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The Hindu
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
What is the significance of the Census?
The story so far: The Union Home Ministry has announced the next Census will be conducted in two phases and that the reference date for Census enumeration would be March 1, 2027. What is the history of Census? Census is the process of collecting, compiling and analysing the population of the country. Right from Kautilya's Arthashastra to the administrative report 'Ain-i-Akbari' during the reign of Mughal emperor Akbar, there have been references to population census. A synchronous census is where population data is collected simultaneously across the country. This kind of census was started in 1881 during the British period with W. C. Plowden being the first Census Commissioner of India. The details were collected in census schedules till Independence. The questions in the schedule underwent changes with each census but broadly contained questions relating to age, sex, mother tongue, literacy status, religion, caste etc. The last census where caste was enumerated for Hindus was in 1931. How is the Census conducted? The Census is a Union list subject while The Census Act, 1948 is the key legislation governing the Census process. It authorises the Central government to undertake Census operations and appoint a Census Commissioner to supervise the entire exercise. The Centre also appoints Directors of Census Operations to supervise the Census within several States, while the State governments may appoint Census officers. The staff for conducting the Census is provided by the local authorities of a State, which predominantly consists of teachers. Since 1971, Census operations have been carried out in two phases. The first phase is the 'house listing' phase that collects information on housing data. This usually spreads over a period of 5-6 months. In the last Census of 2011, the house listing schedule contained 35 questions that included details like type of house, main source of drinking water, type of latrine facility, availability of kitchen and fuel used for cooking, whether the house has a television/computer/telephone, type of vehicle available etc. The second phase is the 'population enumeration' phase that is usually conducted during the month of February of the Census year as the usual reference date for population count is fixed as March 1 of the Census year. This captures individual details like name, sex, age, religion, whether belonging to Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe (SC or ST), mother tongue, literacy status, educational qualification, occupation etc. These details are then compiled and provisional data from the Census is released. In 2011, this data was released by the end of March. The final report with a detailed analysis of the demographic, religious, linguistic profile etc. was released in April 2013. What is the significance? The decennial Census had happened from 1881 till 2011 without a break in India. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 Census was postponed. While the exercise could have been conducted any time after 2022, it has been continuously postponed. The present Census can be considered the most significant in Independent Indian history due to three reasons. First, the Central government has decided to enumerate the caste details of all Hindus. All Censuses after Independence have captured only SC and ST details. The decision follows wide spread demand from Opposition parties and civil society groups to include caste details in the Census. One of the reasons for the postponement of the Census to 2027 is to undertake the preparatory work for caste enumeration. Second, since this Census would be the first one after 2026, it can be used for the delimitation exercise of determining the revised number of seats in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies. Third, this Census would also form the basis for reserving one-third of seats for women in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies. What should be the way forward? The enumeration of caste details needs to be done in a systematic and flawless manner. This data will have to be used for decisions on affirmative action with respect to backward classes. Hence, adequate time for its preparatory work is necessary. However, genuine apprehensions of southern States, some of the smaller States of north India and the northeast States, about losing political significance if the proposed delimitation and consequent revision of number of seats in Lok Sabha is carried out on the basis of population as per the 2027 Census, must be heeded. Many of these States have demanded a freeze on Lok Sabha seats at the existing level. There has to be a wide-spread consensus among all the States on the formula for proportionate increase in Lok Sabha seats. Hence, this exercise of delimitation should not be rushed through before the 2029 general elections. The one-third reservation of seats for women should be implemented based on this Census from the 2029 elections. Rangarajan. R is a former IAS officer and author of 'Courseware on Polity Simplified'. He currently trains at Officers IAS Academy. Views expressed are personal.
New Indian Express
29-05-2025
- General
- New Indian Express
The mangoes of memory and monsoon
Think of Indian summers, and the mango appears—not merely as a fruit, but as memory incarnate. Ripe, golden, and sun-steeped, it arrives before the first bead of sweat glistens, just as spring exhales its final sigh. Across the subcontinent, the word aam begins to echo—softly at first, then swelling into a collective yearning that ripples through homes and histories alike. In Delhi today, the monsoon is often synonymous with waterlogged roads, mosquito swarms and sweltering discomfort. Yet once, saawan ka maheena was idyllic—lush, languid, and dreamlike. Before Delhi's rapid urban sprawl took root, the city bore orchards of mangoes near Mehrauli, planted during the reign of Akbar Shah II. In those times, the love for mangoes flowed undisturbed—from royal gardens to humble courtyards, from the Mughals to modern-day families. Long before the advent of television jingles or Instagram reels, the mango had already achieved mythic stature—immortalised in verse and royal memoirs. Amir Khusrow named it fakhr-e-gulshan—the pride of the garden. In the Ain-i-Akbari, Emperor Akbar extolled its virtues with the reverence reserved for a treasured confidante. Jahangir, ever the romantic, wrote with heartfelt candour in Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri that no other fruit pleased him more. But it is Mirza Ghalib who perhaps distilled the truth most simply and sweetly: 'Aamo mein bas do khoobiyaan honi chahiye—ek meethe ho aur bahut saare.' They must be sweet, and plentiful. What more could one ask?
Hindustan Times
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
HistoriCity: The silken history of Murshidabad, once Bengal's crown jewel
The history of West Bengal's Murshidabad, which recently saw Waqf-related riots, is both tragic and grand. From being the capital of undivided Bengal to being forgotten, the magnificent ruins of this town are reminders of its past glory, and underneath it all remains invisible a unique blend of Hindu-Muslim harmony. Widely believed to be named after Murshid Quli Khan (1660-1727), the first independent Nawab of Bengal (1717-1727), Bihar and Odisha, this town by the river Bhagirathi, has in fact an older origin and name. Ain-i-Akbari, the chronicles of the reign of emperor Akbar (1556-1605), mentions that a merchant nobleman, Makhsus, established a sarai (inn), around which later grew a market-hamlet, and the place came to be known as Makhsusabad. Some locals still use this name instead of Murshidabad. Another legend attributes the name to a Nanakpanthi preacher Madhusudan Das who lived here for a while. While we don't know what the name of this place was before the 17th century, it is believed that the Murshidabad region was a part of the ancient kingdom of Vanga or Banga . In 1700, Murshidabad's story took a dramatic turn with the appointment of Mohammad Hadi (later Aurangzeb gave him the title of Murshid Quli Khan), an exceptionally competent Mughal revenue officer, whose own story is unique and legendary. Sold by his father, a poor Brahmin in the Deccan region, the young boy grew up a Muslim and earned the favour of emperor Aurangzeb, who rewarded him with the post of the governor of Bengal, Bihar and Odisha, the richest provinces of India. In 1660, French traveller Francois Bernier noted the proverb, 'the province of Bengal has a hundred gates open for entrance, but not a single one for departure'. Aurangzeb's two-decade long Deccan campaign to subjugate the kingdoms of Golconda and Bijapur as well as his Maratha adversaries was funded to a great extent by revenue-surplus Bengal, which remains known by one of its most famous monikers, Sonar Bangla' or golden Bengal. Also Read: In Murshidabad riots, rerun of an old story Murshidabad became the centre of silk production, of both raw silk as well textiles. The profits to be made from Bengal silk were massive even though the quality was inferior to Persian and Italian silk. Bernier observed: 'Bengal silks are not certainly so fine as those of Persia, Syria, Sayd and Barut but they are of a much lower price; and I know from indisputable authors that, if they were well selected and wrought with care, they might be manufactured into most beautiful stuffs'. And thus thronged traders and rulers from the subcontinent and its neighbourhood but also from Europe. Historian Sushil Chaudhary writes in 'Profile of a Forgotten Capital: Murshidabad' that '…from the middle of the seventeenth century, Bengal became a major centre of international trade. And as Bengal was self-sufficient, there was no demand for any commodity except gold and silver. As a result, everyone, whether European or Asian/Indian, who came to Bengal for procuring export commodities, had to bring in either bullion or cash for buying those merchandise'. In 1704, the Diwani or revenue office was transferred to Makhsudabad from Jahangirnagar or Dhaka. Within a decade of Auranzeb's death in 1707, Kartalab Khan, by now titled Nawab Murshid Ali Khan, moved the capital from Dhaka to Makhsudabad in order start afresh and away from his rival Azim-us Shan, the grandson of the emperor. Also Read: 8 suspects in Murshidabad riots arrested from Odisha: Bengal police Now, Murshidabad's golden age of opulence and merchant princes really began. Khan restructured the revenue system, kept the string of emperors in Delhi happy with regular payments of revenue surplus and ensured that a modicum of fair administration prevailed, which in turn led to general prosperity and peace in the province. Among the the most notable business families who migrated with Khan from Dhaka was the Jagat Seth family. 'Murshidabad also became the abode of the new merchant-business class which emerged because of Murshid Quli's administrative and revenue reforms. Not only that, the transfer of the diwani office to Murshidabad and later it becoming the capital of Bengal increased its importance to such an extent that, the European Companies too built their factories in Kasimbazar, a suburb of Murshidabad, for the convenience of procuring the two major export commodities, raw silk and silk textiles,' wrote Chaudhary. Silk production became a household activity and mulberry trees dotted the landscape. The importance of silk production is reflected in a common saying: 'the mulberry is a greater source of wealth and happiness than one's son'. Also Read: West Bengal's communal violence-hit Murshidabad limping back to normalcy Best quality Bengal silk came to be known as Gujarat silk because the merchants from Surat and other places in the western state hunted for the best quality without bothering about the price. They then exported it to European markets. The perennial Maratha invasions for this wealth of Bengal remained an annual terror between 1742 and 1752, they left a trail of destruction along their path, but seldom either ventured into the countryside or stopped long enough to rule. They plundered, looted and left Bengal like invaders. Scholars have long argued that these invasions debilitated Bengal's economy. However, it appears to have been less destructive than what British-influenced Persian chronicles would have us believe. Satyapir- A unique blend of Ram-Rahim, Hindu- Muslim The bedrock of Bengal's syncretic culture goes back several centuries when the first Sufis arrived in the riverine state. The blending of the two religions is evident from festivals, fairs and other gatherings in Murshidabad. Even Sirajudaullah, the infamous and arrogant young Nawab under whose watch the British won the battle of Plassey in 1757, was a keen observer of harmony. In fact, 'Sirajuddaullah, after signing the treaty of Alinagar February 1757) with the English, hurriedly returned to Murshidabad and engaged himself in the Holi festival', writes Chaudhary. Berabhasa, an ancient Shia festival marked in Murshidabad is in reality a version of the Ganga puja done by Hindus. The 17 th -18 th centuries gave rise to the Satyapir cult, formed from Satyanarayan and Pir, Hindu and Muslim devotional tradition. This unique strain of Bhakti or devotional worship, also found in famous Patachitra paintings, is perhaps best discerned from literature. Both Muslim and Hindu poets wrote about each others gods and like a fine piece of silk wove a bond that tied communities together. In his poem Satyanarayan, Rameshwar Bhattacharya, a contemporary of Murshid Quli Khan writes, 'After this I will worship both Rahim and Ram. Ram and Rahim are the two names of God - in Mecca the God is Rahim and in Ayodhya Ram' . Poet Bharatchandra's Satyapir contains the following, 'What is there in Koran except what is there in Purana; Think about that first, then comes the question of Hindu and Muslim'. Faizulla, a mid-18th century poet also wrote, 'What the Muslims call Allah is Hari [God] to Hindus'. HistoriCity is a column by author Valay Singh that narrates the story of a city that is in the news, by going back to its documented history, mythology and archaeological digs. The views expressed are personal.
