283 from whom Brahmans can take water. In Bengal they
1801 "" "■'■ '■'■'■ 3i.'o89 ^^g placed below the Nabasakh, but in Orissa the Goalas
affect a high standard of purity, and look down upon their caste fellows in Bengal and
Behar. The Goalas in the Assam Valley are probably all foreigners, and only a portion
of those in Sylhet and Cach'ar are natives of the province. The figures for 1891
include Ahirs, and if this caste is added to the Goalas of 1901, their number rises to
47,211, a fact which shows that the caste must have been largely recruited from outside
during the last ten years. Many of the buffalo-keepers in Assam probably returned
themselves (and wrongly) as Goalas.
The figures in the margin show the dis.tribution of the caste by districts. The
1901. 1891.
syihfet' ^\'^'°' ::; il,!!? itMi increase in Sibsagar ?nd Lakhimpiir is probably due to
Qoalpara ... ... 2',161 1,946
baixiiugr ... ... 2,767 1,577
iibTfIa/::: ::: I;!!! a.ole coolie immigratioii, as no less than 16,390 Goalas were
Lakhimpnr ... 5',227 3',240
Other districts ... 1,425 426
^^°^'"'^ 38,283 31,089 ccnsuscd OH the gardens of the province.
Gon<i. — A Dravidian tribe of Lohardaga, Singbhum and the Central Provinces.
1901 ... ... .„ 4,464 Colonel Dalton describes them as being sullen, suspicious,
^°®^ 3'^®^ indifferent cultivators and ugly. Gonds come to this
province as coolies, and 3,935 were censused on tea gardens.
Gonrhi. — A fishing caste of Behar, 72 were censused in Sylhet and 8 in Goalpara.
1901 81 They were probably all foreign boatmen. Their water is
^^^^ ° not usually taken by Brahmans.
Gorait. — A caste of Lohardaga, whose traditional occupation is music and comb
1901 1,848 making. They, eat beef and pork, and indulge freely in
^^®^ ■ ■'■'^^^ liquor; 1,461 were censused on tea-gardens.
Gulgulja. — A tribe of gipsies of somewhat disreputable character. One Gulgulia
1901 1 was found in Goalpara.
1891 ... ... ... 20
Gurung. — One of the best of the fighting tribes of Nepal. They are found in
1901 2,070 every district of the province, but are most numerous in the
^^^\ - ^'^^3 Kha'si and Jaintia and the Naga Hills, where the Gurkha
regiments are stationed-
Haijong (P). — The home of this tribe is the Garo Hills and the submontane tracts
1901 8,766 of Sylhet, 5,258 persons having been censused in the
^®^^ ••' •" ■■• ^'*'° former and 2,805 i" the latter district. In 1891, the
Haijong language and the Haijong tribe were both said to be of Bodo origin, but
subsequent investigations have revealed that the Haijong language is akin to Bengali.
I have received no further information as to the racial affinities of the tribe.
Hajam. — The barber caste of Behar. Their status is good, and Brahmans take
1901 1,495 water from their hands. They are fairly evenly distributed
^^^^ ^'^^^ throughout the province.
Halwa Das (S). — The decrease in numbers is due to the fact that many members
1901 29,161 of this caste have returned themselves as Das or Sudra
]^^^ ^^^'^^^ Das. The total for these three castes is 121,473, but it
is probable that a large number of Halwa Dases have returned themselves simply as
Sudras, The caste is indigenous in the Surma Valley, and very few of its members
were found outside Sylhet (see ' Das ').
Halwai. — The confectioner caste of Behar. Their social position is good and
1901 1,028 Brahmans will take water from their hands. They are
^^^^ . "■ *^^ found in small numbers in most of the districts of the
province, where they are probably serving as shopkeepers.
Hari (S).— A menial and scavengering caste of Bengal Proper. The great
1901 4,890 decrease in their numbers is due to the fact that the figures
^^^^ ■ . ^^'^^° for 1891 include the Brittial Baniyas, of whom 7,784 were
censused m the province. '
It is doubtful whether Haris, as distinct from Brittial Baniyas, are indigenous in
Assam Proper, ''
CHAP. XI.j THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS. 131
Hira (A). — The caste is said to be a functional offshoot from the Naroasudra or Caste.
1901 8,703 Chandal. The Hiras are potters, the men bringing the
}^^^ ■■• - _ i0'065 ^\^y j^„(j taking the pots to market, and the women
fashioning theiii, not with the potter's wheel, but by laying on the earth in strips. Hiras
drink and smoke with Chandals, and give them their daughters in marriage, but will
not take a Chandalni to wife themselves.
Ho.— A non-Aryan tribe of Singbhum. They are said by Colonel Dalton to be
leoi 103 physically and morally superior to the Mundas, Bhumij,
}^^^ ^^ and Santals, a fact which no doubt accounts for the
small numbers who have been rinported to the province.
Hojai (P). — According to Mr. Gait, "a local name applfed to the Kacharis in that
1901 ... ... ... 839 part of Nowgong which was formerly under the rule of
^^^'^ - _ _ 3,780 Tularam Senapati." It seems doubtful whether the
term Hojai should appear at all in Table XI H, and no reliance can be placed upon
ithe figures, as many of the Hojais have no doubt returned themselves under the proper
tribal name of Bodo or Kachari. They do not in fact use this name themselves, but
cal,l themselves Kachari or Demracha Kachari, Hojai being the name of their priests,
pr, according to another account, derived from ' Hoja,' simple. They claim to be the
royal section of the Kachari tribe. I have received an interesting account of the
Hojais from the Revd. P. H. Moore, which I only refrain from publishing, as it would
find a more suitable position in the ethnographic survey of the province.
1891 ;:: ::: o Jaisi. — A sub-caste of Nepalese Brahmans.
1901 176 Jaiswar. — A. name used by Rajputs, Telis, Baniyas,
^^^^ ■■■ ■■■ ••■ ^ Kurmis, Tantis, Chamars and other castes.
Jaladha (A). — In Darrang these people are said to be a degraded class of
1901 ... ... ... 5 090 Kachari, but a Jakdha with whom I conversed in Kamrup
^^^^ ■•• . •■• °'^^^ claimed to be superior and not inferior to that tribe.
According to this man, Jaladhas and Kacharis do not as a rule intermarry, and when
they do they have to periorm praschil, the wife taking the caste of her husband. In
Goalpara, where the majority of Jaladhas are found, they are said to have taken saran,
and to have a Brahman and a Napit.
1901 176 Ja-t- — Either a sub-caste of Goalas, or an agricultural
^^®^ 5^ caste of the Punjab.
Jharua (P) — A name which can be applied to any forest tribe, who live in the
1901 ... ... ... 61 * Jhar' tree jungle ; 39 Jharuas were censused in Sylhet,
}^^^ ••• - - ° they may have been lipperas, Kacharis," Garos or Haijongs.
Jhora. — A small caste of Chota Nagpur Relieved to be a sub-tribe of Gonds ;
1901 ... 202 the name is also used as a titb by Kewats in Behar; ig6
^^^^ - ••• ■■■ "'^ were censused on tea-gardens.
1901 20 Jimdar. — A title of Khambus, one of the fighting tribes
1891 .:■ .-.v ::: o ^^ ^epal.
igoi 1,734 Jolaha. — A Muhammadan weaver caste of Behar.
^^^^ ■•• ■•■ ■■ 2'^^° Employed as garden coolies in Assam ; 1,519 were
censused on the tea estates of the province,
Jugi (P). — A weaving caste of Eastern Bengal, whose origin is obscure, and who
i90j^ , 161,167 are treated with much contempt by the pure Sudra castes.
.1891 177,746 i[j ji^g Surma Valley they style themselves Nath, and claim
descent from Gorakshanath, a devotee of Gorackpur, who is said to have been an in-
carnation of Siva. On the strength of this ancestor, the Jugis bury instead of burn their
dead, and frequently pose as Sannyasis. In Cachar, they are making great efforts to
rise in the social scale, and are discarding widow remarriage. In Assam, the caste con-
tains five subdivisions, — the Sapmelas.^cji' snake-charmers, the Katanis, the Polupohas,
or rearers of silkworms, the Duliyas, or palki-bearers, and the Thiyapotas, who bui-y their
dead upright. The Katanis in Assam usually burn their dead, and the Jugis of Goalpara
are taking to infant marriage. A short time ago the Jugis in Barpeta, at the instigation
of a Brahman priest, assumed the sacred thread, and declared themselves to be Bhadralok.
It was suggested to them that they should prove their good
oaohar Plains ii,o°48 11,163, position by requiring their priest to marry a Jugi girl ; but
G^^ i^a a ■" il'iol fl;!!? the Brahman, as soon as this proposal was made to him,
D^SaS'' ■■' iljoio isitSf fls^i ^"d the pretensions of the Jugis received a crushing
Nowgong "; -^e'lli ^^221 blow. The net result of the movement is that they are
Lakhimpur '" i,'409 '948 now forbidden to enter the MflmWiflr at all, thotigh formerly
other distnots 151 o^ 11 1 • 1 ° 't'i /- • .1
T^-,'7:^ l^^T^nia they were allowed mto the outer room. 1 he figures m the
margm show the. distribution of the caste by districts. The
132
REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, jgot.
[chap. XI
1001 ...
...
238,865
1891 ...
...
243,378
1801.
1881.
Cachar
4,153
6,575
Goalpara
iS'«67
8,975
Kamrup
92,104
84,983
Darrang
63,226
66,528
BTowgrong
11,823
12,514
SllJBagar
16,618
16,776
Lakhimpnr
25,163
"■im.
North Caoliar
8,708
Naga Hills
1,717
4,023
Other districts ..
1,687
1,753
Province
238,865 243,378
Caste, decrease in Sylliet is probably due to a preference for the generic term Sudra, that
in Nowgong to the actual decrease of the indigenous population.
Kachari (P).— A section of the great Bodo tribe, which at one time seems to have
been in occupation of a large part of the valley of the Brah-
maputra. They are to be found as a rule living on the
grassy plains at the foot of the Himalayas, and are most
numerous in Kamrup and Darrang, but the Kachari kingdom
once extended into the Surma Valley, and the Cachar dis-
trict is said to have been the dowry of a Tippera princess
who married the Kachari king about the middle of the
17th century. In Lower Assam, the Kachari, on conversion
to Hinduism, becomes a Koch, but in Sibsagarand Lakhim-
pur he generally retains the tribal name. The statement in
the margin shows the distribution of the caste by districts.
The large increase in Goalpara is apparently due to people having returned themselves
as Kachari instead of Koch.
Kadar. — A non-Aryan caste of cultivators and fishermen in Bhagalpur and the
ifloi ... 183 Santal Parganas. Their social status is very low, and in
^®^ ••■ '*" Assam they are employed as garden coolies. The decrease
in their numbers is probably due to members of the caste who returned themselves as
Rikhiasan being- classified as Musahars and Bhuiyas.
Kahar. — A cultivating and palanquin-bearing caste of Behar, who in Bengal rank in
1901 ... ... ... 8,127 the social scale with Kurmis and Goalas, Brahmans taking
^^^^ ^'^^^ water from their hands, but according to Mr. Risley many
of them eat fowls, and they are much addicted to liquor ; 4.576 were censused on tea
gardens,
Kaibartta (P). — According to Mr. Risley, no serious attempt can be made to
trace the origin of the Kaibartta, but he suggests, as a
plausible hypothesis that they were amongst the earliest
inhabitants of Bengal, and occupied a commanding position
there, and that the -Kewat were a branch of the same tribe
which settled in Eehar, gradually became endogamous and
adopted a Hindu name. In Kamrup, the names Kewat and Kaibartta seem to be
interchangeable, so I have given the figures for both together. The Kaibartta are
divided into two functional groups, which for all intents and purposes are separate
castes, the Halwa and Jallya. In j^ssam Proper the Jaliya Kaibarttas are very
scarce, but the Nadiyals, or Doms, are endeavouring to get their claims to the
name acknowledged by Government. The genuine Jaliya Kaibarttas, however, mark the
difference between themselves and the Nadiyals by declining to sell fish except on the
river bank, within a paddle's throw of the boat, and abstaining from the us^ of the gho-
kota net. 'The Kewat, or Kaibartta, in Assam is a clean Sudra caste, ranking.im mediately
after the Kalita. In addition to the Jaliya, there are six other subdivisions, — Mali, Halwa,
Seoli, Neoli, Katharoa and Bhari, — of which the Mali ranks highest, though all six haW
taken to agriculture. I am told that these sub-castes will not intermarry or eat with
one another, and decline to have anything to do with the Jaliya Kewats, even though
they may have abandoned fishing for several generations. The great majority of the
Kaibarttas in Sylhet belong to the Jaliya subdivision of the tribe.
The figures in the margin show the distribution of the two castes taken together
1901
1891
1001
1891
Kewat.
84,636
67,324
64,186
81,128
Eallmrtta and Kewat.
Sylhet
Goalpara
Kamrup
Darrang'
Nowgonsr
Slbsagar
Ijakliimptir
Other districts.
Province
1901.
44,701
8,263
41,637
13.623
33 272
26,285
6,061
980
1891.
41389
3,168
64,707
14.485
20,650
21,202
2,979
873
148,822 158,453
by districts. The decrease in Kamrup is very marked, as,
even if the figures for Maheshya Vaisya be added, the total
only amounts to 44,474, and as there is nothing .in the
figures for other castes in the district to suggest that Kewats
have been wrongly . included amongst them, I am inclined
to' think that the emigration of Kewats to the tea gardens of
Sibsagar and Lakhimpur must have had something to do
with the result. The decrease in Nowgong is not more
than the unhealthiness of the decade would lead one to expect.
Kalita (A). — There is much uncertainty as to the oi'igin of this caste. The popular
explanation is that Kalitas are Kshatriyas, who, fleeing from the wrath of Parasu Ram
concealed their caste and their persons in the jungles of Assam, and were thus called
Kul-lupta. Other theories are that they are Kayasthas degraded for having taken to
cultivation, an explanation whicli in itself seems somewhat improbable, and is not
supported, as far as I am aware, by any evidence, or that they are the old priestly caste
of the Bodo tribe. The latter theory can' hardly be said to account for their
origin, as their features are 'of an Aryan type, and though it is possible that Kalitas may
CHAP. XI.] THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS. 133
have acted as priests to some of the early Kachari converts, this fact throws little or no Caste,
light on the problem of what the Kalitas are. The most plausible suggestion is that
they are the remains of an Aryan colony, who settled in Assam at a time when the
- functional castes were still unknown in Bengal, and that the word ' Kalita ' was originally
applied to all Aryans who were not Brahmans,
This explanation is not incompatible with the popular theory as to the origin of the
name, as later Aryan immigrants from Bengal would actually have had some difficulty
in deciding to which of the newly-formed castes the settlers in Assam belonged. Mr.
Risley reports that there is an agricultural caste in the southern tributary mahals of
Chota Nagpur, who call themselves Kalitas; but it seems doubtful whether these people
have any connection with the Kalitas of Assam.
The Kalitas are divided into two main subdivisions, Bar and Saru, and into a number
of professional sub-castes. In Upper Assam, Bar Kalitas are said to decline to use the
plough, though they occasionally work with the spade, but there Is nosuch restriction
in Kamrup, where the great bulk of the caste is found- Cultivation is, in fact, the tradi-
tional occupation of the caste, and they even consent to work as coolies on tea gardens.
The usual procedure for a Kalita who has succeeded in rising above the necessity for
manual labour, and is no longer compelled to follow the plough, is to call himself a Kaist
or Kayastha.
Two explanations are given of the origin of the Saru Kalita, — one that he is the
offspring of persons who for three generations back have not been united by the ' horn *
ceremony, the other that Ke is the child of a Bar Kalita and a Kewat woman. Whether
the Barkalita can intermarry with, and eat kachchi with the Saru Kalita seems open to
question, and' the practice apparently varies in different districts ; but there seems to be
no doubt that the functional subdivisions of the caste are debarred from the privilege of
close intercourse with the Bar Kalita. These subdivisions are the Mali, Sonari, Kamar,
Kumhar, Tanti, Napit and Nat. The first two intermarry with the Saru Kalita, and also
with the Kamar Kalita. The last four groups are endogamous. All these functional
groups are to some extent looked down upon, probably because followers of these pro-
fessions, who were not true Kalitas, have occasionally succeeded in obtaining admission
within their ranks ; but the goldsmiths, from their wealth, have secured a good
position in society. In Sibsagar, 'there are a number of miscellaneous sections, such
as the Kakatis (scribes), Kaporchoa (wardrobe keepers), Naotolia (boatmakers), but
none of these sectional names have been returned at the census. Kalitas have a good
Brahman for their priest, and their water is taken by every caste, a fact which no doubt
explains the high value attached to Kalita slaves in the time of the Assam Rajas, when
two Koches could be purchased for the price of a single Kalita, though the Koch is
generally the hardier and stronger man of the two.
The figares in the margin show the distribution of the
1891.
9,797
^19470 caste by districts. The decrease in Kamrup is probably
24',o34 ■'
34,475
*'i97 partially due to emigration, that in Nowgong is in no way
2^606
abnormal for that unhealthy district.
Kalwar. — A liquor-selling and trading caste of Behar. Their social status is low,
iggj^ ... 1,930 and Brahmans will not take water from their hands ; 1,041
^^^^ ■ • ••■ •■• '^°^ were censused on tea-gardens.
Kamar (S). — According to Mr. Risley, the metal-working caste of Bengal and
igoi _ ... ... 33,742 Behar, who are distinguished from the Lobar by not con-
1891 - • ■•■ 29,654 flning themselves to iron as the material of their art. In
Bengal and Behar their water is taken by Brahmans. A large number of Kamars are
employed as garden coolies in the Assam Valley, but they are indigenous in Sylhet.
jgoj^ 279 Kami. — The blacksmith caste of Nepal. They are
189J- ■^^° found in small numbers in nearly every district in the
province.
Kan. — A very low caste of musicians, akin to the Doms. Cachar was the only
j^gpj .., 85 district in which they were found, and all of them were
1891 ... ■•■ ••■ censused on tea gardens.
Kandh. — A Dravidian tribe of one of the tributary States of Orissa, famous for the
jgijj^ i_783 systematic and brutal manner in which they used to sacri-
1891 .".'. •■• - 175 fice human beings to ensure successful harvests. It was
believed that the abundance of the rainfall depended upon the number of tears shed by
the victim, and he was in consequence sometimes roasted over a slow tire and some-
times cut tp pieces with knives, care being taken to avoid touching any vital part.
I I
1901.
G-oalpara
11,054
Eammp
115,590
17,836
Darrang
Nowgong
16,326
Sllbsagar
36,627
Lakhlmpur
5,412
Other districts
263
ProTlnoe
203,108
134
REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, IQOr.
[CHAP.
XI.
•Caste, Kandhs are employed as garden coolies, and 1,745 were censused on the tea estates
of the province, . .
Kandu.— A grain-parching caste of Bengal and Behar, where they rank with K.oins
;;; ;:; |||3 and Goalas, as Brahmans take water from their hands.
42 Kanjar.— A Dravidian gipsy caste of the North-West-
8 (g^n Provinces ; 35 were censused in Kamrup.
Kansari. — The brazier caste of Bengal Their social position is respectable, but
i^^i ;;; ;;■ f |f the Kansaris in this province were probably coolies.
Kapali (S). — A weaving caste, who are practically confined to the Sylhet district.
970 Their social position is low, and Brahmans do not take
^'^^^ their water.
Karanga.— A sjnsjl Dravidian caste of Chota Nagpur who make baskets, dig
1901
1891
1901
1891
1891
1901
1891
1901
1891
II tanks, etc. Karangas in Assam are garden coolies.
1001
1891
23
6
Kasai. — A functional name, Indicating a butcher.
1901
1891
••; I Kasera. — The brass-founding caste of Behar.
Kaur.-^A caste, probably of Dravidian origin, who are found in the tributary
249 States of Chota Nagpur. The majority were censused on
■■• "• • • ^^^ tea gardens in Upper Assam.
Kawali (S).— An off-shoot from the Kapali caste of weavers. In Bengal, they are
174 said to have become musicians, but in Sylhet they differ
263 ygry slightly from the Kapalis.
Kayastha (P).— The writer caste of Bengal. It is indigenous to Sylhet, and there
86 918 are a certain number of genuine Assamese Kayasthas,
•■■ • • ®2;395 though 1 am inclined to think that a considerable propor-
tion of the so-called Kaists are only Kalitas who have risen in the world. In Assam
Proper the Kayasthas are beginning to adopt the sacred
thread, but wear it very short ; but this fashion has not yet
spread to the Surma Valley, and the Kayasthas do not
attempt to pose as Kshatriyas, though occupying a good
position in society. They intermarry vi^ith Baidyas in the
Surma Valley. The statement in the margin shows the
distribution of the caste by districts. The decrease in
Sylhet is due to the care taken by enumerators to exclude
from the category of Kayastha those persons who were not properly entitled to the
name.
Kazi.-^A title borne by Muhammadans who are authorised to register marriages.
;;; ;;; ^g Not properly a caste.
Kewat. — See 'Kaibartta.'
Khadal. — I am unable to ascertain what this caste is supposed to represent.
1,624 Nearly all of them were censused on tea gardens, and it is
possible that it is only a functional name, denoting people
1901
1891
1901
1891
1901
1891
Oachar
Sylhet
Goalpara
Kamrup
Darran?
Nowgrong
Slhaagar
Lakblmpur
Other districts
Province
1901.
s,7oe
63,883
1,966
4,322
1,689
2,149
3,791
1,744
1,668
1891.
5,014
72,744
1,472
4,207
1,301
2,656
3,442
1^088
471
86,918 92,395
1901
1891
1901
1891
255
who work with a hoe.
1901
1891
1901
1891
1901
1891
270
117
Khambu. — One of the fighting tribes of Nepal.
1
35
Khamti (A).-
Khamjangr — A section of the Shan tribe, who are
said to be akin to the Noras.
-A Shan tribe who have settled in the country to the north and
1,975 east of the Lakhimpur district. The decrease in their
numbers is partly due to a certain number of persons -in
1901
1891
1901
1891
1001
1891
usually borne by
3,040
Lakhimpur having returned themselves as Buddhists unspecified.
283 Khan. — A Muhammadan title
° Pathans.
Khandait.--A cultivating caste of Orissa w ho have been brought to this province
;:; :;; ||| as coolies, 245 having been censused on tea gardens.
Kharia.— A Dravidian tribe of Chota Nagpur, largely employed as coolies, 6,017
7,934 having been censused on tea gardens. Mr. Risley says
®'^^^ that their religion is a mixture of Animism and nature
worship, but in Assam the immense majority have descril^ed themselves as Hindus.
CHAP, kir]
THE kESULTS OF THE CENSUS.'
»3S
1,081
4,50e
Kharwar. — A Dravidian tribe of Chota Nagpur employed as gaTden Caste.
coolies. The decrease in tbeir numbers is probably' due to
Kharwaps having been classified as Bbuiyas or Bhumij, as
one of their titles, Bhpgta, is shated by these two tribes.
506 Khas. — One of the best of the fighting tribes of
■ _ ■■ - »« Nepal.
Kbasi. (A);--The tribe who inhabit the Khasr Hills. The liwguistic affinities of
111,606! *heir language have long puzzled philologists, but it has
120,411 „Q^ ijggji decided that it belongs to the Mon Anam family.
17 Khatik. — A low cultivating caste of Behar, who rank
® Jittle higher than the Musahars.
Khatri (P).— According to Mr. Risley, a mercantile caste of the Punjab, who allege
185,597 themselves to be direct descendants of the Kshatriyas, but
^^° in this province the immense majority of Khatris are Hindu-
ised Manipuris. Bhats and converted Kacharis in the Surma Valley also use this titje.
Khawas.— 'A title of Dhanuks and Kewats and a sub-caste of Ghartis. The.
1001
1801
1001
1801
1901
1801
1001
1891
lODI
1801
loor
1801
155
111
1901
1801
19Q1
1891
10
723
418
1901.
1891.
GToalpara
7,139
13,515
. 93,850
100,016
Darrang-,
. 47,427
54,088
NojOgolig'.
Sil)sagar
. 38,553
. 27^,531
49,791
25,656;
LaKMBjimr
Garo Hills
7,555
6,047:
4,333
4,245
Other dlstrlotB...
333
1,57«
Province
. 221,721
254,034
majority of Khawases were censused on tea gardens.
Kiranti.— A title of Khambus, Limbus and- other
Nepalese tribes. Possibly Kiran, a cultivator, was meant.
Kisan. — A title used by Kalwars and Kharias. Kisan
are garden coolies.
Koch (A) .-^According to Mr. Gait " the name in Assam is no longer that of a
tribe, but rather of a Hindu caste into which all converts to Hinduism from the
different tribes^Kachari, Garo, Haijong, Lalung, Mikir, etc. — are admitted on conversion.
In Assam, therefore, it seems, for the present at any rate, desirable to treat the Koch
as allied', to the Bodo, and through ^lem as a branch of the Mongolian stock."
They rank as a clean Sudra caste, and Brahmans will take water from their hands,
but their position is", I think, higher in Upper than in Lower
Assam, as in Sibsagar and Lakhimpur Animistic persons
who are converted to Hinduism retain their' tribal names,
and do not think it necessary to pretend to be Koches.
There are various subdivisions of the Koch caste,
through which the family of a convert passes in successive
generations. The figures in the margin show the dis-
tribution of the caste by distritts. In Kamrup and
Nowgong Koches have decreased in numbers at about the same rate as the
rest of the indigenous population ; but in Darrang the Koch must either have suffered
more severely from kald-dzdr than other Assamese, or some of them must have
returned themselves as Kewat. In Goalpara there has been a decrease in the number
of the Koch-at each of the last two enumerations, the causes of which are obscure.
Kairi. — A cultivating caste of Behar and Chota Nagpur. According to Mr.
1901 ... ... ... 11,152 Kisley their social position is respectable, and Brahmans will
^^'^^ °'®°° • take water from their hands. In Assam they are employed
as coolies, and 71098 were censused on tea gardens.
ICol. — A generic term applied to Mundas, Oraons, Bhumij and Kharias ; 15,894
JlgJ :;: :;: ::: ^^^q% were enumerated on tea gardens.
Kora>. — A Dravidian caste of earth-workers in Chota Nagpur and Western Bengali
igoii 3,584 their social position is very low, and in Chota- Nagpur
1881 4.660 ^]^gy grg gaij ^o ga|. beef^ pQ^k and fowls ; 2,928 were
censused on tea gardens,
Korwa. — A Dravidian tribe of Palamau. They have only recently entered the
igQj 2348 pale of Hinduistii, tlrough in Assam ofily a small number
1891 786 returned themselves as anything but Hindus ; 2,243 were
censused'on tea gardens;
g4 Koshta. — A weaving caste of Cho'ta Nagpur ;. 23 were
1* censused on tea estates.
Kotal.— A Dravidian cultivating caste of Central Bengal, ranking with the
Chandal. Kotals come to the province as garden coolies.
tribe akin to the Lushais, most of whose settlements are to be
found in Cachar, the Nagd Hills and Manipur. The great
increase in their numbers is due to the inclusion of the
1901
1801
1601
1891
1001
1891
52
16
Kuki (P).— A hill
55,827
18,790
figures for that State.
136 REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASS Ait, IgOI. [^CHAP.
XI.
Caste. Kumhar (P). — The potter caste, which in Bengal is one of the members of the
1901 26,793 Nabasakh. They are most numerous in Sylhet, where
1891 .■.'.' .." ■•" 25:441 12,278 were censused, and Kamrup, where 6,678 were enu-
merated ; but, as pointed out by Mr. Gait, it is doubtful whether in the Assam Valley
the Kumhar is not merely a Kalita who has taken to pottery ; 3,238 Kumhars were
censused on tea gardens.
Kureshi.— A Muhammadan tribe in Sylhet, who trace their descent to Kuresh
1901 380 of Mecca, one of the ancestors of Muhammad. The
1891 ".'. "". ■.■■. i>356 decrease in their numbers is presumably due to many
of them having returned themselves as Sheikh.
\%%\ ::: ;;: ;;: "§ Kuri.— A name used either by Dosadhs or Mazaras.
Kurmi. — A large cultivating caste of Upper India, Behar and Chota Nagpur.
1901 20,783 In Behar the social status of the caste is respectable, but
18W ■•'• •'•'• •••' 12:576 in Chota Nagpur they eat fowls and field rats, and are
much addicted to liquor,'so that Brahmans do not take water at their hands. They
are largely employed as coolies in Assam, and 12,577 were censused on tea
gardens.
Kusiari (S). — The Kusiari are a caste indigenous to Sylhet, who are said to be
1901 1,390 called after the river of that name, though the connection of
1®^^ '1®^ ideas is far from clear. Their complexion is generally dark,
and they are supposed to be descended from some hill tribe. They are industrious,
pugnacious- and well-to-do, and it is expected that their strenuous efforts to enter the
ranks of clean Sudra castes will soon be crowned with success. In i8gi many Kusiaris
returned themselves under other names.
1901 44 Laheri. — A Behar caste, whose traditional occupation is
1®®^ 2^ the making of bangles ; 39 were censused on tea gardens.
1891 :.: 1I7 Lalbegi. — A sweeper caste.
Lalung (A). — A tribe probably of Bodo origin, who inhabit the southern portion of
1901 35 513 the Nowgong'district. I have received a most interesting
i8»i - ^ ^2:423 account of the Lalungs from the Rev. P. H. Moore,
but abstain from reproducing it in extenso, in view of the publication of the ethnogra-
phic survey of the province. Most of the tribal legends represent them as moving
from the Khasi and Jaintia Hills to the plains, as they disapproved of the ruling of the
Khasi chiefs, that inheritance should go through the female. Another quaint tradition
says that they originally lived near Dimapur, but moved into the Jaintia Hills to escape
from the necessity of providing the Kachari king with six seers of human milk every
day, this being an article of diet to which he was much attached. The tribe is divided
into a number of clans, whose names suggest a totemistic origin, and all of which,
except the Masorang, are exogamous. The rule of inheritance is peculiar. A
woman may either enter her husband's clan, or the husband may enter the wife's, but
all property and children of the marriage belong to the clan which was adopted at the
time of the wedding. If a man enters his wife's clan, he can leave it on her death, but
loses all claim to his property and children. The Lalung religion is of the usual
Animistic type, and in the time of the Assam Rajas they are said to have sacrificed
eight human victims annually to their gods. They are a sturdy, independent people, and
on the i8th October 1861 killed the Assistant Commissioner of Nowgong, Lieutenant
Singer, who had been sent out to disperse an unlawful assembly, formed to protest
against the prohibition of the home cultivation of opium. The great decrease in their
numbers is due to the ravages of kald-dsdr ; 28,985 were censused in the Nowgong
district alone.
1891 ::: ;:: ::: ®°3 Lama.— A sept of Gurungs {q.v.).
1891 ::: :;; " Lepcha.— A Mongolian tribe of Eastern Nepal.
LimbU.— A large Mongolian tribe of the Kirant desh. According to Mr. Risley'
1901 i,2&s though they consider themselves a military race they do
'r' ; . ■■■/:°** "OK''^"^ ^"'ongst the regular fighting tribes of Nepal, and
they are not admitted mto Gurkhah regiments of the Nepalese army. The distribution
of the caste by districts suggests that a certain number are serving in our Military
Police Battalions. •'
Lodha.— An agricultural and labouring caste of the North-Western Provinces ;
Jlw ;;; - Z ^% »04 were censused on tea gardens.
CHAP. XI.] THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS. 1 37
Lohait Kuri (S).— According to Mr. Risley, a small fishing caste who live on Caste.
1901 414 the banks of the Meghna; but in Sylhet, which is practically
^^^^ ° the only district in which they were censused, the Lohait
is a grain parcher, and has nothing to do with fishing. Brahmans will eat fried rice
prepared by them, but will not take their water.
Lobar. — The blacksmith caste of Behar, Chota Nagpur, and Western Bengal,
leoi 10.464 They are largely employed as coolies in Assam, and 7,374
^^^^ - - ■■■ ''■^^^ were censused on tea gardens. In Behar, Brahmans will
take water from their hands, but in Western Bengal their status is lower, and they rank
with Bauris and Bagdis.
Loi (A). — The descendants of one of the aboriginaltribes who formerly occupied the
1901 3,618 south of the Manipur valley. They claim to be Hindus, but
^®®^ ••• ° are not recognised as such by the orthodox. Under native
rule Manipuris used to be degraded, either temporarily or permanently, to the grade of
Loi as a punishment.
Lushai. — For an account of the Lushai tribes, see the
JI3J; ;;: ;;• "; ^^iff Note by Major Shakespear, C.I.E., D.S.O., appended to this
chapter.
Magar. — One of the fighting tribes of Nepal. The majority were censused in
1901 2,933 the Khasi and Jaintia and Naga Hills, where the two
^■891 3,404 Gurkha regiments are stationed.
Magh. — According to Mr. Risley, the popular designation of a group of Indo-
j^QQj^ ^ _. 172 C hinese tribe ; 1 1 7 Maghs were censused in the Lushai Hills,
. 1891 13 the remainder were probably persons who had come from
Chittagong to take service as cooks in European households.
Mahalia (A). — A name applied to a Kachari in one of his stages to conversion,
g^j^ 1335 In 1 891 the majority of Mahalias were returned in Darrang
1891 ■•'•" 5'6i2 -jjjj Nowgong, but in the last census in these two districts
they seem to have returned themselves as Koch or Kachari. The number of Mahalias
in Lakhimpur has risen from 196 to 1,235, but the term is one which can be very
loosely used.
Mahanta. — A title of the Kurmi caste, and of the priests of the Jugi caste,
483 These priests are themselves Jugis, and marry the
1891 "•' -^ - daughters of their own disciples.
Mahara (S). — A title used by Kahars, whose traditional occupation is palki-
3,678 bearing. Their water is not drinkable by the higher castes,
1891 '"■ "'■ '■■'■ «'-262 but their touch does not pollute a hookah. Very few
Maharas are found outside Sylhet, but a considerable number of the caste seem to have
returned themselves simply as Kahars.
Mahesti. — A trading caste of Northern India closely allied to the Agarwals and
468 Oswals ; 350 were censused in the Brahmaputra Valley.
1901
1S91
259
Maheshya Vaisya (A). — A somewhat high sounding title assumed by a certain
2,837 number of Halwa Kewats in Kamrup, who were afraid
1891 ".• •■'• ' ° of being confounded with the Nadiyals, who_ were trying to
get themselves entered as Kaibarttas. According to Manu a Maheshya is the offspring
of a Kshatriya rnan and a Vaisya woman, and the use of this term in combination with
Vaisya seems peculiar. , . ^, ,.t , ttt .
Mahili.— A Dravidian caste of labourers found m Chota Nagpur and Western
5701 Bengal. Their social position is low, and they rank with the
iISi -: ••• 3.606 Bauris and Dosadhs ; 4,668 were censused on tea gardens.
Mahimal (S).— A Muhammadan fisher caste of Sylhet. In 188 1 they were not
36 544 distinguished from other Muhammadans, and it is evident
iiSi Z '." ": 58,100 that on the present occasion a considerable number must
have returned themselves as Sheikh. , , .t, . 13 1 tu
Mai —A Dravidian cultivating caste of Central and Western Bengal, i hey are
.4435 employed as coolies in Assam, and 2,939 were censused on
ilEi :" "" •*•'• 1-60* tea gardens. Their social position is low,
Mali rP).— Properly speaking, this caste is employed on the preparation of
7 870 garlands, and in Bengal is included amongst the Nava-
ilEi ::: :." :- i;o54 g^jji,. The large increase in their numbers is apparently
due to Bhuinmalis having dropped the prefix. ■ -, t u
Mallah.— A title applied to boatmen of various castes, the majority of whom
1901 Hto were censused in Goalpara.
13,8 REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM,, igoi. [CHAP. XI-
Caste. Malo (S). — A fisher caste indigenous to Sylhet, ranking below the Kairbartta.
1901 18,570 Those censused in Assam Proper were probably foreigners
^^^^ 2o;oe8 imported to work on tea-gardens.
1901 3 830 Mai Paharia.— A Dravidian tribe of the Santa!
i«»^ i'«*7 Parganas.
Man (A).— The Assamese name for Burmese or Shan, under which name the
1901 ... . 282 Mans were entered in 1891. The majority of Mans were -
i8»i • ■'■'■ found in the Garo Hills, where they form a small colony
left behind by the Burmese invaders when compelled to retire before our troops,
Manipuri (P). — Only 33 persons in the Manipur State returned themselves
1901 45,010 as Manipuri, — Brahman, Kshatriya and Sudra being
^^^^ 7i;328 the names that they preferred, Manipuris were censused.
in the Surma Valley, and in the great majority of cases probably belonged to the
inferior class of Manipuri called Bishunpuriya. Their, complexion is darker than that of
the ordinary Manipuri, and their appearance is that of the average hill man. The great
decrease in the numbers that has taken place is due to the use of other caste names.
Manjhi. — A title used by boatmen and by Santals, Bagdis 'and numerous
1901 8 401 other castes ; 4,055 Manjhis were censused on tea
^««^ *-7«° gardens.
1891 ;:; :;: ^8 Mar. — A small cultivating caste of Chota Nagpur.
Markande. — A cultivating caste of the Santal parganas. The Markandes in
1901 19 Assam had probably all come there as coolies, though only
^^^^ ■•• ■'•^ three were censused on tea gardens.
ilei Marua. — An epithet applied to up-country boatmen.
Matak (A). — The name formerly given to an old division of Upper Assam
1901 742 lying between the Noa Dehing, the Brahmaputra and the
^^^^ ■■■ ^^ southern hills, and thus including nearly the whole of the
Lakhimpur district on the south bank. This tract of country was occupied by the
followers of the Moamaria Gosain, who at the end of the i8th century had risen
against the Ahom Rajas, and set up an independent ruler of their own. When the
Singphos began to raid upon Assam, they found that the Moamarias offered a sterner
resistance than the other Assamese and called them in consequence ' Matak, ' or strong,
and the name of the people was then applied to the country in which they lived. At
the present day the term denotes a sect rather than a caste or nationality. The majority
of the Mataks are Ahoms, Chutiyas and Doms ; but there are a certain number of
Kalitas, Kewats and Koches amongst them. All of these castes, except the Doms,
are said to intermarry, a fact which shows the looseness of the restrictions of caste in
Assam. A large number of Mataks have probably returned themselves under their caste
name.
Maulik. — A Dravidian caste of Western Bengal. They have returned themselves
1901 188 as Hindus ; but, according to Mr. Risley, no Hindu will
^^°^ ^°^ take water from their hands. Mauliks were only censused
on tea gardens.
Mayara (S). — The confectioner caste of Bengal, who are indigenous in the Surma
1901 1,221 Valley. They are members of the Nabasakh, and in
^^®^ ^*®^^ Sylhet good Brahmans serve as their priests.
Mech (A).-— The Mech are apparently identical with the Kachari tribe, but the
1901 74,922 name is practically confined to the Goalpara district.
^®°^ ^°'^°^ Hinduism dges not seem to be making much progress
amongst them, only 1,029 persons having returned themselves as followers of-that
religion ; but converted Meches probably describe themselves as Rajbansis.
1901 1,587 Mehtar. — A sub-caste of Haris, who remove night
1891 ... ... ... 748 gQ||_ &
Mekuri (A).— According to Mr. Gait, a small body of Hindu outcastes, wh,ose de-
1901 le graded position is said to have been due to a cat' (Assamese
^^^^ * '»2^'^«^^«') leaving stolen some food from Muhammadans and
.dropped it accidentally into nee which was eaten by a party of Hindus before the pollution
was discovered. These persons were excluded both from the Hindu and Musalman
communities, and were compelled to form a caste of their own. Many Mekuris are said
to return themselves as Nadiyals. The caste is only found in Darrang.
Mikir (A).— A tribe who are found in most of the districts of the Brahmaputra
i|gi |7-||5 Valley and the Assam Range, though their great centre is
'^ * ^^'^^ to be found in the Jaintia Hills, and the hills which bear
CHAP. XI.] ^ THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS. 139
their name in the Nowgong and Sibsagar districts. They are a very timid people, Caste,
amongst whom Hinduism has made little progress. 1 have received an interesting
account of the Mikirs from the Revd. P. H. Moore, which I have made over to the
Superintendent of Ethnography. The decrease in their numbers is due to kald-dsdr
in Nowgong.
]VIiri(A).— There can, I think, be little doubt that the Miris are, as they allege.
1901 ... ... ... 46.720 closely connected with the Abors, that they were originally
^«®i - ^'^'•*^° settled in the hills to the north-east of the Province, and that
they migrated to the plains to escape from the oppression of their more powerful neigh-
bours. Like most of the hill tribes, they live in houses built on bamboo chants, which
are generally situated on the banks of a river. Their principal crops are ahu rice and
mustard, they still adhere to the nourishing meat diet and rice beer of their ancestors,
and it is owing to this no doubt, and to the practice of adult marriage, that they have
so long resisted the enervating effects of the climate of the plains. Both men and
women are sturdy and well built, with clear fair complexions, which at times are
positively ruddy, and features which, though of a distinctly Mongolian type, are by no
means unpleasing. They speak Assamese, the lingua franca of the valley, with a
curious mumbling accent, and experience as much difficulty in pronouncing the letter
' h ' as the veriest cockney.
In the report for i88i, it is stated that the Miris are divided into two large
endogaraous sections, the Barogams and the Dohgams, the Barogams being further
subdivided into two exogamous groups, the Pegu and Dcre, and into certain khels which
seem to be purely local groups, while the Dohgams are divided into seven exogamous
sections. Mr. Clark, the Subdivisiohal Officer of Jorhat, where there is a considerable
Miri colony, iufprms me that the old exogamous and endogamous restrictions are
gradually disappearing, and that there is a growing tendency to look to a Hindu Gosain
for guidance in matters matrimonial. With one exception (the khalassi Miris, who are
the descendants of slaves released by the British Government, with whom other khels will
not intermawy), the khels seems to be of no importance in the internal economy of the
tribe, the ' kul,' consisting of persons who claim descent from a common ancestor in
the male line, and of which there are a large number, being the exogamous group.
Both in Sibsagar and Lakhimpur, the tribe has come largely under the influence of
Hinduism, and though they still decline to give up their fowls and pigs, buffalo flesh
and liquor, they no longer eat beef, and fines imposed by the Gosains for breaches of their
orders are generally paid without demur." In Sa-dlya, however, I found a healthy spirit
of revolt against the restrictions of Hinduism. The Gam of a Miri village told me that,
though they had refrained from eating cow or monkey, or with Musalmans or Bengalis,-
at the instance of the Assamese Hindus, the latter still declined to mix with them in any
way or to give them access to their houses. This arrangement struck the Gam as
being of a very one-sided character, and as he failed to see what advantage he was
gaining from the restrictions imposed by the Hindus, he was seriously considering the
desirability of reverting to the freedom of his ancestors. Where they are not Hindus,
the Miris are pure Animists, worshipping and sacrificing to the sun, moon and earth.
I have received a very interesting account of the Miris on the North East Frontier, from
Mr. F. J. Needham, CLE., which I only refrain from publishing, as it will be more in
place in the ethnographic survey of the province.
Each successive census has shown a very large increase in the number of the Miris,
so that it is evident that there must be continual immigration from the hills.
Mirshikari (S).— A functional rather than a caste name, denoting a low class of
J0O1 402 people, generally Muhammadan, who live by hunting. The
1881 • ■ - *73 ^j|.]g jg practically confined to Sylhet.
Mishmi (A). — A tribe on the North- East Frontier of Lakhimpur supposed by
jgo^ 98 Colonel Dalton to be akin to the Miaoutes or aborigines of
1891 217 Yunnan, whereas their neighbours, the Abors, are more
closely allied to the Tibetan stock.
Moghul. — A Muhammadan race who, according to
j^goi 895 Mr. Ibbetson, probably entered the Punjab with Baber or
1891 ■•• 2.126 ^gj.g attracted there during the reigns of his descendants.
Moran (A). — According to Mr. Gait, a distinct tribe, but the Lakhimpur officers
jgg^ 125 describe them as an offshoot of. the Matak sect. The great
1891 .'.'.' 5.812 decrease in their numbers is presumably due to the majority
of Morans having returned themselves as Ahoms.
Moria (A). — The descendants of Muhammadan prisoners taken captive when Tur-
j^gQj^ 1235 buk was defeated and killed at Silghat in 1 510 A. D. They
1891 "i "" •■• ilesi ^grg employed in various capacities, for which they proved
140
REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, IQOI.
[chap. XI.
Caste, themselves to be quite unfitted, and were finally made braziers. During their captivity
they became very lax in their observance of the ordinances of the Moslem religion, and
were in consequence much looked down upon by other Muhammadans, a fact which
explains the steady decrease in the numbers of the caste. At the present day, Moria
seems to be almost synonymous with brazier, 193 Moiras having returned themselves
as Hindus. The majoYity were censused in Sibsagar and Lakhimpur.
Muchi. — The leather-dressing caste of Bengal. According to Mr. Risley, they
were in all probability originally a branch of the Chamars,
though they now profess to look upon the latter as a separate
The social position of Muchis' is very low, and 5,191 were censused
1901
1891
13,930
10,337
and inferior caste
on tea gardens.
1901
1891
1901
1891
614
Mudi. — A title used by Binds, Bagdis, Koras and Oraons,
473 were found on tea gardens.
Mukhi (A). — A small caste practically confined to Kamrup, whose traditional
2,502 occupation is lime burning. It has been suggested that
^'^^^ they are a sub-caste of the Koch, but it is doubtful whether
this view is correct. According to Mr. Gait, they are a clean Sudra caste, whose
water is taken by Brahmans, but it seems doubtful whether good Brahmans will take
water from their hands, th ough they will consent to act as their priests.
Munda. — A Dravidian tribe of Chota Nagpur, largely employed as coolies; 56,987
80,693 were censused on tea gardens. The great majority of
... 46,244 Mundas in Assam returned themselves as Hindus.
Murmi. — A Nepalese caste, whose traditional occupation is cultivation, though a
135 certain number are serving in the Military Police Battalions
^^ of the province.
Musahar. — According to Mr. Risley, a Dravidian cultivating caste of Behar con-
... 16,777 nected with the Bhuiya. Their social status Is very low ;
16,667 12,339 were found on the tea estates of the province.
Nabasakh. — The Nabasakh are the clean Sudra castes, in theory* nine in rmmlier,
28 who have a Srotriya Brahman for their priest and from
^ whom a Brahman will take water. They are the Goala,
Malakar, Tali Tanti, Mayara, Barui, Kumhar, Kamar and Napit.
Nadiyal (Dom Patni) (P). — The fishing caste of Assam, who in occupation
and status seem to correspond to the Jaliya Kaibarttas
of Bengal. They are cleanly in their habits, and very
pa.rticular in their observance of the Hindu religion. They strongly object to the use
of the term Dom, as they are afraid of being confounded with the sweeper caste of
Bengal, but it was impossible to sanction their request to be allowed to return them-
selves as Jaliya Kaibarttas, as there is no doubt that as a caste they are perfectly distinct
from the Kaibartta or Kewat, though their manners and customs seem to correspond
to those of the Jaliya Kaibartta in Bengal. They have been called Doms for many
centuries, and they explain this fact by saying that they were the last of the Assamese
to be converted from Buddhism. This may or may not be true, but it seems more pro-
bable that they are members of the Dom tribe, who emigrated to Assam before the Dom
caste had been assigned the degrading functions now performed by them in Bengal.
In the social scale they rank apparently just above the Brittial Baniya. In Mangaraai,
they are said to be divided into three sections, the Mudi or traders, the Kheoli or
wholesale, and the Machua, or retail fish sellers.
The figures in the margin show the distribution by districts. The decrease in the
total number is apparently due to Nadiyals m Kamrup
and Sylhet, returning themselves as Jaliya Kaibarttas.
There has also been a great decrease in Nowgong, but in
this district there has actually been terrible mortality
amongst the Dom villages ; 14,483 Poms were censused
on tea gardens, the majority of whom were probably
members of the Bengali Dom caste and not Assamese
Nadiyals.
1901
1891
1901
1891
1901
1891
1901
1891
1901
1891
1901.
1891.
Caohar Plains ...
40,776
39,193
Sylhet ...
73,246
77,920
Goalpara
2.857
3,065
Kamrup
10,518
14,826
Darrang
10,782
7,988
Nowgong
18,887
26,223
Sll}sagar
23,049
23,564
LakMmpur
14,416
12,185
Other districts ...
311
89
Province
194,842 205,053
Naga (P).— I have included under this general head, the various Naga tribes
1901 161,950 found in the hills that bear their name, and in North Cachar
^^^^ ^°^'°^® andManipur. The great increase in their numbers is due to
the mclusion of figures for that State. Interesting accounts of the Naga tribe have been
sent me by Captain Kennedy and Mr. Noel Williamson.
9 Nagar.— A small cultivating caste of Bhagalpur and
° the Sanial Parganas.
1001
1891
* In practice other castes such as the Sadgop, Sankhari, and Tambuli are included.
CHAP. XI.} THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS. 141
Caoliar'. Flams ...
Sylhet
Goalpara
Eamrup
Nowgong
Other districts ...
13,459 12,268
132,307 140,308
6,670 7,005
10,618 5 13,076
5,299 6,245
1,223 1,637
Province
^69,576 180,539
1901 ... 498 Nagarchi (S).— Muhammadans who act as drummers J Caste.
*®®^ ° 494 were censused in Sylhet.
Nagbansi. — A name used by Dosadhs, Tambulis, Mundas and others ; 326 were
1891 '.'.! ::: Z III censused on tea gardens.
1001 ... 58 Nagesar, — A small Dra vidian tribe of Chota Nagpur
^^" ^" who work as garden coolies.
Naik. — A title of Chamars, Mai Paharias, Kharias, Ghasis, and many other castes ;
1891 .'.'.' .v." )." ^^o 138 were found on tea gardens.
Naiya. — A small Dravidian caste of Bhagalpur ; 144 were censused on the tea
ilgi :;: ;;: ;:; "o plantations.
Namasudra (Chandal) (P). — A fishing and boating caste, who according to
1001 169.578 Manu are sprung from the illicit intercourse of a Sudra man
^^^^ 180.539 vvith'a Brahman woman, and are thus the lowest of the low.
Like some of the other humble Hindu castes, the Namasudra is to all but Hindus by no
means an unpleasing character. Dr. Wise describes him as "one of the most loveable
1901. 1891. of Bengalis. He is a merry, careless fellow, very patient
and hardworking, but always ready, when his work is done,,
to enjoy himself." The figures in the margin show the dis-
tribution by districts. The decrease in Sylhet is probably
due to the omission of the prefix by well-to-do Namasudras^
Napit (S). — A clean Sudra caste of barbers from whose hands Brahmanstake water,
igQi _ 32,310 which is included amongst the Nabasakh. Their services
1891 ••• 32.989 Q^Q rndispensable!to the orthodox Hindu, a fact which ig.
said to make them somewhat independent in their manners. They are indigenous in
Sylhet, but in the Assam Valley Napits generally belong to the Kalita caste.
Nat(P). — ^The dancing caste of Bengal. Nat boys are in great requisition in Sylhet,
jQQj 5 090 for what is called the Ghatu's nautch. A boy is hired
1891 - 4.261 J3y a village on a salary ranging from Rs. 30 to Rs. 60 per
mensem to perform to them every evening. The Ghatu is treated as a pet by the
young people, with results that do not conduce to the elevation af his moral character^
or theirs. In Assam the' Nat is usually a Kalita.
jgjjj^ _ 657 Newar. — A Nepalese tribe famous for their skill in
1891 ::: ::: :" eeo agriculture.
Nora (A) .-"A small Shan colony found in the Sibsagar district. The decrease
jgjjj^ 143 in their numbers seems to be due to many of then>
1891 '". ... ■•• 716 having returned themselves as Shan, or simply as Buddhists.
Nunia.— A Dravidian caste of Behar and Upper India, who come to this
jgQj^ _ 16.856 province to work as navvies. The large increase in
1891 "." ."■ •'•■' e.993 jheir numbers is due to the construction of the Assam-
Bengal Railway and the Dhubri extension.
Oraon. — A Dravidian tribe of Chota Nagpur, much in request as coolies,
jgjjj^ 23,861 According to Mr. Risley, their social status is very low,
1891 '". '■'■'■ '■" i7,'736 as they are most promiscuous feeders; 13,139 Oraons
were censused on tea gardens.
Oswal. — A wealthy and respectable trading caste of Behar and Upper India,
1453 The great majority were censused in the Assam Valley,
1891 ;.' •••' ••• i>352 ^here they are known under the generic name of Kayah.
Fahari. — A name used by both Ghasis and Saraogis. As 2,147 Paharis were
2,394 censused on the tea-gardens, they probably belonged to
1891 '." •■• '••'• '913 the former caste.
113 Paik. — A title of Goalas, Khandaits, Pods and other
ilgi '■'.'. "'■ '•'■ 9 castes. The Paiks censused in Assam were garden coolies.
Paliya.— A Dravidian cultivating caste of Northern Bengal, only found on
1901 1 ' ■•■ ig tea plantations in this province.
Pa^jl_ A low weaving, basket-making and servile caste of Chota Nagpur
7 852 and Orissa. Their social status is very low, as they eat
jlex :;: "! "' aolioa beef and pork. Pans come to this province as garden
coolies. The decrease in their numbers is probably due to Pans having been classified
as Mundas and Santals, as some of the sub-castes of Pans have the same name as certain
sub-castes of Santals and Mundas.
L L
142
REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, igor.
[chap. XI.
Caste.
Pasi. — A Dravidian caste ot Behar employed chiefly in the Surma Valley
1901
1891
6,989
3,573
as garden coolies. Brahmans will not take water from
Patia(A).-
1901
1891
1901
1891
1901
1891
1901
1891
1901
1891
1901
1891
1901
1891
1901
1891
1901
1891
1001
1891
Rabha (A).
209
1,319
820
819
719
48
17
29
15,039
O
35
their hands.
An Assamese caste which is practically confined to the Nowgong
2,462 district, where they are said to rank immediately above
3,508 {j^g pjalwa Kewat. Elsewhere they would be placed
below that caste. Their original occupation was mat making, but they are said to have
abandoned it for agriculture.
Patial (S).— A functional name used by mat makers in Sylhet, where they
365 manufacture the well-known sitalpati, and in Goalpara,
where the majority of Patials were returned.
Pator. — A title of Pods, Tantis, Mal-Paharias, and
several other castes ; 1,056 were censused on tea-
gardens.
Patwa. — Makers of silk strings and fringes \ 706
were censused in Kamrup.
Patwari. — A title apparently used by coolie castes,
as 29 were censused on tea gardens.
Phakial (A). — A Shan tribe who migrated to the Lakhimpur district from
219 Mungkong towards the end of the i8th century. Some
_ ^^^ of them seem to have returned themselves on the present
occasion simply as Buddhists.
Pod. — A boating and fishing caste of Bengal.
Poi. — A Lushai clan ; the name was only returned
from the Lushai Hills.
Pradhan. — A title of Chamars, Santals, and numerous
other castes.
A section of the Bodo tribe closely akin to the Kacharis, to whom
67,285 however, they profess to be a little superior. The majority
... 69,774 of Rabhas are found in Goalpara, Kamrup, Darrang, and
the Garo Hills. The bulk of the tribe is still Animistic.
Rai. — A title of numerous castes ranging from the Brahman to the Jugi. In
1901 1,200 1891 the second caste column made it possible to classify
^®®^ ° these persons under the proper head.
Rajbansi ^A). — According to Mr. Gait, the Rajbansi is a Koch or Mech, who has
1001 120,071 assumed that title on conversion to Hinduism, 115,785
^®®^ 123,751 Rajbansis were censused in Goalpara. Like most persons
who do not feel quite sure of their position, they are very particular in matters of
etiquette, and are keen advocates of infant marriage.
Rajbhar.— An up-country caste, employed chiefly in
the Surma Valley as garden coolies, they rank with Koiris
and Kurmis.
Rajgiri.— A title used by Kandus and Sonars. In
Assam they are garden coolies.
Rajput.— The military and landholding caste of Northern India, who claim
::: ::: Ifli to be the modern representatives of the Kshatriyas.
Raju. — I can find no mention of this caste in any book, though the name
::: ::: ::: 59 has' been returned at the last two censuses.
Rajwar. — A Dravidian cultivating caste of Behar, Western Bengal and Chota
6,702 Nagpur, They eat fowls, but not beef and pork, and so
^'^°° claim to rank above the Bauris ; 4,735 were censused
on gardens.
Rana.— A title of the Bhar, Mayara and other castes.
Raut. — A title of Chamars Dosadhs, and
other castes.
A cultivating caste of Chota Nagpur. According to Mr. Risley
... 1,379 Brahmans will take water from their hands ; but this distinc-
- '^»o tion would, I should imagine, hardly be accorded to the
Rautias of Assam, who work as garden coolies.
Sadgop.— A cultivating caste of Bengal, which is included in the Nabasakh •
1901
1891
1901
1891
1901
1891
1901
1891
1901
1891
1901
1891
1901
1891
1901
1891
Rautia."
2,113
1,086
32
O
25
O
170
many
1001
1891
227
846
94 were censused on tea gardens.
CHAP. XI.] THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS. I43
Saiyad (P). — A branch of the Muhammadan community who claim descent Caste.
1901 10,647 from AH, son-in-law of Muhammad. They occupy a good
^^^^ ■■■ _ ^^'^^^ position in society.
Saloi (A). — A cultivating caste of the Assam Valley. Very few Salois are,
1001 ... ... ... 8,590 however, found outside the Kamrup district, where they are
^^^^ _ /■; ®"^^® said to rank above the Shahas and below the Kewats. A
subdivision of the caste called the Pat Salois rear the pat worm and the ordinary
Salois decline on this account to intermarry with them.* They are a clean Sudra caste.
1901 ... ,.. ... 50 Sankhari. — The shell-cutting caste of Bengal. Brah-
^°°^ ^^ mans take water from their hands.
1901 664 Sannyasi. — According to Mr. Risley, a religious group
^«»^ ' - 364 ofjiigis.
1901 77 680 Santal.— A large Dravidian tribe in great request as
^8»^ •• •;■ - 23.220 garden coolies.
Saraogi. — A mercantile caste of Upper India, allied to the Oswals and Agarwals
1891 ■" ::: lie 0"ly 2 were censused in the Surma Valley.
II81 ::: ;:: 18! Sarki.— The cobbler caste of Nepal.
Sarnakar(S).: — The goldsmith caste of Bengal. I have included under this head
1901 2,782 the Sonar, which is the corresponding caste in Behar. The
^^^^ *"®°® decrease in their numbers is possibly due to Brittial Baniyas
having returned themselves as Sonars in 1891 ; 732 Sarnakars were censused on tea
gardens. Their social position is low, and Brahmans will not take water from their hands.
Savar. — A Dravidian tribe of Orissa, Chota Nagpur, Madras and the Central
ilei ::; III Provinces, who are employed as garden coolies in Assam.
Shaha (P). — According to Mr. Risley, a sub-caste of Sunris, who have givea up
1001 51,169 their traditional occupation of selling wine and taken to
^^®^ ••• - 51,071 other professions. Theoretically, their position is very low,
and there is a saying amongst Bengalis to the effect that if a Sudra be walking down
a narrow lane with only Sunri houses on each side, and an elephant approaches, he ought
to allow it to trample him under foot rather than take refuge in a house of one of the
accursed. In Kamrup, howeveT, Shahas, or Shaus as they
1901. 1891. are called, have succeeded in getting Brahmans to take their
s^e'^^*"^ :: siSoe 3i;ol! water, and serve as their priests ; and in Sylhet many Shahas
Kamrup" .'.■.■ i4^,'q|o 16,111 cujoy positious of Wealth and influence and obtain botH^
ptu!^lmftriots ;.V sA i;269 bridegrooms and brides from amongst the higher castes,
p,p.rtnoe 51,169 51,971 though the latter of course sink to the level of the caste
into which they have married. The figures in the margin
show the distribution of the caste by districts.
1901 1,493,796 Shcikh (P). — The usual title of an Arabian Muhamma-
^8^^ 1,381,804 (jgp^ which has been adopted by converts in Assam.
Solanemia (A). — According to Mr. Gait, a small caste of Bodo origin, who rank
igQj, ... .^ 107 above ordinary Kacharis, and are on much on the same level
^8^1 - 2'* as Rabhas and Sarania Koches. They are only found in
Darrang. ,
Subarnabanik. — A mercantile caste of Bengal Proper. Theoretically, their
^^J ::: ;;; :;: ^^l position is low, and Brahmans do not take their water.
Sudra (S). — A generic term, which can be used by any Hindu,,who is not one of
j„oi 46,326 the three twice-born castes. In Sylhet, however, there is a
1891 ... ~ 7,068 distinct Sudra caste which has no other name. They are
the servants, and were once the slaves, of Kayasthas, Brahmans and Baidyas. The
Halwa Das were allowed to return themselves as Sudra Das, and many seem to have
simply entered Sudra.
jgoi ... 21,220 Sudra Das (S), — A title used by the Halwa Das, as
1891 ... .■• - o they object to the expression Halwa.
Sunri. — The liquor-distilling and selling caste whose position is naturally very
i|oi ■ •■• ^'lll low ; 1,039 were censused on tea gardens.
^g^^ __ i_eo2 Sunuwar.— A cultivating tribe of_ Nepal. The majority
1891 "■ ■" ••• ' s4 ^ere censused in Sibsagar and Lakhimpur.
* According to Mr. Gait, the Pat Salois are the higher of the two, and are so called because they decline to allow
intermarriage with Bengalis. I do not know which of these two contradictory versions is correct.
144 REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, jgOI. [CHAP. XI.
Caste. Surahiya. — A boating caste of Behar ; 374 males and no females were censused
1901 382 in Sylhet. They were probably boatmen from Bengal.
1891 ... ... ... 823
Sutradhar (P).— The carpenter caste of Bengal, where they rank with Jugis
1901 17 434 and Sunris. They seem to be indigenous in Goalpara and
1891 ... ::: ... ie',731 Sylhet.
Synteng (A). — The inhabitants of the Jaintia Hills, who are closely allied to the
1901 47,930 Khasis, The decrease in their numbers is probably due to
^^^^ ••■ ^■'■■^^^ conversions to Christianity.
Tambuli. — A respectable trading class of Bengal, who are usually classed amongst
1901 195 the Nabasakh ; 98 were censused on tea gardens, where they
^®" ^^'^ were presumably employed as clerks or shop-keepers, as
the Tambuli will not touch the plough,
Tanti. — The weaving caste of Bengal and Behar. In Bengal their position is good,
1901 .., 21,715 and they rank amongst, the Nabasakh, but this is not the
^®®^ "'°°^ caste in Behar, from which place in all probability the
majority of our Tantis come, as 16,1 12 were censused on tea gardens.
1891 :;: ::: *8 Tarkhan.— A carpentering caste of the Punjab.
1891 ::: ::: ^li Tatwa. — A weaving caste of Behar.
Teli (S). — The oil-pressing caste of Bengal. They are indigenous in Sylhet,
1901 * ... 38,810 where 30,312 were censused. In Bengal the higher sub-
^^^^ 35,624 castes of Telis are included in the Nabasakh ; but this is
not the case in Behar, from which place the 6,854 Telis censused on the tea gardens
have probably come.
1901 .. 2 058 Telinga.— ^Probably Telaga or Telugu, castes of
1891 ••• '3«3 Madras.
1901 174 Thakur. — A synonym for Brahman, and a title used
1891 ^^9 by Hajaras, Lobars and other castes. All the Thakurs
found in Assam were Buddhists.
1891 ::: ::: ::: ^0 Thami. — A subdivision ©f the Khas tribe of Nepal.
1901 1,625 Thapa. — A subdivision of Magars and other Nepalese
1891 ::: 1.515 f/ibes.
Tharu. — A Non-Aryan tribe of Behar and Upper India. The majority of Tharus
1901 ... 314 were censused in Goalpara and North Cachar, where they
18^1 - *^ were probably working as railway coolies*
Tipperah (S). — The Tipperahs are supposed to be a section of the great Bodo
1901 9,771 tribe. Those censused in Sylhet are probably* immigrants
1881 8.659 fronj tjig neighbouring hills or their descendants.
Tiyar. — A fishing caste of Bengal, who are usually looked upon as impure; \^2,
i§§J ": ::; ~ ll? were censused on tea gardens.
Tokar (A). — A small agricultural caste of Kamrup and Darrang, who are said to
1901 820 rank below the Jugi and above the Hiras. Their origin
1801 1'°^® and the cause of their degradation are obscure.
Totla (A). — A superior section of Kacharis found in the Kamrup district, who
1901 7,100 occupy an intermediate position between the Kacha'ri and
1891 ^'^^e the Koch. They are said to be abandoning pork and fowls
as articles of food, but they still take liquor.
il8i ::: . Z. Z loo Turaha.— A sub-caste of Kahars and Nunias.
Turi. — A non-Aryan caste of Chota Nagpur, largely employed as coolies in Assam •
1901 12,418 10,354 were censused on tea gardens. Their social position
1891 8,240 Jg Jq^_ f
Turung (A). — A settlement of Shans in the Sibsagar district, who entered the
1901 - ::: ;;: fof province about eighty years ago.
U Udasi. — A title of religious mendicants.
1891
1901 45
1891 ... •■. ..• . 39
II81 ::: ::: :" B Ukhar.— A group of the Aoghar sect of Sivaite ascetics.
Vaisya[(A).— A caste of Eastern Bengal, claiming to be the modern representatives
1901 3,483 of the Vaisyas of Manu. In the Surma Valley, they are
i8»i ^'Ji^ foreigners, but in Kamrup there is an indigenous caste of
this name, who are cultivators and do not wear the sacred thread.
i|gl ;:: ::: % Yakha.— A small agricultural caste of Nepal.
CHAP. XI.] THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS. 145
NOTE on the Lushais by Major SHAKESPEAR, e.i.E., D.s.o., Superintendent
of the Lushei Hills.
Composition oj the population. — The population of the district is, with the exception of a Caste,
very few immigrants, all of one race. The people, however, recognise a number of divisions and
subdivisions. My enquiries have led me to the conclusion that each of these divisions and subdivi-
sions bears the name of some famous man who distinguished himself in former days, and from whom
the majority of those bearing the name now are descended (or the whole of a family may have adopted
the name of some very distinguished member). Old men tell me that, in their father's time the
various clans lived in separate villages ruled over by Chiefs of their own clan. Prominent men in
each clan founded families which were called after them, and these families have been further sub-
divided as in course of time other prominent men have arisen, whose descendants were proud to
adopt their names. In each case the connection with the original clan is carefully preserved,
thus a man will say that he belongs to the Lian-nghor branch of the Pachuao family of the
Lushei clan.
During the last 200 years these clans have been very much broken up, and in some cases
there is much difficulty in finding out whether a name is that of a clan or only of a family. In
some cases the clan had formerly a separate corporate existence, which was broken up so long
ago that its few remaining members, living among other clans for so long, have been practically
absorbed. This tendency of the clan to disappear has been increased by the extraordinary way
in which certain Lushei families have come to the front and have asserted a claim to be Chiefs, and
have got this claim recognised, not only by the Lusheis,but by almost all the other clans as vsell. At
the present time nearly every village is ruled by a Chief of one of the five royal Lushei familes ; it is
therefore only natural for members of less distinguished clans to try to get themselves recognised
as Lusheis. The amount of variation between the diflerent clans is by no means constant. The
Ralte, Paithe, Thado and Lakher are easily distinguishable, and a very brief acquaintance with
them would make it apparent that they were not Lusheis ; and the same applies to the clans which
have been grouped under the names of Hmar and Poi. The remaining clans are so much alike that
ane might live a long time in the hills without being aware that there were any differences
between them. It may be as well here to explain what the people themselves consider the marks
of a different clan. The most important is the method of performing the domestic sacrificial
ceremonies. This is almost conclusive proof that these clans are really only enlarged families.
The other sign of a difference of clan is a difference In dialect ; but in many cases the dialect has
been lost entirely, while the sacrificial rites have been kept intact. It was manifestly both impos-
sible and unnecessary to classify the population according to all the minor divisions, and therefore
I directed that the population should be grouped under the following 15 heads :
Lushei,
Ralte,
Paithe,
Pante,
Ngente,
Khawlhring,
Kiangte,
Roite,
Renthlei,
Chongthu,
Thado,
Lakher,
Darlong,
Poi,
Hmar.
With the exception of Poi and Hmar, all these are true clan names. Poi is the term used by
the Lusheis, and other original inhabitants of the present Lushai Hills district, for all the people
living in what we call the Chin Hills, except one or two small communities. Among these Pols
or Chins there are a great many clans and families, and I was unable to collect information about
them all, nor did my enumerators know enough to enable them to distinguish them, and I there-
fore decided to adopt the custom of the district and classify all these people as Pol. Regarding
them and their customs, I propose to say but little, as they are merely immigrants from the Chin
Hills, and will be fully dealt with in the Census Report of that district.
Hmar, which means ' north,' is used by the rest of the inhabitants of the district to denote im-
migrants into the district from the Manipur State. These mostly belong to clans which are very
closely allied together, and speak much the same dialect, but I was unable to find a more suitable
name under which to group them.
Of the remaining 13 divisions into which I divided the population, all except the Ralte, Paithe
and Lakher are becoming more and more alike every year.
The rise of the Lushei Chiefs. — Some 200 years ago there lived a man, Thangurra by name,
who distinguished himself above his fellows and became a powerful Chief, and to him all the
present Chiefs trace their pedigrees. At Thangurra's time there is but little doubt that the hills
j were dotted over with little hamlets, in which lived people all more or less closely connected.
I Thangurra's descendants, by their prowess in ^var and wisdom in governing, gradually established
their rule from one end of the hills to the other, and their authority now is undisputed, even by the
other clans. The most powerful branch of Thangurra's family is the Sailo, so named from
Sailova. In old correspondence, the Sylu tribe is frequently spoken of. By this term was meant
the villages of Chiefs of the Sailo family, these villages frequently containing hardly any Sallo
except the Chief and his family.
General description of people and their mode of life.—hs I have already stated, the people of
this district are undoubtedly all of the same race. They are distinctly Mongolian. Though the
different clans have various customs, yet even between those that vary most there is a strong
resemblance. I propose now to briefly describe the manner of life of the majority of the people,
and then to point out in what respects that of different clans varies from it,
M IV^
146 REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, igOI, [GHAP. XI.
Caste. General appearance. — The race is distinctly a short one, the men being from 5 feet 2 to 5
feet 6, while the women seldom reach 5 feet 2. Both men and women are stoutly built and have
very muscular legs. The men seldom have any hair on their faces, and if a man can grow a
moustache he generally pulls out all the hairs, except those growing at the corners of his mouth.
The women pierce their ears when young, and insert discs of baked clay, which are continually
increased in size till the lobe of the ear is distended, so that a ring \\ inches in diameter can be
inserted. In this hole an ivory ring is worn. On a woman being left a widow, she removes her
earrings, and when she definitely gives up all idea of remarrying she slits the lobe of her ears.
The men sometimes wear very small wooden or bone studs in the lobes of their ears.
The hair of both sexes is drawn straight back and tied in a knot behind. In this- knot ping
of various shapes and materials are worn. Widows wear their hair loose. It is considered
unwise for males who have reached the age of puberty to cut their hair, as doing so is sure to bring
on ill health.
All children run about naked for the first two or three years of their lives. The clothing of
the men consists of a coat which reaches below the waist, but is only fastened at the throat, and a
single cloth, which is worn thus, — one corner is held in the left hand and the cloth is passed over
the left shoulder behind the back under the right arm, and the corner thrown over the left shoulder
again. When working, or in hot weather, the coat is generally.dispensed with, and the cloth simply
rolled round the waist with the ends loosely knotted hanging down in front. Men sometimes
wear turbans. Both body cloths and turbans are generally white, but dark blue cloths with
coloured stripes are worn by the better-off people. There is a particular pattern which only men
who have killed two metna to feast the village are allowed to wear. The women wear coats and
cloths like the men, and in addition a short dark blue petticoat reaching just to the knee. Both
sexes are fond of ornaments. Amber necklaces are very popular, and some of these are valued
very highly, being passed down from father to son through several generations. Rough uncut
cornelians are also much prized, these are either worn in a necklace or suspended from the lobe
of the ear.
Constitution of society. — The people live in villages, each of which is ruled by a
Chief, who is entirely independent. Even a young son will not admit his father's right to
influence him, after he has once established a separate village. The Chief is supreme in his
own village, but the people are very democratic, and have a very simple remedy if a Chief oppres-
ses them, viz., to remove to another village. The Chief settles all disputes in the village, arranges
where the jhums are to be, and when and where a village is to move. His house is the poorhouse
of the village, and all orphans and others who have no means of support are received there, and
get food in return for their labour. Formerly, a person who had committed some serious crime
could enter the Chief's house and thus escape vengeance. When a child has been brought up
in the Chief's house, it is in some respects a slave. Girls are released on marriage, but the Chief
receives the marriage price. Boys have to buy their release at the cost of a metna. A Chief
sometimes buys a wife for a favourite slave, and sets him up in a sepatate house, and three years
after the man will be considered free, but his children are sometimes considered slaves. The
Chief's slaves are very well off, they wear the Chief's Ornaments and eat the best food to be got,
and do no more work than they would have to do if they were not slaves.
The Chief has several advisers, who are called ' Upa.' They have the first choice of jkum
land, and sometimes the Chief allows them to get a basket of rice from each house. The other
village officials are the crier, who goes round the village after dark, shouting out the Chief's
orders ; the blacksmith, and the Pui-thiam or sorceror, who performs sacrifices in case of illness.
These persons generally receive a donation of rice from each house in return for their services.
The Chief receives from i to 5 baskets of rice according to the quality of the jhum land
assigned to the cultivator; he also receives a hindquarter of every animal killed in the chase
besides some other small dues.
There is a regular code of punishments for different offences, the Chief of course receiving
a share of every fine levied.
The only sort of cultivation known is jhuming:' The chief crop is rice, which ripens in
November and December, the other important crop is maize, which is reaped in August. Peas
and beans of various kinds, and a certain amount of millet, are also grown. The same piece of
land is seldom cultivated two years running, and this, of course, causes all the land within reach
of the village to be quickly cleared, and then it becomes necessary for the village to be moved to
some other site whence new land can h&jhumed.
Villages and_ A<?«jej.— Villages are generally built on the top of a ridge or spur, and not on
the slope of the hill, as is the custom among the Chins. The cause of this I think, is' that the hills
are higher in the country inhabited by the Chins, and therefore they can get healthy sites without
going to the top of the ridges. In former days, the choice of the village site was much influenced
by its defensive capabilities, the migratory habits of the people precluding their constructing
the elaborate defensive works found round the Chin villages. When we first occupied the hills
every village was strongly stockaded, two and even three rows of stockades being found in some
cases. The gateways were commanded by timber block houses, and at suitable points on the
roads block houses were built, which were occupied whenever there was any "fear of attack
The ground round the stockades and block houses was planted with sharpened bamboo spikes"
which formed a very serious obstacle to a barefooted foe. '
. The villages are laid out in streets, all radiating from some central open spot, facine which
IS the Chief s house, and the zawlbuk or guest-house. The houses are built on piles on the natural
slope of the hill, and thus the floor of one house is often higher than the roof of the house
below it.
The houses are all constructed in the same manner and on the same plan. At the end
CHAP. Xi.j THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS. 147
nearest the road is a rough platform of logs, which is the place for cleaning the dhan in. On Caste.
the front wall of the house over this platform are hung the horns of any animals the owner of
the house may have killed, and among them are the baskets in which the hens hatch out their
broods. The doorway has a very high sill, and the door consists of a sliding panel of bamboo
Work. The fireplace consists of an earthen hearth, in which three upright stones are inserted
to hold the cooking pot, above this are two bamboo shelves on which articles which require
drying are kept. On each side of the fireplace are. bamboo sleeping platforms, that furthest
from the door being for the father and mother, the other for the daughters. Beyond the family
sleeping platform is a partition, the space between which and the end wall of the hou.se is used
as a lumber room and closet, from this a back door opens out on to a small platform. The
Chief's house only differs in size, generally having two rooms, the one nearest the entrance
being for the use of the slaves. Windows in the sides of the house are considered unlucky,
unless the right to make one has been purchased by killing two metna and feasting the village.
The houses are built of timber uprights, but the walls, floor and roof frame are made of bamboo ;
the thatching material used is generally cane leaves, but occasionally grass is used. Over the
cane leaves broad bands of spilt bamboo are tied down from eave to eave, giving the roof a
rounded appearance from the outside. A long coop under the eaves is the sleeping place of
the fowls, who gain access to it by a ladder made of a knotched stick.
The Zawlb:uk is a large. hall, with a huge hearth in the centre and a sleeping platform at the
far end. The front wall stops about three feet short of the ground, and to enter the building
you have to stoop under this, and then climb over a barrier of equal height placed a few feet
further in. This building is the sleeping place of the young men of the village, and of any. strangers
who stop there the night. It is also a sort of general meeting house. The boys of the village have
to keep up a sufficient supply of firewood for the Zawlbuk fire.
In the centre of one of the streets will generally be found the blacksmith's forge, a small
house, built on the ground level, but with a platform in front on which passers-by can s't, and
hghten the labours of the smith by their conversation. The bellows consist of two hollow logs
in which pistons are worked up and down, from the lower extremity of each log a tube runs
to a hole in a stone placed immediately behind the stone on which the charcoal fire rests. A very
moderate movement of the pistons gives an excellent draught. The blacksmith repairs all the
tools of the village, but some of them are capable of a good deal more than this.
Marriage, — Each clan has a regular fixed price for its girls, and any one wishing to marry
a girl must pay this price sooner or later. The price varies from three metna to ten according
to the clan. The price is always stated in metna, but the actual articles given or the amount paid
in cash is subject to arrangement. The father or the nearest male relative on his side receives
this price, but the bridegroom has also to pay many other persons. The girl's aunt will get
a sum varying from Rs. 40 to Rs. 5, the elder sister gets a small sum for having carried the
bride about when she was young. The bride appoints a male and female friend or protector,
and each has to be paid a small amount by the bridegroom. The bride takes with her certain
cloths and ornaments, but these remain the property of the girl's male relatives unless she has
a child to inherit them, in which case an extra payment, varying according to the quality of the
dowry, has to be paid. The nearest male relative on the bride's mother's side has also to
be paid a sum varying from Rs. 40 to Rs. 4. These sums are never paid at once, — in fact, many
men "never complete paying the price of their wives, and leave the debt to be cleared off by
their children.*
A young Lusbai generally chooses his own wife, and sends a Palai, or ambassador, to her
parents to arrange the details of the price to be paid. These settled, the bride is escorted to her
future husband's parent's house, by a party of friends, being pelted with dirt by all the children
of the village. The parents of the bridegroom receive the party with brimming cups of rice-beer,
and when justice has been done to this, a fowl is produced by the bridegroom and slain by the
Pui-thiam, or sorceror, who mutters certain charms over it. Directly this is over, the bride and
her girl friends retire, while the r^st of the party indulge in a great feast, the bridegroom having
to provide a fowl for each of those entitled to a share in the price of the bride. The following
evening the bridegroom's mother goes and fetches the bride and hands her over to him at his
house. The following morning, the bride returns to her parent's house and spends the day there,
this she continues to do for some time. The bonds of matrimony are very loose. If a couple
do not get on they can separate by mutual consent, or if the husband does not like the woman
he can simply send her back to her parents. In both these cases he does not recover any part
of the price he may have paid, and the recipient of the price is bound to support the woman till
she is married again. If the woman commits adultery, or leaves her husband without his consent,
her relatives have to refund whatever they received on her account. A widow is at liberty either
to return to her own people, in which case her late husband's relatives take all his property and
his children ; or she may continue to live in his house, in vvhich case she retains his property in
trust for his children, but should she indulge in an intrigue she is considered to be an adultress,
and her relatives have to pay back her price to her late husband's relations, who take all the
property and also the children.
Until a girl is married, she may indulge in as many intrigues as she likes, but should she
become pregnant her lover must pay a metna to her father ; he will, however, be entitled to take the
child when it is old enough to leave its mother. In case the chiLd is a girl, the father of course
gets the marriage price in due course. If a man is willing at once to marry a girl whom he has
seduced he is not expected to pay more than the usual marriage price.
All clans intermarry, the children taking the father's clan name. The marriage of first
cousins is rare among the common people, chiefly because the parents of the girl prefer taking
her price from some one outside their family circle. Among Chiefs, who are anxious to marry
their children to the children of other Chiefs, the marriage of first cousins is more common. Except
* j - : - - I ' I . - ' ' I III.. . ' ■■ I ' I i t
* It is strange that the bride price should be so high amongst th§ Lusheis, as the women of this tribe largely
t^ceed the men in numbers,--B. C, A,
148 REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, /gO/. [CHAP. XI.
Caste, h's mother, sisters, daughters and aunts, a man may marry any woman he likes.
Ceremonies connected -with child-birth.— Mter the birth of a child, the mother must not go
down to the spring nor wash her child in cold water till two fowls have been sacrificed. Seven
days after the birth of the child, the household spirit is appeased by the offering of a small
chicken and seven packets of rice and vegetables, which are suspended under the eaves.
During these seven days, the spirit of the child is supposed to spend some of its time perched
like a bird on the clothes or bodies of the child's parents, who, for fear of injuring it, have to
keep quiet during this period. Should they do any work, and the child get ill, the cure is to make
a coil of a certain creeper, and at night, after the fire has been put out, to dip the child three
times inside the coil. The parents give two feasts in honour of the birth of a child, the first two
days and the second nine days after its birth. At one or the other of these feasts the nearest male
relative on the mother's side gives the child its name. There are many other sacrifices connected
with children, and they differ considerably in different clans.
Funerals. — All the tribes in the hills bury their dead eventually, though some of them take
some time over it. After death the corpse is dressed up in the best clothes available and fastened to
a bamboo-frame in a sitting position. If the deceased is a man, his gun, dao and spear will be placed
beside him. A pig, goat and dog are then killed and their flesh cooked, and then all the friends
and neighbours are asked to a great feast. Meat and drink are offered to the corpse also. The
spirits of the animals slain are supposed to accompany the deceased to ' Mi-thi-khua,' the dead
men's village. Without this sacrifice the deceased's spirit cannot find rest. The dead are buried
just outside the house in which they lived. The grave consists of a shaft about 4 or 5 feet deep,
from which a tunnel is excavated long enough to receive the corpse. On the evening following
the death, the corpse is placed in this grave, the nearest male relative making a short farewell
speech and asking the spirit of the dead to prepare things for those who will shortly follow.
Drinking is kept up throughout the funeral ceremonies. The bodies of members of the Chief's
family and of well-to-do persons of the more esteemed Lushei families are not buried so speedily.
Instead of being placed in the grave, they are placed in the log of a tree which has been specially
hollowed out, a lid is fitted on and the junction of the lid and the tree trunk is well plastered with
mud. This coffin is placed on the floor of the house and an earthen hearth is made alongside,
on which a fire is kept burning day and night. A bamboo is passed through the bottom of the
coffin and the floor into the ground, this conveys away all the liquid matter. The corpse is kept in
this coffin for about three months, and all this time the nearest relatives sit beside it and feed the
fire and drink rice-beer. At the end of this time J^^. little but the bones is left. Some of these
are buried, but the skull and certain of the larger bones are kept in a basket which occupies
a shelf opposite the fireplace in the house of the nearest relative, whence they are taken and
dressed up at the feast of the dead. Should the first-born die within a year of its birth it will be
buried without any ceremony under the house, subsequent children, however early they may die,
will, however, be honoured with a regular funeral. On a death, the maternal uncle of the deceased
is entitled to a sum varying from 2 to 20 rupees from the heir.
Religion. — The Lushais and all other tribes in the hills believe in a supreme being who made
the world: he is known as Pathian, but is not thought to take much interest in the doings
of people. Far more important to the average man are the numerous Ram-huai or demons
who are supposed to inhabit every hill and streana, and Khuavang, a spirit sometimes spoken
of as the same as Pathian, but generally considered as less powerful, but more concerned
with mankind. Every illness, every failure of crops is put down either to the influence
of some demon or of Khuavang, and the whole of a hillman's existence is spent in pro-
pitiating these spirits. The Pui-thiara, or sorcerer, is supposed to know what particular
spirit is the cause of the trouble, and what particular sacrifice will appease him. The number of
these sacrifices, and the different ways in which they have to be performed, would fill a thick book.
In all of them the flesh of the animal killed is eaten by the sorcerer and his assistants the least
toothsome portions only being left for the demon. Small figures representing human beings and
animals are also offered to the demons. Besides these sacrifices, there is a special sacrifice to the
patron spirit of the hearth. This can only be performed by a member of the clan, and the method
of performing it varies in every clan.
The most generally accepted theory as to what happens after death, is that the spirits go to
' Mit-thi-khua ;' but those men who have slain men or animals in the chase or' have feasted the
villageare able to cross the Pail river to an abode of great comfort, where there is plenty of food
and drink to be got without any work. As women cannot go to war nor kill wild animals and
are not allowed to give feasts, they can only .reach this happy land if their husbands take them
Existence in ' Mi-thi-khua ' is full of trouble and worry. After a certain period in one of these'
two abodes of departed spirits, the spirit is again born as a hornet, and after a time assumes the
form of water, and if in the form of dew it falls on a man it is re-born in his child.
Feasts, etc.— In connection with the crops there are three feasts, called Chan-rhar Kni-
Mim Kut and Pawl Kut. The first is the most important, and is thought to ensure a ?ood
harvest. It takes place about the time of sowing, and consists chiefly of drinkintr th=
young men and girls dancing slowly round in circles, holding each others arms while oeonl^
mside the circle ply them with rice-beer. The Pawlkut is held after the rice harvP=rw
been reaped. It seems chiefly -a festival for the children, who, dressed in their be^f
fed with meat, rice and hard-boiled eggs. A good deal of rough play ^oes on th^. uaI^ I' ^"^^
to force handfulls of food down the lllses' throats. Mim Kut is held when the matze harvS'?,
reaped, and is of but little importance. Mi-thi-rop lam, or dance of the dead is a fpa=Ti;»M •
CtlAP. XI,] THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS. I49
ancestors vyill probably be dressed up. The effigies are all tied on to a square frame work, and Caste.
this is carried about and danced up and down amid much shouting. In the centre of the frame
is a large effigy, intended to represent the first of the whole race. After this dancing of the
effigies has gone on some time, the eldest member of the clan present comes out of his house with
a flagon of rice-beer and goes to each effigy in turn and whispers some words and pours a little
of the beer into its mouth. He so arranges as to come to his own particular ancestor last, and,
after having given the beer, he dashes the flagon on the ground and, bursting into tears, runs into
his own house. The effigies, after being danced about a little more, are taken away by respective
descendants.
A Chief sometimes has to sacrifice a metna for the benefit of the village. After the Pui-
thiam has muttered the proper charm over the animal and anointed it by blowing some rice-
bee^ from his mouth over it, the Chief stabs it with a spear and then takes refuge in his house.
He is not allowed to cross any running water for a month after this sacrifice, and should he do
so dire disasters will certainly follow.
Beside these semi-religious feasts, there are various others' which are given by people who
wish to be thought well of. These have to be given in a regular order, and when a man has given
the whole series he is entitleito wear a cloth of a certain pattern and to have a window in the side
of his house.
Superstitions — Witchcraft. — The Lushais are a very superstitious race. They will not kill
certain animals, because it is unlucky, and yet I cannot find any trace of totemism in this
superstition. The belief in witchcraft is universal, and people suspected of practising the
black art were formerly killed, and portions of their livers given to their victims, with a view
to effecting a cure. Wizards are said to make clay images of their victims, and to stick spikes
into them to cause sickness to those whom the figures represent. To take up the impression
of a person's foot in the mud and put it to dry over the fire is a sure way to cause sickness.
Besides the regular wizards, there are a number of people whose spirits are supposed to
have the habit of leaving their bodies and entering into the bodies of others and causing them
much trouble. It may here be noted that the common belief is that each person has three spirits.
One of these is called Khawhrin, and this is the one that sometimes wanders, the other two are
spoken of as Thlarao, and one is supposed to be wise and one foolish, and the constant struggle
between these two causes men's actions to be so unreliable. ,
Weapons and warfare. — Men of 60 and 70 years of age can remember the time when
guns were hardly known, and fighting was carried on with spears and bows and arrows ;
but now-a-days the weapons of the people are flint-lock muskets, spears and daos, the last
being evidently imitated from the Burmese dah, and called Kawlnam, which means Burmese
knife. The spears are very inferior weapons, about 4 feet 6 inches long, with iron blades, ^nd
iron spikes at the other end of the shaft to allow of the weapons being stuck in the ground.
The blades are attached to the shafts in a very inefficient manner. The essence of warfare is
surprise. The greatest triumph that could be achieved was to surprise a village at daybreak, and
dash in before the fighting men had time to make any resistance, then capture as many women and
children as possible, load them up with their own property and get away before their relatives
could organize a rescue party. The practice of waylaying people cultivating was considered
unfair, and the Pois, by steadily practising it, drove the other clans out of any part of the country
they coveted. Ambushing armed parties was regularly practised, but our experience has been
that the ambusher was always so anxious to get off with a whole skin, that his fire was very apt to
be ineffective. A raiding party, even after a march of several days, would retire without firing a
shot if the enemy were found on the alert.
Hunting and snaring. — All the hill men are very fond of fresh meat, jind are clever at
trapping game. Long lines of rough fencing are run through the jungle, with small openings
at intervals, in which snares are set. Pheasants, jungle, fowl, etc., coming to one of these
fences will aways run along it till an opening is found, and thus get snared. Porcupines
are killed by a bamboo spear fastened to a sapling bent back like a spring and so arranged
that it shall be released just as the animal is opposite the spear point. Tigers are caught
under a platform of heavy logs, which is supported in an inclined position by a strong cane
passed over a cross piece held up by two uprights. In a hole under this platform is placed a pig
in a basket ; on the tiger pulling at the basket, the heavy platform falls and squashes him, while the
pig, being in a hole, escapes. Deer, wild cats, etc., are caught in snares, a noose being arranged so
that on the animals stepping in it a sapling to which the noose is attached, and which is held down in
a bent position, is released, thus hoisting the animal up into the air. The method of releasing the
trap or snare is in all cases the same. Two uprights are driven into the ground, and a crossbar
securely tied between them near the top. Near one end of a piece of string or rope is attached a
piece of wood, one end of this is placed under the crossbar, and the other end is pressed down till
it passes between ,the two uprights, then a loose piece of wood is passed across the upright under it.
The other end of the string supports the weight which is to fall on the animal or is tied to the
bent sapling. All the pressure is on the upper crosspiece, which is securely tied. The bait is
tied to the lower crosspiece, or a piece of string tied to this crosspiece is fastened across the
path. A very slight pressure will suffice to displace this lower crosspiece, and directly that
happens the string is released and the weight falls or the sapling flies up.
Musical instruments. — Gongs and drums, the latter the common tom-tom, are the favourite
instruments. A reed instrument is made by inserting reeds into a gourd. The reeds have finger
holes, by crossing and opening of which while blowing into the gourd by another reed a regularly
graded scale of notes can be produced.
Agriculturalimplements. — These are very simple and consist of a dao, an axe and a hoe*
The dao is a knife with a triangular blade, about 3 inches wide at the end and half an inch at tha
150 REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, IQOI. [CHAP. XI.
Caste, handle. It is ground with a chisel edge, the broad end being also sharpened. This is used for
clearing the jungle, and the broad end is used for grubbing the hoJes in which the seeds are
placed. The axe heads are only about i^ inches wide at the edge, and taper alnaost to a point ;
the handles are simply pieces of bamboo, the heads being thrust through the tough root portion.
The hoes very closely resemble the axes, the heads being a little lighter and broader.
Arts and trades. — The women are very clever at weaving, and the cloths they_ make are
strong and last a lifetime. The patterns they work are simple. The cotton used is grown in
Ws&jhums, and cleaned and spun by the women themselves. The men are expert basket-weavers.
There are a very large number of differeut baskets, each with its proper name and use._ Some
very good moulding in brass is occasionally come across, and some of the blacksmiths are
very good workmen, being able to make gun-locks.
Inheritance. — Among the Chiefs, the custom has been that as soon as a son married he should
be given a certain number of houses and started as^an independent Chief. His father would also
give him some of his possessions, such as guns, necklaces, etc., and. send some of his most
trusted slaves with him. The youngest son was an exception to this rule, he remained with his
father till his death, and thus became his heir. Much the same custom is followed among the
common people, each son as he marries setting up house for himself and receiving some of the
family possessions, and it has thus become the custom for the youngest to take the father's
property. The eldest son, however, sometimes asserts a claim to a share. Custom, among the
people of these hills is not very stable, and on a man's death practically any relative can take
his goods if he will undertake to support the widow and the children, providing that the
widow does not elect to continue to live in her husband's house, and that the children are not old
enough to support themselves.
Tattooing. — The only [marks I have noticed are circles, which are said to be records
of love affairs.
Circumicision. — Is not practised.
Snake worship. — I have found no special traces of any worship but Rulpi. 'The big snake'
figures frequently in the folklore of the people.
Deaths by violence or wild animals. — The victims are btjried outside the village, but as far as
I can gather, no disgrace is attached to such a death. In such cases no death duty can be
claimed by the maternal uncle.
Origin. — It is nearly universaUy believed that the ancestors of the present inhabitants came
out from a cave in the earth. The position of this cave is variously described. Nearly every
clan will tell you that its first villages were on the banks of the Manipur river, but they mean
thereby the first communities of which they ha.ve any traditions,
Head-hunfing.-~-lt used to.be considered that all inhabitants of these hills were head-hunters ;'
in fact, so great an authority as Colonel Lewin derives the name Lushai from 'Lu,' ahead,
and 'sha,' to cut. This is, of course, a mistake, as the name of the clan is not
Lushai, but Lushei, and though 'sha' does mean to cut, it does_ not mean to cut off,
and could not be used of cutting off a man'^ head ; but that such a mistake should have been
possible shows how firmly rooted was the Iselief that head-hunting was one of the peculiarities
of the population of these hills. I believe that, as far as the Lusheis and their kindred clans
are concerned, head-hunting was not indulged in. By this I mean that parties did not go out
simply to get heads. Of course a man who had killed his man was" thought more highly of than
one who had not, and therefore, when a man did kill a person, he brought the head home to show
that he was speaking the truth ; but the raids were made not to get heads but for loot and slaves,
the killing and taking of heads were merely incidents in the raid, not the cause of it. I think
that the Chins or Pois are an exception to this, and, as far as I can gather, the glory of bringing in
a head was sufRcient to send a young man and his friends off on the raid.
Clans which differ from the hulk of the population. — I will now give briefly a few points in
which certain clans differ considerably from those to whom the above description generally applies.
Rale.—^Vxs clan speaks a dialect which is very different from the Lushei or Dulian language,
which may be considered the lingua franca of the hills. They keep very much together, and are
now collecting in villages under headmen of their own. In almost every custom they differ
slightly from their neighbours. They bury their dead outside the village, and the Chiefs bury
their dead, not preserving the bones as the Lushai chiefs do. The Ralte are the most quarrel-
some and talkative clan in the whole hills. Tradition says that when mankind was issuing from
the earth the Raltes came out chattering so loudly that the stone was clapped down on them and
therefore there are less Raltes than other clans.
In mode of dress, etc., they do not differ from the other clans.
Ngenle. — The following information has been collected by Mr. Drake-Brockman :
Child birth. — Three months before her confinement a woman prepares rice-beer which
is kept and drunk inside the house after the birth of the child. The third day after
the child's birth it is named by its maternal uncle, a red cock being killed, and some
of the feathers tied round the child's neck, and also worn by the members of the family. In
the autumn of each year, there is a feast which lasts thre'e days in honour of the children born
during the year. The first two nights the adult population sit up all night drinking and eating
• yams. The third day men, dressed as women, and Pois, go from house to house, visiting all
who have become mothers during the year, and being treated to drink and given some small
present by each, in return for which they dance. Women are delivered at the head of the sleeping
machan ; the alter-birth is placed in a gourd and hung up on the wall at the back of the house,
Chap, xi.] ■ the results of the census. 151
Death ceremonies. — The death are buried at once, and anywhere the relatives choose. Caste.
Pais or Chins.— ^TheT^ are many minor differences in feasts and customs. Mr. Drake-
BrOckman has supplied me with a good deal of information, but all the Pois in this district are
merely immigrants from' the Chin Hills. I do not think it need be reproduced here, and will keep
it for the ethnographical report.
Lakhers. — These people are also immigrants from the Chin Hills, but they seem different
in many respects from the Pois. Mr. Drake-Brockman says that the name by which they call
themselves is Tloogsai. The eldest son inherits the bulk of the property. Daughters only get
what the b"rothers give them j younger brothers get a small share. If there are no sons, the nearest
male relative inherits. The details of the price paid for brides differs somewhat from those
given above. There are no guest houses. All members of the family sleep in the same house.
The Chief's bodies are buried five days after death. People killed by animals or by accident,
or women who die in child-birth, are buried outside the village, and ceremonies are abbreviated.
Such a death is an ill-omen. Seven days after child-birth the mother washes at the spring, and
then takes the child to her father's house, and gives some rice and a fowl in honour of the child.
No particular sacrifices are connected with child-birth. Among the Lakhers there are no special
sorcerers or priests, the head of the household is the priest, and does all necessary sacrifices.
Lakher villages, like Chin villages, do not move, and therefore are more permanent. The
dress of the people is the same as that of the Haka Chins.
Paithes. — When we first occupied these hills, a very large number of this clan were living in
different villages of Lushai chiefs, having being brought there and detained more or less forcibly.
These have nearly all left now, and either returned to thieir own country, the Manipur Hills or
settled in one or two villages under Paithe chiefs in the extreme north-east corner of the
district. The Paithe dialect is quite unintelligible to a Lushai. Their marriage customs are very
different. A young Paithe cohabits with _his future wife for a period which may extend to three
years if no child is born. During this time they sleep together, but otherwise live as if unmarried.
If no child is born, or rather if the woman does not become pregnant, the couple separate. If the
woman becomes pregnant the marriage is completed, and the price must be paid, and there can be
no separation or divorce, as is so easily arranged among the Lushais. There is very little inter-
marriage between the Paithes and the other clans, on account of the objection the Paithe women
have to the casual way in which the males of other clans can get rid of their wives. A Paithe
chief's son is supposed to marry his first cousin. After death the corpse is rubbed with some
greasy preparation, which preserves and hardens the skin. It is then dressed up in the best cloths
obtainable, and a wonderful head-dress made of toucan tail feathers is placed on its head. During
the day time the corpse is kept in the house, but in the evening, when the people return from
work, it is brought out and placed on the platform outside the house, and rice-beer is poured
down its throat, and people sing and dance round it. This disgusting perforrnance is kept up for
periods, which varies from a month or two to a year, according to the wealth of dead person's
family. The Paithes have many other peculiar customs, but I have had but little opportunity of
studying them. They have no guest houses, the young men sleeping in the front verandas of the
Chief, and some wealthy men on special platforms. For this privilege, they each give a pig or a
goat once a year.
Mr. Dundas notes that the women's petticoats overlap in front instead of at the side, that the
unmarried girls wear their coats opening down the back, and that they do not wrap a cloth round
them as the men do. The hair is dressed as follows : A lock is drawn down over the forehead,
and then plaited and drawn back over the centre of the head, and tied into the knot in which the
rest of the hair is tied over the nape of the neck. The women wear their hair in thrfee plaits, one
hanging over each ear and one down the back. The Paithe seem very closely allied to the Syins
of the Norihern Chin Hill.
The Ulnar. — Regarding these people, I have but little information. There are many different
clans, who are all known to the Lushais under this name, and who speak dialects very closely allied
and unintelligible to the Lusheis. They formerly had many wars with the Lusheis, and lived north
of Champhai ; they now mostly live in the Manipur hills. The woman wear their hair in one long
plait wrapped round the head, and instead of the blue petticoat worn by all other clans wear
one with a blue stripe between two white ones, which overlap in front, and so, when seen from the
front the petticoat appears white, and hence the whole clan is often spoken of as Fen-ngo-^white
petticoats.
The Tkado.—There is only one village of these people in the district. They were driven out
of the hills by the Lushais. They are said to be descended from the same stock as the Chongthu.
They say their ancestor found his way from some underground cavern. They place their dead
in logs as described above and dry them, but do it in a small house outside the village..
Conclusion. — The above gives only a general idea of the customs of the inhabitants of the
hills. Every clan has some particular custom of its own, especially as regards sacrifices, which
form a very important feature in the people's existence. The customs as to punishments,
paying of marriage price, etc., among people living under Lushai chiefs are practically the resiilt of
orders which the most powerful chiefs have given during their lives, and I find some differences
between the customs of the northern and southern chiefs.
152
REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, I go I.
[CHAP. XI.
Caste.
SUBSIDIARY TABLE I.
Hindu Castes by social precedence {Surma Valley).
Caste.
Persons.
Males.
Females.
Percentage pf group on total
population g£
Remarks.
Hindus.
All religions.
I
2
3
4
5
6
7
Group I. — Twice-born castes.
Brahman ...
43.351
23,476
19,875
...
...
Bhat
8l7
349
468
...
...
The majority of the
Total Group I
44, 1 68
23,825
20,343
3-32
1-66
themselves as Ksha-
triyas (Khatri).
Group II.— Good castes from
WHOSE • HANDS BraHMANS
usually take water.
rBaidya ...
(.Kayastha
Nabasakh, including (in alphabeti-
cal order): —
4,2o6
69,589
2,212
36,409
1,994
33,180
...
...
Baniya
Barui ...
Gandhabanik
Goala ...
1,238
17,786
1,086
20,015
629
9,«36
592
10,407
609
8,650
494
9,608
>•■
...
Twenty-eight persons
returned as Naba-
takh could not be
distributed under
any of these minor
castes.
Kamar
13,817
7,024
6,793
...
...
Kumhar
14,882
7,568
7,314
...
.,
Mayara
932
481
451
...
...
Napit
23,025
11,831
11,194
...
...
Tanti
6,488
3,079
3,409
Teli
32,485
16,820
15.665
...
...
Sudra
45,791
22,639
23.,152
...
...
-Das
\ Halwa Das
_Sudra Das ...
70,977
28,074
21,220
36,600
14,309
10,632
34,377
13,765
10,588
...
• ••
The Das claim to
rank just below the
Kayastha, but as
far as I can ascer-
tain4their claims are
not admitted by
other Hindus.
Total Group II
371,611
190,368
181,243
27-97
13-98
Group III.— Castes from whose
hands Brahmans do not
usually take water.
Ganak
Barna Brahman
Mahara
Sarnakar ...
Shaha and Sunri
, 5,731
2,703
3.483
1,063
36,173
2,944
1,446
1,448
525
17,984
2,787
1,257
2,035
538
18,189
.1
...
Ganaks and Barna
Brahmans are twice-
born and wear the
sacred thread, but
have been placed in
this group as their
water is not accepted
by Srotriya Brah-
mans.
Sutradhar ...
•3,917
7,010
6,907
• •t
Kusiari (Rarh)
1.385
596
789
...
■ *•
Dhoba
14,125
7,075
7,050
...
• *•
Kaibartta ...
44,679
23,021
21,658
...
• •*
Jugi
89,963
45,368
44,595
...
■ •>
Nadiyal (Patni)
114,022
57,828
56,194
...
M*
Dholi ... ... • ...
10,227
4,994
5,233
...
■ ••
Namasudra (Chandal)
145,766
74,198
71,568
...
■ *•
Bhuinmali and Mali ...
45>927
529,164
23,064
22,863
...
...
4
Total Group III
267,501
261,663
39-84
19-91
CHAP. XI.]
THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS,
»53
SUBSIDIARY TABLE I.
Hindu Castes by social precedence [Brahmaputra Valley).
Caste.
Percentage of group
on total population of
Caste,
Persons.
Males.
Females.
Rennarks.
Hindus.
All religions.
I
2
3
4
S
S
J
Group I.— TwicE-BORnr castes
WHO WEAR THE SACRED THREAD,
Brahman ...
57,'44
31,581
25,563
• •■
Ganak
I4>79t
7,125
7,666
...
...
The position of the
rrflnal^Q in Aqqaiti
Total Group I
71,935
38,706
33,229
3-82
274
V_Joiid-ni9 III .rlsadlll
is much higher than
that assigned to
them in Bengal.
Group II.— Good castes from
The Tulsi Jania
WHOSE HANDS BRAHMANS USUAL-
Ganaks and those
LY TAKE WATER.
of Mangaldai are
said to be held in
Kayastha „,
IS-661
9,055
6,606
...
...
comparatively low
esteem. ^
Kalita
202,84s
105,952
96,893
The functional sub-
divisions of the Ka-
lita caste do not
rank as high as this,
but they have not
been shown separ-
ately in the census
tables.
Patia
2,461
1,185
1,276
In Nowgong, the only
district in which this
caste is found in any
numbers, they are
placed above the
Halwa-K e w a t s.
Elsewhere they
would apparently
go just below that
caste.
Kewat and Kaibartta ...
103,141
53,234
49,907
...
The functional groups
would go lower.
Saloi
8,565
4.142
4.423
...
...
The Jalia Kewat is
looked on as little
better than the
■Koch ...
217,025
110,248
106,777
...
) Nadiyal.
S Brahmans only take
.Rajbansi
116,982
59,4"
57,571
...
...
J water from Bor
Koch. The other
Shaha
15.562
7.647
7,915
...
...
divisions of the
caste would fall
Total Group II
682,242
350.874
33',368
36-26
26'04
in Group III.
Group III.— Castes FROM whose
HANDS BRAHMANS do NOT
USUALLY take WATER.
Ahom •■• ••• •*•
177,562
50,515
87,047
The caste, owing to
the fact that the
Ahoms were the
' ruling race in Assam,
has a good position
in Sibsagar. The
■ Ahom gentry wish
to be styled Daitya-
kul Ksha^iyas.
Nat
4.509
2,200
2,309
...
...
The Nat is usually
•
a Kewat or Kalita.
Mukhi ...
2,502
1,203
1,299
...
...
Chutiya ...
85,487
43.668
41,819
...
...
Jugi and Katani
71.053
35,564
35.489
.,',
...
Boria . ...
19.315
9.523
9.792
• ».
...
Hira
8,701
4,082
4,619
...
...
Nadival (Dom)
80,509
41,400
39.109
...
...
Brittial Baniya
7i78i
3,831
3.950
...
...
This caste would pro-
Nama Sudra (Chandal)
23.541
12,278
11,263
bably desire to be
placed higher in the
scale, but, as far as
I can ascertain, their
claims are not
accepted by the
leaders of Assamese
society.
Total Group III
1
480,96a
244,264
236,696
25-56
18-36
154
REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, igOI.
[GHAP. XI-
Caste.
SUBSIDIARY TABLE II.
Variation in caste, tribe and race since 1872.
Persons.
Percentage of variation, increase
[Caste, tribe or race.
( + ) or decrease (—).
Net variation,
increase (+)
or decrease
1901.
1891.
1881.
1872.
1891-1901.
1881-91.
1872-81.
(-)■
I
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Abor
321
223
821
+ 43*9
— 72-8
— 500
Agaria
518
573
10
— 9-5
+ 508
Agarwal
4,182
2,325
2,383
+ 79-8
— 2-4
+ 1,799
Agrahari
28
6
+ 366-6
Ahir
8,928
. . •
Ahom
178,049
153,528
1 79,3 '4
128.98a
+ 15-9
— i4'4
+ 39-0
+ 49,069
Aiton
85
163
*..
- 47-8
...
Aka...
28
14
• ■ •
> . 1
+ 1000
• * *
...
...
Amat
12
86
...
..•
— 86-0
• • •
...
American
45
24
...
18
+ 87-5
• *.
+ 27
Animistic unspeci-
fied
205
181
a ■■
7,863
+ 13'2
.. .
- 7,658
Armenian
7
9
. . •
3
— 22*2
. ■ •
+ 4
Assamese
1,008
948
+ 15-8
. •.
• • *
Asura
1,205
513
...
+ 134-8
* • ■
• . •
Atit
47
37
. * .
...
+ 27-0
■ *•
• ••
a*.
Australian
4
2
+ ICO'O
• ■ *
...
Austriah
I
3
<••
— 66-6
...
Babhan
220
765
...
— 71-2
• • •
• . •
Badyakar
350
...
Bagdi
9,109
8,094
5,045
2,347
+ I2'5
+ 60-4
+ 114-9
+ 6,762
Baidya
5,154
4,698
3,960
3,601
+ 97
+ i8-6
+ 9-9
+ 1,553
Bairagi
3.270
4,803
...
— 3i"9
• a ■
■ ■•
Baishnab
»,3oi
860
...
18,229
+ 50-2
> « .
— 16,928
Baniya
4,440
3,145
1,015
+ 4ri
+ 209-8
■ • .
+ 3,425
Barhi
278
419
• ••
— 33'6
« • >
.a*
Barna Brahman ...
3,144
5,568
...
— 43-5
Barnasankar
6
Barua
. 18
...
...
...
Barui
18,488
22,581
4,429
15,728
— i8-i
+ 409-8
-■7 1 "8
+ 2,760
Bauri
Bavarian
42,473
I
32,149
9,914
1,146
+ 32-1
+ 224-2
+ 7&5"o
+ 41,327
Bediya
1,722
1,062
...
32
+ 62-1
...
+ 1,690
Behara
27
2,282
— 2,251^
Bej ...
225
• • •
. • •
J %jtj
Beldar
321
573
...
1,589
— 43-9
• * •
— 1,268
Bengali
261
202
...
253
+ 29-2
. . .
• • >
+ 8
Besya
109
91
+ 197
...
Bhakta
157
...
Bhandari
55
'■■48
+ i4'5
Bbangi „.
7
Bhar
13,265
6,389
...
+ I07'6
...
Bhat
1,002
1,275
301
326
21*4
+ 323-5
— 7-6
+ 676
Bhatiya
1,068
24
+ 4,350-0
' /
Bhil;..
498
65
> 9 ■
...
+ 666-I
*
Bhisti
4
Bhojpuri
I
...
...
... ''
• . .
Bhuinhar
6[
1 i .
...
Bhuinmali
42,185
50,940
1,985
-■(7-1
•+ 40j2O0
Bhuiya
49,447
32,186
5,218
3,269
+ 53-6
+ 51*6-8
+ 59-6
+ 46,178
+ 33,245
Bhumij
Bhutia
Bind
34,259
20,632
25,439
1,014
+ 66-0
— 1 8*8
+ 2,408-7
704
1,503
1,340
328
— 53-1
+ I2-I
+ 308-5
+ 376
+ "J.IOI
3,113
1,921
...
12
+ 62-0
Binjhia
279
139
. . ■
+ 1007
1 .2, *'-'*
Birbor
225
73
...
+ 208-2
\.
...
Boria
Brahmachari
19,417
I
22,521
20,438
10,741
— 137
+ lo-i
+ 90-2
+ "'8,676
Brahman
109,446
97,001
119,075
105,901
+ "^2-8
- 'is-s
+ 12-4
• ••
+ 3,545
CHAP. XI,]
fHU RESULTS OF THE CENSUS.
155
SUBSIDIARY TABLE II.
Variation in caste, tribe and race since 1872.
Persons.
Percentage of variation, increase
(+) or decrease (— ).
Net varia-
Caste, tribe or race.
tion, increase
(+) or
•
1901.
1891.
1881.
1872.
1891-1901.
1881-91.
1872-81.
decrease (— ).
I ,->
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Brahmo
360
69
+ 421-7
British
17
. . .
. . *
...
..:
...
Brittial Bdniya
7,784
...
...
...
,..
...
(Hari).
Buddhist, unspe-
1,087
...
624
...
...
+ 463
cified.
Burmese ......
156
I
...
344
+ 15,500
...
— 188
Canadian
3
4
.. .
— 50-0
...
• ••
Chamar
43,675
17,879
853
6>34
+ i44'2
+ 1,996-0
- 87-5
+ 36,841
Chasa
3,230
1,824
...
...
+ 77'o
...
•••
...
Chaudhari
91
...
. . .
...
• ••
...
Chero ...
95
176
■ ■■
>. >
— 46'0
...
Chhatri
17,3,72
5,200
8,860
5,535
+ 234-0
— 4i'3
+ 60-0
+ 11,837
Chinese
150
5
8
+ 2,goo'o
...
...
+ 142
Chunari
288
33
• • •
-m
+ 7727
■ ••
...
— 41
Chutiya
85;829
87,69.
60,232
51,482
— 2-1
+ 45'5
+ 16-9
+ 34,347
Coolie
902
• >•
...
.. >
...
...
...
Dafla
954
1,137
549
418
— i6'o
+ 107-1
+ •; 3i'3
+ 535
Da mi
Darzi
295
660
- 1^021
...
- ■■■6-9
...
...
Das".", ..•,••
71,092
...
••;
...
Dasnami
23
• «•
...
...
*• •
...
•••
...
Dehan
394
870
...
...
— 54-7
...
• a.
DeorL
361
...
...
...
...
. . •
-Deswali
697
...
...
...
...
...
...
Dewan
I
...
...
...
...
...
...
Dhai
104
...
aa*
...
...
...
.-'.-
...
Dhangar
195
293
...
— 33''4
...
•••
...
Dhanuk
.382
3'5
...
212
+ 21'2
...
• . y
+ 170
Dhari'
3
...
...
...
'".
Dhenuar
423
38
+ 1,013-1
...
...
11,306
Dhoba
19,044
24,299
35,211
30,350
— 21-6
— 30-9
+ 1 6-0
Dhobi
14,564
'3,693
...
...
+ 6-3
...
...
Dho'li'
10,278
7,951
6,347
+ 29-2
+ ?5"2
...
+ 3,931
Dhunia
30
13
+ I307
...
.-.-.-
...
Doania
1,015
7f5
''310
+ 4i'9
'-'-;
295
Dogra i . .
Dosadh
■'3
9,761
7,226
4,263
1,309
+ 35-0
+ 69-5
+ ■225-6
+ 8,452
English
Eurasian • ■ ■
European ""...
',105
1,381
386
— i9'9
^ . . .
...
+ 719
275
177
383
237
} 1,631
r 84
I 43
— 28-1
— 25-3
}-6i-9
+ 1 1 84-2
f + 191
1+ 134
Fakir .■■
66
158
...
— 58-2
...
...
French . • .
6
9
6
— 33'3
...
,--■
...
Gadharia ' '...
, ■ 7
I
...
...
+ 6oo;o
•■,-
...
Gain
■ 278
.. .
...
...
Ganak
20,535
23,739
23,914
— 13-4
— 0-7
...
— 3,379
+ 460
— 1,987
Gandapal
460
',955
...
- 76-4
• ■•
Gandhabanik
1,643
635
...
3,630
+ 1587
Gan'dhar ' ...
I
'6
... ,^
— 83'3
»• ■
Gangota
2
4
•■•
...
— 50-0
...
,-■-
Ganjhu
2,472
...
"• .
• ••
. . .
...
Gareri
Garo
747
128,117
624
"9,754
112,104
...
15,196
+ 197
+ 6-9
+ '"6-8
+ 637-7
+ 112,921
German
22
M
...
9
+ 57'i
...
• ■•
+ 13
Gharti . ' •••
3
...
•••
• a.
Ghasi
Gliatwal
Coala
12,722
21,677
9,172
3,329
...
4,947
996
+ 387
+ 55i'i
— .327
+ 396'6
+ 20,681
38/283
31,089
13,020
10,780
+ 23-1
+ '387
+ 20-7
+ 27,503
Gond
4,464
3,595
• •9
...
+ 24' I
...
..-"
>*•
Gonrhi
81
...
...
••:
...
...
. i ■
Gor'ait ...
1,848
1,533
• ■•
...
+ 20'5
...
Caste.
PP
156
REPORf ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, I§fOt.
fCHAP. kl.
Caste.
SUBSIDIARY TABLE II.
Variation in caste, tribe and race since 1872.
Persons.
Percentage of variation, increase
(+) or decrease (— ).
Net variation,
increase (+)
Caste, Iribe or race.
or decrease
1901.
1891.
1881.
1872.
1891-1901.
1881-91.
1872.81.
(-)• .
1
2
3
4
S
6
7
8
9
Gulgulia
I
20
— 95"0
• ••
Gurung
2,070
1,193
* . .
+ 73"5
.■•
• ■ •
.. >
Guzrati
I
• . ■
.••
• t ■
• ■ •
.••
...
HaijoDg
8,766
8,470
4,354
4,541
+ '" 3-4
+ 94-5
— 4-1
+ 4,225
Hajam
1,495
1,393
...
• ••
■+ 7"3
• . .
• ••
...
Halwa Das
29,161
143,536
102,426
••*
— 79-6
+ 40-1
• ■ ■
— 73.265
Halwai
1,028
932
1,013
...
+ 10-3
— 7-9
■ • ■
+ 15
Had
4,890
13,620
11,534
11,124
— 64-0
+ 1 8-0
+ 3*6
— 6,234
Hindostani
13
13
282
%**
« .•
, ,,
— 269
Hindu unspecified
4,310
539
74,3?2
190,360
+ 699-6
— 99-2
— 6o'9
— 186,050
Hira
8,703
10,065
• .•
...
- i3"5
• * .
« • •
Ho —
103
22
• * . 1
. . •
+ 368-1
• * .
• • •
■ ■ •
Hojai
839
3,780
• • ■
3,263
- 77-8
. . t
■ • •
{— 2,424
Irish
188
• . ■
..■
76
• . .
• • •
+ 112
Italian
I
2
/"
3
— SO'o
...
— 2
Jain unspecified
47
. . .
...
*J
• ••
«■•
« ■ •
Jaisi
2
• . .
■ • •
...
• < •
• • I
,, ,
...
Jaiswar
176
2
..•
. .1
+ 8,700-0
« • •
...
Jaladha
5,090
6,311
2,795
.. .
— i9'3
+ 125-7
...
+ 2,295
Jat ...
176
51
••■
+ 245-0
...
« .«
Jew...
I
5
...
..•
— 8o-o
». *
*■«
. ••
Jharua
61
■ i.
• • *
• • .
1 . *
...
. * a
Jhora
202
117
• • •
. ■ •
+ 72-6
...
...
Jimdar
20
« . *
JolaHa'
1,734
2,180
2,872
2
— 20-4
— 24-0
+ 143,500-0
+ 1,733
Jugi
Jungli
161,167
64
177,746
172,600
162,072
— 9-3
+ 2-9
+ 6-4
9 S *J
— 905
Kachari
Kadar
239,865
193
243,378
740
286,329
319,414
— i'4
— 73'9
— 15-0
+ 30-4
+ 20,451
Kahar
8,127
5,442
7,379
2,347
+ 49'3
— 26-2
+ 214-4
— 83-2
+ 5,780
Kaibartta
84,636
67,324
37.161
222,382
+ 25-7
+ 8i-i
—137,746
+ 24,048
Kalita
Kalwar
203,108
1,930
222,606
709
253,860
1 79,060
- 8-7
+ 172-2
— 12-3
+ 41-7
Kamar
Kami
Kan
33,742
279
85
29,654
120
11,702
8,087
+ 137
+ 132-5
+ 153-4
+ 44-7
+25,655
Kandh
1,783
175
• ■ ■
+ 918-8
. . .
• ••
Kandu
2,616
2,329
t t t
...
+ 12-3
...
■ ■•
Kan jar
42
8
» • ■
...
' %J
+ 425-0
...
■ . •
Kansari
Kapali
Karanga
Kasai
Kasera
39
970
94
23
I
41
1,122
34
6
3,182
150
1,374
22
- 4-8
— i3'5
+ 176-4
+ 283-3
— 64-7
+ 131-5
• • •
— Ill
-- 404
+ 72
Kaur
Kawali
249
174
198
263
...
•••
+ 25-7
- 33-8
— 5-9
...
...
:::
Kayastha
Kazi
86,918
36
64,186
1,624
270
I
92,395
185,5^1
105,634
— 50"2
+ '75-6
— i'8,7i6
Kewat
Khadal
Khambu
Khamjang
91,129
255
117
35
104,275
31,300
— 29-5
+ 536-8
+ 130-7
— 97-1
— 35"o
— 12-6
+ 233-1
+ 32,886
...
...
Khamti.
Khan
1,975
283
3,040
"2",883
"i',583
+ ""5-4
• ••
+ 82-1
+ 392
Khandait
295
' 342
■ t •
- 13-7
+ 20-9
-— 76-0
+ 427-0
— 7-3
+ 88-8
+ 82,022-5
>. .
...
...
Kharia
Kharwar
Khas
Khasi
Khatik
Khatri
7,934
1,081
506
111,606
17
J 85,597
6,562
4,509
96
120,411
9
226
1,706
107,432
""' 66
118
94,617
23,013
+ 284-6
• ••
+ 120
+ 2,484*8
+ 13-5
...
• #•
+ "7,868
+ 963
+ 16,989
+ 162,584
CHAI*; XI.]
fHE RESULTS OF TliE CkHsUs.
i57
SUBSIDIARY TABLE II.
Variation in caste, tribe and race since 1872.
Persons.
Percentage of variation, increase
(+) or decrease (—J.
Net variation
Caste, tribe or race.
incr
or
ease^-t-;
decrease
1901.
i8gi.
1881.
1872.
1891-1901.
[1881-91.
1872-81.
(-)
I
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Khawas
>55
111
+ 39'6
> t *
Kiranti.
10
.. .
..•
1 • .
...
Kisan
723
418
...
...
+ 72'9
...
...
...
Koch
221,721
254,934
243,541
313,040
- I3"0
+ 4'6
- 22-2
—
91,319
Koiri
11,152
5,800
3,067
812
+ 92-2
+ 89-1
+ 277-7
+
10,340
Kol
18,428
2,704
1,522
+ 581-5
...
+
16,906
Kora
3,584
4,669
• ■ •
- 23"2
. . .
...
Korwa
2,348
786
. . t
■■"187
+ 1987
...
.. .
+
2,i6i
Koshta
• 24
14
...
+ 7i"4
...
...
.. .
Kotal
52
15
■ • •
. . .
+ 246-6
...
...
...
Kuki
55.827
18,790
10,812
8,323
+ i97"i
+ 73-7
+ 29-9
+
47,504
Kumhar
26,793
25,441
18,043
35.667
+ 5-3
+ 41-0
— 49-4
—
8,874
Kureshi
380
1,356
— 71-9
...
...
.. .
Kuri ^
143
• ■ •
2,531
...
.. .
—
2,388
Kurmi
20,783
12,576
13,532
7,669
+ 65-2
+ 0-3
+ 63-4
+
13,114
Kusiari
^390
192
1,365
...
+ 623-9
- 85-9
...
+
25
Laheri
44
22
9
+ 100
. . .
...
+
35
Lalbegi
238
187
«. .
+ 27-2
. ..
. ..
Lalung
35^513
52,423
47,650
34.859
— 32-2
+ 1 0-0
+ 36-6
+
654
Lama
983
3
+ 32,666-6
...
^ ...
...
Lepeha
II
> .*
...
...
...
...
...
Limbu
«,295
1,044
<•*
...
4- 24-0
...
...
...
Lodha
249
18
« ■ 1
• • .
+ 1,283-3
...
...
...
Lohait Kuri
414
t >•
• *•
. • .
• • *
...
...
...
Lobar
10,464
7,388
• ( •
. . .
4- 41-6
...
• ••
...
Loi ...
3,618
• ••
. ■ •
i > .
...
...
...
Lushai
63,452
257
* * t
+ 24,589-4
...
...
Madrasi
752
592
. i •
481
+ 27-0
. . .
...
+
271
Magar
2,933
3,404
...
...
— 13-8
...
...
Magh
172
«3
...
I
+ 1,223-0
...
4-
171
Mahalia
1,335
5,612
6,202
. . •
— 76-2
9-5
...
—
4,867
Mahanta
483
. . ■
* . ■
...
...
* . .
Mahara
3,678
6,262
. .1
. . .
- 41-2
...
...
Mahesri
468
259
■ ■ •
• . .
+ 8o-6
...
...
...
Maheshya Vaisya
(Kewat)
2,837
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Mahili
5,701
3,606
...
6,819
+ 58-0
...
...
—
1,118
Mahimal
36,544
58,100
. . .
. . .
- 37'i
...
...
...
Mai
4,435
1,604
16,876
7,669
+ 176-4
— 90-4
-f I20"0
—
3,234
Mali
7,870
1,054
48,651
39,350
+ 646-6
— 97-8
+ 23-6
—
31,480
Mallah
2,228
1,490
1,23c
) 1,438
+ 49-5
+ 20-2
- 13-8
+
790
Malo (Jhalo) ...
18,570
20,068
1,47^
...
— 7'4
+ 1,257-7
...
+
17,092
Mai Paharia
3,830
1,647
• . •
...
+ 132-5
...
...
...
Man
282
282
...
...
...
...
Manipuri
45,010
71,328
40,442
11,808
_ 36-8
+ 76-3
+ 242-5
+
33,202
Manjhi
8,401
4,766
...
171
+ 76-2
...
...
+
8,230
Mar
20
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Marathi
16
3
...
+ 433-3
...
...
...
Markande
19
18
...
...
+ 5-5
...
...
...
Marua
3
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Marwari
528
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Matak
742
824
22c
...
— 9*9
- 274-5
...
+
522
Maulik
188
208
...
...
~ 9-6
...
...
...
Majrara
1,221
1,625
...
...
— 24-8
...
...
...
Mech
74,922
70,201
57,89c
29,958
+ 6-7
+ 21-2
+ 93-2
+
44,964
Mehtar ...
1,587
748
648
770
+ 11 2-1
+ 15-4
- 15-8
+
«i7
Mekuri
16
4
...
...
+ 300-0
..t
...
...
Mexican
I
• ••
...
...
..'.
...
...
...
Mikir
87,335
94,829
77,76s
59,798
— 7-9
+ 21-9
+ 30-0
+
27,537
Miri
46,720
37,430
25,636
13,917
+ 24-8
+ 46'0
+ 84-2
+
32,803
Mir Shikari
402
473
...
...
— 15-0
• * •
...
«« •
Mishmi
98
217
681
226
- 54-8
— 68-1
+ 201-3
128
Caste.
158
HEPORf ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, tgol.
[chap-
XI
SUBSIDIARY TABLE II.
Variation in caste, tribe and race since 1872.
Caste.
Casie, tribe or race.
Persons.
Percentage of variation, increase
(+) or decrease ( — ).
Net variation,
increase (+)
or decrease
{-)■
1901.
1891.
1881.
1872.
1891-1901.
1881-91. 1872-81.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Moghul
895
2,126
10
— 57'9
+ ■ 885
Moran
125
5,812
1 >■
• . «
— 97-8
• . *
Moria
1,235
1,681
2,000
— 26-5
. . *
— ■ 765
Muchi
13.930
10,337
12,678
+ 347
— 18-4
+ 1,252
Mudi
614
• • •
. • ■
Muhammadan un-
specified
20/745
1,317,022
1,102,371
, , ,
t I «
+ i9'4
— 1,081,626
Mukhi .;.
2;502
2,361
...
+ 5-9
, , ,
Munda ...
80/693
46,244
18,559
+ 74-4
+ M9'i
+ 62,134
Murmi
135
42
' 23
+ 221-4
>u>
+ 112
Musahar
16,777
16,667
"si 85 1
+ -6
■f 3327
• • •
+ 12,926
Nabasakh
■ 28
Nadiyal (Dom
Patni)
194,842
205,053
207,945
179,237
— 4'9
— i'3
+ i6-o
+ 15,605
Naga
161,950
102,085
104,650
56,046
+ 58'6
— 2-4
+ 86-7
+ 105,904
Nagar
■ '9
..<
...
■ ■•
...
• a>
• ■•
...
Nagarchi
498
•«?
...
. • •
...
Nagbansi
379
536
...
...
— 29'2
...
. . ■
• • ■
Nagesar
■58
141
■ ••
• ••
— 58-8
Nagpuri
32
• •■
■ ■•
Naik- .;.
162
...
o9(t
. 23
+ 139
Naiya
176
...
,,,
1 ••
...
...
Namasudra (Chari-
dal)-
169,576
180,539
173,532
154,923
— 6-0
+ 4'o
+ "12-0
+ 14,653
Nandi
I
...
(• t
• ■•
Napit
32,310
32,989
31,249
29,142
2-0
+ 5-5
+ 7'2
+ "'3,168
Nat
5,090
4,261
11,204
, 6,663
+ '9-4
— 61-9
+ 68-1
— 1,573
Native Christian...
33,595
14,756
5,462
1,293
+ 127-6
-1- 170-1
+ 322-4
+ 32,302
Nepali
3,560
1,707
3,991
1,635
+ 49'9
— 57"2
-H 144-0
+ 925
Newar
657
560
+ i7'3
• • •
New Zealaqder ...
I
I
> . .
...
...
Nora
■14J
716
• «•
•'■ ■
— 8o-i
-.
Nunia
16,856
6,993
2,229
+ i4i'o
+ 213-7
• ••
+ 14,627
Oraon
23,861
'7,736
212
+ 34'5
+ 23,649
Oriya
Oswal
7,735
',453
2,251
1.352
588
+ 243-6
+ 7'4
• ••
...
+ 7,147
Pabari
Paik
2,394
H3
913
...
1,145
+ 162-2
...
.-••
+ 1,249
Paliva
17
...
...
>. •
Pan'
7,852
20,106
• • •
• • «
— 60-9
• u«
Panjabi ...
51
I
■ ■•
• «•
+ 5,000-0
Parsi
3
...
...
Pasi
6,989
3,573
..•
'" 5i
+ 95-6
+ 6,928
+ 9.875
— 2,755
+ 226
Patban
Patia
Patial
10,521
2,462
■365
13,088
3,508
209
5,217
646
139
— 19-6
— 29-8
+ 74-6
- 32-7
• ••
Pator
1,319
820
...
+ 60-8
Patwa
■8r9
719
• •1
. • •
+ i3"9
Patwari
48
• • t
■ • •
Phakial
219
•565
• *■
>afl
— 61-2
...
. ■ •
...
Pod
Poi
17
15,039
29
• ••
238
— 41-3
...
...
— 221
Portuguese
I
8
- ■■87-5
Pradhan
35
• ■ •
...
Rabha
Rai
67,285
1,200
69,774
56,499
60,903
- 3-5
+ 23"4
— 7-2
+ '"6,382
Rajbansi
Rajbhar
120,071
2,n3
123,751
1,086
106,376
■■■ 58
— 2-9
+ 94-5
+ "'54-8
+ ""i6-3
+183,306-8
+ 120,013
Rajgiri
Rajput
32
4;3io
• ••
2,783
• •*
1,681
1,067
+ 65-5
• • •
+ 57-5
+ 3,243
CHAP. XI.]
THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS.
159
SUBSIDIARY TABLE II.
Variation in caste, tribe and face since 1872,
*
. Persons,
Percentage of variation, increase
(+) or decrease (— ).
Net variation,
Caste, tribe or race.
increase (+)
decrease
1901.
1891.
1881.
1872.
1891-1901
1881-91.
1872-81.
Ul
I
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Raju
2
59
...
— 96-6
• ••
Raj war
6,70?
5,360
916
• ■ ■
+ 25-0
+ 485- 1
• • •
+
, 5,786
Rana
25
. • •
• >>
a *■
...
. . .
Raut
• 170
• . •
■ ■ •
...
.• ■
■ * .
...
Rautia
1.379
790
+ 74-5
...
...
...
Russian
2
• •-
Sadgop
227
846
1 t •
300
— 73'i
. *•
. . .
—
73
Saiyad
10,647
12,127
■ « ■
1,287
12-2
...
+
9,360
Saloi
8,590
9,356
12,093
3,180
- 8-1
— 22'6
+ 280-2
+
5.410
Sankhari
50
10
21
+ 400
I . .
• •■
+
29
Sannyasi
664
364
...
+ 82-4
* • •
Santal
•77,680
23,220
7.397
716
+ 234-5
+ 213-9
4-933-1
+
76,964
Saraogi
270
246
...
+ 97
...
Sarki
106
lOI
...
...
+ 4-9
> , ,
• • .
Sarnakar
2,782
4.696
1,392
621
— 407
■f 237-3
+ 124-1
+
2,161
Savar
832
684
...
+ 2 1 '6
. . .
Scotch
461
• ••
...
140
...
...
+
321
Shaha
51. '69
5',97i
57,366
— i'5
— 9*4
...
—
6,197
Shan
758
1,278
275
• •.
— 40-6
4-3647
...
+
483
Sheikh
1.493,795
1,381,804
371
+ 8-1
...
+ 1
,493,425
Sikh
848
97
102
+ 774-2
...
+
746
Singpho
824
1,469
1,774
257
— 43*9
— 17-1
+ 590-2
+
567
Solanemia
107
274
— 6o'9
...
Spanish
I
I
• ••
I
. ..
• • •
Subarnabanik
lOI
'9
..*
1,178
+ 43i'5
...
—
1,077
Sudra
46,326
7,068
• 8,755
+ 555"4
..•
+
37.571
Sudra Das
21,220
• ■•
.*.
...
. . .
...
Sunri
3,431
105
1,412
49,138
+ 3,i67-6
— 92-5
— 97'^
—
45,707
Sunuwar
1,602
54
...
+ 2;866-6
. . .
...
Surahiya
382
823
...
- 53-5
, ,
...
Sutradhar
17.434
16,731
14,486
26,943
+ 4'2
+ 15*4
— 46-2
—
9,509
Swiss
2
■ ■■
.■•
1
. . .
+
I
Synteng
47,930
51.739
47,815
41,220
— 7'3
4- 8-2
+ 15-9
+
6,710
Tambuli
•95
'37
• > •
1,783
+ 42-3
—
1,588
Tanti
21,715
II,OD2
6,532
4,010
+ 97'3
+ 68-4
+ 62-8
+
17,705
Tarkhan
49
• <> .
• • .
...
...
Tatwa
123
22
. . •
...
+ 459'o
...
Teli
38,810
35,624
20,249
23,246
+ 8'9
+ 75'9
— I2'8
+
15,564
Telinga
2,058
393
...
+ 423'6
...
.■•
Thakur
174
349
• 1 <
■ •■
— 50-1
...
...
Thami
22
■ •>
*. .
...
Thapa
1,625
1,515
...
4- 7'2
...
...
Tharu
314
43
• ••
+ 630-2
...
...
Tibetan
2
■ • •
. . .
• ■ .
I • I
...
...
Tipperah
9,771
8,659
3,984
3,108
4-. 12-8
4-117-3
+ 28-1
4-
6,663
Tiyar
359
237
1,058
+ 51-4
...
"—
699
Tokar
829
1,069
t . .
...
— 22'4
. ..
...
...
Totla
7,100
6,296
2,539
...
+ 12-7
4-i47'9
...
+
4;56i
Turaha
340
600
...
— 43-3
...
...
Turi
12,418
8,240
127
+ 507
.. .
...
+
12,291
Turk
20
...
..
...
...
• ■•
Turung
412
301
...
...
+ 36-8
...
...
...
Udasi
45
39
...
+ 15-3
...
• ••
Ukhar
5
...
...
■ ••
• .•
Vaisya
3,483
3,713
1,603
1,548
- 6-1
+ I3i'6
+ 3-5
+
',935
Welsh
36
...
8
•••
...
+
28
West Indian
3
...
...
3
• •■
...
...
**•
Yakha
91
5
...
...
4- 1,720-0
. ..
...
Caste.
l6o REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, tQOI. [CHAP. XI.
NOTES TO SUBSIDIARY TABLE II.
Baniya, iSgij includes Benito.
Bediya, 1891, includes Bedia.
Chamar, 1872, includes Muchi and Kural,
Dosadbj 1891, includes Bahelia.
Jugi, 1 881, includes Katani.
Kachari, 1881 and 1872, includes Sarania.
Kharia, i8gi, includes Khaira.
Kaibartta, 1872, includes Jaliya.
Khasi, i8gi and 1881, includes Dyko and Lyngam.
Koch, 1 891, includes Khyen.
„ 1881, includes Madahi.
Kuri, 1872, includes Madak.
Lodha, 1891, includes Lodhi.
Munda, 1881, includes Murari.
Sannyasi, 1891, includes Ramayat.
Sarnakar, 1891 and 1881, includes Sonar.
Sheikh, 1891, includes Siddiki.
Sunri, 1881, includes Surial.
It
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.a
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eg
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o
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oc
o
a
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re
6hAp. kll.] THE iiESULTS OF THE CENSUS. 1^1
CHAl^TER XII.
OCCUPAtlON.
204. In tbk, the last chapter of the report, I shall try to give a general idea Of the Occupation
Scope of chapter. feconomic organizaiion of th6 province, and to describe the
way in which the mass of the people earn their living,
leavirig thdfse who sfcek for informatibri with regard to the more specialized and detailed
occupations, to find it in the subsidiary statements apjiended to this chapter and in
Tables XV and XV A in Part 1 1 of the report. The changes, if a:ny, that have taken place
in the industrial distribution of the pfebple during the last ten years have also to be
passed in review, so that before discussing the data presented by our tables, it is
necessary to describe briefly the system under which the figures have been collected
aiid compiled at each of the last two censuses.
205. In 1 89 1 the ehumerators were directed to enter the occupation or means of
Difibreneea of procedure between livelihood of every person, and to add the word ' depend-
1891 and 1901. ent' whenever the individual in question did not actually
work at the occupation shown against his or her name. The rules further laid
down that for persons with two or more occupations the chief one only should be
entered, except when they owned or cultivated land in addition to another occupation,
when both should be recorded. On the present occasion, the population -was again divided
into workers and dependents, but the conditional instruction with regard to occupations
combined with agriculture was omitted, and the enumerators were directed to enter the
subsidiary occupation in all cases, whether it was connected with the land or not. The
object of modifying the rules in this manner was to simplifvTtie work for the enumerators,
as it was thought that they were confused by the conditional order of the last census,
and that a more cortiplete return would be obtained if subsidiary occupations were
entered in the schedule ; but I am doubtful whether much has been gained by the
alteration in procedure in Assam, where the return of occupations combined with
agriculture was reniarkably complete in 1891, and I am inclined to think that on this
occaisiqn the census staff not unfrequently omitted to record the subsidiary occupations
followed by the people. In 1891 the attention of the enumerator was expressly directed
to the combination ofagriculture and other functions, and in the standard set of questions
he was directed to ask " Have you any other occupations besides agriculture ? " but at the
last census there seems to have been a tendency for barbers, washermen and persons
of this class who had an interest in land to return themselves as landholders or
tenants, and to ignore their less respectable avocations.
A further difBculty arose with regai-d to the meaning to be attached to the word
' dependent,' and as soon as the instruction of the enumerators was taken in hand it
became evident that, unless some definite rules were issued on the subject, there would
be no uniformity in the classification of women and children. Some persons would
treat the wife of a cultivator who transplanted her husband's paddy as a worker, others
as a dependent, and, with the object of securing as much uniformity as possible,
I directed that —
(i) Women who assisted the men of the family by planting or cutiing dhan,
weaving cloths for sale, or selling fish or other products should be classified
as workers.
- (2) Women who did not work out of doors, but^ restricted themselves to house-
hold work, such as husking paddy and WeaVing cloths for home wear, but not
for sale, should be ti-eated as dependents.
(3) All childi-en below twelve years of age, and boys still at school, living with
their parents or guardians, should be classed as dependents, even though
they did light Work, such as buffalo and cow-herding.
These instrtictibtis were carefully observed, and the census tables show that in
nearly every district the distinctibn feetweeii a worker and a dependent was clearly
understood.
206. The OceupaliOns recorded in the schedules were classified according to the
Distrttmtioa of palliation under schcmc prescribed by the Census Commissioner, which
^.^^^ii^iB heads. contaihed^fc^ghl main classes, «.«., A— Government, B —
Pasture^and Agriculture, C— Personal Service, D— Preparation and Supply of Material
Substari©es,=E^Cdtianlefcci5i Tratisport and Storage, F— Professions, Gf— Unskilled Non- .
QQ
l63 REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, IQOl. [CHAP. XII.
Occupation, agricultural Labour, and H — Means of Subsistence Independent of Occupation ; and
these classes were again divided into 24 orders, 79 sub-orders, and 520 groups, under
one or other of which every entry made upon the schedules was compelled to fall.
It is obvious that in a province in which less than 2 per cent, of the population
live in towns, and in which the largest town contains less than 14,000 inhabitants,*
the immense bulk of the people must be engaged in satisfying the primary and ele-
mental needs of mankind ; and there is nothing remarkable in the fact revealed by the
„ , „ ^ census tables, that 84-2 per cent, of the popularion are sup-
See Su))Bldiary Table !• •« .li^ txi_
ported by agriculture, 4'6 per cent, are engaged on the pro-
vision of food, drink and stimulants, r8 per. cent, on earthwork and general labour, r3
per cent, are occupied with textile fabrics and articles of dress, and V2 per cent, with
personal and domestic service. In other words, no less than 93 per cent, of the popula-
tion are engaged upon agriculture, the provision of food, drink and clothing, earthwork
and personal service, while the remaining 19 orders include only 7 per cent, of the
inhabitants of the province.
207. The total population of Assam is 6,126,343, and out of this no less than
5,160,971, or 84'24 per cent., have been returned under the
Agriculture. j^^^^ ^^ , Agriculture,' which is again divided into four sub-
oiders, ' landholders and tenants,' ' agricultural labourers,' 'growers of special products '
and ' agricultural training,' The first of these sub-orders includes 67*9 per cent, of the
population, 2,274,399 persons having returned themselves as cultivators, who hold
direct from the State, and 1,740,906 as cultivating tenants, the majority of whom
are found in Cachar with its mirasdari system, in Sylhet and Goalpara, where a great
proportion of the land is permanently-settled, and in Kamrup, where there are large
nisf-khiraj and lakhiraj estates. These figures, moreover, only include those persons
who have returned agriculture as their principal occupation ; and if to them are added
those who are partially agriculturists and the estimated number of their dependents, their
numbers rise to 5,242,723, or 85*57 P^"" cent., as compared with 86*34 P^^ cent, in 1891.
208. The distribution of the agricultural population by districts is shown in Sub-
„ ^ ^ , .u ., . . sidiary Table II, and- if we leave out of consideration the
Distril)Utlon by dlstnots. -, i /-. i tt-h i i i ir r i i
North Cachar Hills, where nearly one-half of the people
censused were temporary visitors engaged on the construction of the Assam-Bengal
Railway, the percentage of agriculturists varies between 95*6 in the Garo Hills and 72*8
in Manipur. The low proportion in that State is chiefly due to the fact that no less than
34,304 women have been shown as actual workers under the head of weavers and
spinners ; but as there is, as far as I am aware, little export of cloths from Manipur, and,
as the total population of the State is only 284,465, it hardly seems probable that over
34,000 Manipuri females can be earning their living by weaving cloths for sale,
and the majority of these persons were probably the womenfolk of agriculturists, who
make cloths for home wear, and who in other districts have been included in the
cultivating class. In Sylhet, where the various village functionaries, such as the potter
and the barber, are found, and where the fishing industry is of considerable importance,
only 81 per cent, of the population are agriculturists, and the same proportion is found
in Kamrup, where there are a large number of fishermen and priests. Darrang, Nowgong
and Sibsagar return 90 per cent, or more of their population under this head,
a fact for which the tea industry is to some extent responsible, and it is only the
presence of the colliery and railway coolies in Lakhimpur which brings the percentage
there down to 87. The proportion of cultivators in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills is low,
but the district is so sparsely peopled that the inhabitants of Shillong produce a very
appreciable effect upon the total; and the Khasi is a fairly enterprising trader, who
spends a great part of his time in travelling from one market to another, and is not
content to subsist entirely on the produce of the soil. Elsewhere in the hills, the
non-agriculturists do not form as much as 7 per cent, of the total population.
209. The staristics for tenancy are of considerable interest, as they throw some
light upon the growth of the tendency to sublet in the
raiyatwari districts of the province. I do not attach much
weight to the figures for the Surma Valley, and the enor-
mous increase in the number of tenants in Goalpara is
simply due to the fact that in 1891 more than two-thirds
of the persons in sub-order 10 returned themselves as
' culrivators unspecified.' The increase in the three dis-
tricts of Darrang, Sibsagar and Lakhimpur is very significant, and is apparently due to
a practice which is growing up amongst the Assamese of leasing out the land lying near
* I have excluded the native State of Manip ur, as Imphal is not a town in the ordinary sense ofthe.wotd,
but an overgrown village.
Tenants.
G-roup 37(a) oultlvatlng tenants.
1801.
1891.
Cachar Plains
... , 80,266
43,169
Sylhet
... 1,168,146
785,412
Goalpara
Kamrup
... 275,488
60,608
118,368
77,162
Darrang
16,468
8,314
Nowgong
6,600
3.322
Slhsagar
21,447
9,888
Lakhimpur
6.094
1,692
tHAP. Xir.j THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS. 163
a tea garden to the coolies, and moving further afield themselves for their own cultiva- Occupation,
tion. The profits are considerable, as the rent is sometimes as much as three times the
Government revenue, but as the coolie must have land near the factory, while the culti-
vator is not so fettered in his choice, the transaction is for the benefit of both parties.
The - jhum cultivators, of whom there are 275,599, represent the cultivators
of the Lushai, North Cachar and Naga Hills, and of the hill tracts of Manipur. The
return under this head is not complete, as the enumerators did not, as a rule, draw any
distinction between /^^wm and ordinary cultivation, and in all probability a considerable
number of persons in the Kbasi and Jaintia and Garo Hills have been improperly
included under the latter head. It is, however, doubtful whether the distinction is
one ofany great importance in Assam, as even in the plains there is a considerable
amount of fluctuating cultivation, and land taken up for mustard or ahu rice is generally
resigned after the second or third year.
The tea industry has been divided into two heads, — the superior staff, under which
6,480 people have been returned, and labourers and other subordinates, who number
altogether 623,417. The total population censused on tea gardens was 657,331, but
this includes a considerable number of persons, such as shop-keepers, servants, saices,
carpeinters, carl men, and even cultivators, who were returned under the special groups
appropriate to them, though it excludes, on ihe other hand, the coolies who live outside
the garden boundaries.
SIO. The figures in the margin compare the proportion of persons who have return-
ed agriculture as their principal means of subsistence in
peroentagre of agriculturists. Assam in 1901 with the proportion of persons who returned
AslaS' 1891 ::; ": ::: Verl agriculture as their sole means of subsistence in Assam
BSm\ay!u9r :;: ::: m-I and other provinces in 1891. It will be seen that the
l^tK'westein ProTiioes, 1891 eo'l two things _ are not quite identical, but they clearly show
Madits; ilgi ::: :::. ::: m that, even in an agricultural country like India, Assam
iiiaia,i89i 69-s stands out as being conspicuously dependent upon
the land for the means of livelihood of its inhabitants.
SU. Order .yil—' Food, drink and stimulants,' under which 282,187 persons have
ddrik been returned, is chiefly composed of fishermen and fish
dealers (154,707). Separate figures are given in Table XV
for these two classes of persons ; but in this province the distinction does not, as a rule,
represent any real difference, and the two functions are generally combined in the same
individual as far as men are concerned, though women more frequently sell than catch
fish for s^le. The last two words are a necessary qualification, as the ordinary Assamese
peasant woman is frequently to be seen in the rains catching the small fry that are found
in the pools, ditches and flooded fields, though the result of her labours is intended solely
for home consumption, and could not be sold without serious damage to the social position
of the vendor. The remaining groups in the order which afford a means of livelihood to
a considerable number of people are 'Grocers and general condiment dealers' (21,599), —
the head under which I have classed the ordinary village shopkeeper, the mudi-dokandar
of the Surma Valley, who generally describes himself as a seller of salt and oil, but
who also deals in grain and the various other requirements of village life ; ' Grain
and pulse dealers ' (20,529), a group who, in Assam at any rate, can hardly be distinguished
from the grocers ;' Sellers of betel leaf and cardamoms' (19,571), the majority of
whom are found in Sylhet ; ' Rice pounders and buskers' (17)589), amongst whom nearly
all the workers are women ; and ' Cow and buffalo keepers ' (16,776).
212. Order XXII — ' Earthwork and general labour ' includes 31,583 road and rail-
way labourers, the majority of whom were employed on the
^°^ ' construction of the Assam-Bengal Railway, and 78,146
general labourers. These persons are found in considerable numbers in every district,
but are especially numerous in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills, where, as 1 have already
said, ,a large number of persons earn their living by carrying merchandise of various
kinds from one market to another.
213. Order XII — ' Textile fabrics and articles of dress,' is remarkable for the fact
that the female workers very largely outnumber the male,
Textile fabrioB. there being 50,066 of the former and only 9,025 of the
latter. "The great bulk of the order consist of cotton weavers (31,301) and cotton
spinners (^2,112), the majority of whom, as I have already said, were censused in
Ma:nipur, and I am inclined to think wrongly included under this head. The
two groups represent those who were returned as ' weaving cotton ' and * spinning
thread ;* but this distiriction in nomenclature does not, as far as I am aware, represent a
distinction of fact, the majority of women in Assam spinning the thread as well as
weaving the cloths required for home use.
1^4 REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, I got. [cHAP. Kit
Occupation. Nine thousand one hundred and fourteen persons were returned as supported by
dealing in piece goods and 8,716 by tailoring. The vendor of piece-goods generaHy
sells many other things as well, and the precise article selected for special mention by
the enumerator was more or less a matter of chance.
2,553 persons were entered in the schedules as connected with the silk industry,
and in all probability the number of those who entirely depend upon this product
for their livelihood does not exceed this figure. Silk, however, is the ordinary holiday
dress of the respectable Assamese peasant woman, and a large number of cultivators,
especially in Sibsagar, Kamrup and Nowgong, rear enough worms to furnish silk for
home consumption, though not, as a rule, for sale.
214. The last of the five orders, which I have selected for special mention as
comprising a considerable number of persons who are
Domestic servlcoa *. .-• « •••• «« -
engaged m satisfying the more primitive and elementary
requirements of the body, is ' Personal and household service.' The total number of
persons supported by this class of occupations is 75,395, of whom 28,720 are depend-
ent upon domestic service, 12,830 on the barber's craft, 8,725 on the washerman's and
4,741 on the cook's. The number of people in this province who can afford to
keep a domestic servant is comparatively small, and in Assam Proper we do not even find
the village servants, such as the barber and the washerman, the few persons who
practise these professions in the Brahmaputra Valley being foreigners.
215. In the preceding paragraphs, I have given a brief description of the means
The remaining J per cent. ^^ Uvelihood of 93 per ccut. of the population, and it ouly
now remains to refer to the more sahent features noticeable
amongst the remaining 7 per cent.
216. The learned and artistic professions take the first place numerically, as well as
The learned and artistic profts- i" social rank, as they support no less than 84,065 persons,
°*°°^- or I "37 per cent, of the total population, the great majority
of whom are priests or their dependents (43,631). The Education department and
the private schools of the province account for 8,148 of the remainder, and the heading
' Writers and Private Clerks ' (6,096) is well represented. These persons, though
placed in the general scheme under the sub-order ' Literature,' are probably all mohurrirs
on tea gardens or in shops.
Three thousand five hundred and eighty-five persons are actively connected with the
medical profession ; of whom 643 are licensed practitioners, 2,163 practitioners without
diploma, and only 192 professional midwives, a somewhat significant fact in a province
containing over six million people. Music and dancing supports 5,047 people, and the
law 3,349, though, according to the census returns, there are only 41 1 practising pleaders
and mukhtiars in the province.
The topographical and revenue surveyors are for the most part mandals and pat-
waris, the great majority of whom depend as much upon agriculture as upon their
modest pay for their means of livelihood, though they have not unfrequently omitted
to mention the fact in the census schedules.
217. The next order, according to the standard of numerical importance, is ' Means
Thenon.workors." °^ Subsistence independent of occupation,' a head under
which 81,702 persons, or i'33 percent, of the population, have
been returned. The immense majority of these people are beggars (77,288) who are as a
rule old persons of either sex who are supported by the charity of their fellow villagers.
The order also includes pensioners and persons confined in jail. Only 307 capitalists, or
persons supported by house-rent, shares and property other than land, were censused
m the province, a fact which clearly illustrates the primitive character of its economic
organization.
218. Four more orders call for special mention — ' Commerce,' ' Transport and
eomaieroe, transport, metals, and Storage,' ' Metals and precious stones,' and 'Wood, cane
*«'°^- and leaves.'
Commerce supports only 47,906 people, or '78 of the population, though in
India as a whole in 1891, 1*63 per cent, of the population derived their means
of livelihood from this source. 28,470 persons entered ' shopkeeper ' without specify-
ing the class of goods sold, and 1,906 have been shown in the group reserved
for general merchants, this being the most suitable head under which to place
the Kayah with his manifold forms of trade. In Assam there is very little tendency
towards specialisation amongst the commercial community, and the ordinary shopkeeper
presides over a village store for which several of the headings in the scheme of occupa-
tions would be equally applicable. The Kayah affords an admirable instance of this
' Pooh Bah ' like combination of functions. As a dealer in grain, he might be returned
under group 97, and as a grocer under group 124. He is generally an opium seller, group
CHAp. XII.] THB RESULTS OF THE CENst/S. 1 65
126, a salt and tobacco seller, groups 128 and 130, a dealer in petroleum, group 142, Occupation,
and a seller of cotton thread, group 276. He is an umbrella seller, group 300, and a
piece-goods dealer, group 304. I have known him act as a vendor of the precious
metals, group 318, and he does a certain amount of moneylending, group 392. But
to my mind the least misleading groups of all for this manysided person are general
merchant, group 396, and his assistants, group 397. It is .doubtful whether the dis-
tinction even between these two groups is of any very great importance in Assam, as,
though the Kayah generally posdS as a principal, he is, as a rule, only the manager of
the shop in which he serves.
The professional money lender is not largely represented in the province, and only
1,031 people have been returned as actual workers under this head. 279 of these persons
are women, and 164 combine the occupation with agriculture. Other people, no doubt,
such as the Kayas, put out money at interest, and give advances for crops, but the
money lender pure and simple is by no means common in Assam.
'Transport and storage' supports 38,591 persons, or '62 per cent, of the total
population, the majority of whom are cart owners and drivers and boatmen. 6,044
persons are employed on railways, though this of course excludes the coolies engaged
on construction work. The pack bullock supports no less than 2,067 persons, as
this form of transport is still used in the Cachar district, where the character of the
soil renders it almost impossible to keep unmetalled roads open to cart traffic in the
rains; and the elephant has a considerable number of persons dependent on him, the
majority of whom are found in the Assam Valley.
Order XIII — ' Metals and precious stones ' contains 33,460 persons, or '55 per cent,
of the population. The 14,560 persons who have been returned under the heading of
■workers in precious metals are distributed fairly equally over every district of the
province, but are proportionately most numerous in Kamrup, where the goldsmiths of
Barpeta make filigree work, which possesses considerable artistic merit. Elsewhere in
the Assam Valley the commonest articles of jewellery are small barrel-shaped pieces of
wood adorned with gold and garnets, or with a handsome green enamel, which are
inserted in the lobes of the ears, and lockets of much the same shape and pattern.
The Khasis also manufacture rather handsome jewellery of a somewhat barbaric type,
though one vendor at any rate whom I met had allowed his respect for the Sirkar
to overcome his artistic judgment, and had used as the centre piece and special
attraction of a rather pretty silver locket, a valuable unused stamp. 5,641 persons were
returned under the head of ' Makers and sellers of brass and bell metal,' and
12,672 under the head of ' Makers and sellers of iron and hardware,' but as many of
these craftsmen work indifferently with either metal the distinction is not of any
very great value.
Order XV — 'Wood, cane and leaves' includes 32,488 people, or "53 per cent. of the
populatioti, the majority of whom are carpenters and makers and sellers of baskets
and mats. According to the census tables, the saw-mill industry only supports 520
persons, but some of the employees have evidently returned themselves under other
heads, such as wood-cutters and sawyers or coolies, for, according to the Report on
the Working of the Indian Factories Act for 1900, the average daily number of
operatives employed in the mills was 1,015.
219. In the preceding paragraphs, I 'have briefly passed in review the occupations
which form the means of support of 98*36 of the population,
Special gTouHs. , , ,. c i. r • 1 l- 1.
and I now propose to refer to a tew single groups, which seem
to call for comment. 8,838 persons have been returned under the occupation ' herdsman' ;
but the majority of these persons were probably the children of cultivators who look
after the family cattle, as in 1 891, when the number of herdsmen returned was much
about the same as on the present occasion, it was found that more than half were under
15 years of age.
Group 99 — ' Makers oi gur by hand,' under which 999 persons have been entered,
affordi no index of the extent to which sugar is cultivated in the province. It is, however,
as a rule, only a bye-product, and the cultivator has in consequence been shown under
the general head.
One person only has been returned as engaged on the manufacture of ice, a some-
what significant fact, if we bear in mind the large European population of Assam.
The collieries, for which details are found in groups 146 and 147, are situated at
Margherita ; and, though a certain amount of coal of the most excellent quality is
extracted from the Khasi Hills, the labourers employed have been shown under a different
head.
The stone and marble works of groups 133 and 154 are the hme-quarries on the
southern face of the Khasi Hills.
l66 REPORT ON TtiE CENSUS OF ASSAii, igOT. [cHAP. Xlli
Occupation. Four persons are supported by wood and three by ivory carving. The last named
profession is followed by one solitary old man at Jorhat, and when he dies his art will
apparently die with him.
Photography supports 27 persons and painting 38,
Under the sub-order ' Disreputable' we find that there are 911 practising prostitutes,
one individual who has had the courage to return herself as a pimp, and one who is a
cattle thief. Two persons are shown as receivers of stolen property, — a return which is
I fear considerably below the mark, — but it is obvious that persons openly professing
this occupation would be liable to 'speedy transfer to groups 518 and 520, in which are
shown under-trial and convicted prisoners.
220. Subsidiary Table III shows the distribution of the indaistrial population by dis-
». . ^ , . , , ,, tricts. Under this term I have included all those persons
Tie ludustnal population. , . ^, _. , , .1 i- j
shown in Class D, as supported by the preparation and
supply of material substances. The class is a very wide one, and though it includes persons,
like printers, stationers, opticians and others who represent a|comparativelyJadvanced stage
in the economic development of a country, it also includes people like the weavers and
spinners, who are only the wives of the ordinary cultivator, fishermen, buffalo-keepers,
wood-cutters, sawyers, and a large number of persons of this sort, who would find a place in
the most primitive community. Of the total population of the province, 7'8 per cent. fa:ll
in this class, the ratio varying from 22" i in Manipur, where, as I have already remarked, the
cultivator's|womenfolk have been shown as weavers and spinners, to o'7 in the Lushai
Hills. In Table IV, I have excluded Sub-order 17 — ' Provision of animal food' from the
industrial class, and the result is that the percentage of the population returned under this
head falls to 5, both for the province as a whole and for the Surma Valley, as compared
with 7"8 and 9*6 when the whole class is taken into account. In the Brahmaputra Valley,
the proportion of industrials, if we exclude fisherfolk and people of that kidney, is very
low, sinking in Darrang to r6 per cent, of the whole. It would, in fact, be difficult to
find a civilized people who were in a more simple and primitive stage of economic deve-
lopment than the Assamese, and the great majority even of these so-called industrials are
engaged in satisfying the elementary needs of their neighbours with fish, firewood,
and simple articles of clothing.
221. Subsidiary Table V shows the distribution of the commercial population by
_. , , , ^, natural divisions and districts. I have already explained that
The oommeroial popnlatlon. ,. , .1, . ,1 i 1 ^ r • f t\
this order practically consists of the shopkeeper (unspecified)
and his servants, and, this being so, little is to be gained by an examination of the figures,
as the variation in the distribution by districts does not represent agenuine difference in their
economic conditions, but is merely due to the village shopkeeper having been described as
a ' shopkeeper' in one case, when he ranks as a commercial man, and as a ' grainseller ' or
a ' salt and oil seller' in another, when he is placed with.the industrials in Class D. I have,
in fact, only included this table in the chapter in order to preseEve uniformity with other
provinces, but the fact that probably at least five-sixths of the order wouldj if all the
facts were fully known, be transferred to Class D with the industrials, obviously deprives
it of any value.
222. We are treading on firmer ground, however, when we come to the ' Learned and
„ . artistic professions.' I have already described the classes
The learned and artistic professions. ^ ri .•■ i- \ i.rr>ii
of persons or whom this order is composed, and in Table
VI we find them distributed by districts. More than half of these professional persons are,
as I have said, priests and their families, and it is this fact which accounts for the high
percentage found in Sylhet, Kamrup and Manipur, where the priestly caste is very
numerous. In the hill districts the proportion of professional men is low, except
in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills, where there are a considerable number of clerks and
teachers in the employ of the missionaries.
223. Subsidiary Table VII compares the number of persons returned under each
_, ..,»„, order at the two last enumerations, but the variations it dis-
Comparisoti with 1891. , . r 1 ■ .• 1 r • i- -,• ■,
closes require careful examination, and often indicate little or
no change in the actual facts ; as it is the exception, rather than the rule, for those whdse
principal occupation is non-agricultural to be contented with a single means of liveli*
' hood, and there is a certain amount of uncertainty as to which particular side of theif
professional life will be selected by the enumerator for record in the schedule. An
admirable iilstance of these changes, which are no changes, will be found in the first
order, — Administration, — which has decreased by no less than 37'8 per cent. The whole of
this decrease has, however, occurred under the one head, ' rural police,' and is due to the
fact that in 1891 the village chaukidar was treated as a chaukidar, whereas at the laSt
census the majority of them were returned as cultivators, agriculture being their main
means of livelihood*
CHAP. XIU] THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS. 167
The decrease in Order IV — 'Provision and care of animals' is, chiefly due to the two Occupation,
heads ' Cattle-breeders and dealers/ who are likely to be confused with, Groups 78—
' Cow and buffalo keepers,' and 32 — ' Pig-breeders. ' The number of persons in this pro-
vince whose sole occupation is breeding pigs must be very small, and on the present
occasion the pig-breeders have probably been returned as cultivators.
Order V — 'Agriculture' has increased by 22"5 per cent., partly from the natural growth
of the population and the importation of large numbers of coolies, and partly owing
to the fact that a large number of persons who combine agriculture with some special
occupation have returned themselves under the more general head on the present
occasion.
_ The decrease under Order VI — 'Personal, household and sanitary services,' falls
cbiefly under the two heads 'Barbers' and 'Washermen.' These two village functionaries
are not indigenous to Assam Proper or the hill districts, and those censused there are
foreigners. In 1891 two-thirds of these persons combined the traditional occupation of
their caste with agriculture, and the decrease is apparently due to an omission to record
the special but less honourable function on the present occasion.
Under Order VII there is a large decrease under the head ' Fishermen and fish
dealers;' but as the occupation is largely combined with agriculture (in 1891 more than
half the fishermen were cultivators), the variation in the figures in all probability does
not represent any variation in fact.
The decrease in Order X — ' Vehicles and vessels ' is due to the boat builders, four
fifths of whom in 1891 combined the occupation with agriculture. ' The figures for
this group illustrate the difficulty of comparing the persons returned under the different
occupations at each of the last two enumerations. Boat building alone shows 1,823
persons as dependent on it for their livelihood ; but from Table XVA it appears that
1,094 cultivators practised it as a subsidiary occupation, and if we assume that
these persons had as many dependents as the boat builders, pure and simple, the total
for the group rises from 1,823 to over 5.°oO' The same explanation holds good of
Order XIII— 'Metals and precious stones' and Order XV — 'Wood, cane and leaves.'
In 1891, the cultivator who did goldsmith's or blacksmith's work was shown with
those dependent upon him under these two heads. On the present occasion, persons
whose principal occupation was cultivation, and who followed these other occupations
in their leisure moments, have been classed as cultivators in Table XV. In Table XVA,
we find, however, the number of these composite workers, and if we assume that they had
as many persons dependent on them as those who were goldsmiths and blacksmiths
and nothing more, the number of persons under these two groups equals and exceeds
the figures for 1891.
The large decrease under the head ' Learned and artistic professions ' at first sight
looks as though little material and moral progress can have been made during the last
ten years ; but the three heads ' Priests,' ' Religious mendicants,' and 'Non-military band
players' are almost entirely responsible for this result. If we add to the priests those
persons who have looked upon their religious functions as being merely subsidiary to
the practical business of cultivation, with those who are dependent upon them, the priest-
hood is very nearly as fully represented now as it was ten years ago.
Education supports more persons now than it did in 1891, and so does medicine, if
we add to the regular practitioners those who are called, like Cincinnatus, from the
plough, to save, not the State, but the lives of their fellow villagers ; and engineering and
survey, have more persons dependent upon them than in 1891. There has been a slight
decrease in the number of those supported by the law, but this fact, assuming it to be
a fact, would hardly, I think, be regretted even by the members of the Bar.
224. Two points remain for our consideration, in which comparison cannot be made
• with the figures for 1891. The enumerators in that vear
Dependents. .^ 1 • .. 1 1 , j >-"'
entered agamst each person who was not an actual worker
the word 'dependent, ' but in compilation the distinction was not maintained, and the
Census tables accordingly only show the total number of persons supported by each
occupation. Certain conclusions can be drawn from the age statistics as to the pro-
portion of these people who are actual workers, but the figures throw no light upon the
extent to which \vomen were actually engaged on work. There was no distinction
between the lady doctor and the wife or daughter of the medical man, between the
priestess and the wife of the priest, between the proprietress of an estate and the wife
and daughters of a zemindar.
On the present occasion, Table XV shows the number of persons who are sup-
ported . by each occupation without working at it, and the number of male and female
workers. From Subsidiary Table I, we find that, taking the population as a whole, the
number ; of workers and dependents is almost exactly equal, there being 499 of the
l68 REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, igoi. fcHAP. XlL
Occupation, former, and 501 of the latter in every 1,000 people. Turning to the staple occu-
pation of the country, we see that out of every 100 persons supported by agri-
culture, 49 are actual workers, and 5 1 dependents. This, however, includes the agri-
cultural labourers, who are generally too poor to support anyone besides themselves, and
the growers of special products, who to all intents and purposes are garden coolies,
amongst whom 73 persons out of every 100 are workers ; and in Sub-order 10 — 'Land-
holders and tenants,' which includes nearly 68 per cent, of the population of the province,
there are only 44 workers to every 56 dependents. The proportion of dependents
under any order depends {a) upon the extent to which women and children can work
at the occupations of which it is composed ; {b) upon the number of foreigners by
whom these occupations are followed ; and {c) upon the wealth of the average worker.
Under Order II — ^' Defence,' and Order IV— ' Provision and care of animals,* the
number of dependents is small, because the majority of workers cinder these two heads
are foreigners, who leave their families at home ; while in Sub-order 66-^' Law,' the pro-
portion of dependents is large, becau:5e the average pleader is a well-to-do man with a
considerable number of relations and servants.
The small proportion of dependents in Order XII — ^^' Textile fabrics and dress ' is due
to the fact that a large number of the workers are the wives and daughters of culti-
vators, who have been shown as earning their living by weaving cotton cloth, while their
children and little brothers and sisters have been shown as dependent upon cultivation
for their subsistence. In the remaining orders, the causes which have produced the
varying proportions of workers and dependents are sufficiently obvious, and do not call
for special mention.
§25. Subsidiary Table IX shows that no less than 1,073,776 women in the Province
„ , have been returned as actual workers. Of these 8q'^.27o
Women workers. ,,, , r^ , it/a-i . , ^^Oj*/"
fall under Order V — Agriculture, 52,155 under Order
VII — 'Provision of food, drink and stimulants,' and 50,066 under Order XI I — 'Textile fab-
rics and dress, where, as is only natural, the women-workers largely outnumber
the men. The only other important heads are ' earthwork ' and ' means of sub-
sistence independent of occupation,' — in other word? mendicancy, — which account
for 48,861 females between them.
In the Surma Valley and Goalpara, the womenfolk of the cultivator do not
generally labour in the fields, and there are fully ten male workers for every female ;
but in Assam Proper and the hill districts the peasant woman usually assists her
husband by planting the paddy seedlings and weedmg and cuttinf the dhan, and
in the immense majority of cases she has been shown, and rightly so, as a worker. The
field labourers or temporary hands who are engaged at harvest time are mostly
women, there being nearly 15 female workers to every male, and amongst the garden
coolies the proportion is nearly equal. Other occupations much affected by women are
washing, fish selling, grain dealing, rice pounding, the sale of vegetables ajid groce'-y,
pot making and selling, and basket weaving.
Turning to occupations which are more usually confined to men, we find that
38 females are returned from the Lushai Hills as village headmen, this being the
most appropriate heading for the Lushai Rani. One female is said to be working
in a printing press, and four as carpenters. There are 12 female contractors, the
majority of whom were censused in the Kbasi and Jainria Hills and Manipur, where
women are much given to trading on their own account, 1,113 priestesses, and one
lady in Manipur who asserted that she made her living by writing books. There are
4 licensed and 128 unlicensed lady doctors and 792 midwives. The actual number
of female workers, and the percentage that they bear to the working men in certain
selected orders and groups, will be found in the tenth statement appended to this
chapter, and no useful purpose will be served by reproducing these figures in the
letter press of the report.
226. Subsidiary Table XI shows the number of persons in each district to every
Distribution of profeBsiona ty dis- ^^^"^^ ^^^'^^cr following the professions of the barber,
*''T;u A . , u . ^ washerman, the potter, the priest, the schoolmaster
and the doctor. I have a ready referred to the absence of the village functionaries
from Assam Proper, and this fact is clearly brought out by this.table. In Sylhet every
barber has 769 clients, in Darrang and Nowgong he has over 3,600 In Sylhet the
average dhobi's charge is 739 souls, or rather bodies, in Goalpara it is 4.278 arid in
Nowgong 3,730 ; though in the tea districts the presence of a considerable European
population has led to an influx of washermen, with the result that in Lakhimpur tWe
IS one dhobi to every 1,064 people. Potters are most numerous in the Brahmaputra
Valley, where there is one to every 396 people, whereas in the Surma Valley each
maker and seller of pots has 1,014 clients. Sylhet and Kamrup are the most
religious districts, with 227 and 282 persons to every priest, while in Lakhimpur
CHAP. XII.] THE RESULTS OF THE CEI^SUS, ]6g
there are i,8ii. The average doctor in the province, whether licensed or Occupation.
unlicensed, has 2,183 patients; but as the great majority of these medical men are un-
licensed practitioners, it is doubtful whether the villagers .obtain much benefit from
their ministrations.
227. The table showing statistics for caste by traditional and actual occupation has
occupation by oaste. HOt been prepared for this province ; but I have sorted
omtivatmrianahoiaers ... 16,8.2 separately for Table XV 30,079 persons belonging to recog-
ouitivatingjteiiantB ... 3.60R nizcd coolic castes,* who were censused outside tea
Farm BervantB ... 652 i • r-M i t i >
SdoOTservants "I *'Isi gardens m Sibsagar and Lakhimpur. I have not prmted
SS'^^vLlil^'^*^" '^*®^®'^^ ••■ .1^ this table, but the details will remain on record In manu-
Bhopkeepers ... 192 ■ i i
Cart owners and driverg ... 161 scHpt, and the mam occupations returned have been
Aoaa ana railway laoourers 2H *'.,,, ^, , ,,,,
gl^irai labour ... 1.089 Summarised in the statement in the margin, which shows
otiiers "... 1,654, the number of persons supported by each form of work.
Total ... ^ 30,079 The great majority of these persons are engaged viith
cultivation in some form or another, or general labour which
was probably mainly agricultural, though the fact was not specifically stated. 431
were supported by domestic service, and a small number were cart owners and drivers,
and even. shopkeepers or their dependents.
228. It may perhaps be thought that this review of the occupations of the province
Conclusion '^ unduly brief, but the subject is not one which lends itself
readily to description.
In England there is a marked tendency towards specialization of function and
the subdivision of labour, and the dividing line between one means of livelihood and another
is very clearly marked, but this is not the case in Assam. In the first place, the immense
majority of the people are agriculturists of one kind or another, and there is thus but
little to say about them, and we are confronted with the further difficulty that here, if
anywhere in the world, ' one man in his time plays many parts.' The cultivators rear
their own silkworms, make their own clothes, catch their own fish, tend their own cattle,
and, in the case of the fisher castes, make and navigate their own boats. Even if they follow
such recognised professions as those of the barber and washerman, they usually combine
these functions with the life of the ordinary raiyat, while if they are engaged in commerce,
they do not confine themselves to the sale of a single class of goods, but try to include
witfiin the four walls of their shop all that is required to satisfy the simple wants of
the village folk. It is thus almost impossible to divide the inhabitants of Assam into
520 groups, and to specify the exact number which should fall under each head, and the
distinctions, which in a more highly specialized community are no doubt_ suitable enough,
become in this province distinctions in name, but not in fact. As an instance of what
I mean, I may refer to the case of the field labourers, of whom (with their dependents)
there were 1 1,145 in 1891 and 51,961 at the last census. The expression used was
' reaps paddy,' but the great majority of these persons were censused in Goalpara,
and were in all probability only the wives of the ordinary tenant farmers who helped them
in planting and cutting their crops.
In other parts _of India the stern experience of repeated famines must have
suggested to Government the desirability of fostering other occupations less precarious
than the cultivation of the soil, but in Assam there is an abundance of culturable land,
and failure of crops is almost unknown, so that there is as yet no reason for trying to
induce the raiyat to abandon his traditional manner of life, or to artificially stimulate
other and more complex industries. The occupations of Assam in fact begin and end
with agriculture. The only manufacture of importance in the province is tea, and the
other factories are represented by fourteen saw-mills and the brick and pipe works at
Ledo. The mineral industry of the province consists of lime quarries and coal measures
in the Khasi Hills, the coal mines of Margherita and the oil wells of Digboi, and this
being so, it is difficult to say much of the occupations of the country without
reproducing figures, which are already available, for any one who wishes to refer to them,
in Part II of the Report. '
* The castes selected were Bagdi, Bhuiya, Bauri, Dosadh. Ghasi, Ghatwal, Gond, Kharwar, Koiri, Kol, Kurmi,
Munda, Musahar, Newar, Nunia, Oraon, Pasi, Santal, and Turi,
SS
170
REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, IQOI.
rCHAP. XU.
Occupation.
SUBSIDIARY TABLE I.
General distribution by occupation.
Orders and sub-orders.
Percentage on total
population.
Persons
supported.
Actual
workers.
n
■I
Order I. — Administration
Sub-order i. — Civil Service of the State
,, 2. — Service of Local and Municipal
bodies
„ 3. — Village service
Order II. — Defence
Sub-order 4. — Army
Order III. — Service of Native and Foreign
States
Sub-ordnr 6. — Civil Officers
Order IV. — ^^Provision and care of animals
Sub-order 8. — Stock breeding and dealing
J, 9. — Training and care of animals
Order V. — Agriculture ...
Sub-order 10. —Landholders and tenants
II. — Agricultural labourers
12. — Growers of special products
13. — Agricultural training and supervi-
sion and forests
Order VI. — Personal, household and sanitary
service
Sub-order 14. — Personal and domestic service ...
„ 15.— Non-domestic entertainment
I, 16. — Sanitation
Order Vlt. — Food, drink and stimulants
Sub-order 17. — Provision Of animal food
18. — Provision of vegetable food
19. — Provision of drink, condiments and
stimulants
Order VIII. — Light, firing and forage
Sub-order 20. — Lighting
)i 21.— Fuel and forage
Order IX. — Buildings
Sub-order 22. — Building materials ...
,, 23. — Artificers in building...
Order X. — Vehicles and vessels
Sub-order 24. — Railway and Tramway plant
)) 25. — Carts, carriages, etc.
,1 26. — Ships and boats
Order XI.-^ — Supplementary requirements
Sub-order 27. — Paper
28. — Books and prints
29. — Watches and clocks and scientific
instruments.
30. — Carving and engraving
31. — Toys and curiosities...
32. — Music and musical instruments ...
33. — Bangles, necklaces, beads, sacred
threads, etc.
34. — Furniture
35- — Harness
36. — Tools and machinery
37. — Arms and ammunition
Order XII. — Textile fabrics and dress
Sub-order 38. — Wool and fur
„ 32.— Silk
„ 40. — Cotton ...
„ 41. — Jute, hemp, flax, coir, etc.
„ 42. — Dress
1)
3»
•37
•01
•I [
•16
•16
•04
•04
•ih
•18
84-24
67-87
6-00
10-30
•07
1-23
1-18
■05
461
2-82
•99
•80
•12
•01
-II
•18
•08
•10
■04
•01
■03
-06
•QI
-01
•03
-01
1-30
•04
•02
•30
Percentage in each order
and sub-order.
Actual
workers.
•14
•10
•01
•03
11
•II
•02
•02
'•5
4rii
29-64
3"9i
7'53
■03
•75
•72
•03
2^26
1^29
•56
•41
•07
•01
•06
•10
•04
•06
•02
•oi
•01
•03
•01
•02
•96
•01
•77
•QI
•17
38-96
41-68
46-21
3, -67
68^14
68-14
38-64
38-64
7992
80-60
52-06
48-80
43-68
65-08
73-08
40-51
60-58
60-87
58-44
53-46
48-97
45-67
56-95
50-70
61-34
8i-ii
59-79'
5571
54-78
56-40
41-55
93-^5
71-1 1
3236
49-82
1 00-00
47-55
36-78
77-78
5897
55-64
50-56
62-50
7368
48-11
36-86
74-43
71-52
33 37
82-14
71-13
55-96
Dependents.
6ro4
58-32
53-79
68-33
31-86
3i'86
6i^36
6r36
20^08
19-40
47-94
51-20
5632
34-92
26-92
59-49
3^-42
39-13
41-56
46-54
51-03
54-33
4305
49-30
38-66
18-89
40- 2 1
44-29
45*22
43-60
58-45
6-15
28^89
67-64
50-18
52-45
63-22
22^22
41-03
44-36
49-44
37-50
26-32
51-89
63-14
25-57
2f'-48
66-63
17-86
28-87
44-04
CHAP. XII.J
THE RESULTS OF THE C'ENStJS.
i-?!
SUBSIDIARY TABLE \— continued.
General distribution by occupation.
Occupation,
Orders and sub-orders.
Percentage on total
population.
Percentage in each order
-and sub-order.
Persons
supported.
Actual
workers.
Actual
workers.
Dependents,
I)
»
and leaves.
and similar
Order X'lII. — Metals and precious stones
Sub-order 43. — Gold, silver and precious stones.
44. — Brass, copper and bell-metal
45. — Tin, zinc, quicksilver and lead .
„ 46. — Iron and steel
Order XIV. — Glass, earthen and stoneware
Sub-order 47. — Glass and chinaware
y „ 48. — Earthen and stoneware
Order XV. — Wood, cane and leaves, etc.
Sub-order 49. — Wood and bamboos
„ 59. — Canework, matting
etc.
Order XVI. — Drugs, gums, dyes, etc,
Sub-order 51. — Gums, wax, resins
forest produce.
,, 52. — Drugs, dyes, pigments, etc.
Order XVII.— Leather, etc.
Sub-order 53. — Leather, horns and bones
Order XVIIl. — Commerce
Sub-order 54. — Money and securities
55. — General merchandise
56. — Dealing unspecified
57. — Middlemen, brokers and agents
Order XIX. — Transport and storage
Sub-order 58. — Railway
59. — Road
60. — Water ...
61. — Messages
J, 62. — Storage and weighing
Order XX. — Learned and artistic professions
Sub-order 63.— Religion
64. — Education
65. — Literature
66. — Law
67. — Medicine
68. — Engineering and survey
69. — Natural science
70. — Pictorial art and sculpture
.71.— -Music, acting and dancing, etc. ...
Order XXI.— Sport
Sub-order 72. — Sport
73. — Gdmes and exhibitions
Order XXll.— Earthwork and general labour ...
Sub-order 74. — Earthwork, etc.
jj 75. — General labour
Order XXIII.— Indefinite and disreputable occupa
tions.
Sub-order 76.— Indefinite
77.— Disreputable
Order XXIV.— Independent
Sub-order 78.— Property and alms
79. — At the State expense
Grand total ...
>3
»
I)
I)
}>
)>
I)
>>
»
»
■09
•21
■29
•29
•18
•02
•01
•01
•13
■13
•78
■05
•61
•07
•63
•10
•21
•22
•05
•05
I'37
•79
•13
•10
•06
■15
•06
•08
•02
•01
•01
i'79
•52
I'27
•03
■01
•02
I '33
f27
•06
•22
•09
•04
•09
•16
■16
•29
•17
•12
•01
■or
•06
•06
•43
02
•03
•35
■03
•41
•07
•12
■16
■03
•03
•51
•29
•06
•03
•01
•06
•03
•03
•01
•01
r20
•44
•76
•02
•01
•01
•83
•79
•04
40-91
37-90
4256
52-36
43'54
54-48
46-15
54-50
54-95
48-98
6697
56-65
42-83
64-79
48-43
48-43
54-26
36-12
48-01
56-6VS
51-23
65-53
72*09
59-73
71-19
57-09
59 99
37-66
36-60
45-42
3007
25-95
39-98
45-61
50*00
50-77
43-55
45-25
37-99
4S-48
6684
59-09
62-10
57-44
47-64
56-46
45-52
53-85
45-50
45-05
51-02
33-03
43-35
57-17
35-21
51 57
51 57
45 74
63-88
51-99
43-38
48-77
34-47
27-9'
40-27
28-81
42-91
4001
62-34
63-40
54-58
69-93
74-05
60 03
56-39
50-00
49-23
56-45
54-75
62-01
5i"52
33-16
84-97
15-03
59-49
40-51
8562
14-38
100-00
...
8o'i6
19-84
61-99
38-ci
61-96
38-04
62-47
37-53
49-87
50-13
TT
172
REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, I go I.
[chap.
xii.
Occupation.
SUBSIDIARY TABLE H.
Eistribution of the agricultural population by natural divisions and districts.
Population
supported by
agriculture.
Percentage
of agricul-
tural popu-
lation to
district
population.
Percentage on agricultural
population of
Natural divisions and districts.
Actual
workers.
Dependents.
I
2
3
4
5
Cachar Plains
Sylhet
368,205
1,827,190
88-7
8. -5
48-4
36-1
51-6
63-9
Total Surma Valley
2,195,395
82-6
38'2
6r8
Goalpara
Kamrup
Darrang
Nowgong
Sibsagar
Lakhimpur
385,963
477,736
310,842
235,283
544,630
324,681
83-5
8ro
92-1
90-0
91 '0
87-4
- 42-0
50-2
638
6o'i
63-2
66-2
58-0
49-8
362
39"9
36-8
33-8
Total Brahmaputra Valley
2,279,135
87-0
57-1
42-9
Total Plains
4,474,530
84-8
47-8
52-2
Lushai Hills
North Cachar
Naga Hills
Khasi and Jaintia Hills ...
Garo Hills ...
76,971
20,309
95.646
154,107
132,233
W3
497
93-4
76-1
95-6
5^'4
53-2
67-4
59-8
57-5
43-6
46-8
32-6
40-2
42-5
Total Hill Districts
479,266
846
599
40-1
Manipur
207,175
72-8
44-6
55-4
Total Province
5,160,97.1
84-2
48-8
51-2
SUBSIDIARY TABLE III.
Distribution of the industrial population by
natural divisions and districts. — Class D.
Natural divisions and districts.
Population
supported by
industry.
Percentage
of industrial
population
to district
population.
Percentage on industrial
population of
Actual
workers.
Dependents.
I
2
3
4
5
Cachar Plains
Sylhet
17,408
237,555
4-2
io'6
68-1
42-9
31*9
57-1
Total Surma Valley
254,963
9-6
44-6
55'4
Goalpara
Kamrup
Darrang
Nowgong
Sibsagar
Lakhimpur ...
37,143
50,872
9,607
8,905
19,618
16,550
8-0
8-6
2-8
' 3-4
3-3
4-5
581
45-8
65-6
69' I
60-3
67-1
41-9
54-2
34-4
309
397
32-9
Total Brahmaputra Valley
142,695
5-4
56-2
43-8
Total Plains ...
297,658
7"5
48-8
51-2
Lushai Hills
North Cachar
Naga Hills
Khasi and Jaintia Hills ...
Garo Hills
603
2,178
1,034
12,108
2,789.
0-7
5-3
I'O
6-0
20
^ 6r5
91-1
76-8
57-6
66-1
38-5
8-9
23-2
42-4
33-9
Total Hill Districts
18,712
3-3
64'0
36*0
Manipur
62,988
22'I
8o'6
i9'4
Total Province
479,358
7-8
53'6
46-4
CMap. XII.]
tHE RESOLfs OF THE CENSUS.
m
SUBSIDIARY TABLE IV.
Distribution of the industrial population by natural divisions and districts {excluding
Sub-order 17, Provision of animal food).
Natural divisions and districts.
Population
supported by
industry.
Percentage
of industrial
population tc
district popu
lalion.
Percentage on industrial
population of
Actual
workers.
Dependents.
t
2
3
4
5
Cachar Plains
Sylbet
14,956
117,283
3-6
5-2
70-2
45-6
29-8
54-4
Total Surma Valley
132.239
5-0
48'3
517
Goalpara
Kamrup
Darrang
Nowgong
Sibsagar
Lakhimpur ... ... ..,'
25,306
36,648
5-283
6,215
12,031
12,368
5-5
6-2
1-6
2-4
2-0
3-3
6 1 '9
41*6
65"9
68-8
6o'4
69-2
38-1
58-4
34'i
31-2
39-6
30-8
Total Brahmaputra Valley
97,851
37
557
44-3
Total Plains ...
230,090
4-4
51-5
48-5
Lushai Hills
North Cachar
Naga Hills
Khasi and Jaintia Hills
Garo Hills
535
1,814
727
10,767
1,673
0-6
4-4
07
■ 5'3
1-2
587
92-3
81-2
58-1
^8-8
4i"3
77
1 8-8
41-9
31-2
Total Hill Districts
15,516
27
64-4
35-6
Manipur
61,122
21-5
8i'o
19-0
Total Province
306,728
5-0
58-0
42-0
SUBSIDIARY TABLE V.
Distribution of the commercial population by natural divisions and districts.
Population
supported
by com-
merce.
Percentage
of commer-
cial popu-
lation to dis-
trict popula-
. tion.
Percentage on commercial
population of
Natural divisions and distnctSi
Actual
workers.
Dependents.
i_
2
3
4
5
Cachar Plains
Sylhet
3,267
19,860
078
0-88
70-89
42-28
r
29-11
57-72
Total Surma Valley
23,127
0-87
46-32
53-68
Goalpara
Kamrup
Darrang
Nowgong
Sibsagar
Lakhimpur ... ... •••
3,371
3^962
1,822
1,598
5,560
4,734
072
067
0-54
0-6 1
0'92
1-27
6366
45-58
76-28
67-39
60-77
65-94
36-34
54-42
23-72
32-61
39-23
34-06
Total Brahmaputra Valley
21,047
o-8o
61-38
3862
Total Plains ...
44,174
0-83
53-49
46-51
Lushai Hills ...
North Cachar
Naga Hills ...
Khasi and Jaintia Hills ...
Garo Hills
.67
1,209
1S8
866
318
0'20
2-96
o-i8
0-42
0-22
71-85
85-93
53-19
44-11
42-76
28-13
14-07
46-81
55-89
57-24
Total Hill Districts
2,748
0-48
64-66
35-34
Manipur
984
0-34
59-55
40-45
Total Province ... ... ... | 47j9o6 (
078
54-26
45-74
Occupation.
174
REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, IQOt.
[chap. XU.
Occupation.
SUBSIDIARY TABLE VI.
Distribution of the professional population by natural divisions and districts.
Population
supported
by profes-
sion.
Percentage
of profes-
siona popula-
tion to dis-
trict popula-
tion.
Percentage on professional
population of
Natural divisions and districts.
-
Actual
workers.
Dependents.
I
2
3
4 5
Cachar Plains
Sylhet
3,734
44,573
0-90
47-48
3487
52-52
65-13
Total Surma Valley • ...
48,307
^ i-8i
35-84
64' 1 6
Goplpara
Kamr'jp
Darrang
Nowgong
Sibsagar ... ... ... ...^
Lakhimpur
4.045
10,918
1,843
1,879
5,Q43
2,889
27,517
0-87
1-85
0-54
071
0-99
077
44-33
35-24
39-77
41-14
3887
3991
5567
64-76
60-23
58-86
61-13
60*09
Total Brahmaputra Valley
1-05
38-56
61-44
Total Plains
75,824
1-43
36-83
63-17
Lushai Hills ...
North Cachar...
Naga Hills ...
Khasi and Jaintia Hills ...
Garo Hills ... ... .
455
1 10
323
2,271
213
0-55
0-26
0-31
I-I2
015
73-85
86-36
41-80
39-28
53-99
26-15
1364
58-20
60-72
46-01
Total Hill Districts
3,372
0-59
46-65
53-35
Manipur
4,869
171
44-34
,55-66
Total Province
84,065
i'37
37-66
62-34
SUBSIDIARY TABLE VII.
Occupations by orders, 1901 and 1891.
Order.
Population
supported
in 1901.
Population
supported
Percentage of
variation(+)
or (-)
I, Administration
II, Defence ...
III. Service of Native and Foreign States
IV. Provision and care of animals
V. Agriculture
VI. Personal, household and sanitary service
VII. Food, drink and stimulants
VIII. Light, firing and forage
IX. Buildings ...
X. Vehicles and vessels ...
XL Supplementary requirements
XII. Textile fabrics and dress
XIII, Metals and precious stones
XIV. GlasS; earthen and stoneware
XV. Wood, cane and leaves, etc.
XVL Drugs, gums, dyes, etc.
XVII. Leather ,,.
XVIIl. Commerce...
XIX. Transport and storage
XX. Learned and artistic professions ...
XXL Sport
XXII. Earthwork and general labour
XXIII. Indefinite and disreputable occupations
XXIV. Independent
22,622
36,421
-37-8
9,876
9,234
+ 6-9
2,293
489
+ 368-9
11,257
15-525
—27-4
5,160,971
4,212,257
4-22-5
75,395
88,989
—15-2
282,187
376,102
—24-9
7,449
67,842
—89-0
10,961
14,618
—25-0
2,202
10,994
—79-9
3,988
5,234
-23-8
79,391
81,181
— 2-2
33,460
41,258
—18-9
17,922
30,014
— 40 2
32,488
56,800
—42-8
1,241
2,398
—48-2
8,069
5,87'
+ 37-4
47,906
44,7ii
+ 7-1
38,591
43,682
—1 1-6
84,065
102,538
— 1 8-0
906
1,300
—30-3
109,815
1,586
} 109,837
+ 1-4
81,702
77,948
+ 4-8
Order VHI (i 901). —The decrease is due to oil-pressers and sellers and oil and salt sellers having been shown in Order VH .
CHAP. XII.]
THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS.
175
SUBSIDIARY TABLE VIII.
Selected occupations, 1901 and 1891.
Occupation.
Occupations.
Population
supported
in igoi.
Population
supported
Percentage
of variation
(+) or(-)
Remarks.
36(a), Cultivating landholders
36(i5). Non-cultivatitig landholders
37(fl). Cultivating tenants
37(c). Cultivators, unspecified
38. Farm servants
39. Field labourers
48. Tea plantation : labourers and other
subordinates ...
78. Cow and buffalo keepers and milk and
butter sellers
79. Fishermen and fish curers
80. Fish dealers ...
124. Grocers and general condiment
dealers.
272. Cotton weavers, hand industry
275. Cotton spinners, sizers and yarn
beaters.
304. Piece-goods dealers ...
306. Tailors, milliners, dress-makers and
darners.
317. Workers in gold, silver and precious
stonss.
336. Potters and pot and pipe-bowl makers
337. Sellers of pottery ware
347. Baskets, mats, fans, screens, brooms,
etc., makers and sellers.
392. Bankers, money lenders, etc.
417. Cart owners and drivers, carting
agents, etc.
429. Boat and bargemen
444. Priests, ministers, etc.
447. Church, temple, burial or burning
ground service, pilgrim conductors,
undertakers, etc.
456. Writers (unspecified) and private
clerks.
467. Practioners with diploma license or
certificate.
4,68. Practioners without diploma
503. Road, canal and railway labourers ...
504. General labour
513. Mendicancy (not in connection
with a religious order).
2,274,399
52,571
1,740,906
88,73 <
40,215
5i>96i
623,417
16,776
77,155
77.552
21,599
31,301
22,112
9,114
8,716
14,560
11.939")
5>865J
10,616
2,935
7.015
8,514
43,631
2,436
6,096
1,571
6,079
31,583
78,146
77,288
2,095,663
66,026
1,041,520.
429,068
24,352
11,145
441,166
15,056
201,174
, 79,583
-32,089
33,643
13,386
11,093
7,235
18,651
29,562
24,419
9,801
4.158
i5;8i7
59,860
979
19
100
5,848
12,985
69,048
73,664
+ 8-52
— 20'37
+ 67-15
— 79'32
-I- 65-14
+ 366-22
41*31
+ 1 1 -42
— 61-64
— 2-55
— 32-69
— 696
+ 65-18
— 17-84
+ 20-46
— 21-93
— 3977
— 56-52
— 70-05
+ 68-71
-— 46-17
— 27-11
+ 148-82
+ 31,984-21
+ i,47roo
+ 3-95
+ 143-22
+ i3"i7
+ 4"9i
Includes turmeric
sellers, oil and
salt sellers.
In 1 891 writers
(unspe c i fi e d)
fell under group
253, sub-order-—
' General mer-
chandise,' but
this year they
fall under 'Li-
terature.*
176
REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, IQOI.
[chap.
XII.
Occupation.
SUBSIDIARY TABLE IX.
Occupations of Jemales by orders.
Order.
Number of actual workers.
Males.
Females.
Percentage of
females to
males.
I
2
1
3
4
I. Administration
8,777
38
0-43
11. Defence
6,730
• •»
III. Service of Native and Foreign States
886
• ••
• • •
IV. Provision and care of animals
8,295
702
8-46
V. Agriculture
1.625,135
893,270
54-96
VI. Personal, household and sanitary service
37,705
7,967
21-12
VII. Food, drink and stimulants
86,027
52,155
60-62
VlII. Light, firing and forage
2,813
1,756
62-42
IX. Buildings ...
5,156
951
18-44
X. Vehicles and vessels
915
X!. Supplementary requirements
1,458
529
36-28
XII. Textile fabrics and dress
9,025
50,066
554'74
XIII. Metals and precious stones
12,309
1,379
11-20
XIV. Glass, earthen and stone ware
5,037
4,727
9384
XV. Wood, cane and leaves, etc.
13.165
4,687
35"6o
XVI. Drugs, gums, dyes, etc.
491
212
43'!7
XVII. Leather ...
3,698
210
5-67
XVIII. Commerce
2.-^,333
2,663
1 1 -41
XIX. Transport and storage .
24,-704
584
2-36
XX. Learned and artistic professions ...
29,850
1,806
6-05
X.KI. Sport
338
72
21-30
XXII. Earthwork and general labour
53,209
20,188
37"94
XXIII. Indefinite and disreputable occupations
217
1,141
525-80
XXIV, Independent
21,972
28,673
130-49
SUBSIDIARY TABLE X.
Occupations of Jemales by selected sub-orders and groups.
Sub-order or group.
Number of actual workers.
Males.
Females.
Percentage of
fem.ales to
males.
Sub-order 10. — Landholders and tenants
36(a) Cultivating landholders
36 {b) Non-cultivating landholders ...
37 («) Cultivating tenants
37 [b) Non-cultivating tenants
37 (c) Cultivators, unspecified
Total Sub-order to
Sub-order 11.— Agricultural labourers—
38. Farm servants
39. Field labourers
Ao. Taungy a ox j hum cwXWv^ioxs ."
Total Sub-order 11
Sub-order 12. — Growers of special products
48. Tea plantations : labourers, and other subor-
dinates,
49. Betel, vine and areca-nut growers
52. Fruit and vegetable growers
689,670
11,568
548,345
94
27,296
1,276,973
22,152
2,850
84,871
109,873
Total Sub-order 12
417,172
4,448
95,440
301
21,679
539,040
4,775
42,6i8
82,067
129,470
60-48
38-45
17-40
320-21
79-42
42-21
2i'55
1,4957'
96-69
117-83
233.098
64
161
236,590
224,396
292
61
224,760
96-26
456-25
37-88
94-99
CHAP. XII.]
THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS.
177
SUBSIDIARY TABLE X— continued.
Occupation of females by selected iub-orders and groups.
Occupation.
1
Sub-order or group.
Number of actual workers.
Percentage of
Males.
Females.
females
to males.
I
2
3
4
Sub-order 14. — Personal and domestic services —
60, Barbers ...
61, Cooks
64. Indoor servants
65. Washermen
68. Miscellaneous and unspecified ...
4,974
2,326
15.055
3,450
7,242
63
76
4,917
1,365
1,187
1-26
3-26
32-66
39-56
16-39
Total Sub-orderi4
36,341
7,630
20-99
Sub-order 17. — Provision of animal food —
78. Cow and buffalo k'eepers and milk and
butter sellers.
79. Fishermen and fish curers
80. Fish dealers
81. Fowl and egg dealers
7,942
32,138
18,879
207
1,014
5.028
13,273
135
12-76
15-64
70-30
65-21
Total Sub-order 1 7
59,386
19,459
32-76
Sub-order 18. — Provision of vegetable food —
97. Grain and pulse dealers
98. Grain parchers
99. Makers of sugar, molasses and gur by hand...
100. Oi! pressers
loi. Oil sellers
102. Rice pounders and buskers
104. Sweetmeat sellers
105. Vegetable and fruit sellers
4,048
472
328
772
2.835
525
1,075
529
7,862
2,074
168
236
633
10,950
173
1,410
194-21
439-40
51-21
30-56
. 22-32
2,085-71
16-09
266-54
Total Sub-order 18
10,895
23,619
216-78
Sub-order 19. — Provision of drink, condiments and
stimulants —
123. Cardamom, betel leaf and arecanut sellers ...
124. Grocers and general condiment dealers
127. Salt makers
128. Salt sellers
130. Tobacco and snuff sellers
133. Wine and spirit distillers
134. Wine and spirit sellers
5,149
8,558
106
568
574
158
333
4,214
2,282
361
552
375
641
612
81-84
26-66
340-56
97-18
65-33
405-69
183-78
Total Sub-order 19
'5,746
9,077
57-64
Sub-order 39. — Silk —
259. Silkworm rearers and cocoon gatherers
260. Silk carders, spinners and weavers ; makers of
silk braid and thread.
261. Sellers of raw silk, silk cloth, braid and thread
262. Silk dyers
42
62
20
36
366
297
29
85-71
590-32
1,48500
Total Sub-order 39
124
728
587-09
X X
178
REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF ASSAM, IQOI.
[chap. XI.
Occupation.
SUBSIDIARY TABLE X— concluded.
Occupations of females by selected sub-orders and groups.
•
Number of actual workers.
Percentage of
females to
males.
Sub-order or group.
Males.
Females.
I
2
4
Sub-order 40. — Cotton —
271. Cotton cleaners, pressers and ginners
272. Cotton weavers : hand industry ...
275. Cotton spinners, sizers and yarn beaters
276. Cotton yarn and thread sellers ...
278A. Raw cotton dealers
24
1,602
146
108
103
2,981
23,299
18,656
269
44
12,420-83
1,454-36
12,778-08
249-07
42-71
Total Sub- order 40 ... ...
2,017
45,309
2,2^46-35
Sub-order 42. — Dress —
304. Piece-goods dealers ...
306. Tailors, milliners, dress-makers and darners
3,54^
2,965
',855
1,617
52-31
54-53
Total Sub-order 42
6,611
3*573
54-04
Sub-order 48. — Earthen and stoneware —
336, Potters and pot and pipe-bowl makers
337. Sellers of pottery ware
3,581
1,408
3,135
1. 591
87-54
112-99
Total Sub-order 48
5,019
4.727
94-18
Sub-order 50, — Canework, matting and leaves, etc. —
347. Baskets, mats, fans, screens, brooms, etc.,
makers and sellers.
2,826
4,308
152-44
Total Sub-order 50
2,873
4,346
151-27
Sub-order 56. — Dealing, unspecified^
398. Shopkeepers, otherwise unspecified
12,868
2,088
> 16-22
Total Sub-order 56 1
18,856
2,305
12-22
Sub-order 63. — Religion —
444. Priests, ministers, etc.
14,689
1,113
7-57
Total Sub-order 63
16,527
1,241
7-50
Sub-order 74. — Earth work, etc. —
502. Road, canal and railway labourers
22,745
4,102
18-03
Total Sub-order 74
22,808
4,102
17-98
Sub-order 78. — Property and alms —
510. House rent, shares and other property not
being land
511. Allowances from patrons or relatives
512. Educational or other endowments, scholar-
ships, etc.
513. Mendicancy (not in connection with a religi-
ous order)
50
61
126
19,514
74
70
7
28,448
148-00
114-75
5-55
145-78
Total Sub-order 78
19,751
28,599
144-79
CHAP. XII.]
THE RESULTS OF THE CENSUS.
179
SUBSIDIARY TABLE XI. Occupation.
Number of persons served by each actual worker in six selected professions by districts.
Districts.
Number of
persons to
every barber.
Number "of
persons to
every washer-
man.
Number of
persons to
every potter.
Number of
persons to
every priest.
Number of
persons to
every teacher.
Number of
persons to
every medi-
cal practi-
tioner.
I
2
3
4
3
6
7
Cachar Plains
Sylhet
855
769
843
739
1,497
957
542
227
1,316
1,824
1,965
2,327
Total Surma Valley
781
753
1,014
250
1,720
2,262
Goalpara
Kamrup
Darrang
Nowgong ...
Sibsagar
Lakhimpur ...
875
2,486
3,666
3,678
1,935
1,365
4,278
2,765
2,656
3,730
2,282
1,064
264
229
864
864
409
2,730
713
282
1,629
894
1,093
i,8ii
1,395
1,707
3,152
2,869
1,954
1,875
2,357
1,430
2,375
3,109
2,411
2,184
Total Brahmaputra Val-
ley.
1,735
2,319
396
657
1,900
2,091
Total Plains
1,074
1,133
572
361
1,805
2,174
Lushai Hills
North Cachar
Naga Hills
Khasi and Jaintia Hills ...
Garo Hills
6,869
868
6,023
8,793
46,091
6,869
949
6,023
3,315
69,137
13,739
40,812
8.533
4,703
34,568
639
3,401
8,533
3,315
6,011
27,478
2,400
4,452
414
2,514
7,494
2,400
17,067
4,703
34,568
Total Hill districts
5,550
4,193
8,578
2,388
966
6,989
Manipur
10,940
10,940
667
289
3,160
951
Total Province
1,216
1,272
630
387
1,702
2,183
Shillong : Printed and published by ConynghaB Francis, Press Superintendent, Assam, at the Secretariat Printing
Office — (Census) No. 95 — 1,015—23-3-1902.
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