Bhavnagar State census: Distribution And Movement Of The Population

Select Language Afrikaans Albanian Arabic Armenian Azerbaijani Basque Belarusian Bulgarian Bengali Catalan Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) Croatian Czech Danish Dutch English Estonian Filipino Finnish French Galician Georgian German Greek Gujarati Haitian Creole Hebrew Hindi Hungarian Icelandic Indonesian Irish Italian Japanese Javanese Kannada Khmer Korean Latvian Lithuanian Macedonian Malay Maltese Marathi Nepali Norwegian Persian Polish Portuguese Punjabi Romanian Russian Serbian Slovak Slovenian Spanish Swahili Swedish Tamil Telugu Thai Turkish Ukrainian Urdu Vietnamese Welsh Yiddish

This article has been extracted from Census of India, 1931 by J. H. HUTTON, C.I.E., D.Sc., F.A.S.B. Corresponding Member of the Anthropologische Gesellschaft of Vienna DELHI: MANAGER OF PUBLICATIONS 1933

NOTE: While reading please keep in mind that all articles in this series have been scanned from a book. Invariably, some words get garbled during Optical Recognition. Besides, paragraphs get rearranged or omitted and/ or footnotes get inserted into the main text of the article, interrupting the flow. As an unfunded, volunteer effort we cannot do better than this.

Readers who spot errors in this article and want to aid our efforts might like to copy the somewhat garbled text of this series of articles on an MS Word (or other word processing) file, correct the mistakes and send the corrected file to our Facebook page [Indpaedia.com]

Secondly, kindly ignore all references to page numbers, because they refer to the physical, printed book.

Distribution And Movement Of The Population

The territories of the State of Bha vnagar lie at the head and west side or the Gulf of Cambay in the Peninsula of Kathiawar, though a few outlying villages are situated in the Dhandhuka Taluka of the Ahmedabad Collectorate. The State does not present a compact appearance, interspersed as it is with the foreign territories of the States of Palitana and Wala, and the British Taluka of Gogha. This is due to the historical antecedents of the State which have mainly contributed to the raising of the small Gohel principality of Sihorinto the present State of Bhavnagar, by additions made to it from time to time by the brave and_ enterprising predecessors of the present ruler. The anarchy and misrule prevalent on the eve of the dissolution of the Great Mughal Empire fired Bhavsinhji I with an ambition to secure a suitable venue for the extension of his existing kingdom, and found the present capital of Bhavnagar in the year 1723. At that time the British had already appeared on the scene, and the hold of the Peshwa and the Gaekwar on Saurashtra was loosening. The time that followed proved greatly opportune for the realisation by Wakhatsinhji and Wajesinhji of the dream of the modem Bhavnagar cherished by Bhavsinhji I. They extended and consolidated their kingdom and brought it to its present dimensions, by defeating the neighbouring chiefs and subduing the turbulent Khasias and Khuman Kathiswhose territories they conquered. Since then the area of the State has undergone very little change of noticeable importance.

2. Area and Boundaries.-The State lies between 21"18' and 22'18'north latitude and 71°15' and 72°18' east longitude. It has been cadastrally surveyed, and according to the Revision Survey recently completed, the total area of the State is recorded to be 2,961 square miles which shows -an increase of 101 square miles upon the area as shown.,.at the last Census. The Bhavnagar State. is bounded on the north by the Ranpur parganah under the Ahmedabad Dlstnct and by the Jhalawar and Paneha! Sub-divisions of the Peninsula' on thesouth by the Arabian Sea; on the east by the Gulf of Cam bay and a po;tion of the Dhandhuka Taluka; and on the west by the Sorath Kathiawar and Halar sub-divisions. The Separate Jurisdiction villages are al~ scattered over the territory of the State.

3. Administrative DivisioDS.-For the purposes of revenue administration, this State is divided into two Divisions, 'Viz., Northern and Southern, each •comprising of five Mahals or districts. The Mahals are further sub-divided into Tappas which are groups of villages of convenient size. The Mahals of Daskroi, .Sihor, Botad, Gadhada, and U mrala constitute the Northern, and those of Lilia, Kundla, Victor, Mahuva, and Talaja the Southern Division of the State. As far back as 1881, the State consisted of nine Mahals only, when the Mahal of Victor was for the first time brought into being and constituted into a separate Mahal, 'with the Rajula and Dungar Tappas of the Mahuva Mahal. Another important •change was the transfer in 1918 of the twelve villages of Daskroi to the Mahal of Talaja, which with the addition of other few villages of the latter Mahal formed under it the separate Tappa of Trapaj. A new Tappa of Bhandaria was consti• tuted in the place of the Trapaj Tappa thus transferred to Talaja by taking a few villages of the old Trapaj Tappa and some others from. the Bhumbhali Tappa. In the year 1923, the villages of Rajapara and Sakhadasar of the Daskroi Mahal 'were also transferred to the Trapaj Tappa of the Talaja Mahal. The changes thus effected from time to time have had a corresponding effect upon the area and population of the Mahals and Tappas concerned. Adjustments have, there• fore, been made in the figures of population of the preceding Censuses as' shown in Imperial Tables II and XX and State Table I on the basis of the area, as it 'stood on the 26th February 1931. As has been already noticed in the Introduction, a significant departure has been made from the practice of the previous 'Censuses of giving figures only for the State as a whole in that a special recogni. tion has been accorded to the City of Bhavnagar and also to the Mahals in •certain iinportant tables where they have been taken as a unit. 4. Area of Mahals.-The marginal table gives the figures of area of the ten Mahals of the State. From the point of area, the Mahal of Daskroi enjoys the first place with an area of 560 square miles. Next come the Mahals of Kundla and Mahuva whose respective areas are 550 and 465 square miles j Lilia and Victor are the smallest of the State Mahals, and have an area of 148 and 142 square miles respectively •

divided a State or Province into Natural Divisions consisting of tracts in which the 'natural features are more or less homogeneous .. Such an attempt in the case of .-a State of the size of Bhavnagar is hardly of any practical utility. Bhavnagar 'State itself forms a part of a greater natural division of the country styled as Kathiawar. Be~ides, the advantage of having natural divisions has been more -than once questIoned, as in actual practice the figures are more particularly required by administrative divisions rather than by natural divisions. Divisions 'of this kind ate hardly scientific and are still less suited to a comparatively smaller 'state as this. '. Such an attempt has, therefore, been abandoned. It may, however, be noted here that in dealing with larger areas, the scheme must be regarded to possess some value where people are bound together by ties of language and sentiment. Natural divisions are also useful in explaining the variation in .density at different places resulting from the differences of climate, rainfall, and .soil. But in the case of the Bhavnagar State where the differences of language . and sentiment are non-existent, and where the divergence in climate and soil is not very great except in a few places, the creation of natura.l divisions should '-Safely be dropped. An attempt in this direction will, however, suggest the divi. sion of the State into the Kharopat, Kanthal Non-Kanthal and Bhal. The Kharopat will include the Mahal of Lilia, and the Jira and Kundla Tappas of the Kundla Mahalj whereas the Kanthal will include the Coastal Mahals of Mahuva .and Talaja, and some portion of the Daskroi Mahal. The Bhal will be a ,separate division by itself owing to its physical peculiarities. The remainder .portion of land may be conveniently called the Non.Kanthal ..

6. Definition of .. Population."-Before undertaking a statistical an.alysis. of the fii,'lJres of population as .returned by the .Census, a.clear understandmg of the term • population' as used In the Census hterature IS necessary. By. thepopulation of the Bhavnagar State is meant all pe.rsoos.en!lmerated on th~ DI~ht of the 26th February 1931, as being present and ahve within th~ State te!n~or1es, persons travelling by railway and enumerated at the stati~os SItuated wlthm the• boundary of the State and persons on board the vessels In Bhavnagar watersincluding those for ~hom the schedules were received from the Port Supervisor upto the 15th March 1931. The aggregate of the population thus recorded is the actual or de facto population of the State ~ ?istinguished from its. ~e jur~ C?r normal resident population. The former will mclude ~rsons not resl~mg wlthm the State territories and exclude some of the normal residents who will be enu•• merated outside the State.

The Indian Census is a synchronous Census, and aims at enumerating: all the persons wherever found at a particular time on a particular day. The• hours between 7 p. m. and midnight have been conveniently chosen for the' purpose. Every precaution is taken to enumerate all living human beings,. wherever found, whether in houses numbered for the purpose, or• outside the houses on roads, railways,steamers, as well as the vagrants in the streets for whose enumeration special arrangements are made. By a judicious selection of the• Census Night, the least possible fluctuation in 'the movement of population is. secured. In India, the month of February or March corresponding to the Hindu month of Falgun is generally selected. For, it is the part of the year when nogreat assemblages and religious fairs are held, and celebration of marriages is. prohibited among the Hindus.

The de jure population is the population normally residing in a locality~. In India, the population as recorded at the preliminary enumeration will roughly supply figures of the de jure population of the State. For, only the population. living in houses which correspond to so many' commensal families' is enumerated' at the first count which takes no notice of the tempbtary sojourners and the travelling public.

The basis of clasSification of population differs in different countries~ England and France have the same basis of classification as India. What is. called de facto in India is in France known as II la population de fait". Popula. tion de jllre is equivalent to II la population de droit" which includes all persons usually resident in an area including those temporarily absent, and excluding those only momentarily present. There is' also a third division, viz., lila popula. tion municipale" which the French. have adopted. It means II la population de droit" minus prisoners, hospital patients, scholars, residents in schools, members. of convents, the army and so on. The United States of America have a threefold classification, viz., the II Constitutional population" which excludes residents in Indian Reservations, the Territories and the District of Columbia' the II general' population" which includes in addition the territories' and the ~. total population," which includes all excluded in the former.' • A synchronou.s Ce~sus with !ts double classification of the population intI> dll la~to and de JU~6 IS ~t SUited to Indian conditions for its simplicity in enumerattng the people mhablting such a vast continent.

7. ~ccuracy of Census Figures.-Mter this preliminary discussion as. to the meantng of the term 'population' some estimate of the degree of accuracy of the. Censu~ figures may well be made. Doubts are not unfrequently expressed regardtng their correctness ~nd accuracy. In such a complex business as the. Censl;ls. absol?te accu~cy IS to be found nowhere in this world. It must always. remrun as an Ideal w.hl.ch eyery Census worker should try his best to attain with. 0!l~ completely attammg It. Because an ideal Census presupposes that every ~Itizen of the State understands his civic responsibility and will try to see that he IS properly enumerated. On the other hand, every Census official will , in hi!> 1. Prof. Bowley, B~n" oj Stah~tics. p.25.

turn, fulfil bis duty, and leave no stone unturned to' secure this state of ideal perfection. But as human nature varies from place to place and from one individual, to another, this is never to be hoped for. Errors and omissions are, therefore, bound to occur. Cases of persons left out from enumeration as also of persons enumerated twice over, not to talk of the cases of inexact entries, will always occur. But this is inevitable and cannot be helped. \Vhat is, therefore, necessary is to take such precautions and devise such safeguards as will reduce the resulting mistakes to a minimum. The extent to which they are put into practice will determine the degree of accuracy achieved. So far as the present Census is concerned it may with all modesty be asserted that both from the point of numbers and details, it is better placed than any of its predecessors. And this opinion has been shared by not a few responsible State officials and public men who have been kind enough to point out the comparative superiority of the present Census. Various factors have contributed to this success. , Deterrent punishment of the indolent workers coupled with substantial encouragement given to the deserving in the shape of cash rewards to the extent of nearly Rs. 1,500 had a very wholesome effect in improving the existing machinery of enumeration. It put the workers on their mettle and induced them to show better work. Proper instructions supplemented by exten' sive checking and inspection exercised by the supervising Census oflicials greatly improved the recording of the entries in the enumeration books. It must, however, be admitted that there must have been persons who will not have been enumerated at all and who must be offset against those enumerated twice. The resulting error will indeed be very small, almost negligible, as it is spread over large numbers. So from the point of numbers, the present Census may be credited with the fairest degree of accuracy without the slightest hesitation. Omissions are likely to occur in the case of the public travelling by rail and steamer. And they will vary from station to station according to the arrangements made to enumerate the passengers at the platform, and on the running trains, and vessels in the harbour. It is unnecessary to enter here into useless details about the precautions taken in this behalf, and already mentioned in the Administrative Report. Suffice it, therefore, to say that the hearty co•operation of the Railway authorities was of great help in eliminating all probable errors which can be judged from the fact that as many as 1,752 persons were enumerated on the railway platforms, running trains, and boats. From the point of details, this Census has' been more comprehensive than any of its predecessors. And yet there is left much to be desired by way of making the entries recorded perfect, especially in entering the details regarding the occupational columns which is the stumbling block of the Census in almost all the countries of the world. Some of the important details are, therefore, lacking, -leaving ample scope for the intelligent guesses of the Abstraction Office. But this ,can be only remedied by a proper understanding of the scheme of enumeration which cannot be ensured so long as the great mass of the people is uneducated ' and the available enumerators in rural areas are not sufficiently trained. Any short-coming, therefore, that is likely to manifest itself will be rather in the direction of under•estimation than that of over-estimation. Attention will, from time to time, be invited to the value to be attached to the various sets of figures at the commencement of each Chapter. There is, however, one point of great significance about the Census figures ,of 1931. The No-tax campaign and the Civil Disobedience Movement started by Mr. Gandhi on the 12th March 1930 were going on in British India, until the Delhi Pact was signed on the 5th March 1931. The multifarious boycott activities -ofthe Indian National Congres saw in the Census a fresh venue for obstructing the Government. The Census officials in some places in British India were handicapped in their work by the refusal of some persons to volunteer the information required to be entered in the schedules. But fortunately that was not the -case with the Indian States. The Census returns of this State are, therefore, wholly unaffected' by the boycott movement. One stray case of refusing' AN ESTIMATE OF THE NORMAL POpULATION 5 information, however, occurred in the City of Bhavnagar, but such an exception goes to prove the general success of the present Census. 8. An Estimate of the Normal PopulatioD.-The total or actual population of the State as registered at the, present Census is 5,00,274 persons of which 2,57,156 are males and 2,43,118 females. T~e enumeration books record places of birth, but not the places of normal residence, and therefore, afford no clue to the normal resident population of the State. But an estimate of the normal population as distinguished from ~he. total popula~on recorded on the Census Night can be had from the prehmmary enumeration. Because the latter takes notice only of the permanent population living in houses situated within a locality. The running and floating population and the outsiders who are in the State at the time of the preliminary enumeration are not entered in the schedules. The preliminary enumeration which records only the de jure population may be regarded to make a closer approximation to the normal resident population of the State which comes to 4,93,807 persons of which 2,54,598 are malcs and 2 39,209 females. The figures on the margin show the difference between thc two' sets of figures, and represent 'the fluctuation in the population during the interim period. Out of a total increase of 6,467 persons, as many as 3,239 are absorbed by the City of Bhavnagar. Apart from its urban characteristic the temporary flow of immigration to the ,capital of the State at the works going on in connection with the Investiture MAHAL Total

of His Highness the Maharaja Saheb is in no small degree responsible for the swelling of the City population. Fluctuations are more frequent in urban than in rural areas; and this will be seen from an increase of only one person in the preli!"ina~y populatio~ of the Daskroi Mahal excluding. the City of Bhavnagar. But 10 thiS as well as In nearly all the other Mahals the Increase is partially due to the return home of some of the normal residents from the neighbouring States where they.had gone out on wedding parties at the time when the preliminary record was m progress. The solitary exception to this rule of increase is furnished by the Gadhada Mahal where the same cause seems to have operated in an opposite direction. I 9. Area and Population.-The present Census registers a total of MAHAL

5,00,274 souls. The marginal table shows the figures of percentage distribution of area and population of the State in each of its ten Mahals' arranged in order of, magnitude. A diagram showing the relation between the area and population of the Mahals is also given "below. Each white pearl represents one per.; th Stat d h ,cent. of the total area of e e, an eac black pearl represents one per cent. of the total population. "

10. More than half the area and population of the State are contained. in the MalIals of Daskroi, Kundla, and Mahuva. More than 15 per cent. of the total population live in the City of Bhavnagar including which the Mahal of Daskroi appropriates to itself 21 per cent. of the total population. The Mahals of Kundla and Mahuva have respectively 16 and 17; Talaja 10; Botad, Umra1a~ and Sihor each 7; and Lilia and Victor each 5 per cent. of the total population. No great divergence between the percentage distribution of area and population of the Mahals is noticed; and they follow practically the same order with this difference that from the point of area Kundla takes precedence over Mahuva. The Mahals of the State with the exception of Daskroi and Talaja can be con• veniently arranged in three groups of three sizes each having Mahals with very nearly the same area and population. MalIuva and Kundla each with nearly 17 per cent. of the total area and population will fall in the !Jrst group; Botad,. Sihor and Umrala with 7 per cent. in the second; and Gadbada with 6 and . Lili<J. and Victor each with 5 in the third

MOVEMENT OF THE POPULATION

11. Meaning of Movement.-By the movement of population is meant the changes in the population of a unit area of land from Census to Census. The term movement is not used, in the sense of physical movement denoting the migration of people from one place to another and 'CIice versa. The latter 'will; however, form the subject matter of a later chapter relating to Birth, place.•

12. Changes Since 1872.-The first synchronous Census of the Bhavnagar State was taken with the first Imperial Census in 1872. The marginal table illustrates that the history of the Bhavnagar State Census has been one of alternate increase and decrease in its population. The 1891, 1911, and 1931 'Censu~ are the Censuses of increase, whereas those of 1881, 1901, and 1921 •are the Censuses of decrease in the State pgpulation. The movement of THE PERIOD 1812-1911 7 population has been more or less uniform throughont all the MahaIs of the State. With some minor exceptions, an increase or decrease in the population of the State has been invariably accom• panied by a correspondi ng increase or .decrease in the popu• lation of its Mahala.

13. The popu• 1931 5.00,274 +73.870 +17•3 lation of the State of Bhavnagar as it stood at the commencement of the Census era, i.e., in 1872 was 4,03,754 persons of which 2 13 57l were males and 1,90,183 females. With the periods of alternate rise and' fa'IJ it has at the present Census stood at 5,00,274, giving a net increase of '96 520 persons or 23'9 per cent. during the last 59 years. Taking the figures for 'the last fifty years, the rise is nearly one lac or 25 per cent. There has thus been an average increase of 16,000 souls or 4 per cent. from -Census to Census.

14. The Period 1872-1911.-The movement of the population of the -State will now be considered in the light of the conditions prevailing during the period 1872-1911. It may be asked: to wbat then is the variation in the popula. tion of an area due? It results from the natural growth or otherwise of the population by an increase or decrease of births over deaths which is due to various causes i from a favourable or unfavourable balance due to an excess or deficit of immigrants over emigrants i from better enumeration i and lastly from changes in its boundaries. As regards the last mentionetl' factor, it may be briefly stated that since the inception of the Census era, there has been very little change in the boundaries of the State involving an increase or decrease in its population. They have practically remained the same, the Revision Survey being responsible for an increase of 101 square miles in its area. Regarding the accuracy of enumeration, it may be noted that the first two Censuses of 1872 and 1881 must have suffered from want of proper enumeration, as the complex machinery of the Census in its present form was for the first time then set up in the State. and also because the people being new to the Census idea may not have intelli. gently co-operated in, if not actually opposed to the Census operations. Some time must have. therefore. elapsed before it got into perfect working order. The records of these two Censuses must have naturally suffered, as in the case of the rest of India, from under•enumeration. But since the Census Report of the State comes to be written for the first time on this occasion, it is hardly possible to dip into the past to gauge the extent of this affection. By 1891, as elsewhere, this State also got used to the working of the Census machinery i and as will be seen from the returns of that year, omissions were reduced to a minimum.

15. The rise and fall in the State population and their causes wil( now' be discussed. The decrease of -85 per cent. revealed at the Census of .1881 was due to the famine of 1878. 'But the decade 1881-91 was a period of rapid rise . and recovery. It has been generally observed that birth•rate rises rapidly after a period of heavy mortality due to war, disease or famine. Famine mortality is high among the very young and the very old; and so when a period of famine is followed by ~)De ~f plentiful rai!lfall an~ good crops as was~ case during 1881.91, the populatIOn IDcre~ses rapidly owmg to an unusu~lly high proportion of persons at reproductive ages. The movement of population received a great . momentum aDd registered an increase of 16•7 per cent. in 1891 upon the popula8 CHAPTER I-DISTRIBUTION AND MOVEMENT OF THE POPULA nON tion as returned in 1881 (4,00,323). The increase was alround. The solitary exception to this tendency was, however, noticeable in the Mahal of Botad which recorded a decrease of 1,714 persons. But this decline is not at all convincina at a time when the whole of the State in general, and each of its Mahals in particular showed. such an extraordinary onward movement. It can be attributed only to inaccuracy in enumeration. No other intercensal period except the present registers such a high percentage of increase in the State population. The truth of this remark is horne out by examining the comparative figures of the population of the Mahals as it stood in 1891 and 1931. The marginal statement illustrates the unprecedented character of the 1891 Census, and points out• that even with the impetus given to the growth of numbers during the last intercensal period, the Mahals of Sihor and Victor have with difficulty succeeded in attaining their 1891 level, whereas the Mahals of Gadhada, U mrala, and Lilia are still lagging behind. But this spell of prosperity did not last long. On the close of the decennium that followed the Census of 1891, the Great Famine of 1900 popu-

. larly known as the 'Chhapania,' notorious for the intense misery and irreparable loss it caused to' humanity made its appearance. It came as a great calamity and laid low the whole mass of population. History seems to repeat itself in every sphere of human life, and . a period of heavy decrease followed a period of heavy increase. There was a decrease in the popUlation of all the Mahals of the State without a single exception. An increase of 16'6 per cent. was followed by a decrease of nearly 12 per cent. But much of the ground lost in 1901 was recovered at the Census of 1911, owing to the favourable aaricultural conditions which prevailed during the greater part of the dece~nium that followed the Big Famine. The damage that was wrought was indeed far too widespread and intense for the loss and suffering involved to be made up during the course of a single decade. Yet nearly half the loss sustained in 1900 was recuperated notwithstanding the ravages of plague which continued in milder' form from 1905 to 1908, and a rise of 6'9 per cent. was the result. But this rise was absent in the Mahal of Sihor which showed a negligible decrease of 232 souls.

16. Condition of the Period 1911-21.-The Census of 1921 pre• cedes the decennium which is the subject matter of this Report,and should, therefore, be reviewed in some detail. It is the Census of decreasing returns, and registers a fall of 3'5 per cent. or 14,963 souls in the population of the State as it stood in 1911. Much of the progress made at the last Census was set at naught by the combined effects of a famine followed by plague and influenza epidemics. But they have not affected the Mahal of Talaja and the flourishing. Mahal of Botad which seem to have resolved to make up for their past arrears. All seemed to go on well upto the year 1917, and the natural population was increasing under the influence of favourable agricultural and economic conditions. But suddenly the failure of crops was followed by plague, and before it had disappeared, the monster of influenza raised its head, sweeping away a large number of the population of reproductive ages. Both these pests exacted a heavy toll all over the State, and were mainly responsible for the reduction of population. There were other contributory causes also. It was a period of great panic and uneasiness. The World 'War was raging on the European battle-fields from 1914-19. The prices had gone enormously high; years were lean; and living had become dear. These then were not the times which would encourage any growth of population. To this should be added the effect of the• migratory currents set into motion by the great impetus given by the war to the,

Indian trade and commerce. The artificial prosperity of the war time that had seized the Indian trading and commercial centres and the boom period that followed it, attracted the enterprising Bhavnagaris to the cities like Bombay and Ahmedabad. This outward flow of the State population accounts to no mean degree for the decline in the movement of population noticed in 192].

THE PAST DECENNIUM 1921-30

17. Changes prior to 1921 have been disposed of. The agricultural, industrial, and the general physical conditions obtaining during the decade under report will now be dealt with, in order that some idea can be had of the causes that have promoted the growth of numbers during the past ten years.

18. Condition of Agriculture.-A description of the agricultural condition during the past decennium must involve a discussion of the physical condition and other problems that directly influence the extension, development and normal progress of the cultivation of the soil, as also of the incidents that in. directly contribute to the well.being and amelioration of the agriculturist by improving and bettering his economic condition. Among the first will be considered such questions as the land under cultivation, proportion of cultivat. ed land to cultivable land, land under irrigation, the proportion of land onder different kinds of crops, and rainfall. Among the second will be considered the effects of such measures as credit c().()perative societies, and the Khedut Debt Redemption Scheme.

19. Land under Cultivation.-With a negligible variation the lanel under cultivation during 1921-31 practically remained the same. A slight increase during 1925, raised the acreage for that year to 7,40,219. The following are the figures of Darbari proper and Barkhali land in acres' for the year 1930:- .

20. Crops.-The Subsidiary Table gives figures of the mean density per square mile of the total and cultivable area. The percen~es of cultivable . and net cultivated area to the total are also shown. By gross cultivated' pr total area sown or cropped is meant the net cultivated land plus the area which is do.uble cropped. Thus by adding 7,796 acres which are double cropped to 8,12,322 of netcultivated area, the figure of8, 20,118 acres under gross cultivation is arrived. By' net cultivated' area is meant the gross cultivated area minus the double cropped. During the year 1930, bajri, juwar and other staple food stuffs were grown in 61 per cent. of the gross cultivated area. Of the other produce, cotton came highest with 27 per cent., whereas oilseeds, wheat and sugarcane were sown in 8, 4 and '1 per cent. of the total cultivated area. Food stuffs daimed the highest percentage of the total sown . area j and cotton more than one-fourth. But in the years 1924 and 1925 the latter appropriated 36 per cent. of the total area under gross cultivation on account of the high prices of cotton then ruling the market. At the commencement of the decade, i.e., in 1921 cotton was grown in 1,70,170 acres, but the rising tide of prices in 1922 increased the area in 1923 to 2,39,477 acres, which further expanded to 3,15,991 and 3,15,929 acres in 1924 and 1925 respectively. But with the fall in prices in 1926, it again fell to 2,76,544 acres and as low as 1,97,514 in 1929, when the prices were barely sufficient to cover the expenses of -cultivation and leave a very narrow margin of profit. The marginal table gives

the figures in acres of different kinds of crops sown from 1920-1930. Food stuffs have been increasiguly sown during 1929 and 1930. The area under wheat cultivation was at its highest in 1929, and with bajri and ju'War . claimed 68-8 per cent, of the gross cultivated area. Area under oilseeds and sugarcane showed slight fluctua- . tions, in response to the rise in prices, by showing an increase in the area sown. During the decade, the total area sown including the double cropped has shown a steady rise. From 6,87,836 acres in 1921 it has come upto 8,20,118 acres in 1930, and in 1924 and ~925 when the prices ruled highest it went up to 8,68,246 .and 8,79,144 acres respectively. The effect of a rise in the level of prices is seen from the increasing area of laNd thus brought under cultivation. The diagram opposite illustrates the variation in the gross cultivated area, and the area under the different kinds of crops from year to year.

21. Rainfall.-.' Rainfall has much• fo •dO willi determining the agricultural -condition during the intercensal period. Many other factors as prices, market and freedom from pests like locusts also enter into the successful termination of an agricultural season. The Subsidiary Table VII at the end of the Chapter gives the figures cif rainfall in the Mahals of the State since the year 1885.. Figures •of . average rainfall for 35 and 45 years from 1885, as also for the past decade are :also shown. In the curve on the opposite page are plotted for the State the figures of annual average rainfall in inches for 1921-30; the lines of normal rainfall and average decennial rainfall areaIso plotted. It is hardly necessary 'to emphasize the uncertain• and erratic nature of the monsoon in. the State., . The. vagaries of the Indian monsoon :are too well-known to be mentioned. It should be only pointed out that a high average does not necessarily suggest a successful season, nor a low average a lean year. What .teally counts in India is not the average amount of rainfall in a particular locality,

but the number of effective days which received timely and well-distributed rains. Given this a successful agricultural season is assured. High amount of rainfall either at the commencement or close of the season without proper rains during: the interval will spell disaster to the agriculturist, though some rain is better than no rain. For, a heavy rainfall, even though it does not benefit the khari! crops. will eventually prove beneficial by giving the prospects of a good ram season. Years from 1922 to 1925 and the year 1930 were years of low average rainfall" the year 1923 coming the lowest with an average of only 13 inches. During the' rest of the years, it rained pretty well above the decennial average. But the former were not necessarily the years of fruitless cultivation. On the contrary owin<1 to the high level of prices during the first quinquennium, particularly during the years 1924 and 1925, the agriculturists were enabled to secure greater returns for their labour. The area under cultivation during these two years correspondingly increased. The years 1921 to .1?23 proved .to be exceptionally' good years. Bumper crops of ,uwar and bfZjN accompamed by a very good wheat crop-both irrigated and unirrigated-in 1921 were followed by a very good yield of cotton, and the cultivators could reap a harvest beyond their expectations. But the bad years of 1923 and 1924 were averted by an extraordinary rise in prices. Despite scanty rainfall which appeared in the June of 1925, and did not tum up afterwards except in the Mahals of Botad, Talaja, and Mahuva,. the land yielded a fair harvest, cotton being better beyond expectations owing to the cloudy weather which prevailed for the greater part and kept the young plants alive till the ripening time. Except the year 1930 which was 'not good in some places, the rest of the decade was on the whole satisfactory and marked. by conditions which made good the loss in the growth of one crop from another and rendered cultivation profitable by rise in prices, especially in that of' cotton.

22. Irrigation.-Irrigation is one of the factors that facilitate the expansion and growth of agriculture. It enables an increased area of land to be brought:;: under cultivation, and serves to counteract the effects of, paucity and irregularity' of rains. The result is seen in better and greater amount of produce yielded by. the soil and its consequent effects upon the growth of numbers. WeIJ irrigation, is the main source of irrigating the land of the State. There are as many as. 12,147 wells in the Sta~e distribu.ted as shown in t~e density map facing page 30; Thanks to the very ltberal poltcy of the State 10 encouraging agriculture and assisting the khedtlt to ameliorate his condition, loans on easy terms are made tohi~ t~ dig new wells, and thus to enable. him t? inc.rease the output of crop. All' Irrlgatton Department has been brought lOto belOg smce 1928, and various projects, for increasing the supply of water have been surveyed. But the absence. of rivers with perennial water flow is a great obstacle in the way of successful launching of any useful Iarge-scale scheme of dam irrigation which alone can benefit the agriculturist. The Ramdhari Irrigation Tank has been supplying water to some of the lands in the Mahals of Sihor and Umrala. The marginal statistics show the area of lands irrigated by the tank and the income derived therefrom since 1925.

23. Agricultural Indebtedneu.-Seeing that the peasantry of the Statewas sinking deeper and deeper into the mire of indebtedness, the Darbar appointed in 1922, a committee" to inquire into the problem of agricultural indebtedness and suggest remedial measures which would grant some relief to the Kheduts in their 'present desperate economic condition and minimise the risks of their being explOIted and taken undue advantage of by unscrupulous Sowcars."l The investigations of the Committee are embodied in the Report and Evidence Volumes.

submitted by it to the Darbar. The following statement reproduced from the Report throws vivid light upon the extent and nature of indebtedness in the State:-

It was found that 30 per cent. of the kheduts were hopelessly involved in debt, and that their condition was such as to give cause for grave anxiety. And so foreseeing the necessity of timely action, if an acute agrarian crisis were to be averted, the Chairman of the Committee, Dewan Bahadur Tribhuwandas, recommended as follows in his Preliminary Minute :-

.. (i) Where it is possible, endeavours shoald be made to liquidate the past debts of the Kheduts and for this the co•operatiou of the merchants shoald be ealisted. (ii) Where in future suits are filed against Kheduts the law shoald be so ameuded as to enable .the courts to examine the whole history of the transactions oat of which the sait has arisen, in order to find oat the additions by way of interest and premiam and the maDipalations in acconnts, and finally to make an equitable award fair to both sides:' 1 But at the same time, he expressed himself in no uncertain terms as to the futility of replacing the Sahukar, referring to whom, he wrote:- . .. The whole question is very complicated. The financial relations of the lender and borrower, a very delicate matter always, are involved therein. Kheduts do need the help of money• lenders every now and then. The money-lender is a vital and indispensable factor iri the village•economy and the Darhar cannot replace him. In this dilemma, I believe the best course woald be to take such steps as are indicated by the needs of the situation, ultimately with a view to restore both parties to their former position of mutual trust and service, without exploitation on the ODe side and victimization on the other. Moreover we cannot connive at and condone the practices hrought to light during the Committee's inquiry. If that he allowed, the conditions of the Khedats woald soon worsen and economic rain overtake the whole class, which woald again react on the money•lenders themselves and involve them in heavy losses.'" , . . The President of the Council took prompt action to pasS the necessary legislation and push forward without the least delay the Debt Redemption Scheme whereby it was proposed to settle private outstanding debts of the agri- 1. KMd14t Debt lnqu~ Committee Report, p. 116. 2. 11M. CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETIES 11 culturists so as to enable the money-lenders to recover a fair proportion of the original principal amount together with a moderate rate of interest. It was a very summary and exemplary piece of legislation of far-reaching consequences, combining i~tion with foresight. With one stroke of pen, it embarked upon the noble task of liberating the cultivator from the economic bondage of the money-lender. The investigations into the existing obligations were to be made at the joint request of the kheduts and money-lenders, according to the rules framed on the lines of the Deccan Agriculturist's Relief Act, by a special committee, popularly known as the ' Karaj 'committee. At the time of writing this Report, the whole of the Lilia Mahal has been redeemed from all private debts. A sum of Rs. 9,95,463 that was owing to the Sahukars by the agriculturists of that Mahal according to the account books of the former was reduced to Rs. 4,64,559, when the accounts were taken by the Committee. It was, however, the basic principle of the payment made by the Darbar on behalf of the khedut that the amount advanced by them on behalf of a particular khatedar for compounding all his debts should in no case exceed three times the annual assessment payable by him. The sum thus advanced was apportioned among the money-lenders in proportion to the amount found due to each, in full payment of all existing liabilities of the khedut. The application of this rule further reduced the liability of the kheduts of the Mahal of Lilia to Rs. 2,61,427 only. Similar work is in progress in the MahaI of U mrala also. This bold and constructive policy cannot but result in great economic improvement of the peasantry of the State. • 24. Co-operative Societies.-Among the factors that tended to promote agriculture during the past decade, the starting of agricultural credit co-operative societies was one. The beginning was first made in the year 1918, but as thelegis. Iation then promulgated in this behalf did not embody true principles of co-operation, they ~ere all doomed to failure, and had to be closed. A renewed attempt was made In 1923, when a new enactment based on sound co-operative principles was passed. Since then the societies have shown, steady progress. The' marginal table tells its own tale and needs no comment. The recent co-operative legislation provides for a loan to the society equal to the amount, but not exceeding Rs. 2,000 raised by it, and a bonus of 20 per cent. on the sum raised within the first two years of its birth. But this generous and liberal offer made by the Darhar has not been folly availed .of by the societies. For, had it been so,

the rillage economy of rllral India, and so despite the crushing burden of interest which is charged by him no khedut is willing to snap the ties that exist between him and the Sahukar. But recourse to co-operative credit after the peasant is. once free from all his past debts owing to the latter, as seen in the preceding para, cannot but result in making him economically independent and prosperous. The promotion of credit co-operative societies is thus one of the means, and by no means an unimportant one, whereby the khedut can extricate himself from being exploited by the unscrupulous money-lender.

. 25. Means . Communication.-Like .irrigation, fa~ilities of transport serve to mlDlmlse the III effects of shortage of ram and of famme by acting as a remedial measure. It also encourages the distribution and the consequent movement of population from one place to another. Bhavnagar State owns its. own railway which intersects every Mahal of the State. With the exception of a small tract between Mahuva and Talaja it encircles the whole of the State territories. The construction of this piece of railway is also under consideration. It . . will be seen from the figures on the

margin that the total mileage of 217'29 in 1921 increased to 341'75 in 1931. The volume of passenger and goods. traffic also shows a significant rise. Though the number of first" and second class passengers has considerably dwindled, that of the third class passengers who form the bulk of the travelling public and indicate the real movement of population, has remarkably increased. The goods traffic measured in tons carried has gone up• from 2,73,452 in 1921 to 3,94,942 in 1931. The mileage of the various branches is'also shown in the marginal table. Pucca metalled roads to the extent of 274 miles pass through the Mahals, and cart tracts join one village to another. Still there is much to be desired by way of metalled roads at many places. Tbe expansion of the• means of communications, especially the rail roads has greatly facilitated the growth of trade and commerce, .and encouraged the distribution and movement of the population of the State, during the past decennium.

26. Vital Statistics.-The growth of population is ultimately' determined by the difference between the numbers born and the numbers who die and by the balance of migration, i. e., the difference between the immigrants and emigrants. The former involves a discussion of the vital statistics which will now occupy . our attention. But before analysing the figures of births and deaths and their' rates, an estimate of the value of the statistics obtained should be made. The statistics of vital occurrences are anything but complete. This is a drawback which' is general and common to all parts of India to a greater or less extent. The proper and complete registration and compilation of all .vital statistics is indeed vital to any civilized society; and every endeavour should be made to ensure it. Much depends upon the sense of civic responsibility of the people without whose co-operation statistics cannot be accurately recorded. But that this sense has. not been sufficiently awakened will be seen by analysing the fi!!llres obtained from the Municipality of Bhavnagar City, the greater number of ;hose citizens are enlightened and educated. As against 7,422 births registered during the period 1921-1930, there are as many as 18,002 deaths, a net loss of 10,580:'

.lives in the natural population of the City., But this is far from the truth! as the population of Bhavnagar records an increase of,15,1~1 or 25 per '7n~. dunng the t decennium which is not all due to immIgration. The statistics that have I:"en compiled 5~oul~ therefore, ~ put to 31 limited and cautious use and no sweeping generaitsatJOns should he mdulged III. As absol~te ~u~bers they ~ould be deemed useless, and should serve the purpose only of mstituting ~ompansons and gauging tendencies. The records tell us that the reports of births are less accurate than the reports of deaths; and that the male births are ,more readily reported than the female, as the latter are less favourably received than the former.

The incompleteness of vital registration will he demonstrated by the Subsidiary Table printed above which institutes a comparison between the in •(:rea~ or dec~ease in the popUlation of the State as resulting from an excess or defiCiency of births over deaths and actual growth of population during the intercensai period. As against a total enumerated increase of 73 S70 a balance of 7,971 bir,ths over deaths is the result. The peculiar case of the 'City has already been notIced.

27. The marginal statistics of the birth and death rates dllring the past . de~a~e are ,given for t~e State i.n general and the Mahal of Botad in particular. OrIgmaily It was our Idea to gIve the rates for all the Mahals of the State. But it has now been ~ropped owing to their Incompleteness. As it has been found that the births and deaths have been better recorded in Botad than In a.ny• other Mahal of the State;their rates have been shown side by side with, those for'the State for ,the purposes of comparison. This will be proved by

ntes during the decade which are. loS for the State, and comparing their survival . . '. . 9'5 for ._B' Q.~.t a- d.. These . ..:. ,

rates are the numbers per mille who are born or die or survive in the population recorded at the Census of 1921. The survival rate represents the difference between the birth-rate and death.-rate, and is the mean of the last ten years. The Botad rate makes a fair approach to accuracy_ For, while according to the general rate of survival the natural population of the State as it was in 1921 will gain 797 per year, according to the Botad rate it will increase at the rate of 4,047 per year j and the present Census which registers an increase of 73 870 'has shown that the actual or total population including the foreign bo~ ~ increased at the rate •of 7,387 persons per year_ The Bombay rates 1 have been shown side by side with the State rates in order that a clear idea can be had of the degree of incompleteness of the latter_

. 28. The foregoing curves show the movement of birth-rate and death-rate during 1921-30 for the State, Bombay Presidency, and the. Mahal of Botad. The death curve for •the State shoots upwards in 1921, 1922, 1926, 1929 and 1930. The first two years represent the effects of the influenza of 1918 which greatly impaired the vitality of the people, and lowered the birth-rate which has. travelled upward only after 1922 since when it has been steadily rising. The relatively higher death-rate in 1929 and 1930 is due to the effects, as will be seen in the following para, of malaria and influenza. The greater accuracy of the

Botad curves will be apparent from. t~eir continuously ~avelling apart like those of the Bombay Presidency. But this IS not the case WIth the State curves, as they are far less accurate .than those for Bombay and Botad. • 29. Public Health.-The state of public health during the intercensal period plays no mean part in measuring the ~owth of the pop~ation. Because any disturbance in the health of the people will have very obvIOUS effects u~n their fertility and vitality and swing back the pend~lum of grow.th, a~d result 1D the reduction of numbers, as was the case after the mfluenza epidemiC of 1918. On the whole the public heal th was well maintained during the ten years that passed, as checks to population in the form of famine and pestilence did not make their appearance.

SUBSIDIARY TABLE III ACTUAL NUMBER OF DEATHS FROM VARIOUS CAUSES RECORDED IN EACH

~ The relevant statistics of deaths from various causes as recorded in each year from 1921-30 are given in the foregoing Subsidiary Table. Under "other causes" are shown cases of accidents, poisoning, suicide, injuries, as also of other types of illness not specifically mentioned. The diagram on the opposite page shows the curves of deaths from the principal diseases, and all causes combined. The total number of reported births and deaths during 1921-30 are also shown. The traces of the two epidemics, vis., plague and influenza, which visited the State during the decade 1911-21 may well be noticed first. Influenza which followed in the wake of plague and whose toll of life was simply staggering must have remained with us like the plague in an endemic but milder form after its first virulent attack in 1918. This is amply demonstrated by the curve of the birth-rate remaining low even in 1921-22. But no case of death from this disease ha~ bee~ rep~rte~ owing t? the want of proper machinery ~or registering deaths which IS ordinarily left ID the hands of the uneducated village officials. Many of the diseases like influenza, phthisis, etc., therefore, pass off under the more general heading • fever' which claimed as many as 47,179 lives, out of a total number of 74,955 deaths recorded during the decade. Reported deaths from fever were tolerably high during the years 1922, 1929 and 1930. But plague which it is easier to distinguish from fever than influenza seems to have been properly recorded. It was prevalent during the first three years, and began to wane from 1922. Out of a total of 863 lives which it claimed during the decade, as many as 861 cas.es belon~ to years 1921-23. 8,354 persons were reported to have died from respiratory diseases. Smallpox claimed 3,981, its quota being the highest

>in 1929and amounted to 1,111.' ConsUmption also claimed a fair number of 2,562. Malaria which is prevalent during the greater part of the year and more especially during the monsoon was disguised under 'fevers' and not 'separately registered. Malaria as, a calIse of death is not of very great importance. On this side of the country, the disease does not prove fatal, as is the case in 'Bengal unless other complications in the form of attacks by pneumonia and typhoid fevers supervene. But its indirect effect upon the health of the population is ,great. It saps vitality, reduces fertility and resisting power of the people and disturbs the tenor of steady economic development by impairing their physicai vigour. Except• for the first and last two years of the decade the health of the people seems to have been on the whole satisfactory, and no disturbing element .seems to have interfered with an even growth of population.

30. Prices and Wages.-Prices and wages by themselves mean nothing -unless they are taken in conjunction with production and demand on the one hand, and the cost, and standard of living on the other. But it is not possible to enter here into all these intricate details. Only the trend of prices and wages •during the decade as affecting the mode of living and the growth of numbers will ,be considered here. Higher prices stimulate production and commercial activity -only if there is a demand for things produced. Lower prices of food stuffs d~ not necessarily mean cheap living, if the cost of production is not proportionately reduced. For, in modern times when civilization harbours ideas of a higher stan-< lard of living by increasing the individual requirements, fall in prices of food, stuffs alone canpot prove profitable. On the contrary, low prices of food-stuffs and other artiCles of necessity will not benefit an agricultural society, if there is not a corresponding fall in the expenses of cultivation. It will spell nothing but -disaster to the agriculturist, if his labours are not repaid by a level of prices 'sufficient to cover the cost of tilling and leave him a fair margin of profit. Again ,the trend of wholesale and retail prices is not the same. A fall in the former is .not always accompanied by a corresponding fall in the latter. Because retail

prices will take some time to adjust themselves to the rising or falling level of

'w holesale prices. The first half of the decennium was marked by a rise in prices in general which mounted the peak of prosperity in 1925, the year 1924-25 being •,the year of exceptionally high prices. So far as the prices of food•stuffs and fodder were concerned, there was in that single year a rise of 14 and 15 per cent. respectively. An abnormal rise in the prices of commercial commodities like •cotton ranging from Rs. 10 to Rs. 24 per maund of 40 Ibs. and of treacle from Rs. 6 1:0 Rs. 8 as also the greater value realised from oil seeds during the six years in •the midst of the past decennium greatly enlarged the earnings of the agriculturists. The fall commenced from 1925-26, when the prices began to decline steadily. In some commodities, it asserted the pre-war level of 1914. The October of 1929 was marked by a new and heavy fall in prices, especially of food grains which •continued even in 1930. The fall was due to the world conditions which were beyond the control of any country'- This alround wave of depression has been .attributed to general over-production both of raw materials and industrial prO. .ducts, as also to the insufficient production and unequal distribution of gold for the .general requirements of the world as a whole.

With the rise in prices had set in the rise in the wages of skilled and 'unskilled labour. But the fall in wages was not .quick to follow the decline in the level of prices. They showed a remarkable rise upto 1922; and the last mentioned year alone was responsible for an increase of. 17 per cent. in the wages of 'skilled and unskilled workmen. The fall in wages, both skilled and unskilled, -commenced since 1923, and c~ntinued upto 1928. The daily wages of a carpenter or a mason which had risen to Rs. 2-8 in many places in the Mahals and -especially in the City, respectively fell to an average of Re. 1-6 and Re. 1-1. The wages of an agri.cultural labourer fell from 6-8 annas to 3-4, annas per diem. The wages thus very nearly touched the pre-war level. Looking to the,trend of wages since 1921, it is also found that the wages of skilled labour took greater time to' fall than. those of the unskilled. "

THE IlIDUSTRIAL A~"D COMMERCIAL PROGRESS .19 The eConomic Conditions of the period under report were thus on the whole favourable to cheap and easy living, and it was only during the last two ears that the heavy slump in prices made it a little less attractive. As com~ ared to 1911.21, when for the greate~ ~rt of the d~de the prices were highly inflated owing to abnormal war conditl~ns, the penod ~921~31 was mor~ conducive to the growth of a peaceful commumty, as lower pnces put less strain upon: the nerves of the people.

31. The Industrial aud Commercial Progress.-After considering the agricultural condition of the period the advancement of trade, commerce, and industries deserves to be briefly surveyed. 1£ the general and agricultural conc1i. tions of the decade were on the whole satisfactory, the course of industrial and commercial progress was marked by st.riking. rapic1ity. During the past decen• nium, to the existing spinning and weavmg mIll l'!l:ated at ~havnagar, another spinning mill was added at Mahuva, due to the Impetus given by the post.war period which was characterised by high prices of cotton. The figures on the margin disclose the increasing industrial development of the State in spite of the PLACES WHERE SITUATED

stringency of money market prevailing all the world OVer. The Swadeshi move• ment inducing the growth of indigenous industries brought a new life to the goods of Indian make especially in the production of Khac1i cloth and cotton piece goods. The New Jehangir Vakil Mills Co. which manufactures cotton yarn and grey and bleached piece goods increased the output of cloth from 14,59,742 in. 1920 to 28,11,118 lbs. in 1930, .nearly double their former annual production. The number of looms and spindles corresponc1ingly increased from 337 and 19,600 to 727 and 29,138 respectively. The average number of persons. employed rose from 864 to 1,245. There are 10 cotton presses, 4 being at Bhavnagar, 2 at Mahuva, 3 at Botad, and 1 at Kundla. Ginning factories are scattered over all the Mahals. Out of a total number of 30, the prospering cotton growing and selling tract of Botad alone possesses 7. Of the remainder, 4 are at Bhavnagar, 6 at Mahuva, 2 each at Rajula, Dungar and Vijapac1i, 3 at Kundla~ 1 at Lilia, 1 at Madhada, 1 at Dhola, and. 1 at Gadhada. In the words of the Administration Report for 1930, this state of increased industrial activities has. led to .. hand weaving showing signs of a sort of revival for some time past. As a consequence, the gold lace pachhedis, silk bordered dlloters, and thick covering sheets of cotton cloth known as cllo/als produced by the weavers of Kundla fetch better prices. The stout woollen blankets of Gadhada and the carpets and bed covers dyed in variegated colours produced by the Khatris of SihorUmrala and Vartej are more in demand than they were some time ago,'" On a~count of the greater demand made upon the hand•made khadi, the khac1i-making concerns have ~sen from 3 in. 1920 to 11 in 1930. There are also 1,992 hand.looms of which 132 are worked by fly.s~uttles, 5,121 spinning wheels, and 293 hand~ us. ~he a1round progress .a~d reVival of home industries during the past decennium ,Will be ~n f~m Subsi~ary Table VII in Chapter VIII-Occupation. But at thiS place, It Will be suffiCient to note that the khadi cloth produced in 1920- 21 was oll:ly 93,839 lbs. as compared to 3,38,107 lbs. in 1929-30. The number of flour mills was also 011: the increase, as also that of the oil mills which had gone: 1. VUU Po 51.

up from 6 to 10. The pretty wooden and ivory toys which would be the pride of any workman are as popular as ever, and 57 families are engaged in this work of which 25 belong to Mahuva alone. Skill of Sihor coppersmiths in the preparation of brass and copper household utensils and other wares continues to be admirable, and Sihor alone has got 100 families engaged in this industry, out of a total of 194 for the whole State. There are other industries which have got a bright future before them. Kundla prepares iron wares and is specially noted for its scales. The starting of a match factory by an enterprising merchant is under consideration. The salt industry has got great future prospects as the State has of late been permitted like Okha to export salt to Bengal and Burma by sea. But the present out-tum should be increased and improved upon before this concession can be availed of with advantage. For, the Bengalis who are used to white and refined salt from Lancashire will not readily buy salt from the State 4gars whose salt is mixed with other impurities like gypsum, etc. There is another direction also in which industrial advancement is possible. The Khara roil at Patna has been found to be a good basis for manufacturing soda-ash bleaching powder, caustic soda, etc. The 18 to 20 square miles of natron soil with ~most an ine~haustible supply of. underground wa~er and natural advantage . .of havmg soda-ash m the crude form direct from the soIl can be advantageously utilized, if the initial ~xperiments prove successful. There are two Chemical Works at Vartej in the Mahal of Daskroi which manufacture all kinds of tinctures, liniments, and other pharmaceutical and chemical preparations. The works are supplying medicines to various States in Kathiawarand parts of British India. The Electric Supply Company which started work during the past decade has extended its activities and is supplying motive power to the factories in the City. This state of affairs betokens an era of great industrial development and progress. 32. The commercial advancement of the State has played no mean part in the growth of population during the decennium under report. Its contribution towards the growth of the population of the City of Bhavnagar in particular and the State in general cannot be underestimated. Never has the State of Bhavna!!ar -experienced years of such extraordinary commercial expansion which was foste~ed and nurtured by the wise and foreseeing statesmanship of its rulers. The Port of Bhavnagar has undergone great transformation, and the facilities of transport in the shape of railway communications, financial help to merchants in the shape of loanson easy terms by the State Bank on the security of goods imported coupled with the advantage of a bonded ware-house have during the past 10 years attract- ed a considerable amount of trade, foreign and coastal, to its harbour. The Department of Commerce and Industries for the first time brought into heing as a trial measure for two years in 1922, was found necessary and useful and made permanent. Large consignments of articles of foreign produce or manufacture like sugar, coal, hardware, .haberdashery, glassware, piece-goods, rice, timber, ,iron, metal sheets, wet and dry dates, paper, etc., are now imported to Bhavnagar •wa Bombay or direct from foreign ports. In 1923-24 only 5 ocean liners visited Bhavnagar, but the close of the decade saw the Port visited by 53 ocean liners •of which 18 brought sugar, 11 dce and timber, 3 coal, and 21 iron from the Continent. In addition to the above, the steamer "Skrimer" made 6 trips with .coal from Calcutta for the Bhavnagar State Railway. A clear idea of the ,growth of the sea-borne trade of Bhavnagar during the past decennium, will be afforded by the marginal statement reproduced from the Administration

Report,1929-30. It supplies the figures of the total value of exports and imports during the period 1920-30. The rapid expansion of maritime trade which commenced since 1917 continued unabated during practically the whole of the past decade. If necessary allowance be made for the difference in the level of prices ruling the market at the beginning and end of the past decennium, it will appear that both the export and import trade was steadily on the increase. If the

year 1929-30 which was affected by an abnormal fall in the level of prices be left <lut of account, the imports rose from Rs. 2,84,27,171 in 1921 to Rs. 3,49,55,364 in 1928-29. But the increase will be found to be much more, if measured in tenns of commodity as the price level was higher in 1921 than in 1929. The exports also correspondingly increased, the very low figure for 1929-30 being due to the unfavourable cotton season which reduced the export of cotton bales by 10 1 lacs.

The industrial and commercial activities of the past decennium outlined above were mainly instrumental in attracting a fair number of immigrants to this State, more particularly to the City of Bhavnagar. They account to no mean extent for the growth of numbers revealed at the current Census.

VARIATION IN THE POPULATION OF THE STATE AND MAHALS

33. Variation during 1921-1931.-Against the background of the general, physical, agricultural, and economic conditions which have been succinctly depicted should be presented the discussion of the changes in the population of the State and Mahals during the past decennium. There is an increase of 73,870 or 17•3 per cent. in the total population of the State as it stood in 1921. The conditions outlined in the preceding paras bear ample testimony to their exhilarating effect upon the growth of numbers during the decade under report. It is a record rise in the State population ever since the commencement of the Census era. No other intercensal period has had the good fortune of registering 6uch a high percentage or numerical rise in the State population. The rise is uniform all throughout the State. The net variation by way of increase during'

the past fifty years comes 'to '25 per cent. or 99,951 souls. The City of Bhavnagar and the Mahals of Daskroi and Botadhaveeach risen over 25 per cent. Ma:, huva ~d Kundla Mahals have risen respectively by 16:3 and 17,6 per cent., TaJaja by 11 5 per cent" whereas no,other Mahal shows a rise of less than 10 per cent. The diagram on page 21 illustrates the percentage variation in the population by Mahals, from the figures of 1921 adjusted upon the basis of areas as they stood" in 1931. ,

34. Variation in Population by MahaIs,-The movement of the State population has been considered, It will now be worthwhile to notice its variation by ~~hal~,. The follov:ing Subsidiary Ta,ble supplies the, figures of percentage variatIOn In the population of the State, City and Mahals In relation to density since 1881.

35, Diagram.-On the opposite page is given the diagram showing the variation in the population of the State and Mahals since 1881. It will help the understanding of the review that follows.

36. Daskroi Mahal.-The fate of the Daskroi Mahal has been mixed up with that of the City of Bhavnagar, whose progressive growth has influenced the movement of its population, The City may well be referred to in brief, deferring its treatment in details to the next chapter. A rise or fall in its population has responded to a rise or fall in the general population, though of course, not to the .. same extent. Whenever there has been a rise, the City'S rise has been greater than that of the State, whereas its fall has been smaller than that of the State. Subsidiary Table IV will clearly illustrate this point, This is due to the growing, character of the capital and the greater resisting power of the urban population. Bhavnagar has been an emporium of trade, the growth of its port during the past decade being responsible for an unprecedented rise in its popUlation. During the past decade alone it bas grown by 25 per c~nt., while during the last half a century it has added 27,802 souls or risen by 58 per cent. Excluding the City, the decrease in the population recorded during the decade 1911-21, when it was hard hit by influenza came up to 7'6 per cent. But the resisting, power of the people of the Mabal which was greatly impaired since the Chhapania Famine remarkably improved during the last ,intercensal period when it registered an increase of 27'6 per cent" while the net increase during the last fifty, years is found to be 6,102 or 23'5 per cent.

37. Sihor MahaL-It ia an old Mahal of the State' and was once the 'seat of the Ruling Family before the present capital was founded. D~ the last fifty years, the population of this Mahallike others that ,,!iIl be conslCiered hereafter reached its zenith in 1891, but suffered a heavy fall In 1901. It' has failed to come up to that ,level even during th7 present C~DSUS when. it ~ds at 34471 and faUs short of It by 313 persons. Smce 1891 Its population IS on the d~line, and it was the only Mahal along with Daskroi which showed a fall of '0'74 per cent. in its population, when all the other Mahals of the State recorded varying degrees of progress in 1911. Along side with the effects of famine and plague are to be seen the influences of the migratory tendency of the inhabitants .of the Mahal who went out to Bombay and Rangoon and other industrial centres for earning their livelihood. But in 1921 when this outward flow was at its nighest throughout the Mahals of the State, and when mortality from influenza greatly reduced the population of some of the Mahals, a very small decrease of '5 per cent. only was registered in the population of Sihor. In 1931,a rlseof 3,938 .or 12'8 per cent. is returned, whereas the net gain from 1881 to 1931 is 4;527 or 15'1 per cent.

38. Umrala Mahal.-Like, Sihor, Umrala is also o~e of.th~oldest Mahals of the State, and enjoyed the favour of being the original seat of the Gohel dynasty of Bhavnagar. It falls in line with Sihor in not coming upte the level of 1891 to a greater extent than Sihor. In that significant year the population of the Mahal was 41,072, upon which the present figure shows a d~ficit of 5,995 persons. It lost 14'5 and 13'2 per cent. respectively at the Censuses, of 1901 and 1921 owing to the Great Famine and influenza. To this should be added a succession of lean years, and reduced fertility of the soil, all of ,which jointly conspired to reduce the vitality and staying power of the people of this Mahal. But the period 1921-31 sees it successful in regaining much of the lost ,ground which is covered with an increase of 3,388 or lO'7 per cent. over the population of 1921. The incubus is gradually raising itself, though the effects of the past sufferings are stilI there, and are visible from th~ percentage of increase at this Census being the lowest in this Mahal. The net increase in its populatipn' .is, however, 1,538 or 4'6 per cent. during the last fifty years. '" ,

39, Gadhada Mahal,-Gadhada finishes' the trio of those Mahils of the Northern Division whose present population shows a decline on the figure' of' 1891. It seems to have been the most hard hit by the famine of 1900 which: must be held responsible for the loss of 22'4 per cent" the highest of all the Ma,hals, w,hic~ it ,suffered at the Cens,!s of 1901. But during the br.eathing period which It gamed from 1901-1911, It struggled bravely for a recuperation of• 11'4 per cent. Then a loss of 5'8 per cent. from influenza was followed by a ,gain of 11'8 per cent. at the present Census. A deficit of 2 294 souls over its population as it stood in 1891 and a net losS of 143 for the past fifty years are not a'very pleasing spectacle for the Mahal of Gadhada. The effects of i900 visitations are still there, though they are gradually disappearing. Nature's share jn bringing about this result is not small. A series of bad years on account of the failing and decreasing rainfall and a population laid low by the effects of famine hav~ greatly checked an ev~~ growth of numbers. The figures of rainfall for this Mahal show very strikmg results. The average rainfall for the 35 and 44 years from 1885 works out to be 17'13 and 17'78 inches respectively" whereas the average for the past .ten years has gone down to 14'7 inches. Th~ soil of this Mahal is in no way inferior, and is in some way superior to some of ~he oth~r Mahals like Daskr~i, and Talaja. But to have good lands is by itself msu~clent, For, the prospenty of an ~gric~lturai tract is mainly dependent upon &uffi~le":cy ~f ramfaII ~celved at required Int~s without which unhampered cultivatIOn IS not poSSible: Gadhada has been deprived of this bounty of Nature, and hence the results noticed above. But the opening of the railway line from Nmgala to Gadhada, and the tedencies to revival shown by this Mahal at 'every, .alternat,e Census allay to some extent suspicions' about the future course of its populatiOn. . .

40. Botad MahaL-Botad is now one of the progressive Mahals of the State. The cause for apprehension which it gave in 1891 when it had been singled out for a decrease of 1,714 or 5'7 per cent., and that too at a time when the rest of the Mahals had shown remarkable advance in their population is. removed by the subsequent movement of its population. This departure fro~ a uniform rising tendency exhibited by Botad in 1891 is rather hard to explain away easily. The failure of rains in the year preceding the Census of 1891 when it received only 8'40 inches cannot fully account for this exceptional re~lt submitted at the end of a decade. Want of proper enumeration cannot but have something though not much to do with this deficit. The rising tide is noticeable since 1911, as no area ca~ claim to exclude itself from the ;uinous and devastating effects of the Great FamlDe of 1900. The 1911 Census registered a si"nificant rise of 12'4 per cent., which was continued even during the period 1911-21 ;hich showed a uniform decrease allover the State owing to the heavy influenza mortality. This. rise is to some extent due to its favourable position on the BhavnagarState Railway which had by. this time. enable.d .it. to .develop into a prosperous cotton growing tract. Botad IS gradually IDdustnallzlDg Itself; and the present Census sees it at the• peak of prosperity giving it a very high increase of 25'6 per cent. Its total gain during the last fifty years is 6,208 or 20'7 per cent. and bears out the remark made in the Revision Settlement Report that Botad has adapted itself more strenuously to the changed circumstances with advantage.

41. Lilia MahaL-The Mahal of Lilia lines itself with some of the other Mahals of the State which have not come up to the population level of 1891. On account of the favoured position which it enjoys as regards soil and the preponderance of Kanbis who are the best cultivating popUlation of the State, it did not suffer so much as many other Mahals of the State daring the famine of 1900. The gain of 6'57 per cent. realised in its population in 1891 was, therefore, followed by a nearly equal loss of 6'7 per cent. in 1901. The rich black soil of the Kharopat with its dry and healthy climate seems to have endowed the Kanbis of Lilia with greater resisting and sustaining power. During the decennium 1901- •11, there is an insignificant increase of 2'3 per cent. only; whereas the influenza of 1918 brings about a deficit of 2,932 or U'S per cent. But the present Census. registers an increase of 2,661 or U'8 per cent. Examining these figures for the last fifty years the nef variation by way of increase in the population of the Mahal of Lilia is recorded to be 148 or 0'58 per cent. Over the population as recorded in 1891, a deficit of 1,503 is still to be made up.

42. Kundlil Mahal.-In KundJa, the later acquisition of the State, the soi1 is generally hilly and stony and though adjacent to Lilia does not enjoy the benefit of having fertile soils in some of the villages of the Tappas of Thordi and Vijapadi. It is one of those Mahals which have shown progressive tendencies. It. suffered heavily from the effects of the Chhapania Famine which was instrumental in bringing about a decrease of 18'02 per cent. in 1901, which in its tum was. preceded by an equal increase of 18'8 per cent. in 1891. But a material rise of 8'2 per cent. at the succeeding Census and a decrease of 2'1 per cent. in 1921 in spite of heavy influenza mortality testify to the greater staying power of the population which is prepondering Kanbi and to prosperous nature of the Mahal. A dry and healthy climate has also had its necessary beneficent effect on the growth of its population. The conjoint effect of these causes has been to give to KundJa a very enviable increase of 17'6 per cent. in its population at the present Census •• The growth of numbers has been also promoted by the extension of the Bhavnagar State Railway from KundJa to Mahuva which, has enabled the town of Kundla to develop into a flourishing market town and facilitated the disposal of its agricultural produce. Like Botad, though to some less extent. Kundla too has raised itself to the status of an important and growing cotton centre, and possesses a press and ginning factories. The last but not the least of the contributory causes to this happy result are the benefits of a settled and ordered government during the Census era which enable the people to abide in peace and grow. This last factor is not peculiar to KundJa alone, butalso holds. VICTOR. MAHUVA AND TALAJA IoIA.HALS good in the case of the Mahals of Mahava and Talaja whi~h were harasse<! by the robbers on the high seas popularly known as chanchJa8 and the Kathi outlaws or bahat'fJatias on the high roads.

43. Victor MahaL-The two Tappas of Doongar an~ Rajala were ~nstituted into a separate Mahal in the year 1881. The changes In the population of these two Tappas, therefore, constitute the history of the movement of population of this Mahal. There is very little to note except that it is one of the two Mahals of the Southern Division which are struggling to raise themselves to the stature of 189!. The present Census shows it to have well nigh, recovered its 1891 position which exceeds the present figure by 136. But there has been a net increase of 2,891 or 13'5 per cent. in the population of this Mahal since 188!.

44. Mahuva MahaL-The coastal Mahal of Mahuva is one of the highly progressive Mahals of the State. The population of the Mahal which was 60,508 in 1881 has riscn to 83,293 in 1931, showing a net variation of 22,785 or 37'6 per cent. within the last ~fty re~rs. The causes of decrease, viz., a b~g famine in 1900 and an influenza epidemiC 10 1918, are very nearly the same as 10 the case of other Mahals of the State. Practically the same movement of population is noticeable a Census of famine followed by a Census of slight increase, and then again a d;crease from influenza in 1918. The difference, however, lies in the stamina and resisting power varying with the economic and other conditions of the people. Among the factors that have stimulated the rapid growth in the population of this Mahal should be described the general fertility of soil which with its rich cocoanut and mango plantations has earned for it the title of the 'garden land' of the State i a low pitch of assessment i well distributed and sufficient rain-fall ~ facilities of railway communications i the convenience of a port helping it to industrialize and commercialize itself i and easily accessible market facilities. To these should be added as in the case of Kundla the sense of security accruing from a beneficent and progressive administration which reacts healthily on the growth of population. The past decennium alone is responsible for a rise of 11,703 souls or 16'3 per cent. in its population.

45. Tala;a Mahal.-This is another of the Coastal Mahals which has. shown a very striking rapidity of movement in its population. The extent of progress of Talaja is greater than that of Mahuva. For, while the increase in the population of Mahuva since 1881 is 37'6 per cent., that of Talaja is 41•!. It stands next to Daskroi from the point of growth. The march to prosperity commenced after the Big Famine, i.e., during the decade 1901-11, when the percentage of increase variation came up to 20'5. This onward march was characteristically maintained even during the influenza Census of 1921, and like Botad registered an increase of 1'5 per cent., while the rest of the Mahals showed a downward movement. The causes for these rapid strides taken by the Mahal of Talaja are to be sought in its comparative fertility, which of course cannot come on par with Mahuva, sufficiency of rains, and a comparatively low incidence of assessment. It seems to have been the most favoured from the point of rainfall the averages for this Mahal being the highest for the periods of 35 and 44 yea~ from 1885 as also for the past decennium. They are found to be 25'2 25'9 and 24'7 inches respectively. Its backwardness and late association with rail~ay communic,,: tions as not encouraging the e~igration of the people may have something to do With the growth of n~bers dunng 1901-~1. For whereas during that decennium thepercentagevanation was 20'5, thatdurmg 1921-31 which saw the construction of. the Tram Line from Bhavnagar to Talaja came to U•S per cent. The extstence of a port and a pleasant climate should also be alluded to. It need har~y be reiterated that it has shar«;d in common with Kundla and Mahuva, the blesslOgs of a peaceful rule, harhounng contentment and prosperity which accelerated the movement of their population •

-46:• Diagtllm.-The• actual• population• of' the •Mahals of the State as returned by the current Census is shown below by bars arranged in the order of their magnitude.

DIAGRAM SHOWING THE ACTUAL POPULATION OF MAHALS ARRANGED IN ORDER OF' MAC;;NITUOE

47. By the density of a tract is meant the number of persons dwelling upon a unit area of land, such as a square mile or an acre, assuming it to be uniformly distributed, which is usually not the case. This is what is known as the crude or mean density as distinguished from the spatial density which involves economic considerations to be reviewed later on. The ratio representing the crude density is one of convenience, and its variations within the area under consideration are tacitly assumed. This will be clearly observed from the fact that in one and the same Mahal, the density of different Tappas is not the same. Density serves as an index of pressure which the population of a tract exerts in relation to the similar figures of average density of other tracts. The area of the State of Bhavnagar is 2,961 square miles or 18,95,040 acres of land, and assuming uniform distribution, the average density of the State is 169 persons per square mile or 3'77 acres per person.

48. Density of Other States Considered. -It will be instructive to examine here the figures of area and population of some of the States in Western India

States Agency, and other Indian States and Provinces in British India. But such a comparison can be best instituted by examining their varying densities. The relevant statistics are shown in the margin. Among the Kathia war States, the State of Cutch stands first with an area of 8,249 square miles. Then follow Nawanagar and Junagadh with their respective areas of 3,791 and 3.337 square miles. Bhavnagar is fourth with an area of 2,961 square miles. But from the point of mean 'density the State of Palitana which has an area of only 300 square miles tops the list with 207 persons to the square mile. Gondal is second with 201 persons per square mile. But among the rest with larger areas Bhavnagar occupies the. favoured position with

a density of 169 perSons to the sqUare mile. The respeCtive densities of )unagadh and Nawanagar are 163 and 108, but the density of Cutch is 62, the lowest of all the Kathiawar States noticed above. But the mean density of the Westen} India States Agency is found to be 113. Similar statistics for other Indian States are intere;ting. The Southern India States of Cochin and Travancore have 814 and 668 persons per square mile respectively. The crude density of 814 for the State of Cochin whose area is only 1,480 square miles is certainly very high. But the premier Indian State of Hyderabad has got a density of only 174 persons per square mile which comes very near to that of this State. Baroda is fairly dense with 299 persons to the square mile. But the States of Gwalior and Bikaner which come next to Hyderabad from the point of area have a density of 134 and 40 persons respectively. The areal density of England according to the Census of 1931 is 685 persons to the square mile, and that of Belgium 686. But the density of the vast Indian Continent is 196 persons to the square mile. •

The foregoing statistics can be best understood from the following diagram which compares the density of the State with those of other States. Provinces, and England and Wales. The Mahal densities are also compared.

p d. The growth of ClYihullon, wh,ch•tmplies-mastefYove. uatare•iil ... higher

degree, and tbe development of industry and trade, make it pogsible to become Independent of agricultural conditions, and caose a heavy density of population also in places poorly endowed by nature. Tbe great increase of populatioo among modern civilized peoples i. doe to tbe growth of trade aod industry.'"

. Different sets of causes combine to determine the density of a tract. The factors that generally influence the density of an agricultural locality are the fertility of soil, adequacy of rainfall, configuration of the surface, sanitation or climate and to some extent the incidence of land tax. The last two, however, do not play so important a part as the first two, as the proverbial attachment of the Indian peasant to his ancestral horne renders him immobile, and makes him stick to it even under adverse circumstances. As regards an industrial centre, the set of circumstances that will operate to make it dense will be the opportunities for employing one's self profitably, facilities of transport and communications, and a prosperous trade and thriving commerce. The flourishing City of Bhavnagar is a striking instance to this point. The density of the City which was 1,770 persons to the square mile in 1881 rose to 2,800 in 1931.

50. As in the case of the State, so in the case of the City and Mahals, density has responded to a rise or fall in the populatipn at each'successive Census. The above map illustrates the varying densities of the Mahals of the St~t~. Roughly speaking the Coastal ~ahals are denser than al! the re~t ~xcept LIlia and Sihor, the Mahal of Daskrol being the densest. Its high denSity IS due to the inclusion of the populous City of Bhavnagar. The Bhal forms a Tappa of the 1. S,~IiIu, B",o, :rou, p. 81~ QUQt~ by Prof. Brij Naroi~ in his PopulatiOI' o/India. p. 62.

Da~kroi Mahal, but it has been purposely kept blank to show it:: sparseness. Because it will be hardly fair to attribute the denseness of the whole Mahal which ,contains 192 persons per square mile toa part which contains only 18. The effe;ct of the fertility of soil is noticeable in the Lilia Mahal. Net variation in its increase since 1881 is 20'7 per cent. compared to 58 per cent. for Botad and yet it is denser than the latter. Even with all this expansion duing recent years the mean density of Botad comes up only to 157 persons per square mile j whr;reas the density of the fertile Mahal of Lilia is 171 and was 181 in 1891. Similarly the combined effect of fertility and of inadequacy of rainfall upon the density of a locality is vividly illustrated by the Mahal of Gadhada which has been continuously SUbjected to decreasing rainfall. From the point of net variation since 18Bl, very little difference in the population of the Mahals of Gadhada and Lilia is found. For, while the former registers a net increase of 143 souls, the latter shows a deficit of 148. But the differences in their densities are very great. The lowest density of Gadhada is found to be 104 in 1901, and that of Lilia to be 153 in 1921 jwhereas their highest densities were 134 and 181 respectively in 1891. These two Mahals which show very little divergence in the net variation of their population, point out to a very striking divergence in the fif,'1lres of their mean densities, owing to differences in climatic and soil conditions. The same phenomenon operates to its logical extent in the saIt fiat of Bhal which is totally unhealthy and unfit for cultivation. 51. Again the striking connection between rainfall and density will be seen from the margin which gives the figures of density and of the decennial average rainfall of each of the Mahals. The order of Mahals according to rainfall more or less follows the same order as that of density, with the exception of the Mahal of Daskroi whose density is in the main affected by con' siderations other than those of rainfall, as it includes the figures for the City of Bha vnagar. So barring Daskroi, Talaja which is the first from the point of rainfall is the first also in the order of density, and Gadhada which is the last from

is the last also in ~he order of density. Mahuva, Sihor' and Victor maintain the same order both 10 respect of rainfall and density j but not the, remaining Mahals. For, the Mahals of Lilia, UmraIa, Kundla and Botad whose decennial averages vary from 19,03 to 19'63 inches change places amongst themselves and do, not follo~v exactly the same order as rainfall. Lilia which is eighth from the pomt of raI,":fall naturall~ stan,ds, fifth from the point of density owing to its greater fert,lltty. But thi~ vanation on~y cautions us against assuming any the ,clo~~ relatIOn between ramfall and denSIty. Because a high rainfall in the hills of l\~l,tialaort~e salt, flat of the Bhal will not by itself affect their density. Nor will fertlltty avail Itself 10 the absence of adequate rainfall What really matt ' f,e r t'1l e SO'L, Iacco'mpdame by "tlm ely rams well distrib• uted over the. seasoe rs IS Iat, IS the total.number of e~c:ctive ra!ny days properly spread over the monsoo~'that: counts. EIther the fertil~ty or raInfall alone will not explain the phenomenon of •a great~r or lesser d~nslty. To these must also be added the factors of the pro~rtions of the cul~lvable ar~ to the total, and of the cultivated area to the, .culuvaJ:!le, ,all of :which combme to make up the environment of a locality and ,determme Its deDSity. 52. Subsidiary Table VIII at the end of the chapter shows that in the Same Mahal, the population is not uniformly distributed over all the parts. In one and the same Mahal, places with divergent densities are to be found. The Table gives varied distribution of the population classified according to density for the State as a whole and each of its individual Mahals. It shows for each unit the area and the population inhabiting that area falling under tba.t particular class of density. Below are given in italics, the percentages that the area and the population of the unit bear to its total area and population; . Below the density class 'under 50" comes the Mahal of Daskroi which contains the Tappa of BhaI whose mean density is 18 per square mile with an area of 302 sqflare miles and a population. of 5,465 persons. At the other end of the density ladder under the class, • 451 and over,' is the area of 87 square miles appropriating to itself a population of 87,881 persons. Nearly three-fourths or 75 per cent. of the area and population of the State are distributed under places with density varying between 101 and 250" persons to the square mile. This variation in density in one and the same Mahal will be clearly understood from the opposite map which shows density by Tappas.. , SUBSIDIARY TABLE V . ACTUAL AND PROPORTIONAL VARIATION IN THE POPULATION OF TAPPAS CLASSIFIED.ACCORDING TO DENSITY AT THE COMMENCEMENT OF EACH DECADE SINCE 1901

53. The two . foregoing Subsidiary Tables show the actual and propor. tional variation in •thepopulation of the State by Tappas classified accord-ing to' density since 1901. The numerical and percentage variation in the total population as it fell under the different density groups varying' from • cunder 50' to • 451• and over.' at• each successive Census is given. At-the;, present, Census ~he highest increaSe in numbers (3~, 928) is, shown, 1¥lder Tappa&-, with tlensity between .. 151"add- 200; :whereas the-hIghest-percentage IDcrease (117)" is shown under Tappas with density under 50. The areas with-the- dlmsity from , 201 to 250 and • 451 and over' are marked by a continuous rise in their popula.,

1ion ever since 1901. puring the past ten years, alL'~nsity "gr~,exc:ept ,the two with density from 51 to 100 an,d 10-1• to ~50showmcr-ease1n their population. This points to the tendency of the population to shift towards as well as to,gro~ in higher density groups. . '. ~, .' .. ,' , , ':,.'. .. -. ' .. SEcnON VI-. HOUSES AND F AldiLIES

54. • House' has been defined in the Census Code as ~ II building or part, of a building inhabited by o~e family, that is by :' nUlD:ber of persons livjn~ together and eating together In one common mess, with theIr dependants and resIdent servants." This is the social type of a house, and differs from the'structural type which formed the basis of house-numbering before 1911 •. The former represents a household or a commensal family, and is adopted for its simplicity .and ease of application. This definition was universally observed throughout the State except the City of Bhavnagar where some modifications had to be made owing to its industrial character. The structural house, on the other hand, is the residence of one or more families having a separate independent •entrance from the common way. This definition, if completely adopted in the City, will form the basis of a tenement Census which will yield very important results ~egarding the, nature of dwelling, the amount of ~pace,a,vailable for th~ accommodation of a family, and the number of persons mhabltmg each particular type of house. For rural areas the social type of the house as defin~d above is very -convenient and useful. SUBSIDIARY TABLE VI PERSONS PER HOUSE AND HOUSES PER SQUARE MILE AVERAGE NuwnER OF PERSONS AVERA.GE NUMBER OP HOUSES PEa HOUSE.

55. Variation in Houaes.-In the above Subsidiary Table are. given the ligures of the average number of houses per square mile since 1901.. The figures for the 1901 Census should not be taken into consideration as the t¥pe of house then ~~opted was given up for the social type' i~ 1911, smce when the defimtlOn has not undergone any change. For the purposes of comparison, therefore, only the statistics from 1911 to 1931 should deserve •our atteution. It w~Il he 'observed that the rise or fall in the number: of houses IX:r square mll~ has been accompanied by a sympathetic increase or decrease .m the populatIOn of the State at each Census. The past decennium has

Like the average ~umber of hou;es per square mile, the average numberof persons per house IS also on the Increase. Here too, as in the case of the former, the figures for 1901 will be left out of consideration. The average number of persons per house remained the same at the Censuses of 1911 and 1921. But in 1931 it rose from 4'3 to 4'6 persons per house. The rise is noticed all over the Mahals of the State. The averages for the Mahals of Botad, Kundla, and Talaja are above the State a verage and suggest that the conditions as prevailing in these tracts were favourable to the healthy growth of population.

56. This lea~s to the c;o~sid~ra~ion of t~~t more, important problem, the break•up of that soclo-economlc institutIOn, the JOint family. If a hasty judgment is hazarded after a casual glance at the figures as they are, the increase in the number of persons per house from 4'3 to 4'6 will appear to suggest that the family ties are strengthening and are held more sacrosanct than before •. But that is not really so. Since the number of occupied houses in the State roughly corresponds to the number of families living and eating together, it will be proper to institute a comparison between the number of occupied houses and the number of married females aged 15 and over, and discover, if the forces of disintegration have appeared on the scene, The. females less than 15 years old have been excluded, as it is only after that age that a wife will come into her own, and will be in a position to have a willing ear of her husband. It is the age when she begins to feel the boredom of dependence upon a quarrelsome mother-in-law, militates against her oppression and authority and tries to assert herself by separating from the joint family. The marginal table shows a pretty good divergence between the number of married females aged 15 and over and the number of occupied houses. The proportions of occupied houses to 100 females aged 15 and over are 74'6, 98-4, and 77'4 for the years 1911, 1921 and 1931 respectively. The ratios of 1911 and 1931 alone can be compared, as the 1921 ratio belongs. to an abnormal intercensal period which was marked by selective influenza mortality, particularly

among the women of child-bearing ages. The reduction of numbers in their ranks would, therefore, raise the proportion of occupied 'houses to 100 females aged 15 and over. And so the comparison of the proportions of 1911 and 1931 with 1921 can serve no useful purpose. But when the figures for 1911 are compared with those for 1931, it is seen that the number of houses is higher in 1931 than that in 1911. While in 1911 74-6 per cent. of the married females above the age of 15 held separate establishments, the corresponding proportion for 1931 rose to 77'4. And the extent of variation is an index to the extent to which the forces of fission and disruption have told upon the joint family, The system does. not seem to have found the same degree of favour as it used to do before; and the tendency which has now set in, may assert itself with greater force in the decade to come. It is not possible in this Report to dwell upon the various causes and effects of the motives underlying this phenomenon, Suffice it, therefore to say that the bonds that formely held the members of a family together are 'gradually loosening. But the disruption of the family ties is not such as to• create any grave apprehension for their total disappearance in the near future. For, the joint family still rules the major portiol) of the field, and it will take many years before the institution suffers a complete break-down. As wiII be seen from the marginal statistics, the jointness of the family is more liable to be shaken in towns than in villages,While the proportion of houses per cent. of married females aged 15 and over is 76'8 in the case of the State excluding the City of Bhavnagar, that for the latter comes to 80'3. This is due to the fact that the village. economy ofthe rural areas based as it is on the co-operation of the members of a family on whose joint participation depe~ds propor.1ooi

the success of agricultural operations, has offered little scope for the appearance, SUJOIIncG'W of disruptive tendenciet. But' the urban atmosphere with a greater number of the educated and professional men who are prompted to keep a higher standard of life and desire to do something by themselves and theirs, favours the growth of dissolving factora. . . 57. Summing up.-It will !low be .worthwhi1~ to 'sum up the conditions. prevailing during the past decenDium which have given such an unprecedented rise of 17'3 per ceut. to the population of the State. "In order to increase and multiply man must have certain essential conditions-water, food, clothing and shelter a climate not fatally unhealthy and sufficient security of life and property to mak~ it possible for him to settle and abide. "1. The existence and operation of these conditions have been reviewed in the preceding pages. It has been seen that the circumstances as obtaining during the past decade were fovourable to the' natural and actual growth of the population of the Bhavnagar State. The natural growth resulting from an excess of births over deaths was stimulated by the general, economic and agricultural conditions of the decade. N ~ epide~ic like influenza and plague which hampered the even growth of populatIOn dunng the previous decade made its appearance. Public health was maintained at a fairly high level. Notwithstanding the annual average rai~fall of some of. the middle years being much below the normal, the results of agncultural operations• were on the whole conducive to the general well•being of the people. The first three years were good beyond the expectations of the klr.edut and the deficiency of the, subsequent two years was made up by an extraordi~ary rise in the !evel of pric.es, especially of cotton. The decade also saw the rebirth of the credit co-operattve' societies, and the successful operation of the Debt Redemption Scheme in the Mahal of Lilia. The industrial and commercial advancement was still more rapid. The import trade expanded enormously during the intercensal period. It was instrumental in drawing to the City people from outside and increasing the. total population of the State. The benefits of a well-governed and beneficent administration cannot be minimised. For, the sense of security to person and• property which it engenders in the minds of the people has a very wholesome effect on the growth of numbers. The last but not the least was the returning ebb of those persons of the State who had been induced to move to commercial and trading centres like Bombay and Ahmedabad during the war•time. The artificial prosperity which characterised the post-war boom period had disappeared with the growing maladjustment between production and consumption •. During the second quinqennium of 1921-31 prices were falling offand suffered a. sudden collapse in October 1929. Trade depression and unemployment that followed became still more acute as a result of the unfavourable political situation of the country. Only the cotton mill industry flourished. But prosperity in. one trade was not sufficient to compensate for the loss of employment in others. The economic condition of the cities was thus going from bad to worse under the• growing stress of unemployment. People, therefore, thought of going back to. ~:ir native places, where the joint family system with its common messing and hvmg under a common roof made for less expensive life. These considerations. materially influenced to send the unemployed malcontents back to their homes. and swell the numbers of the native population. And in this Bhavnagar too

had its quota. "

58. The Probable Future Trend of the Population.-The causes responsible for the highest rise both from the point of percentage and numbers. in the total p<Jpulati?n of the State .have been summed up. As has been seen~ the .populatlOn dunng the past Dine years, eleven months, and eight days has mcreased by 73,870 souls, or 17'3 per cent. Taking the arithmetic mean the ave~g.e annual increase during the intercensal period comes to 7,458 persons~ ~ut thiS I~ not actually the case, because the population of a tract will not mcrease u?Iformly fro~ year to year. The geometrical method of calculating the mean mcrease dunng the intercensal period suggested by Whipple is worked

-out in the foot-note'. While the increase (1'7 per cent.)' according to the arithmetical method is higher during the intercensal period, that during the postcensal period is higher according to the geometrical method, whereby the population of the State will increase at the rate of 1'6 per cent. per annum. The question' that now confronts us is: what then will the probable future trend of the population of the State of Bhavnagar be? Will the extraordinary rapid movement which has been observed during 1921-31 be -continued during the next decennium? Will the Census of 1941 be fortunate enough to register the same degree of rise? It is not possible to give 'an

unqualified answer to these questions. But before making any such attempt,

the times and circumstances which will form the background of the next Census -should be mentally pictured. A reference must also be made to the past history of the Census in the State, and consequently to the past movement of its

population at each successive Census.

As the curve oppsite page 22 and the marginal diagram illustrate, the move. ment of the population of the State has been characterised by an alternate rise and fall in the population of the State. After the taking of the first Census V,..RIATION PERCENT IN THE POPU'LATION OF THE STATE IN EACH 'INTERCENSAL PERIOD SINCE 1881

in 1872, the population curve goes down in 1881, 1901 and 1921, and rises up in 1891, 1911, and 1931. An increase in the State population at one Census has been invariably accompanied by a fall at the other. The past history of the movement of the population would, therefore, seem to suggest that the same even growth of the popUlation is not likely to continue during the coming years. It may perhaps be that a high percentage rise at this Census may not be accompanied by an equally high fall in the population. It is equally likely that the population may show a rise rather than a fall, unless some epidemic confronts the population to fulfil the Malthusian prophecy and checks it from growing beyond the means of subsistence. But there are other directions from which the checks to the growth of population may be administered. Among the social factors that may operate, though not to a great extent, to restrict the growth of population in the current decennium should be counted the Child and Old Age

Marriages Prevention Act of 19~O. pas .. d '!'Y the Darbar fixing the m~i~?m ages at marriage for boys and gtrls Iespecti~velf at 18 and 14, and prohibltin~ the marriage of a man past. the ag~ of 4? WIth.a w:oman less than half hu;. age. This question will be dl~ ID all Its bearings .ID a further C~pter relating to the Civil Condition. It will, therefore, be suffiCIent only to pomt out that the postponement of age at marriage, and the prevet;ttion of old age marriages cannot but result in offering some-though not apprectabl~heck to the unhampered growth of the State population. Female infanticide which is not infrequently mentioned in this connection should be absolutely ruled out of court in the case of this State. Abortion is sometimes alluded to as one of the checks. But religious sentiment and notions of morality which mould and' characterise a Hindu life would not warrant any. importance being attached tothis practice. It is to be found, if at all, only among some of those youngerwidows who have been the unfortunate victims of enforced widowhood without enjoying the pleasures of life. The effects of artificial birth-control as limiting the future growth of population should also be noticed. Contraceptives have been frequently suggested as a means to limit the size of the family, and'. bettering one's economic condition by raising the standard of life. For, a large family is an obstacle to satisfying all the daily needs-not to talk of comforts and luxuries-of life. Reduction in the number of mouths to feed leaves a surplus which can be devoted to raise a man's economic status. This has resulted in the use of contraceptives on a very large scale in European countries, more extensively in France and the United States of America. The adoption of similar devices has been very widely advocated nowadays in India toreduce the size of the family and thereby promote the economic growth of the country. A Census Report is concerned with it only in its effects upon the growth of population. It may be pointed out here that their use in the state is likely to achieve little success in the near future owing to the extreme poverty of the Indian masses, social and religious traditions of the people, and their .jnability tocomprehend its meaning much less to understand its significance and practise it.' So no check is likely to be received from this quarter during the next decade. And finally, the general, political and economic conditioh of the country which cannot but have its repurcussions on the Indian States, does not promise to be on the whole satisfactory. Political and economic unrest go hand in hand, and one' is bound to react upon the other. Population grows only during times of peace and economic prosperity, and in the absence of the latter, harmonious growth of numbers cannot be hoped for. Even apart from the effects of political situation upon the economic condition of anyone country, the whole of the world suffers tD-day from over-population and under-employment without showing any chances. of revival in the immediate future. This cannot but have a restrictive influence on the growth of population. These then are the conditions which will determine the movement of population during the decade 1931-41. Adaed to these are the unforeseen effects of pestilence and famine, already referred to which periodically visit the Indian Continent. But when all this is said and surmised, it must be acknowledged that man is but a feeble judge of what is in the womb of future. There are many other factors which are beyond human knowledge and control. The probable conclusion, therefore, seems to be that while it is very uulikely that the wowth of the popul~tion of the S~te in th~ future will be at the same speed as m the past decenmum, and whtle the circumstances aforesaid would not warrant the inference of any great rise in its numbers the past history would suggest a possible decline in its population as recorded in'1931. . SECTION VII-POPULATION AND ECONOMIC PROBLEMS.

. 59 •. Preaaure of Popu!ation.-While the popUlation of the State has Increased by 17 per cent. durmg the last decennium and 25 per cent. during 1881.1931, at the latter rate it would double itself within the next two hundred years. But speculations of this kind are of 1!tt1e .vaIue, when we know that the

population of a country or state does not increase at' a uniform rate from Census to Census. Checks to its growth are administered from various quarters. Since the commencement of the Census era, the decades 1881-91, 1901-11 and 1921-31 have been the only fairly normal periods. The rest have been disturbed by plague, famine and influenza which have set back the pendulum of growth. The writers on economics attribute the operation of these checks to the working •of the Malthusian Law of Population. Mr. Ranadive, a recent writer on the subject, says:- .. The Malthnsian theroy states that the popnlation shows an inherent tendency to -outrun the means of subsistence, in as much as, if uncbecked, it will increase at least in geometrical ratio. while subsistence, even under tbe most favourable circumstances, cannot increase faster than in an arithmetical ratio. As man cannot live without bread, the .growth of popnlation mnst necessarily be cnrbed by the operation of varions checks:•' In other words, the popnlation will actually increase only as far as the means of subsistenco will allow; bnt since it will always tend to ontstrip prodnction, its growth will always be cnrbed hy varions checks. Referring to the periodical visitations like plague, famine, Bood, and influenza, and examining the higb birtb•rate, conpled with an eqnally bigb death.rate, and tbe bigb infantile mortality, the antbor concludes that there is a growing maladjnstment ,between population and prodnction wbicb cannot but peril the very existence of tbe Indian nation, unless timely and concerted measnres are taken. He is of the opinion that while intensive cultivation 00 western lines is not possible in view of the poverty of the cultivator, tendency towards diminishing returns, and inefficient methods of production, recourse to rapid industrialisation can be only a feeble palliative. The remedy for tbe country to get •ont of tbe Maltbusian misery is not only to prevent tbe growtb of population bnt also to reduce tbe existing pressure of nnmbers. Tbis can be done eitber by abstinence or self•control; but more effectively by tbe adoption of neo-Maltbusian metbods of artificial birth-control whicb will give a natnral excess of deaths over births. On the other hand, it must be remembered that it is only in an agricultural •community that the pressure of population on the means of subsistence or the available food supply will be of any consequence. The Industrial Revolution of Europe during the last century gave a great impetus to the growth of population in countries like England and Germany, irrespective of the food supply available to support the rapid growth of numbers. The possibility <;>f the means of subsistence giving out at any particular future period can only be considered in regard to the world as a whole. An industrial country can exchange its commodities in lieu of agricultural produce. Again man's capacities for mastering the forces •{)f Nature have been proved to be immense, and one does not know what further scientific inventions will come to the succour of humanity to avert the evil day predicted by Malthus.' The world has gone on in the past and will also go on in the future. But what is of great economic importance is the pressure of population as .increasing man's misery and poverty and lowering his standard of life. And for testing this pressure Mr. Ranadive suggests :- "Wbetber a conntry bas mnltiplied far below a rationally adequate standard of life, •or bas approacbed or transgressed tbe poverty line, can in our opinion, be judged by a referenCEI to tbe calamitons cbecks to popnlation, wbich are born onto of poverty. If famines and epidemics are fonnd to oppress the popnlation of a country in any great degree tben it -<:an be safely generalised tbat tbere is not enougb food in that conntry to supprot its population adequately, and that popnlation bas mnltiplied beyond a reasonable standard of living; in sbort that tbe conntry is overpopnlated:' , Thus 'over-population' or pressure of population on the means of subsistence are relative terms, and refer to the existing material and economic condition . <>f a country without reference to any prospective expansion ~hat may result in the future. The problem is as to whether the existing means of a country meaning thereby the totality of its national wealth and national income are by themselves sufficient to support the existing pressure of population. So far as India is concerned, the reply is in the negative. And what is true of India as a whole, is 1. Population Problem oj India, p. 7. 2. Ibid. p. 15. STANDARD OF LTVISG . tme-after making the neces.<;<l.ry allow~nce l'ir local ~riations it;' the de~el?l?" ment of ag-ricultural and non.agncu.ltural mdustnes at.td differ~t;'ces 10 the mdiVldual income owing to better tradmg and commercial conditions-for the State •of Bha vnagar also.

60. Standard of Living.-The poverty of the Indian masses is patent. Their standard of life is miserably low. - The national dividend or the per capi~ income has been variously estimated from Rs. 20 to Rs. 74. Dadabhoy NaoroJI put it at Rs. 20. Later on in 1881, it was estimated at Rs. 27 by Sir pavid Barbour, and at Hs. 30 in 1901 hy Lo~d Curzon. Ten years I.ater, Mr. Fmdlay, Shirras found it to be Rs. 50. Accordmg to the latest calculatIons of Mr. Khambatta the gross per capita income has been estimated to be Rs. 74. per year. H th~ level of prices prevailing at these differ~nt perio~s of time ?e•taken into consideration it will be found that all these estimates dIffer but little, though wme negligible rise will have occurred after all these years. Whatever the esti-. mate we select for our purpose, the standard of living as at present obtaining in the country has reached the line of starvation. The finding of a similar estimate' for the State would entail an elaborate enquiry of great complexity. •But it is' our opinion that though the comparatively smaller incidence of taxation and j better conditions of living may give to the State figure a value higher than the aile: India figure, it will not differ from it to any very great extent. The low standard. of life which is one of the tests to gauge the over•population in the country is also: established by the enquiries made by the Bombay Labour,Office into the budgets• of the working classes in 1921-22. The gist of its conclusion was that a criminal i in jail could get more than workmen who toiled hard to earn an hones.t living. i The increasing pressure of population can be relieved only by preserving: a balance between agricultural and non-agricultural industries. The pressure has I begun to be felt not only in old countries like India which is mainly agricultural; but also in England and America which are mainly industrial. A fair distribu- i tion of population between agricultural and industrial occupations is' the only I remedy. India must not only resort to intensive cql~ivation, but must also I develop industrially. The growth of numbers must be checked by conscious; efforts. But as has been already seen in the preceding para, the adoption ofj .artificial means of reducing the family is not to be expected in the near future. i But the increasing pressure of population .on the means of subsistence can be' relieved by reverting to her old practice of plain living and high thinking., Though there must be an increase in the national production• and national income . if not greater than yet equal in amount to that of any other advanced countrY •of the world, the simplicity of life for which she has stood for centuries should not be lost sight of. The difference between the East and West lies in this fundamental change in their outlook on life. While the materialistic civilization, of ~he W~st is based upon the multiplication of wants and growing discontent as' an incentIve to progress, the spiritualistic civilization of the Orient is based on the' li"}itation of want~, si.~plicity of life and the consequent contented and peaceful eXIstence of the mdlVlduai. In the actual worldly life there should be a fair admIxture of the two. And no small degree of relief can be secured from ••the pressure on the means ~f subs~stence by living a simple life whose necessitY is noi overlooked even by foreIgn writers on economics. To those Who are prone to be converted by the pen of foreigners, we offer the following passage from Dr. Thompson:- . ., . , ' h "To simpli£y our present standards of living does not necessarily mean 'a lowering ~r . tern. ia)1t means rather that a good many of the things of our civilization which we cODsider ~sse~t to-day may be found to be merely passing phases" induced 'by our rapid industrial eve ~pment •. \V~ have. become accustomed to thiuk of civilization and cultur. and progress as 0. necessity lnvolvlDg all the comploxities of our present existence It is open to qu':,"ltoni, howeve~, whether much of our present complexity is not a hindr~nce to real cultor. rat er t an IlD ald. Th~e cannot be much doubt that as people are becoming more

ucated they are. becomlDg more self•contained, and they begin to see that the way to get

I • most °dntb a °bfl life IS to put the most into it, and not to surroond themselves with all the nxunes an u es they can afford."1 1. Population: A Slu4J in MalII"u",lIilm. p. 16+.

ADDITIONAL SUBSIDIARY TABLES