Notes on the Growth of Population in India from 1901 AD to 2001 AD

In working out ‘Decadal Growth’ and ‘Percentage Decadal Growth’ for India 1941-51 and 1951-61 the population of Tuen-sang district for 1951 (7,025) and the population of Tue-sang (83,501) and Mon (5,774) districts for 1961 Census of Nagaland state have not been taken into account as the areas were censuses for the first time inl951 and the same are not comparable.

The 1981 Census could not be held owing to disturbed conditions prevailing in Assam. Hence the population figures for 1981 of Assam have been worked out by interpolation.

The 1991 Census could not be held owing to disturbed conditions prevailing in Jammu and Kashmir. Hence the population figures for 1991 of Jammu and Kashmir have been worked out by interpolation.

It may be noted that the figures have been adjusted for the territorial changes which occurred because of the partition of the Indian sub­continent into two countries, India and Pakistan.

The population figures given earlier for the period prior to 1901, however, refer to undivided India. The census figures for 2001 refer to the population of India as recorded at the 00.00 hours of March 1, 2001.

It may, however, be noted that the enumeration was not carried out in Jammu and Kashmir. The provisional figure of the total population as recorded in the 1991 census, however, includes the projected population of Jammu and Kashmir.

1. The course of population growth up to 1921 was undulating. The decades of marked increases regularly alternated with decades of small increases, while during 1911-1921 a negative growth was experienced.

2. The absolute number of people added to the population during each decade has been on the increase since 1921.

3. The decennial rate of growth has also increased from 1921 up to 2001. From 1951 onwards, India’s population has been growing at a phenomenal rate.

While during 1941-1951, the average decennial growth rate was 13.31 per cent, during 1951-1961 it increased to 21.6 per cent, and during 1961-1971, it was 24.8 per cent.

From 1901 to 2001, there has been an increase of 330.8 per cent in the population. India’s population has more than doubled in a period of 50 years, that is, from 1921 to 1971.

4. It can be noticed from that the decennial population growth rate during 1961-71 was 24.80 per cent, during 1971-81 it was 24.66, during 1981-91 it was 23.85 per cent and during 1991-2001 it was 21.34.

Thus, it can be observed that the rate of population growth has decreased during 1981-91 and 1991- 2001.

As each of these points is important for an understanding of the growth of population in India, further elaboration is undertaken in the following sections.

It may be observed in the decade 1911-1921, the population of India decreased. This is a very striking phenome­non. Fluctuating rates of population growth were also observed during the period 1867-1871 to 1901.

The underlying reason of such ups and downs was the heavy mortality due to various cata­strophes, such as famines and epidemics. It was during this period that a great famine occurred in 1876-1877.

Again, during the de­cade 1891-1901, there were a series of severe famines and an epi­demic of plague.

The All-India Census Report of 1901 contains a vivid chronological account of the famines during the period from 1891 to 1901, which were mainly attributed to “weak monsoons and monsoon failure.”

It has been reported that five million deaths occurred due to famines during this decade. Davis, however, esti­mates that about 19 million persons perished because of these famines. ⁸

During 1901-1911, the seasonal conditions were much more favourable, according to the census reports, which refer to the agricultural conditions as being “normal” or even “prosperous.”

No suggestion of any famine being an important cause of high mortality is found in these reports. It appears, therefore, that the days when people died in large numbers due to local crop failures were over.

Improved transportation and communication because of the building of roads and railways had reduced the isolation of certain areas. These changed conditions were reflected in population growth, and the rate of this growth rose to 5.7 per cent during the “normal” decade of 1901-1911.

All the fluctuations in the population growth in the preceding periods pale into insignificance when the’ situation during 1911- 1921 is considered. This decade was extraordinary in many ways.

The natural checks which are known to curb the growth of population were found to operate during this period. Though agricultural conditions were on the whole favourable, an epidemic of plague took a toll of nearly three million lives.

The First World War took place during this decade and, most important, after the War, the entire country was swept by distinct waves of a world­wide pandemic of influenza.

This epidemic may be considered the most severe and the most deadly of its kind for, even according to the conservative estimates of official reports, nearly 12 to 13 million people died of this disease during the short span of three or four months.

In this disastrous year of 1918, the official death rate rose to 63 per thousand populations, whereas it was 33 in 1917 and 36 in 1919.

J.T. Marten reported in the Census Report of 1921 that rural areas were severely affected by this epidemic. Mortality was particularly high among adults between the ages of 20 and 40.

Women were the worst affected. “In the worst period, whole villages were absolutely laid desolate by the disease. There was sometimes no means of disposing of the dead; crops were left un harvested.

And to add to the distress, the disease came at a period of widespread crop failure and reached its climax in November, when the cold weather set in; and as the price of cloth happened at the time to be the highest, many were unable to provide themselves with the warm clothing that was essential in the case of illness that so readily attacked the lungs.

The year 1921 is designated as “the great divide” in the sense that it is the turning point which marks the beginning of a regular growth in India’s population and also the beginning of a rapid and massive population growth in India.