Billeder på siden
PDF
ePub

IV. MOVEMENT OF THE Population.

The registration of vital statistics among the general population is still very imperfect. The following table shows for 1900, 1901 and 1202 the mean ratio of births and deaths per thousand of the population for the provinces of British India as officially recorded. It is admitted by the local authorities that the returns for more than one are defective :

[blocks in formation]

The number of coolie emigrants from India was in 1899, 9,574; in 1900, 17,166; in 1901, 21,613; in 1902, 16,761; and in 1903, 12,444; The bulk of these emigrants go to the British Colonies of Natal, Mauritius, Demerara, Trinidad, and Fiji, and to the Dutch Colony of Surinam. Emigration of coolies to Uganda for employment on the railway has been permitted since the year 1896. The total number of emigrants from that year to March 31st, 1901, was 34,147. The railway is approaching completion, and the emigrants are returning to India.

V. PRINCIPAL TOWNS.

The urban population of India in 1901, the towns being grouped according to the number of their inhabitants, was as follows:

[blocks in formation]

Karáchi.

208,575 Rawalpindi
202,964 Multan
197,170 Mirzapur
188,022 Ambala
185,889 Rámpur

The population of the principal towns of India (including cautouments), according to the census returns of 1901, was as follows:

Towns

Calcutta (with

Population Towns

suburbs) . 1,026,987 Madura

776,006 Trichinopoli
509,346 Baroda

448,466 Peshawar

Bombay.

Madras

Haidarábád

Lucknow

264,049 Dacca

[blocks in formation]
[blocks in formation]
[merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]

Mandalay
Allahábád
Amritsar

[ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]

Jaipur

160,167 Bhagalpur

75,760 Alwar

56,771

Bangalore

159,046 Sholapur

[blocks in formation]

Howrah

157,594 Moradábád

[blocks in formation]

Poona

153,320 Faizábád

75,085 Patiala

53,545

[blocks in formation]

The most prevalent religion in India is that of the Hindus, their number being nearly three-fourths of the total population; together with the Muhammadans, who number 62, 458,077, they comprise nearly 92 per cent. of the whole population. The Buddhists are mostly in Burma, as will be seen from the following table, which also shows that the number of Christians is a little over 2,923,000 ::

The following Table shows the Distribution of the Population of India according to Religion, at the

Census of 1901.

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]

Total

207,147,026 2,195,339 1,334,148 9,476,759 94,190 62,458,077 2,923,241 18,228 8,584,148 129,900 294,361,056

1 Including Native States.

Of the Christians enumerated above (2,923,241) the following are the chief sub-divisions as given in the official returns :—

[blocks in formation]

The following statistics are those of the census of 1901 :

Able to read and Unable to read and

Males

Females

Total

[blocks in formation]

149,442,106

[blocks in formation]

143,972,800

[blocks in formation]

1 This number falls short of the total population of British India by 946,150 persons enumerated in tracts where literacy was not recorded.

In 1902-03 the total expenditure on public instruction in India was R. 4,44,86,644, against R. 67,10,00 in 1865, and R. 39,40,00 in 1858. Of the sum spent in 1902-03, R. 68,73,995 came from local rates and cesses; R. 16,89,961 from municipal funds; R. 1,04,88,775 from subscriptions, endowments, &c.; R. 1,33,31,253 from fees ; & R. 1,20,71,011 from provincial revenues. The following was the educational expenditure (in rupees) for years :—

[blocks in formation]

3,56,32,725 3,62,15,535 3,77,53,014 3,84, 46,009 4,00,99,163 4,44, 86, 644

At the head of the national system of education in India there are the five Universities of Calcutta, Madras, Bombay, Allahábád, and the Panjab, which, though merely examining bodies, have numerous affiliated colleges in which a prescribed higher education is given than at the schools. Normal schools have been established in every province for training teachers; and a staff of inspecting officers visit all schools on the departmental lists. Medical colleges furnish a limited number of graduates and a larger number of certificated practitioners who do duty at hospitals and dispensaries, or serve in the military medical department. Engineering and other technical schools have also increased, and there are a few art schools.

The following table shows the number of students who matriculated at the five Universities for the years named :

[blocks in formation]

The following table embraces the principal statistics compiled up to 31st March, 1903, as to the number of the various classes of schools and the pupils :

[blocks in formation]

Of the total number of educational institutions in India (viz., 152,551), 24,029 are public, 67,235 are aided, and 61,287 are private and unaided.

In Baluchistan (which is not included in the foregoing table) there were, in 1902, 15 public institutions with 830 scholars, and 6 aided institutions with 250 scholars. The total number of male scholars was 829, and of female, 251.

Since the appointment of a commission, in 1883, to investigate the whole system of education in India, the results have been to place public instruction on a broader and more popular basis, to encourage private enterprise in teaching, to give a more adequate recognition to indigenous schools, and to provide that the education of the people shall advance at a more equal pace along with the instruction of the higher classes. Female education and the instruction of certain backward classes of the community, such as Muhammadans, received special attention. Notwithstanding the progress of education, the proportion of the total population able to read and write is still very small. It is estimated that in British India only 22.6 per cent. of the boys of a school-going age attend school; the percentage in the case of girls being 2.6.

During 1903 the following vernacular newspapers were published: in Assam, 3; Baroda, 3; Bengal, 77; Bombay, 203; Burma, 21; Central India, 2; Central Provinces, 7; Berar, 3; Madras, Mysore and Haidarabad, 154; United Provinces, 135; Punjab, 179; Rajputana, 10; total, 797. They were published in the following 24 languages or dialects:-Assamese, Balbodhi, Bengali, Nagri, Hindi, Uriya, Kanarese, Sindhi, Sanskrit, Burmese, Chinese, Urdu, Persian, Gujrathi, Mahrathi, Karen, Pwo-Karen, Sagau-Karen, Tamil, Telegu, Malayalam, Arabic, Gurmukhi, aud Devnagri. The vernacular daily paper with the largest circulation was the Bombay Samachar, with about 4,000 copies per issue. The weekly with the largest circulation is the Hitavadi of Calcutta with 16,000 copies. Other weekly papers with a circulation of over 13,000 copies are the Basumati of Calcutta, the Kesari of Poona, and the Paisa Akhbar of Lahore. In 1902-03 there were in India 2,156 printing presses at work, 657 newspapers were published, 613 periodicals, and 8,715 books, of which 7,319 were in Indian languages.

« ForrigeFortsæt »