Census: 2001- Do we need an exercise in data

interpretation?
By: Kunal Sharma (Student Career Launcher)
History of the Indian census: The Indian census,
conducted every ten years, is a massive national
administrative exercise. There are very few countries in the
world with a history of an uninterrupted decennial census
going back to 1881. The 2001 census was the 14th in a row
and the 6th after attaining Independence.
Census 2001- Salient facts and figures: The census
confirmed that we were a nation of more than a billion. At
the last count on March 1, 2001, we were 1,027,015,247!
The census covered 20 million households spread over 6.5
lakh villages and 5500 towns and cities during the 25-day
exercise.
The decennial growth rate of population is 21.34 % during
1991-2001 as compared to 23.85 % for the previous
decade. It is estimated that even at this rate of growth,
India will overtake China by 2050 to become the most
populous country in the world. Kerala had the lowest
growth rate of 9.42 % while Nagaland was the highest with
64.41 % growth rate.
In 2001, the density of population in India was 324 persons
per sq. km. showing an increase of 21.3 % from 1991.
India's diversity is put in perspective when we see that the
density is 13 in Arunachal Pradesh and 9294 in Delhi.
Among the states, density is highest in West Bengal (904).
The sex ratio is 933 females per 1000 males, showing a
rise of 6 points from 927 per 1000 males in 1991. The only
exception where the fairer sex outnumbers their
counterparts is the state of Kerala which has 1058 females
for every 1000 males.

The average birth rate was 31.7 % against a death rate of

11 % in 1981-1991, while during the subsequent decade,
crude birth rate is projected at 4.8 % as against a crude
death rate of 8.9 %.
Literacy and education are normally taken as major
parameters in judging the growth and development of a
nation. The literacy rate has shown an increase from 52.19
% in 1991 to 65.38 % in 2001. Kerala has done
phenomenally to top the states with a literacy rate of 90.92
%. Bihar has an abysmal literacy rate of 47.53 % and lies at
the bottom of the table.
The Controversy: It was sparked off when the RegistrarGeneral of the Census made public the report of the 2001
census. In his report, released in presence of the media, he
showed the population growth rate of the Muslims as 32 %
showing a significant increase in the growth rate over the
previous census figures.
The very next day, the BJP spokesperson Mr. Venkaiah
Naidu addressed the press and stated that the Muslim
community should control the population growth rate. The
data released by the Registrar- General was fast
snowballing into a major issue of contention and it was
obvious that Muslim organizations would not sit quiet for
long. The Government would have to quickly set about in a
damage control exercise. Did these figures really represent
an imbalance in the population growth rate of the different
communities?
Amidst all this hullabaloo and bedlam, the critical data that
should have been considered was not conveyed to the
media. Most of us had forgotten that the states of Jammu

and Kashmir and Assam were not part of this humungous

administrative exercise in 1991! It is nothing but a wellknown fact that a majority of the population of the state of
Jammu and Kashmir is Muslim. Now, it doesn't need an
Einstein to figure out why the figures put forward to the
media by the Registrar General of the census did not hold
any statistical significance from point of view of the
population growth rate of the Muslims. In fact, if we
eliminate the statistics of Jammu and Kashmir and Assam
from the census of 1991 purely to derive some statistical
inference out of the data assimilation exercise, it is found
that the Muslim population growth rate has in fact dropped
to 29 %!
The big question? : So, don't you think that we all need a
lesson in data interpretation? I feel that the people
analyzing the census data definitely do! Now come on, let
us be realistic. It is like believing that the sun has risen from
the West if you tell me that the Registrar- General of the
census made an error in the report circulated to the media!
For an exercise on such a massive scale, don't you find it
hard to believe that the man holding the "responsible" post
of the Registrar-General of the census could give such
misleading data to the press? It could have led to so much
had the error not been rectified as soon as it was. The
Government can conduct as many enquiries it wants to but
the first step it should take is to remove such an
irresponsible official from the post.
Whether the data was distorted due to political
interferences is another question altogether. In this case,
your guess is as good as mine!