9 | India Seen Through First Synchronous Census of 1881: Social Condition and Identity Formation

The occupational data confirmed what administrators had long assumed but had never previously been able to quantify at an all-India scale: the Indian economy was overwhelmingly agrarian. The vast majority of the enumerated population was classified as directly dependent on agriculture, either as cultivators, agricultural labourers, or members of agricultural households. Early industrial and commercial occupations were concentrated in a small number of urban centers, principally Bombay and Calcutta (Plowden, 1883).

Women's labour presented a particular challenge for the census framework. The classification of female occupations was systematically distorted by enumerators who either failed to record women's agricultural contributions or assigned them to domestic categories regardless of their actual work (Plowden, 1883).

Table: Distribution of the Indian workforce across primary occupational designations, Census of India 1881.

The Agricultural Sector

Agriculture was the dominant industry in every province. However, the census noted a significant difficulty in distinguishing between land proprietors and tenant cultivators, as local customs often blurred these lines . For example, in the Punjab, many who were virtually tenant cultivators returned themselves as proprietors (Plowden, 1883).

The Industrial and Artisan Class

The industrial sector was primarily of manual trades and village-based manufacturing. Cotton manufacture was by far the largest industrial employer. The census also noted a strong correlation between caste and occupation; for instance, the Kammalars (smiths/carpenters) and Vannar (washermen) showed nearly 95% adherence to their hereditary trades (Plowden, 1883).

Professional and Domestic Observations

• Government Service: The census recorded approximately 1.37 million officials across national, municipal, and village governments. This included 791,379 officers of local and village governments.

• Learned Professions: This order was dominated by the clergy; 601,164 males were returned as ministers or priests. Hindoo priests specifically numbered 397,954.

• Domestic Disparity: Compared to England, British India had a very small proportion of domestic servants. In England, 1 in 14 people were servants; in Madras, it was only 1 in 139. This was attributed to the fact that Indian families performed their own menial tasks and the lack of a large "comfortable class".

• Goldsmiths: In an interesting contrast to European trends, India had a very high number of goldsmiths (401,582). In Madras, there was one goldsmith for every 408 people, compared to 1 in 1,200 in England. This was because Indians viewed jewellery as a primary investment rather than mere ornament

The religious classification established a Hindu majority, a Muslim minority, and a series of smaller religious categories across the subcontinent. The results showed Hindus forming 74 percent of the population (about 188 million), Muslims 19.7 percent (50 million), and the remaining 6 percent distributed across Buddhists, Christians, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, Jews, and various aboriginal faiths (Plowden, 1883). 

The Christian population was analyzed in extraordinary detail, broken down by sect (Roman Catholic, Church of England, Syrian, Lutheran, Baptist, etc.) and by race (British-born, Eurasian, Native). The report notes that Native Christian numbers increased 64 percent between 1872 and 1881, chiefly by conversion (Plowden, 1883).

The category of ‘Hindoo’ was, as the census report acknowledged, a term that "denotes neither a creed nor a race, neither a church nor a people, but is a general expression devoid of precision." Yet the census established a rule that "every native who was unable to define his creed, or described it by any other name than that of some recognized religion, was held to be classed as a Hindoo," effectively absorbing into a single statistical identity the extraordinary diversity of indigenous, syncretic, and ambiguous religious practice across the subcontinent (Plowden, 1883).

Table: Literacy percentages across major religious groups, Census of India 1881. Source: Report on the Census of British India, 1881.

The political consequences of this classification proved to be among the most lasting of any decision made during the census. By fixing a religious map of India with numerical proportions attached to each category, the 1881 Census provided the statistical foundation for subsequent debates about representation, electoral weightage, and communal politics. Religious identity, once counted, acquired a measurability and political significance it had not previously possessed in the same form.

Regional Variations

Proportions for Aboriginals are based on religious classification. In many provinces, they were returned as Hindoos. ²"Others" primarily aggregates Jains and Sikhs where they returned significant numbers.

Hindu: The Hindu population was strongest in the far south, especially in Mysore, Madras, and Coorg. It was weakest in the far northwest (Punjab) and in Burma. In Burma, only 236 out of every 10,000 people were Hindu, while Buddhists made up nearly nine-tenths of the population. 

Muslim: Followers of Islam were most numerous in Punjab (5,135 per 10,000) and Bengal (3,122 per 10,000). Madras was the least Muslim among the large provinces, with only 620 Muslims per 10,000 people. 

Christian: The Christian population was concentrated in the south, particularly in Madras and Travancore. Madras ranked first among all provinces, both in total number of Christians and in proportion (228 per 10,000). 

Buddhists: Although India was the birthplace of Buddhism, the 1881 Census found fewer than 200,000 Buddhists on the continent. The religion was almost entirely limited to Burma, where Buddhists made up nearly nine-tenths of the population (8,702 per 10,000). In the rest of India, only small numbers were found, mainly in Bengal (22 per 10,000) and Assam (13 per 10,000). 

Aboriginal: These groups were found in significant numbers in the Central Provinces (1,519 per 10,000) and Assam (1,000 per 10,000). 

Parsees: The Parsee community formed a very small part of the total population (only 3 per 10,000 across all of India) and was highly localized. More than 96% of all Parsees in India lived in the Bombay Presidency and Baroda, mostly in commercial centers such as Bombay City and Surat. 

Jains: The Jains were more widely distributed than Buddhists or Sikhs, appearing in 18 out of 22 provinces and states. Their highest proportions were in Ajmere (528 per 10,000), Rajputana (369), and Baroda (214). The census report notes that their numbers were likely undercounted because many Jains reported their religion as Hindu. 

Sikhs: The Sikh population was almost entirely confined to the Punjab, where they numbered 595 per 10,000. The only other notable Sikh community was in Sindh (part of the Bombay Presidency), with about 77 Sikhs per 10,000 people. 

Other sects: The 1881 Census made significant progress by separately identifying smaller sects such as the Satnamis and Kabirpanthis. These groups were found in notable numbers in the Central Provinces (398,409 and 347,994 persons, respectively). Jews were also recorded in 14 provinces, though they exceeded 1,000 persons only in Bombay, Cochin, and Bengal. 

The census reporter noted that the proportions sometimes added up to slightly more than 10,000 (for example, 10,004). This happened because the figures were given without decimal points. In addition, some sects like Jains and Sikhs were often counted as Hindus in provincial returns, which may have led to their numbers being understated.

A major departure in 1881 was the formal introduction of the mother tongue requirement, added as one of three new components alongside migration data (Das and Das, 2006). This addition was intended to provide an exposition of the actual ethnic elements of the population through linguistic distinctions (Maheshwari, 1996). The census ultimately distinguished 106 separate Indian tongues, but administrative categorization often obscured regional diversity (Plowden, 1883).

For instance, Hindustani or Urdu was returned as numbering 82 million speakers, yet official reports admitted this was an overstatement (Plowden, 1883). In major provinces like the North-West and Oudh, ‘pure Hindi’ was not separately distinguished from Hindustani, leading the Census Commissioner to estimate that nearly half of the Hindustani speakers were likely speaking Hindi (Maheshwari, 1996).

National Language Data: Major Languages of India (1881)

(Sources: Plowden, 1883)

The 1881 Census attempted the task of enumerating India's complex social hierarchy, yet officials frequently admitted that caste statistics are the most unsatisfactory part of the return (Maheshwari, 1996; Plowden, 1883). This difficulty originated from a general ignorance among the population and the fact that the same caste was often known by different names at different places, leading to a constant tendency towards conflating caste with occupation (Maheshwari 1996). 

To manage this diversity, Commissioner W.C. Plowden grouped the population into five broad categories: "Brahmans, Rajputs, Castes of Good Social Position, Inferior Castes and Non-Hindus or Aboriginal Castes" (Bhagat 2006). The instructions called for every caste with over 100,000 members to be shown separately, but Plowden (1883) acknowledges that "the question, to be dealt with satisfactorily, must be handled by one who has the antiquarian tastes and the peculiar knowledge which alone will permit of a full and enlightened discussion." 

This process of objectification induced people to organise and represent their interests in politics in terms of caste identities, as many used the enumeration to "extenuate their present status by claiming an origin of fabulous glory" or raise their social status by placing themselves in higher categories (Maheshwari, 1996; Bhagat 2006).

One particularly interesting thing about the census was its attention to caste mobility. One enumerator from Baroda reports that “so long as a Kunbi cultivates land and conducts the agricultural operation himself he is content to call himself a Kunbi, but when he rises above that level he styles himself a Maratha.” Similarly in another example, it was also noted that Wanjari, a nomadic caste, has been able to achieve ‘rise in the social rank.’ (Plowden, 1883)

Table: Major Hindu Castes with Populations Exceeding One Million (1881)

This table illustrates the primary castes identified by the 1881 Census that reached a significant numerical threshold across the Empire.

(Source: Plowden, 1883)

The classification of tribal populations remained a point of administrative uncertainty in 1881, with the term "aboriginal" often applied to those who retained nature worship or cults. Because these communities were often found in remote hill tracts, their counting was frequently approximated rather than accurately enumerated (Plowden, 1883). 

In instances involving the Bhils of Rajputana or the Sonthals of Bengal, resistance to being counted resulted in an enumeration that was more in the nature of an estimate than of an absolute count (Plowden, 1883). This lack of precision often led to the reclassification of tribes as ‘backward Hindus’, which distorted the accuracy of demographic registrations (Gill, 2007).

Table: Wandering and Criminal Tribes in the Punjab (1881)

This table details the specific communities and their enumerated populations under the "Criminal" classification in the Punjab province.

(Source: Plowden, 1883)

Table: Important Aboriginal Tribes in Madras (1881)

This list includes tribes recognized as having an ancient presence in South India.

(Source: Plowden, 1883)

Table: Major Aboriginal Tribes in Bengal (1881)

Bengal categorized tribes into those retaining primitive cults and those partially Hinduized.

(Source: Plowden, 1883)

Criminal Tribes

Census enumeration and statistical data on tribes played a fundamental role in transitioning the colonial state’s focus from specific criminal acts to classifying entire communities as inherently criminal. This process occurred through first defining a Thuggee and the Thuggee Act (1836-48) and later providing the ideological framework for Criminal Tribes Act (CTA) of 1871 (Schwarz, 2010). 

The census data provided a grid that turned the fluid identities of wandering tribes into rigid, controllable categories. Census takers like Denzil Ibbeston argued that ignorance of local custom was a ‘loss of administrative power’. The censuses of 1871 and 1881 sought to solve this by creating standardized lists of castes and subcastes, fixing these categories as genetic boundaries and forming the category of ‘hereditary criminals’ (Schwarz, 2010). 

In the North-Western Provinces, the Census Commissioner used population surveys to decide which groups to ‘notify’ under the CTA. If a group was enumerated as ‘vagrant’ or ‘unsettled’, the colonial state immediately applied the thuggee model of guilt by association, justifying the extraordinary measures of the CTA. By the 1881 census, the state no longer needed proof of an individual’s crime, and relied on enumerated census data showing that if a person belonged to a ‘notified’ tribe, then forced settlement, registration and separation of children from parents were justified under CTA (Schwarz, 2010). A separate article in this series deals with the origins and long term implications of this act in detail.