Britishers left India in 1947. However, even today the world is of the opinion that colonialism brought prosperity and development to India. The fact that Britishers brought industrial and infrastructural development cannot be belied outright; there is another aspect of the story—recent study by two experts, Dylan Sullivan and Jason Hickel, about India’s experience under colonial rule. Data from the Census of India reveal that between 1880 and 1920 approximately, about 100 million Indians had died due to British policy in India. The experts used the data for actual deaths, and also arrived at the deaths to be expected through the benchmarks of the mortality rate for India in 1880 and for England in the 16th and 17th centuries. On comparing the mortality rate of India during 1880–1920 with that of contemporary England, we find that India’s mortality rate was 50 million while that of England was excessive—160 million. However, the authors took a middle figure of around 100 million deaths, caused due to colonial policy, which led to repeated famines. Since 1947, there has not been a single famine in India!
Census of India: Historical Background
The process of collecting, compiling, analysing, and disseminating demographic, social, cultural, and economic data relating to all persons in the country, at a particular time in a 10-year interval is called a population census. It is the basis for reviewing the progress of the country in the past decade, monitoring the ongoing schemes of the government, and planning for the future. It also provides several trends in population characteristics. The Indian census is the largest single source of various statistical information on various characteristics of the Indian population.
Before Independence, India’s first census was held in 1872 which was conducted non-synchronously in different parts of the country. This census did not cover all territories possessed or controlled by the British. In this census, a House Register was canvassed with 17 questions that pertained to name, age, religion, caste or class, race or nationality, attending schools/colleges, and able to read and write. These common questions were asked separately from males and females while the question on occupation was canvassed only for males.
The first synchronous census was taken under the British rule in 1881 by W.C. Plowden, the then first census Commissioner of India. Since then, censuses have been undertaken after every ten years despite diseases, world wars, partition and other instances of turmoil. Due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 Census was postponed and is scheduled to take place in 2024. The first census included information about the classification of demographic, economic and social characteristic that took place in the entire continent of British India (except Kashmir).
The census is conducted by the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, which is under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. The census act was enacted in 1948.
Shortcomings of the study
The researchers have relied on the change in national income to quantify the impact of colonial rule in India. However, reliable income data for the 19th century are almost non-existent. From the population figures available from the first Census of India in 1872, the researchers used age-wise population distribution from the Census data to estimate the mortality rate and concluded about the evolution of economic conditions in colonial India. As registration of births and deaths became an established practice in India only after 1969, their figure for excess deaths is only as good as the benchmarks chosen. Similarly, the mortality rate itself is based on estimation, rather than enumeration.
As per researchers, their study could not so widely be recognised as the mortality rate in British India was seen to rise steadily after 1881, recording an increase of about 20 per cent by 1921. It is an unusual scenario that the mortality rate of a country would rise continuously due to natural causes, and this suggested that the living conditions worsened during this period. The mortality rate had dipped in 1931, when the last census was conducted in British India. The famine in Bengal happened in 1943, which was five years before the end of the two-century old British colonial rule.
The report ignored that the British introduced forms of land tenure, the English language, banking, the common law, Protestantism, team sports, the limited state, representative assemblies, and the idea of liberty.
The study does not find any mention about the famines which had started almost at the onset of rule by the East India Company, in Bengal. Also, the de-industrialisation of India in the nineteenth century, the drain of wealth or the worsening food security, as Indian farmers were forced to grow commercial crops for export so that Britain could balance its trade, have not been taken into consideration.
However, the study justifies the claim of economic impoverishment of India under British rule made by Dadabhai Naoroji by drawing the attention to a sustained rise in the death rate at the height of British Raj.
Significance of Census
Population census is an integrated picture of society in a given time which cannot be defined through other data collecting methods. Some of the benefits of census are as follows:
- Population census provides a comprehensive data on the whole population besides demographic, social, and economic characteristics, and other indicators, such as population growth rates, age and gender composition, educational features, etc.
- It provides necessary data which enables the assessment of the population status as well in monitoring demographic, social, and economic changes taking place during the same period in various administrative divisions.
- It provides a database on which population projections and workforce projections are built.
- It provides a database needed to study specific social phenomena.
- It provides basic data for different sectors in the country such as education, health, population, etc., with a view to contributing to the formulation, monitoring, and evaluation of plans related to the provision of services.
- It provides necessary frameworks for deriving samples for field research to be undertaken in the future.
- It provides data on housing units as well as their facilities and features related to living conditions, basic data needed to work out a clearly-defined housing policy to ensure prosperity for all the citizens.
- It defines the conditions of economic and social enterprises in the public and private sectors in terms of the legal status, economic activity, and workforce size by gender and nationality.
The data collected through the census is used for administration, planning and policymaking as well as management, and evaluation of various programmes run or to be introduced by the government, NGOs, researchers, commercial and private enterprises, etc. Census data is also used for the demarcation of constituencies, allocation of representation to the Parliament, state legislative assemblies, and local bodies.
Implications of Delay in Census
Delay in conducting census may have serious implications. The census is not a substitute for a government audit or a social audit. But since its data is authentic and verifiable, it can throw an effective light and serve as a tool for ensuring accountability from the government.
Some of the implications are as follows:
- The National Food Security Act mandates that 75 per cent of rural and 50 per cent of urban households be covered by the Act. The government recently made NFSA entitlement free for 81 crore people. But this number is based on the 2011 Census. Population projections till 2022 suggest that the number is short by at least 10 crores. That has serious implication for the food security and nutrition status of a large number of households, especially the children.
- Various other government schemes, such as pensions for the elderly could miss their target by a huge margin since accurate census estimates are not available. The budgeting for these programmes needs to have an accurate estimate of the beneficiaries.
- India badly needs accurate information about migrants, who can be defined in the census as those who work in a place different from the place of birth. How many migrants are there? How many seasonal and how many long term? The COVID lockdown revealed lakhs/maybe crores of migrant people had to make a long trek back to their villages on foot. Only a proper and updated census can throw light on the true migrant picture.
- The assessment of various schemes and programmes of the government. For example, what is the status of the Prime Minister’s Awas (housing) Yojana? How many toilets built under Swachh Bharat are functioning? What is the status of piped water supply to households?
Scenario after Independence
Despite a population explosion after independence, there is a sharp fall in death rates. The decline in the mortality rate signalled improved living conditions. The census showed that in the 1950s, life expectancy at birth of Indians increased by more than what it was in the past 70 years.
The population numbers recorded after 1947 have indicated that life of Indians improved since the end of colonial rule in sectors other than economy. The data also pointed out the worsening gender inequality in India. After declining for four decades from 1951, the gender ratio started inching up in 1991. But in 2011, it was yet lower than what it was observed in 1951.
India’s slogan for G-20 chants ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’, implying that the nations of the world are a family. It is the duty to ensure that Indians in India enjoy the same freedoms.
Upcoming Census
In March 2020, several states in the country were about to start house-listing operations for the 2021 Census. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 Census was postponed.
It is mentioned in the Constitution that census data should be used for delimitation of constituencies and for determining the quantum of reservation for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. However, the Constitution does not say anything about the periodicity of the census. Even the Census Act, 1948, which came into existence before the Constitution, provides only the legal background for several activities relating to the census, but does not mention about the periodicity.
The general election is going to be held in the country in 2024. The census data is crucial for various administrative functions, welfare schemes, and other surveys. Therefore, the government should take a quick call to initiate the process of the census as the delay could have serious ramifications.
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