Chapter 3- PEOPLE
(a) Population :
(i) Total population (Male and female) according to sub-divisions, Tahsils and Thanas. Growth of population, emigration and immigration, and connected problems.
(ii) Distribution between urban and rural areas. Drift towards towns or villages and reasons for it.
(iii) Displayed persons.
(b) Language :
Regional distribution of population on the basis of mother-tongues and bilingualism. Differences in dialect within the same linguistic group. Scripts used.
(c) Religion and Caste :
Principal communities, castes, classes and tribes ; general structure, religious beliefs, manners and customs, inter-caste relations. New religious leaders and movements.
Note : Population figures of castes and sub-castes are not available, and they need not be given. There should only be a general discussion of customs and manners and inter-caste relations.
(d) Social life :
(i) Property and inheritance : Joint-family systems, matriarchial system and other forms of inheritance. Transfer of property through wills as a sign of the weakening of the old joint-family ties.
(ii) Marriage and Morals : Monogamy, polygamy and polyandry. Traditional restrictions on marriage alliances – caste and sub-caste, gotra, marriage with maternal uncle or his son, etc. Marriage customs and rituals including dowry system. Loosening of the hold of old ideas and the frequency of inter-caste or sub-caste marriages. Number of civil marriages. Marital age. Marriage of widows, divorce, economic dependence of women and their place in society. Prostitution, traffic in women, drinking gambling etc.
(iii) Home life : Types of dwellings, furniture and decorations, dress and ornaments, food, amusements, and festivals, etc.
(iv) Communal life : Pilgrim centres and jatras, Communal dances, festivities, etc. Public games, Recreation clubs and associations.
(v) Economic and Professional groups and classes in relation to social life, eg., impact of the abolition of the zamindari system on social life.
Note : It was the practice of the old Gazetteers to deal with the manners, customs and beliefs of each caste and tribe at length. A briefer treatment would appear to adequate for the present purpose. Those who are interested in further details can consult the old Gazetteers and books on social anthropology. Castes and tribes, which are culturally distinct and unique may however, require fuller treatment. The old Gazetteers also over-stressed the prevalence of animistic beliefs and survivals of old customs and rituals. Valuable as these studies are, they do not give a correct picture of the people as a whole. Sufficient attention should be paid to the influence of higher religious ideas and also to the new religious and social reform movements.