THE PEOPLE

POPULATION

THE POPULATION OF AMRAVATI DISTRICT, according to the Census of 1961, is 1,232,780 (m. 637,861; f. 594,919), and is distributed over its six tahsils as stated below: -

TABLE No. 1

POPULATION ACCORDING TO TAHSILS, AMRAVATI DISTRICT, 1961

*Figures in brackets indicate area in sq. miles.

As the above table shows, the total population of 1,232,780 spread over the district area of 4,691 sq. miles (12,149.7 sq. kilometres) works out at about 263 persons to a sq. mile. Of these, 910,586 or 73.84 per cent are spread over the rural area of 4,603.3 sq. miles (11,922.559 sq. kilometres) and the remaining 322,194 or 26.16 per cent are spread over the urban area of 87.7 sq. miles (227.2 sq. kilometres). The district with a rural urban ratio of 73.8: 26.2 stands fourth in respect of population and third in respect of size in the eight districts of the Nagpur Division, and similarly it ranks 17th and 12th, respectively, in the 26 districts of the Maharastra State.

Growth of Population (1881-1901).

About the growth of the population in the district up to 1901, Mr. S. V. Fitzgerald says, "A census of the district has been taken on four occasions, for the first (1867) only provincial totals are now obtainable; but in 1881, 1891, 1901 the figures for the present area were 778,167; 849,604; and 809,499, respectively. The first decade was one of uninterrupted prosperity while the second was broken by two severe famines of 1897-98 and 1899-1900. The increase and decrease in population require no further explanation. A comparison of tahsil totals suggests nothing of importance. As we might expect, Ellicpur and Daryapur being far removed not only from the railway but from any through line of communication, have decreased steadily but slowly throughout; while the other taluks increased in the first period and fell off in the second. The loss in numbers appears to have been most heavy in the Melghat, where it amounted to nor less than 21.7 per cent of the whole population. Largely, no doubt, this figure is due to the rigour of the famine and the extreme difficulty of administering relief in a wild and mountainous country to a backward and diffident population, but the decrease does not signify sheer loss of life. Much of it is traceable to emigration, both temporary and permanent, to the richer tracts of Nimar and Berar, and part to the absence of temporary immigrants whom the forest ordinarily attracts from neighbouring areas. Something also must be allowed for the temporary road gangs at work in 1891 who had no successors in 1901"¹.

Growth of Population 1901-1961.

The following table illustrating the growth of the population of the district during 1901-1961 compares figures ascertained at the Census of 1961 with that of the six previous censuses. In computing the figures, transfer of territory has been duly taken account of and adjustment made accordingly. To ensure comparability of growth rates over long periods mean decennial growth rates are given.

TABLE No. 2

GROWTH OF POPULATION, 1901-1961.

¹ Central Provinces District Gazetteers, Amravati District, Vol. A, 1911, pp. 107-08.

During the sixty years there was a net variation of+ 425,921 which means that the population of the district had increased by 52.78 per cent, the mean decennial rates of increase or decrease since 1901 being +7.9, -5.3, +12.9, +4.9, +4.2 and + 17.8, respectively, for each decade.

The decade of 1901-1911 as affecting the Central Provinces can conveniently be divided into three periods consisting of, (1) the years 1901 to 1907, (2) the scarcity year 1907-1908 and (3) the remaining years 1908 to 1910.

The decade opened with the low birth rate of 29.2, the direct consequence of the debilitated condition of the people during and immediately after the famine. The reaction came immediately, and by 1904 the birth rate had risen to 53.5, and in the subsequent year to 54. From this high level it dropped slightly but in 1907 still stood as high as 52.3. The low death-rate of 1901 and 1902 is primarily due, therefore, to the low birth-rate to which factor may be added the comparative paucity of old and frail persons who had succumbed to the famine, and the consequently healthy constitution of the population. As these latter influences lost their force, the death-rate gradually rose with the birth-rate. Except in 1905 the mortality from plague was a considerable factor, but in that year infant mortality was considerably affected by the abnormal cold in the early part of the year and deaths from malarial fever and non-epidemic diseases were generally high. In 1906 a severe epidemic of cholera was especially serious in Berar and the year was generally an unhealthy one. In 1907 though cholera was not present deaths from bowel complaints were more usually numerous especially in the jowar eating tracts of the Maratha plain. Alter six years of prosperity and progress the provinces sustained another setback in the disastrous year 1908. The failure of the harvest was occasioned directly by the premature cessation of the monsoon of 1907 and the distress that attended it was caused, not so much by a deficiency of food stocks as by the high level which the prices of foodgrains reached. However, the adverse conditions of the year were not reflected in the vital statistics. The climatic conditions were not unfavourable, and while the birth-rate (52.84) was the highest recorded for twenty-six years the death-rate fell below that of the previous year to 38.12. Cholera, plague and small-pox were less prevalent than in some previous years, and the epidemic of malaria not severe. The subsequent period is one of recovery from the depression of 1907-08. The monsoon of 1908 was on the whole satisfactory. There were scattered outbreaks of plague, small-pox, cholera and malarial fever during 1909 hut the public health was on the whole good. The birth-rate (51.63) was little lower than in the previous year and the death-rate (33.09) fell considerably. The monsoon of 1909 was again favourable.

Between 1911 and 1921 the population of Amravati district had declined by 45,145, but deficiency was more than repaired during the decade 1921-31. From the figures for tahsils shown below it will be observed that the density of population in the tahsils of Amravati and Acalpur is now greater than in any other part of the province except Nagpur tahsil.

Regarding fluctuations in the population the Deputy Commissioner made the following observations: "In the last ten years mortality decreased by 89,365 while the net increase in the total population is only 113,591 or 14 per cent over the last Census. The increase is due to the fact that this decennial period was free from virulent epidemics like the terrible visitation of influenza in 1918 which affected the previous period. The difference of 24,226 between the deduced population and the final Census may be attributed partly to inaccurate or faulty figures of vital statistics, considerable immigration into the district, and the mistake committed in the Tabulation Office at the last Census in incorrectly recording the population of Amravati Camp at a figure much lower than the real one". [Census of India, 1931, Vol. XII C. P. and Berar, Pt. I, Report p. 42.]

Urban Population.

The district has, according to 1961 Census, 1,981 revenue units of which 1,609 are inhabited villages, 359 uninhabited villages and 13 towns [For purposes of 1961 Census, a town or an urban area is defined as a place which has (1) a Municipality, a Cantonment or Civil lines or (2) a population of 5,000 or over and at least 3/4th or more of male workers engaged in non-agricultural pursuits.].

Of the towns, when classified according to population, Amravati M. [Stands for municipal town] (pop. 137,875-m. 74,427; f. 63,448) belongs to Class I; Acalpur M. (pop. 36,538-m. 18,903; f. 17,635); Badnera M. (pop. 23,840 - m. 12,430; f. 11,410) and Anjanganv M.' (pop. 21,931-m. 11,350: f. 10,581) to Class III; Acalpur Camp M. (pop. 17,490-m. 9,176; f. 8,314), Warud M. (pop. 15,888 - m. 8,332; f. 7,556), Daryapur Banosa M. (pop. 12,261 - m. 7,945; f. 7,237), Dattapur Dharnanganv M. (pop. 12,261-m. 6,341; f. 5,920), Morsi M. (pop. 11.946-m. 6,214; f. 5,732) to Class IV; Candur (pop. 9,348 - m. 4,838; f. 4,510) and Candur Bazar M. (pop. 6,947 -m. 3,641; f. 3,306) belong to Class V and Cikhaldara M. (pop. 1,338 -m. 752; f. 586) to class VI.

Of these, next to Nagpur, Amravati is the largest urban unit of the Nagpur division. In Acalpur tahsil of the district two towns, namely, Acalpur and Acalpur Camp which are adjacent to each other constitute a town-group with a population of 54,028 (m. 28,079; f. 25,949).

The total urban population of the district as per 1961 Census is 322,194 (m. 170,374; f. 151,820). The average population per town is about 24,784; and the urban area being 87.7 sq. miles, the urban density per sq. mile is 3,672.

The urban population as distributed among the different classes of towns is as under:-

The growth of the urban population of the district during the last sixty years as disclosed at successive censuses is as under: -

TABLE No. 3

GROWTH OF URBAN POPULATION [The figures of urban population for the past censuses have been recast according to the definition of 'urban' adopted by 1961 Census.], AMRAVATI DISTRICT, 1901-61

The urban population of the district has increased by 140.28 per cent during the period 1901-1961, the corresponding percentages of urban growth for the period for the Maharastra State and the Nagpur division being +246.96 and +171.04, respectively. As the above table of the growth of urban population reveals, except for the decade 1901-1911 which indicates a slight set-back in the growth, the urban population of the district has been increasing at a fairly steady pace. But the pattern of growth of population of individual towns in the district worked out in the table below tells quite a different story.

TABLE No. 4

PERCENTAGES OF DECADE VARIATIONS OF TOWNS SINCE 1901. AMRAVATI DISTRICT

It is interesting to see how the towns in the district have fared in their classification from census to census.

TABLE No. 5

CHANGES IN CLASSIFICATION OF TOWNS FROM 1901 TO 1961

Only Amravati, the district town, which has increased in its population by 248.95 per cent since 1901 could he said to have maintained a steady and vigorous trend of growth. Other towns which show a fair overall progress are notable commercial towns such as Daryapur Banosa, Anjanganv, Dattapur Dhamanganv, Warud and Badnera, these having risen by 186.23. 149.7, 136.38, 121.31 and 119.54 per cent, respectively, during the last sixty years. Anjanganv which shows a decrease by - 28.02 per cent in 1951 has come up with a spurt of +71.20 per cent in 1961, while Daryapur Banosa, which shows an increase by + 55.40 in 1951, has suffered a set-back by -15.95 per cent in 1961. The growth of the rest of the towns is much below average. Places such as Karasganv, Sirasganv Kasba, Pathrot and Amravati Camp which were mentioned as towns in 1951 are declassified in 1961, and similar is the case of Taleganv (Dasasahasra), Nerpinglai, Pusla, Valganv, Kholapur and Mangrul (Dastagir) which are declassified since 1931. Cikhaldara, the sanatorium of Berar and a hill-station has a chequered career. The town, except for its parts indicated at the censuses of 1941 and 1961, has always been on the verge of a debacle.

The rural population of the district, which, according to the Rural Census of 1961, is 910,586 (m. 467,487; f. 433,099) or 73.9 per Population. cent of the total population is distributed over 1609 (inhabited) villages and an area of 4,603.3 sq. miles (11,922.5 sq. km.) giving a rural density of 198 persons per sq. mile and an average of 566 persons per village. There are at the time 13 very large villages (pop. between 5,000-9,999), 56 large villages (pop. between 2,000-4,999), 150 average villages (pop. between 1,000- 1,999), 505 small villages (pop. between 200-499) and 544 very small villages (pop. less than 200).

TABLE No. 6

FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION OF VILLAGES, AMRAVATI DISTRICT, 1961

It could be seen from the above statement that in the district nearly 65 per cent of the villages covering Class I and Class II had each a population of less than 500 and absorbed nearly 24 per cent of the rural population, while nearly 30 per cent of the villages belonging to Class IV together absorbed nearly 48 per cent of the rural population. There were 13 villages each with a population of more than 5,000.

The growth of the rural population of the district within the last sixty years, in figures adjusted to the criterion adopted by the Census of 1961 for each of the successive censuses, is as follows: -

TABLE No. 7

GROWTH OF THE RURAL POPULATION, AMRAVATI DISTRICT

Migration.

In 1961, of the total population of 12,32,780 enumerated in the district, 1,066,143 (m. 569,441; f. 496,702) or 86.48 per cent were horn in the district, the remainder 166,637 (m. 68,420; f. 98,217) amounting to 13.52 per cent of the population being immigrant from outside, i.e. though born outside the district were enumerated within the district while the census was being taken. The details of the population spread over the district according to birth places were as follows: -

TABLE No. 8

MIGRANTS, AMRAVATI DISTRICT, 1961

As the figures in the above table indicate, in 1961 about 73.8 per cent of the total immigrants in the district were born in other districts of Maharastra, about 21 per cent were born in India beyond the Stale or Maharastra, about 4 per cent were born in countries in Asia beyond India and only 99 persons were born in Europe and other countries, 2,010 persons in the category being unclassifiable.

Further details given by the census reveal that of the 34,966 immigrants born in India beyond the State of Maharastra, the majority, i.e., 20,486 (m. 9,262; f. 11,224) or about 58.6 per cent, were from Madhya Prades; 4,406 (m. 2,507; f. 1,899) or. 12.6 per cent hailed from Rajasthan, and 2.735 (m. 1,464; f. 1,271) or 7.8 per cent from Gujarat. Other immigrants in significant numbers were: Andra Prades, 1,076 (m. 4.45; f. 631); Mysore, 317 (m. 167; f. 150); Panjab, 384 (m. 255; f. 139) and Madras, 193 (m. 92; f. 101). Of the 6,629 born in countries in Asia beyond India, it is interesting to note that 6,551 (m. 3,328; f. 3,223) are returned as horn in Pakistan.

Displaced Persons.

The displaced persons in the district, in 1951, numbered 7,307 (m. 3,948; f. 3,359). of which 5,997 (m. 3,231; f. 2,766) were in the urban areas. Their town-wise distribution was as under: - Amravati 3,725; Badnera 857; Dattapur-Dhamanganv 163; Candur Railway 71: Morsi 2; Warud 13; Sendurjana 2; Acalpur Camp 1,077: Karasganv 18; Acalpur 6; Sirasganv Kasba 4; Candur Bazar 1; Pathrot 30; Anjanganv 3; Daryapur Banosa 23; and Cikhaldara 2; Total 5,997.

The figures of the arrival of these persons in the district since 1947 till February 1951 are given in the table below: -

TABLE No. 9

DISPLACED PERSONS BY YEAR AND ARRIVAL IN AMRAVATI DISTRICT

There were no arrivals in 1951.

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