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Language in India www.languageinindia.com 81
11 : 3 March 2011
Atanu Saha, M.A.
Census and the Aspects of Growth and Development of Bangla vs. Bangla-Hindi
Bilingualism - With Special Focus on West Bengal
LANGUAGE IN INDIA
Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow
Volume 11 : 3 March 2011
ISSN 1930-2940
Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
S. M. Ravichandran, Ph.D.
G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
Census and the Aspects of Growth and Development of
Bangla vs. Bangla-Hindi Bilingualism -
With Special Focus on West Bengal
Atanu Saha, M.A.
=========================================================
Abstract
This paper investigates the growth and development of Bangla-Hindi Bilingualism based on
the Census of India data from 1931 to 2001.The investigation is carried out in the following
manner: First of all the census data from 1931 Census was collected and the total number of
Bangla speakers and Hindi speaking population (comprising the second largest population
in West Bengal) was compared. The status of both Bangla as a first and second language
and data for Bilingualism of Bangla English or Bangla-Hindi were collected as per the
availability. The observations were then tallied with the data given in the People of India
Project. The analysis reveals several pertinent information which may be used to make
appropriate language policies in the state and other parts of the country.
List of abbreviations
COI Census of India
POI People of India Project
POP Population
SC Scheduled Castes
ST Scheduled Tribes
Language in India www.languageinindia.com 82
11 : 3 March 2011
Atanu Saha, M.A.
Census and the Aspects of Growth and Development of Bangla vs. Bangla-Hindi
Bilingualism - With Special Focus on West Bengal
OC Other Castes
MT Mother Tongue
List of Figures
Figure 1 Birth place is in Bengal but the person has a non-Bangla MT.
Figure 2 Bangla and Hindi as L1 & L2 in 1931.
Figure 3 Comparison of Bangla and Hindi speakers.
Figure 4 Male-female Language Speaking Ratio in Bengal.
Figure 5 Distribution of Speakers in West Bengal.
Figure 6 Rural Distribution of Population of West Bengal.
Figure 7 West Bengal Urban Population Distribution of language.
Figure 8 Distribution of Speakers of Various Languages in Kolkata.
Figure 9 Percentage of Population of Specific Languages.
Figure 10 Distribution of Speakers per Ten Thousand.
Figure 11 The Number of Communities Using the Scheduled Languages with Their Variants.
Figure 12 The Scheduled Languages With Their Variants And The Number Of Communities
Speaking Them For Inter Group Communication.
Figure 13 Language Distribution in Pakistan 1981.
Figure 14 Population by MT 1998.
Introduction
India is a multilingual Nation. In many places, both rural and urban, there are well settled
people groups, domiciled for centuries, which use a variety of different languages for
intergroup communication. There are also recent migrants from other parts of India for
purposes of education, employment, etc. Thus there is bilingualism or multilingualism
everywhere. In the British colonial period people of Bengal developed a Bangla-English
Bilingualism predominantly. After independence it was Hindi-Bangla Bilingualism that
started to emerge as the dominant form of bilingualism in this state. There is an increase in
the number of mother tongue speakers of Bangla as biological growth. Increase in the number
of Hindi Speakers is generally ascribed to factors like migration, inter-caste and inter-
language marriage, employment and education Without presuming anything I have tried to
Language in India www.languageinindia.com 83
11 : 3 March 2011
Atanu Saha, M.A.
Census and the Aspects of Growth and Development of Bangla vs. Bangla-Hindi
Bilingualism - With Special Focus on West Bengal
investigate the following.
1. During British Period
i. Status of Bangla
ii. Status of Bangla-English Bilingualism
2. Post Independence
i. Bangla-Hindi Bilingualism
ii. Different Communities Living in Bengal
iii. Male vs. Female Bilingualism
iv. Rural vs. Urban Bilingualism
Methodology
I have tried to investigate the topic in the following manner:
A. Take census data from 1931 onwards and see the total number of Bangla speakers and
Hindi speaking population (comprising the second largest population in West Bengal).
i. Both Bangla as a first and second language.
ii. Data for Bilingualism of Bangla English or Bangla-Hindi wherever available.
B. Take the People of India Project figures and tally them with the Census data
C. Final Analysis and Fact Findings
Census of India, 1931: Summary of Figures
Bangla was the mother tongue of 923 persons in every 1,000 inhabitants of Bengal. In the
Census of India 1881, the number was 954 out of 1,000 native born population used Bangla
as their MT. In 1911 it stood at 919. In the Dacca Division less than 15 persons in every
1,000 spoke MTs other than Bangla. In Rajshahi and Burdwan Divisions prevalence of other
languages showed as 121 and 123 persons among every 1,000 speakers respectively.
Hindustani was spoken by less than 4% of the total population. Highest density (77 out of
every 1000 persons) of Hindustani speakers was found in the Presidency Division. Increase
of Hindi speaking population is shown below: (See Part ii Imperial Table Language Part. ii of 1931 census
of India)
COI
1931
Year
Total
persons
Per
centage
Persons
returning
1881
204
20.4
1891
295
29.5
Language in India www.languageinindia.com 84
11 : 3 March 2011
Atanu Saha, M.A.
Census and the Aspects of Growth and Development of Bangla vs. Bangla-Hindi
Bilingualism - With Special Focus on West Bengal
Hindi as MT
Per 1,000
1901
347
34.7
1911
414
41.4
Total speakers of Hindi/Hindustani in Bengal were 1,891,337 with a density of 370 per ten
thousand people. Main concentrations of speakers of Hindi were seen in Calcutta, Howrah,
(southern part of Bengal), Malda (central part of Bengal), and Jalpaiguri (northern part of
Bengal). Highest increase in terms of percentage (9.5%) of Hindustani speakers is seen
between years 1881-1891. There is also a sharp increase of about 7% between the years
1901-1911. Many reasons may be suggested for such sharp increase. The most important
and plausible reason could be the emergence of Kolkata and cities around as a major
industrial belt, which needed and attracted a large labor force.
Birthplace was in Bengal but Spoke a non-Bangla Native Language
Place
Percentage to total
population
Burdwan
5%
Chittagong Hill
51% (in Bangladesh)
Darjeeling
47%
percent
Hooghly
4%
Howrah
2%
Jalpaiguri
14%
Malda
22%
Chittagong Hill has always remained as a place of many communities including the tribes of
Mizoram and Burma. This fact is reflected here in this census. Same is the case with
Darjeeling where significant population of Nepalis and Gorkhas are found. In spite of that
Bangla was used as the ordinary medium of conversation by over 93% of the total
population of the province.
FIGURE 1. BIRTH PLACE BENGAL BUT DIFFERENT MT
Language in India www.languageinindia.com 85
11 : 3 March 2011
Atanu Saha, M.A.
Census and the Aspects of Growth and Development of Bangla vs. Bangla-Hindi
Bilingualism - With Special Focus on West Bengal
Bilingual Configuration (1931 onwards)
It can be observed in the census data that bilingualism inevitably occurs more frequently in
those places where least homogeneity of Mother tongues is seen. For example, Chittagong
Hill Tracts & Division, now in Bangladesh shows more bilingualism than their plains
counterparts.
I have collected the data of Darjeeling District to compare the scenario of Northern part of
West Bengal with other regions.
Perso
ns
Retur
ning
Hindi
As
Moth
er
Tong
ue
Place
Number of Bilingual
perr(/10,000)
Percenta
ge
per 10,000
Dacca [Now in Bangladesh]
15
0.15%
Faridpur [Now in Bangladesh]
01
0.01%
Chittagong Division
20
0.2%
ChittagongHill Tracts
30
0.3%
Per hundred people
(/100)
Darjeeling
45
45%
Sikkim [Separate State of India]
42
42%
Bankura
7.66
7.66%
Jalpaiguri
6
6%
Calcutta
5.4
5.4%
Midnapore
3.1
3.1%
Malda
3
3%
The data of Malda is taken to compare the scenario of Central part of West Bengal
simultaneously. Darjeeling and Sikkim show higher percentage of Bilingualism although it
is actually quite higher than even the Chittagong area of Bangladesh. Census of India 1931.
Place
Bangla as MT
As a subsidiary
language
Hindi as MT
As a
subsidiary
language
All Bengal
47,133,888
519,207
1,891,337
202,365
West Bengal
7,585,061
271,191
437,291
62,121
Calcutta
686,451
23,675
4,36,123
40,712
Malda
773,094
24,641
2,01,735
6,526
Language in India www.languageinindia.com 86
11 : 3 March 2011
Atanu Saha, M.A.
Census and the Aspects of Growth and Development of Bangla vs. Bangla-Hindi
Bilingualism - With Special Focus on West Bengal
FIGURE 2 BANGLA AND HINDI AS L1 & L2 IN 1931
Analysis of the Data from Census 1931
Bangla as a mother tongue was spoken by almost 95% people in All Bengal including
Bangladesh. The percentage comes down to 91% in the case of West Bengal in the 1931
Census. The Highest percentage of Hindi as a mother tongue is located in Calcutta
(36.74%). Hindi as a second language was largely spoken throughout West Bengal which is
about 5.23% of the total population. Where Bangla as MT was spoken by less number of
people Hindi emerged as a major language. This is even true in case of Hindi as L2 and
3.43% of total population of Calcutta was using Hindi as a subsidiary Language according
to the census data 1931.
Census of India 1941
I list below the names of different communities living in Bengal, a British Territory at that
time. There were as many as 139 communities living in Bengal British Territory that time
consisting of a total population of about one crore and fifty four lakhs of people. Major
contributors to this diversity (1% and above) were people from the following communities:
Bagdi (SC), Dhoba ,Dom, hari, Jalia, kaora, Mal, Malo, Muchi, Patni, Pod ,
Rajbangshi, Namsudra, Kumbhakar (Non SC), Kurmi, Mahishya , Modak, Napit, Pundari,
Language in India www.languageinindia.com 87
11 : 3 March 2011
Atanu Saha, M.A.
Census and the Aspects of Growth and Development of Bangla vs. Bangla-Hindi
Bilingualism - With Special Focus on West Bengal
Sadgope, Shaha, Subarna Banik, Sutradhar, Barui, Brahman, Jogi, Goala, kamar, Kapali,
Kayastha. All these communities use Bangla as a mother tongue or as a subsidiary language
subsequently.
Another noteworthy point is that there were some communities which have more number of
females than males. Examples are the communities like Agariya, Baiti, Gonrhi, Keot, Nagar,
Tili, Nat, Pari, and Kapuria.
What I did in this short study is a comparison between the Census and the People of India
Project carried out by K. S. Singh in 1991. I will come back to this project when I describe
the POI in detail. Meanwhile we need to take a look at the detailed structure of the
communities provided in the VOL. IV; Appendix Bengal, Census of India 1941.
Census of India 1951
According to this census, speakers of Hindi remained as the second largest of the total
population in Bengal. In this census the territories which were counted as parts of Bengal
were Chandernagore (now a subdivision of W.B.) and Sikkim.
Table: Comparison of Bangla and Hindi Speakers
Territ
ory
Total
numbe
r of
Bangla
speake
rs
Male
percent
age
Fem
ale
percent
age
Total
numb
er of
Hindi
speak
ers
Male
pe
rc
en
ta
ge
Fem
ale
per
ce
nta
ge
All
21,039
,601
11,040
,439
52
9,99
9,16
2
48
1,580,
724
1,071,
960
68
508,
764
32
West
Benga
l
20,994
,374
11,015
,741
52
9,97
8,63
3
48
10672
74
50751
2
48
559
762
52
Chand
ernago
re
45,198
24,683
55
20,5
15
45
3917
2929
75
988
25
Sikki
m
1,514
-
-
-
-
2021
1757
87
264
13
West
Benga
l plain
22,664
,984
12,187
,804
54
10,4
77,1
80
46
14073
99
96152
1
68
445,
878
32
Himal
ayan
west
Benga
1,853,
192
1,006,
068
54
847,
124
46
11802
97
66953
9
57
510
758
43
Language in India www.languageinindia.com 88
11 : 3 March 2011
Atanu Saha, M.A.
Census and the Aspects of Growth and Development of Bangla vs. Bangla-Hindi
Bilingualism - With Special Focus on West Bengal
l
divisio
n
Calcut
ta
1,670,
592
98330
3
59
6872
89
41
98114
4
29384
6
30
687
298
70
Malda
827,80
9
42011
6
51
4076
93
49
25428
14933
59
104
95
41
FIGURE 3. COMPARISON OF BANGLA AND HINDI SPEAKERS
The male percentage to total Bangla population is higher in Calcutta than the rest of Bengal.
This is also true for female Bangla Speakers. Sikkim shows higher rate of Hindi Speaking
Population. But again there is a significant variation between male and female percentages
of speakers. Interestingly it is Calcutta where more female Hindi speakers [70% to total
Hindi population] can be observed.
Data for Bilingualism
I
Ii
Iii
Iv
v
Name of the
area
Total
speakers
Total persons
returning as
speaking a second
language subsidiary
to that shown in
Col.i
Subsidiary languages
Percentag
e
All languages
24,704,293
1,615,534
Bengali : 779,030
48.22
Hindi : 450,193
27.87
Language in India www.languageinindia.com 89
11 : 3 March 2011
Atanu Saha, M.A.
Census and the Aspects of Growth and Development of Bangla vs. Bangla-Hindi
Bilingualism - With Special Focus on West Bengal
Himalayan
west Bengal
division
1,857,107
320,454
Nepali : 214,946
67.08
Hindi: 66,083
20.62
Bengali : 34,615
10.80
West Bengal
plain
22,709,461
1,212,772
Bengali: 744,414
61.38
Hindi:378,462
31.21
Chandernagor
e
49,909
1,724
Hindi:1001
58.06
Bangali:698
40.49
West Bengal
24,516,659
1,531,502
Bengali: 778,331
50.82
Hindi:443,544
28.96
Calcutta
2,547,859
206,052
Hindi:93,226
45.24
Bengali: 79,160
38.42
Malda
8,99,226
21,457
Bengali: 15,310
71.35
Hindi: 2,695
12.56
Bengali
West Bengal,
Chadernagore
& Sikkim
21,039,601
379,407
Hindi: 324,055
1.54
Himalayan
region
1240297
38,461
Hindi:30,444
79.16
Nepali 5,910
15.37
West Bengal
plain
19,799,275
340,935
Hindi 293,603
86.12
Urdu 30,791
9.03
Chandernagor
e
45,198
1,021
Hindi 996
97.55
Urdu 25
2.45
West Bengal
20,994,374
378,375
Hindi 323,051
85.38
Urdu 32,126
8.49
Calcutta
1,670,601
66,663
Hindi 54,466
81.70
Urdu 7855
11.78
Malda
8,27,809
5,540
Hindi 4,663
84.17
Urdu 492
8.88
Hindi
West Bengal
Chandernagor
e and Sikkim
1,580,724
295,002
Bengali 253,506
85.93
Himalayan
region
1,71,304
30,660
Bengali:23,747
77.45
Nepali:4,805
15.67
West Bengal
plain
1,407,399
263275
Bengali:229,758
87.27
Urdu:30,682
11.65
Chandernagor
e
3,917
534
Bengali:534
100.00
West Bengal
1,574,786
293,401
Bengali:252,971
86.22
Urdu:32,339
11.02
Calcutta
519,953
64,736
Bengali:49,699
76.77
Urdu: 13,129
2.53
Language in India www.languageinindia.com 90
11 : 3 March 2011
Atanu Saha, M.A.
Census and the Aspects of Growth and Development of Bangla vs. Bangla-Hindi
Bilingualism - With Special Focus on West Bengal
Malda
25,428
4,900
Bengali:4,833
98.63
Urdu:66
1.35
Bengali or Bangla as a second language is used by 48 % and Hindi by 28% [approx.] of the
total Bilingual population of all the languages of Bengal. In Himalayan West Bengal region
Nepali is used by larger number of people as a subsidiary language (around 67%). Urdu is
also found as a second predominant language in places like Chandernagore, Malda and
Calcutta.
Interesting picture emerges if we consider second language spoken by the foreign language
speakers at this time in Bengal.
Census of India 1951: Bilingual Data
Name of
MT
Region
Total
Biling
ual
speak
er
Bengali
as 2nd
language
%
to
tota
l
Hindi as
2nd
language
%
to
tota
l
Other
s
% to
total
Chinese
West
Bengal
Chanderna
gore and
Sikkim
806
185
22.
95
592
73.
45
Burmes
e
,,
185
110
59.
46
47
25.
41
Persian
Bengal
260
219
84.
23
26
10.
00
Calcutta
26
5
19.
23
12
46.
15
Armenia
n
Bengal
180
50
27.
78
118
65.
56
Hebrew
Bengal
108
0.0
0
67
62.
04
Urdu:
22
20.37
Calcutta
98
0.0
0
57
58.
16
Urdu
22
22.45
Arabic
Bengal
88
23
26.
14
45
51.
14
-
Calcutta
22
3
13.
64
4
18.
18
Urdu
15
68.18
Japanes
e
Bengal
Predomin
ant
Sinhales
e
Bengal
Equal
Equal
-
Balochi
,,
Only
Language in India www.languageinindia.com 91
11 : 3 March 2011
Atanu Saha, M.A.
Census and the Aspects of Growth and Development of Bangla vs. Bangla-Hindi
Bilingualism - With Special Focus on West Bengal
Bangla
Pakhtoo
n
,,
--
--
Predo
mina
ntly
Urdu
Caucasi
an
,,
-
Predomin
ant
-
Mongoli
an
,,
Out of
every
5
-
1
Nepa
li 4
80
Siamese
,,
-
-
Only
English
Bengal
11,61
5
1,497
12.
89
8,327
71.
69
West
Bengal
11,57
6
1,462
12.
63
8,325
71.
92
Calcutta
8,933
1,079
12.
08
7,625
85.
36
Malda
2
-
1
50.
00
Urdu
1
50
German
Bengal
79
3
3.8
0
75
94.
94
French
,,
56
15
26.
79
32
57.
14
Dutch
,,
-
-
Only
Italian
,,
11
5
45.
45
6
54.
55
Czech
,,
Only
Greek
,,
14
9
64.
29
5
35.
71
Russian
,,
7
2
28.
57
5
71.
43
Danish
,,
Predomin
ant
Nepa
li
Swedish
,,
,,
-
Scotch
,,
,,
Urdu
Irish
,,
,,
-
Portugu
ese
,,
,,
-
Chinese-speaking population prefers Hindi rather than Bangla as per the data shown. The
English-speaking population prefers to do so. Bengali is given priority in case of Persian,
Japanese, and Balochi speaking populations, etc.
Language in India www.languageinindia.com 92
11 : 3 March 2011
Atanu Saha, M.A.
Census and the Aspects of Growth and Development of Bangla vs. Bangla-Hindi
Bilingualism - With Special Focus on West Bengal
Census of 1961
West Bengal
A continuous influx of people from East Pakistan could be seen between 1931-51 & 1951-
61 here in this census. In Tripura Bengali population increased because of migration from
East Pakistan. Significant increase is also seen in the number Chakma population because of
the migration.
Decadal Change with Percentage
Name of
language
Regio
n
1911
1921
1931
1951
1961
Bangla
All
14,804,85
3
14,281,426
[-3.54]
15,476,625
[+8.37]
21,662,053
[+39.97]
29,408,246
[+35.76]
Hindi
Bengal
1,770,997
1,680,201
[-5.13]%
1,646,151
[-2.03]%
2,117,539
[+28.64]%
1,894,039
[-10.55]%
West
Bengal
Overal
l
growth
1,771,007
9.84%
1,680,201
-5.13%
9.62%
1,646,207
-2.02%
8.72%
2,117,539
28.63%
8.05%
1,897,825
-10.38%
5.43%
Calcut
ta
380,515
37.44%
349,231
-8.22%
33.15%
319,693
-9.32%
27.18%
544,080
71.8%
20.16%
566,242
4.07%
19.34%
Tripur
a
----
----
8043
744,803
92.60%
65.22%
There was a rapid gain which is almost 31% in Bangla population between 1931- 1951.
During this period Hindi speaking population also steps up. However this process
decelerates between 1951 -1961. Significant growth of Hindi population is visible in Tripura
in the census of 1951 & overall growth is recorded as 65.22%. According to this census,
total speaker of Bangla in India was 33,754,408 out of which 2,106,172 reported as
bilingual. In West Bengal, total speakers reported as bilingual were 1,710,905.
Let us see now how Bangla and its dialects contribute to the total number of population in
West Bengal in the next section.
.
Language in India www.languageinindia.com 93
11 : 3 March 2011
Atanu Saha, M.A.
Census and the Aspects of Growth and Development of Bangla vs. Bangla-Hindi
Bilingualism - With Special Focus on West Bengal
Table : Classified mother tongues
identified with Bangla
Name
Speakers
Percentage
Bahe
4
0.000012
Bangla
33754408
99.600085
Barik
864
0.002549
Batiari
430
0.001269
Chakma
46071
0.135943
Dehari
18
0.000053
Hajong
8858
0.026138
Kachari
bangla
371
0.001095
Kishanganjia
55597
0.164052
Lohari
malpaharia
27
0.000080
Mal paharia
4077
0.012030
Murari
16
0.000047
Rajbangshi
18762
0.055362
Samaria
407
0.001201
Takam
29
0.000086
All Bangla
33889939
100.00000
0
Source: Own Calculation Using Data from
Census, 1961
Bilingual data [Source* table C-VI Bilingualism] AllUnpartitioned Bengal & Includes figures
of Bangladesh
Region
MT
Name of
the Second
language
Male
Female
Ratio of
Male:
Female
All
Bangla
English
1,177,173
314,125
3.74
Hindi
424,154
190,720
2.22
West
Bengal
Bangla
English
1,051,795
246,973
4.25
Hindi
180,784
55,902
3.23
Hindi
Bangla
165,150
62,127
2.65
Language in India www.languageinindia.com 94
11 : 3 March 2011
Atanu Saha, M.A.
Census and the Aspects of Growth and Development of Bangla vs. Bangla-Hindi
Bilingualism - With Special Focus on West Bengal
FIGURE 4. MALE FEMALE LANGUAGE SPEAKING RATIO IN BENGAL
A significant difference must be seen in this context. Male female ratio is highest (i.e., 1
female for 4.25 males) in case of Bangla as the first language and English as a second
language. The ratio is lowest in case of Hindi as second language in all regions of Bengal.
One thing can be inferred from the discussion and that is English which is seen as a status
symbol is learned by more males through the education system, etc. The gap can also be
seen in Bangla speakers learning Hindi. Bilingualism perhaps also reflects on the literacy
rate of that area in this way.
The Census of India 1971
The varieties of Bangla that are considered in this census are Chakma, Haijong/Hajong,
Malpaharia, and Rajbangsi.
Distribution of speakers of Bangla and Hindi according to rural vs. Urban is as follows:
State/
Division/
Dist.
Total /
Rural/
urban
Bengali
Hindi
West
Bengal
Person
Male
Female
Perso
n
Male
Fema
le
Total
378059
05
195953
65
182105
40
27153
84
17540
46
9613
36
Rural
299395
93
153685
589
123745
996
82208
4
47716
1
3449
23
Urban
786631
2
422677
8
363953
4
18933
00
12768
85
6164
15
Calcutta
Total
188747
104749
839981
73185
52159
2102
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Census and the Aspects of Growth and Development of Bangla vs. Bangla-Hindi
Bilingualism - With Special Focus on West Bengal
1
0
3
1
62
Malda
Total
138176
6
709165
672601
96131
50453
4567
8
FIGURE5-THE DISTRIBUTION OF SPEAKERS IN WEST BENGAL
Observations
Hindi speakers consist of 7% of the total population of West Bengal during 1971. The males
who speak Bengali as their mother tongue constitute 48% of the total population whereas
Female percentage to the total population is 3% less than the male speakers. Interestingly
the difference between the Male and the Female Hindi speaking persons (as their mother
tongue) is just 1%.
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Census and the Aspects of Growth and Development of Bangla vs. Bangla-Hindi
Bilingualism - With Special Focus on West Bengal
FIGURE 6 RURAL DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION OF WEST BENGAL
Percentage of Hindi Speaking population is almost negligible when we consider their
presence in rural areas of West Bengal.
FIGURE 7 WEST BENGAL URBAN POPULATION DISTRIBUTION OF LANGUAGE
In respect to 80% Population speaking Bengali in the urban areas, Hindi is spoken by atleast
20% people in those areas. It can be noted that in case of both the languages the difference
between the male population and that of the female is 6%.
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Census and the Aspects of Growth and Development of Bangla vs. Bangla-Hindi
Bilingualism - With Special Focus on West Bengal
FIGURE 8 DISTRIBUTION OF SPEAKERS IN KOLKATA
Percentage of Hindi speaking populatin goes even higher (20% Male and 8% female) in
case of the capital city Kolkata. It is clear that bilingualism actually becomes evident in a
place where different people come together for purposes of education, employment, etc.
TABLE C-VI DAT A O N BILINGUALISM
Mother
tongue
Total
Numbe
r of
Bilingu
al
speaker
s
% to
total
Male
% of male to
total
Female
% of
females to
total
Bangla
3780590
5
345039
0
9.13
255157
0
6.75
898820
2.38
Hindi
2715384
525870
19.37
385445
14.19
140425
5.17
Second language
% of male to
total Bilingual
population
% of
females to
total
bilingual
population
Hindi
410535
11.90
157405
4.56
Bengali
235050
44.70
103545
19.69
From the table above it is clear that bilingualism is higher in the case of Hindi-speaking
people than the Bangla speakers, and the rate of bilingualism is higher among the males
rather than females.
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Census and the Aspects of Growth and Development of Bangla vs. Bangla-Hindi
Bilingualism - With Special Focus on West Bengal
Comparative Study of Census Periods 1981, 1991, and 2001
According to the 1981 census of India, there were 51,298,319 persons who returned their
Mother Tongue as Bangla. The increase from 1971 census is as follows:
(Total population of 1981-total population of 1971)/ Population 0f 1971x 100%
(51298319-44792312)/ 44792312 x 100% = 14.52%
And if we take the population of the 1991, the percentage (from 1991) goes to
(69595738-51298319)/ 51298319x 100% = 35.66%
There is a sharp rise in the population speaking Bangla as L1 (near about 23%)
Census of India 1991
According to the data available the distribution of Bangla speakers in West Bengal was
58,541,519 in the 1991 Census. Number of Hindi speakers has been stated as 4,479,170.
The percentage of population in specified languages to the total population can be realized
from the table given below:
State / District
Bangla
Hindi
Urdu
Others
West Bengal
85.99
6.58
2.14
1.30
Calcutta
63.60
21.14
11.82
3.44
Burdwan
79.97
1.62
---
0.50
Malda
89.92
4.14
---
0.77
#Ref. Census of India 1991 West Bengal; series 26 part XI
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Census and the Aspects of Growth and Development of Bangla vs. Bangla-Hindi
Bilingualism - With Special Focus on West Bengal
FIGURE 9 PERCENTAGE OF POP. IN SPECIFIED LANGUAGE
Bangla is spoken by 86% (approx.) of the total population of West Bengal. The percentage
goes higher in the case of Malda district which is in the central part of Bengal and it comes
down in Kolkata which is the capital and a metropolitan city of West Bengal. Hindi as well
as Urdu speakers are mostly located around Kolkata.
Language Atlas 1991
The total number of persons who returned their mother tongue as Bangla is 69,595,738 in
the year 1991. The other varieties that are reported in the census are Chakma, Haijong/
Hajong, Rajbangshi. The distribution is as follows:
Annexure II of language atlas 1991
Name
Number of
Speakers
Percentage to total Bangla
Population
Bangla
66,552,894
99.94
Chakma
182,953
0.27
Haijong/ Hajong
48,667
0.07
Rajbangshi
34,106
0.05
Others
2,777,118
4.17
Total
66,595,738
100.00
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Census and the Aspects of Growth and Development of Bangla vs. Bangla-Hindi
Bilingualism - With Special Focus on West Bengal
District wise data sheet of languages
Name of the place
Total population
Bangla
percentage
Hindi
percentage
West Bengal
68077965
58,541,519
86
4,479,17
0
7
Kochbihar
2171145
2,121,043
98
40,312
2
Jalpaiguri
2,800,543
1,957,324
70
440,032
16
Darjiling
1,299,919
374,204
29
158,738
12
West dinajpur
3,127,653
2,398,071
77
233,476
7
Maldah
2637032
2,371,220
90
109,264
4
Murshidabad
4,740,149
4,647,181
98
46,704
1
Nadia
3,852,097
3,785,689
98
39,927
1
North 24 parganas
7,281,881
6,417,254
88
605,005
8
South 24 parganas
5,715,030
5,623,081
98
65,757
1
Calcutta
4,399,819
2,798,358
64
930,172
21
Haora
4,355,230
3,194,882
73
371,839
9
Hughli
4,355,230
3,819,895
88
310,866
7
Medinipur
8,331,912
7,557,350
91
148,521
2
Bankura
2,805,065
2,556,906
91
11,213
0
Purulia
2,224,577
1,731,231
78
215,546
10
Bardhaman
6,050,605
4,838,705
80
683,481
11
Birbhum
2,555,664
2,349,045
92
41,317
2
Source : My Own Analysis using Census 1991
If we look at the district-wise profile sheet for Bangla and Hindi Languages, the picture is
not very different. Percentage of Hindi shows greater significance at those places where
Bilingualism becomes evident as a natural phenomenon.
Distribution of Male and Female Bilingual [Language atlas 1991, Appendix III]
Territo
ry
Population
No of bilinguals
Percentage of
bilingual to total
population
Perso
n
Mal
e
Fema
le
T
M
%
F
%
T
M
F
India
836,5
83,98
8
435
,21
6,3
58
403,3
67,63
0
165,
015,
313
103,
415,
879
63.4
4
59
,5
99
,4
34
36.5
6
19.4
4
12.3
7
7.1
1
WEST
BENG
AL
68,07
7,965
35,
510
,63
32,56
7,332
8,66
8,46
5
6,39
7,19
5
73.8
2,
27
1,
26.2
0
12.7
3
9.4
3.3
4
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Census and the Aspects of Growth and Development of Bangla vs. Bangla-Hindi
Bilingualism - With Special Focus on West Bengal
3
27
0
If we compare the bilingualism of West Bengal with that of India we get the following:
Although the total percentage of bilingualism among the male speakers is higher than the
percentage of bilingualism at the national level, percentage of bilingualism among the
females is still poor. Bilingual percentage of West Bengal is less than the total bilingual
percentage of India. But again the female contribution to the total bilingual population is not
even half the level of National Female Bilingualism.
Census of India 2001
Speakers of Bangla, as reported in this census, are eight crores, thirty-three lakhs sixty nine
thousand and seven hundred sixty nine. In the next table I am going to talk about dialects of
Bangla in terms of Speakers strength. The Data available here is for the years 1961,1991 &
2001.
Bangla and its major dialects
1961
1991
2001
Name
Speaker
s
Percent
age
Name
Speaker
s
Percent
age to
total
Bangla
Populat
ion
Name
of the
langua
ge
Speak
ers
Percenta
ge to
total
populati
on
Bangla
337544
08
99.600
085
Bangla
66,552,
894
99.94
Bangla
82,46
2,437
98.91
Chakma
46071
0.1359
43
Chakm
a
182,953
0.27
Chakm
a
176,4
58
0.21
Hajong
8858
0.0261
38
Haijon
g/
Hajong
48,667
0.07
Haijon
g/
Hajong
63,18
8
0.08
Rajbangs
hi
18762
0.0553
62
Rajban
gshi
34,106
0.05
Rajban
gshi
82,57
0
0.1
Bahe
4
0.0000
12
Others
2,777,1
18
4.17
Others
585,1
16
0.7
Murari
16
0.0000
47
Total
66,595,
738
100
Total
83,36
9,769
100
Dehari
18
0.0000
53
Lohari
malpahar
ia
27
0.0000
8
Takam
29
0.0000
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Census and the Aspects of Growth and Development of Bangla vs. Bangla-Hindi
Bilingualism - With Special Focus on West Bengal
86
Kachari
bangla
371
0.0010
95
Samaria
407
0.0012
01
Batiari
430
0.0012
69
Barik
864
0.00254
9
Mal
paharia
4077
0.01203
Kishangan
jia
55597
0.16405
2
Total
3388993
9
100
In the census of 1961 many of the dialects of Bangla have been taken into account while
preparing the final tables whereas in the censuses of 1991 and 2001, this did not take place.
The main criterion which has been put forward is that the dialects/ languages having ten
thousand and above speaker strength alone would be considered for mention in the final
data. That is the reason why we won’t be able to describe the stories of the Dialects like
Bahe, Murari, Dehari, Lohari Malpaharia, Takam, Kachari Bangla, etc. any more. However,
figures of other three dialects of Bangla apart from the main standard variety are constantly
available in all the censuses and those three dialects are Chakma, Hajong, and Rajbangshi.
Distribution of per 10,000 persons by language 2001
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Census and the Aspects of Growth and Development of Bangla vs. Bangla-Hindi
Bilingualism - With Special Focus on West Bengal
Figure 10 distribution of speakers per ten thousand
Bangla is present in the verbal repertoire of 8.12% people in India. In West Bengal the
percenatge is as mush as 86%. Although Hindi is spoken by almost 41% of the toatl
population of the country, in west bengal it is not more than 7.17% of the total poulation. But
it is found that Hindi has remained as the second largest language in terms of speakers
strength in West Bengal.
People of India Project: Language and Scripts
This project on Indian languages was carried out in 1992 and the census data of 1981 has
been integrated into it. Let’s see how Bangla has been looked at in this project.
Bengali
It is a language of Indo-Aryan subfamily (Eastern group). According to the 1981 census the
speakers of this language were 51,298,319 persons, (8.32% of the total population of India).
This figure includes Chakma, Hajong and Rajbangshi.
Area: It is spoken in the Sates of Assam, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland,
Orissa, Tripura and West Bengal.
The number of communities using the scheduled languages with their variants:
Sl.no.
Name of
the language
S.
T
S.C.
O.C
Total
I
Bangla
6
38
121
165
Chakma
1
-
-
1
Hajong
1
-
1
2
Bengali
168
Ii
ALL
Languages of
India
2
23
571
2400
3194
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Census and the Aspects of Growth and Development of Bangla vs. Bangla-Hindi
Bilingualism - With Special Focus on West Bengal
Figure 11 The number of communities using the scheduled languages with their
Variants
There were six Scheduled Tribe communites, thirty eight Scheduled Caste and around one
hundred twenty one other caste communties found using Bangla at the time this survey was
done.
The Scheduled Languages With their Variants and the Number of Communities
Speaking Them For Inter-Group Communication (Source: POI; appendix IV page-268)
SL.No.
Name
of the
language
S.T
S.C
O.C
Total
I
BENG
ALI
50
31
80
161
Ii
ALL
LANGUAGE
S OF INDIA
525
427
1997
2949
Figure 12 The Scheduled Languages with Their Variants and the Number of Communities
Speaking Them for Inter-Group Communication
For intergroup communication Bangla is used by fifty Scheduled Tribes, thirty-one SC
communities and eighty other caste communities. Bangla is used by one hundred and sixty-
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Census and the Aspects of Growth and Development of Bangla vs. Bangla-Hindi
Bilingualism - With Special Focus on West Bengal
five communities for in-group communication and by one hundred and sixty communities
for the purpose of inter-group communication. I identified the names of 212 communities in
the POI project. The detailed list is given in the appendix 1.
I compare the list of communities given in the census of 1941 and Languages and Scripts of
POI in the following few pages. It is found that lots of new names are identified by the
people who carried out the POI project. The total communities listed in 1941 census were
113 whereas in the POI project the number has gone up to 144.
Similar names in both the lists are marked with a special symbol ^.
The reason behind this difference could be several. Many communities might have decided to
come out and wanted to be introduced under a new name or there may be influx of
population, migration etc.
I found these two lists as extremely useful for my description.
Census Data of Bangladesh 1991
The good thing about this census is that the communities were given importance and their
population data was recorded. Apart from Bangla language speaking population all the other
linguistic major and minor groups were taken in to account. The total population of these
communities is counted as 1205978.
Table 11: Distribution of the Ethnic Communities of Bangladesh by Population Size and
Geographical Areas, 1991 [Other than Bangla which is the National language of
Bangladesh and spoken by the majority of the population]
Ethnic Community Population
Number
Name of the Community
Pop.
Percentage
1
Bawrn (also spelt as Bum, Baurn, Barn)
13471
1.12
2
Hajong
11540
0.96
3
Buna (found only in the 1991 Census
Report)
7421
0.62
4
Chakma
252858
20.97
5
Garo (people prefer the name Mandi)
64280
5.33
6
Harizon (found only in the 1991 Census
Report)
1132
0.09
7
Kharni (also spelt as Khurni, Kami)
1241
0.10
8
Khasi (generally known as Khasia)
12280
1.02
9
Khyang (also spelt as Hyena)
2343
0.19
10
Koch (also spelt as Kots, Kuch, Coach)
16567
1.37
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Bilingualism - With Special Focus on West Bengal
11
Lushai (also known as Kuki, Mizo)
662
0.05
12
Mahat (also known as Mahatu)
3534
0.29
13
Manipuri (also known as Meithei)
24882
2.06
14
Marma (also known as Mag, Mogh,
Mug)
157301
13.04
15
Mro (also spelt as Mroo)
126
0.01
16
Mrong (also spelt as Murang, Mrung)
22178
1.84
17
Munda (also known as Mundari)
2132
0.18
18
Oraon (also spelt as Urang, Urao)
8216
0.68
19
Paharia (also known as Pahary)
1853
0.15
20
Pankho (also spelt as Pangkhu,
Pangkhua)
3227
0.27
21
Rajbansi (also spelt as Rajbongshi)
7556
0.63
22
Rakhaine (a branch of Marma)
16932
1.40
23
Sak (also spelt as Chak, Tsak, Thak)
2127
0.18
24
Santal (also spelt as Saontal)
202162
16.76
25
Tanchangya (abranchofChakrna)
21639
1.79
26
Tipra (also known as Tripuri, Tripura)
81014
6.72
27
Urea (found only in the 1991 Census
Report)
5561
0.46
28
Other (see text, for comments)
261743
21.70
Total -
1205978
100
The dialects of Bangla that are comparable to the Census of India, 1991 are Chakma, Hajong
and Rajbangshi.
Comparative study of some Dialects of Bangla
West Bengal 1991
Bangladesh 1991
Name
Speaker
s
Percenta
ge to
total
Bangla
Populatio
n
Speakers
Percenta
ge to
total
Bangla
Populati
on
Chakma
1,82,95
3
0.27
2,52,858
20.97
Haijong/
Hajong
48,667
0.07
11,540
0.96
Rajbangshi
34,106
0.05
7,556
0.63
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Bilingualism - With Special Focus on West Bengal
Total -
66,595,
738
100
1,205,978
100
Numbers of Chakmas are greater in Bangladesh according to this analysis. They occupy
21% (approx.) of the total in Bangladesh. Hajong population in West Bengal is around
0.07% and 0.96% in Bangladesh. In case of Rajbangshi the percentages are 0.05 and 0.63
respectively.
Census of Pakistan 1998
I expected to get some Bangla population in the census of Pakistan but I failed. Although I
got data from Census of 1981 and 1998 there is no mention about Bangla language or any of
its dialects. The reason could be because of very little size of the population and maybe it is
given in the column titled ‘others’. I have listed the names of the languages as given in the
census. Main languages are mentioned as Urdu, Punjabi, Pushto, Sindhi, Saraiki and so on.
[Census of Pakistan 1998:- Population By Mother Tongue.]
Summary of the Findings
In 1931 Bangla population was 95% to the total population of Bengal province. Some
predominance of other languages can be found only in places like Rajshahi and Burdwan
Division. Differences in mother tongues were mostly found in Chittagong Hill and
Darjeeling. In terms of bilingualism it was Chittagong Division of Bangladesh which showed
largest percentage and this was the case also in the Darjeeling Division of West Bengal.
Hindi or Hindustani started to show significant figures in Bengal between 1881-1891 &
1901-1911. The highest percentage of Hindi speaking population was found in Calcutta
(36.74%) during this period.
Bangla was used as a mode of Communication by at least 113 communities throughout
Bengal as per census 1941 [See page 11-13]. Sikkim showed a higher percentage of Hindi
speaking population than the rest of the Bengal. The state was an integrated part of Bengal at
that time.
Urdu speakers were mainly found in Calcutta, Chandernagore and Malda. Nepali remained a
major language in the Himalayan West Bengal region.[See page 16]. There were as many as
14 dialects which have been identified as classified mother tongues with Bangla. [See page
17].
Data on Bilingualism also reveals some facts. In the census of 1961 it is found that there is a
clear gap between male and female bilingualism. Male-female ratio was highest (4.25:1) in
the case of using English as a second language. In the case of Hindi also this difference was
quite clear. [page 19] This fact is revealed also in the 1971 census. [see Table C-VI Data on
Bilingualism page 23]. The Male-female difference in bilingualism was evident in the census
of 1991 too. [see Page 26]
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Bilingualism - With Special Focus on West Bengal
In rural areas, Bengali was spoken by 84% of the total population as per the census of 1971.
The percentage of Hindi speaking population was almost negligible. It was only in the urban
areas that Hindi became a major language (both as first language as well as a second
language). People developed a habit of bilingual speech in the urban areas for various
reasons. [See figure 6 page 21]
Other than Bangla, languages which play an important role in West Bengal are Hindi and
Urdu. The largest Hindi population (21.14%) and Urdu speaking population are both found in
Calcutta according to the census of 1991. However, Hindi remained as the second major
language of West Bengal. It becomes evident that wherever there is an opportunity of
education and employment, Bangla-Hindi bilingualism became inevitable. [See page 26]
In both the censuses of 1991 & 2001 the major dialects of Bangla were identified as Chakma,
Hajong and Rajbangshi.[ Page 27] In the census of … Bangla was spoken by 8.12% of the
total population of India and in the case of West Bengal the percentage went up to 85.34%.
In the POI Project, 212 communities have been identified speaking Bangla both for in-group
and inter-group communication.[ Page 30]
Census of Bangladesh 1991 identifies Chakma, Hajong and Rajbangshi as three larger
communities consisting of 21%, 1% and 0.63% of its total population respectively.
=================================================================
Appendix 1
Communities Using Bangla for In-group and Inter-group communication.
Source: People of India project, Vol. IX ‘Language and Scripts,’ K.S. Singh & S.
Manoharan.
l.
No
Community
Subgroup
Status
In group
Intergroup
State
1
Acharya
Bengali
Bengali
Tripura
2
Aghori
Maithili
Maithili, Hindi
Bengali
West
Bengal
3
Aguri
Bengali
Bengali, Hindi
Bihar
Bengali
West
Bengal
4
Ahir
Bengali
Bengali
West
Bengal
5
Angarak
Bengali
Bengali, Hindi
Bihar
Bengali
West
Bengal
6
Assamese
muslim
Assamese
Assamese, Hindi,
Bengali
Assam
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Bilingualism - With Special Focus on West Bengal
7
Asur/ Bir
asur
S.T
Asuri
Asuri, Bengali
West
Bengal
8.
Bagal
Kudmali
Kudmali, oriya,
Magahi, Bengali
Bihar
9
Bagdi
S.C
Bengali
Bengali, Hindi
Bihar
Bengali
West
Bengal
10
Bagti
Bengali
Bengali
West
Bengal
11
Baida
Bengali
Bengali
West
Bengal
12
Baidya
Bengali
Bengali
Tripura
Bengali
West
Bengal
13
Baidyakar
Bengali
Bengali
West
Bengal
14
Bairagi
Bengali
Bengali
West
Bengal
15
Baishya
Bengali
Bengali
West
Bengal
16
Baiti
Bengali
Bengali, Hindi
West
Bengal
17
Bajandar/
Nagrachi
Bengali
Bengali
Tripura
18
Bajkar
Bengali
Bengali, Hindi, Urdu
West
Bengal
19
Dandachatra
majhi
Bengali
Bengali, Hindi,
Kudmali
Bihar
Oriya
Oriya , Bengali,
Kudmali
Orissa
Oriya
Oriya, Bengali,
Kudmali
West
Bengal
20
Deswali
Majhi
Bengali
Bengali, Hindi
Bihar
Bengali
West
Bengal
21
Dhal
Kshatriya
Bengali
Bengali, Hindi
Bihar
22
Dhanuk/
Dhanak
Hindi
Hindi, Bengali
Tripura
23
Dharua
S.T
Kudmali
Kudmali, Hindi,
Oriya, Bengali
Orissa
24
Dhawa
Bengali
Bengali, urdu
West
Bengal
25
Dhekaro
Bengali
Bengali, Hindi
Bihar
26
Dhimal
Dhimal
Dhimal, Nepali,
Bengali
West
Bengal
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Census and the Aspects of Growth and Development of Bangla vs. Bangla-Hindi
Bilingualism - With Special Focus on West Bengal
27
Dhoba/
Dhobi
s.c
Bengali
Bengali, Assamese
Assam
Bengali
West
Bengal
28
Doai
S.C
Bengali
Bengali
West
Bengal
29
Dom/ Dum/
Dombo
S.C
Bengali
,,
,,
30
Dusad
(Gope)
S.C
Sadri
Sadri, Bengali,
Kudmali
West
Bengal
31
Dusad
(patwar)
S.C
Hindi
Hindi,Bengali
West
Bengal
32
Gandhabanik
Bengali
Bengali
West
Bengal
33
Bin
S.C
Paschima
Paschima, Bengali
West
Bengal
Hindi
Hindi, Bengali
Tripura
34
Birhor
S.T
Birhor
Birhor, Bengali
West
Bengal
35
Binjoa/
Brijlal
Brijlal
Brijlal, Bengali
Tripura
36
Birija
S.T
Birija
Birija, Bengali
West
Bengal
37
Bishnupuriya
Bishnupuriy
a
Bishnupuriya ,
Meitei, Bengali
Tripura
38
Byadh
Bangla
Bengali
West
bengla
39
Chain
Bangla
Bangla
West
Bengal
40
Chakma
S.T
Chakma
Chakma, Assamese,
Hindi, Bengali
Assam
Chakma
Chakma, Bengali
Mizoram
Chakma
Chakma, Bengali
Tripura
41
Chamar
SC
Bengali
Bengali
Tripura
42
Chapua
Kamar/ Kol
kamar
Bhanjabhu
mia
Bhanjabhumia ,oriya
, Bengali
Orissa
43
Chasot
Bengali
Bengali
West
Bengal
44
Chik baraik
ST
Panchparga
nia
Panchpargania,
Bangla
West
Bengal
45
Chinese
Chinese
Chinese, English,
Hindi, Bengali
West
Bengal
46
Chirimar
Bengali
Bengali
West
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Census and the Aspects of Growth and Development of Bangla vs. Bangla-Hindi
Bilingualism - With Special Focus on West Bengal
Bengal
47
Chitrakar
Bangla
Bengali
West
Bengal
48
Choupal/
Chaupal
SC
surajpuri
Surajpuri, Hindi,
Bengali
West
Bengal
49
chuanari
Bengali
Bengali
West
Bengal
50
Churihara
Urdu
Urdu, Hindi, Bengali
West
bengal
51
Dalu
Dalu
Dalu, Bengali
Meghalay
a
52
Dhara
Bengali
Bengali, Hindi
Bihar
53
Dharna/
Dhurua
Bengali/
oriya
Bengali, Oriya, Hindi
Orissa
54
Dhunia
Urdu
Urdu, Hindi, Bengali
West
Bengal
55
Ganesh
Bengali
Bengali
West
Bengal
56
Gareri
SC
Bengali
Bengali
West
Bengal
57
Garo
ST
Garo
Garo, Bengali,
kakbarak
Tripura
Garo , Bengali
West
Bengal
58
Ghasi
SC
Kudmali
Kudmali, Bengali
West
Bengal
59
Ghunnya
Bengali
Bengali, Hindi
Bihar
60
Goala
Hindi
Hindi , Bengali
Tripura
61
Gokha
SC
Oriya
Oriya, Hindi , Bangla
Orissa
62
Gondalika
Bangla
Bengali
West
Bengal
63
Gonr /
Gonrhi
SC
BENGALI
Bengali
West
Bengal
64
Gop
Bengali
Bengali, Hindi ,
Assmaese
Assam
65
Gour
Bengali
Bengali, Hindi
Bihar
Hindi, Bengali
Tripura
66
Gurkha /
nepali
Nepali
Nepali , Hindi,
Bengali
Tripura
67
Hajjam /
Navid
Bengali
Bengali, Assmaese ,
Hindi
Assam
Bhojpuri
Bhojpuri , Bengali
West
Bengal
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Atanu Saha, M.A.
Census and the Aspects of Growth and Development of Bangla vs. Bangla-Hindi
Bilingualism - With Special Focus on West Bengal
68
Halam
Kaloi
ST
Kakbarak
Kakbarak, Bengali
Tripura
ST
Halam
Halam , Bengali,
Hindi
Assam
Kaipeng
ST
Halam
Halam, kakbarak,
Bengali
Tripura
Molsom
ST
Halam
Halam , kakbarak ,
Bengali
Tripura
Rupini
ST
Kakbarak
Kakbarak, Bengali
Tripura
69
Haludas
Bengali
Bengali
Tripura
70
Hari
Bengali
Bengali, Assamese
Assam
Bengali
Bengali
West
Bengal
71
Hira
SC
Assamese
Assamese, Bengali,
Hindi
Assam
72
Ho
ST
Ho
Ho , Bengali
West
Bengal
73
Jalia
Bengali
Bengali, Oriya
Orissa
Jalia
kaibarta
SC
Bengali
Bengali
Tripura
74
Jalekeot
SC
Assamese
Assamese, Bengali,
Hindi
Assam
75
Jamatia
ST
Kakbarak
Kakbarak, Bengali
Tripura
76
Jhalomalo
SC
Bengali
Bengali, Assamese
Assam
SC
Bengali
Bengali
West
Bengal
77
Jogi
Oriya
Oriya, Bengali
Orissa
Bengali
Bengali
Tripura
Bengali
Bengali
West
Bengal
78
Kachari
ST
Bodo
Bodo, Bengali,
Assamese
Meghalay
a
ST
Bodo
Bodo ,Bengali
West
Bengal
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Census and the Aspects of Growth and Development of Bangla vs. Bangla-Hindi
Bilingualism - With Special Focus on West Bengal
79
Kachera
Oriya
Oriya,Bengali
Orissa
80
Kahar
SC
Bengali
Bengali
Tripura
Bengali
Bengali, Hindi
West
Bengal
81
Kakmara
Telugu
Telugu, Bengali
West
Bengal
82
Kalal
Urdu
Urdu , Bengali
West
Bengal
83
Kalwar
Hindi
Hindi, Bengali
West
Bengal
84
Kamar
Bengali
Bengali, Hindi
Bihar
85
Kanda
SC
Oriya
Oriya, Bengali
Tripura
86
Kasar
Bengali
Bengali
West
Bengal
87
Kaora
SC
Bengali
Bengali
West
Bengal
88
Kapali
Bengali
Bengali, Hindi
Bihar
Bengali
Bengali
Tripura
Bengali
Bengali
West
Bengal
89
Kapuria
Bengali
Bengali
West
Bengal
90
karga
Kudmail
Kudmali, Hindi,
Bengali
Bihar
91
Karmakar
Bengali
Bengali, Assamese
Assam
Bengali
Bengali
Tripura
92
Karua
Hindi
Hindi, Oriya, Bengali
Bihar
93
Kayastha
Assamse
Assamese, Bengali,
Hindi
Assam
Bengali
Bengali, Hindi
Tripura
Bengali
Bengali, Hindi
West
Bengal
94
Kela
Bengali
Bengali
West
Bengal
Sapua
Oriya
Oriya, Hindi, Bengali
Orissa
95
Keuta
Oriya
Oriya, Bengali
Orissa
96
Kewat/keot/
Kebot
SC
Hindi,
Hindi, Bengali
Tripura
Sc
Bengali
Bengali
West
Bengal
97
Khalifa
Bengali
Bengali
West
Bengal
98
khandait
Bengali
Bengali
West
Bengal
99
Khandwal
Bengali
Bengali, Hindi, oriya
Bihar
100
Kharia
Kharia
Kharia, Bengali,
Assmaese
Assam
SC
Kharia
Kharia, Bengali
Tripura
ST
Oriya
Oriya, Bengali
West
Bengal
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Atanu Saha, M.A.
Census and the Aspects of Growth and Development of Bangla vs. Bangla-Hindi
Bilingualism - With Special Focus on West Bengal
101
Kharwar
ST
Khotta
Khotta, Bengali
West
Bengal
102
Khasi
ST
Khasi
Khasi, Bengali
Tripura
103
Khatik
SC
Hindi
Hindi, Bengali
West
Bengal
104
Khen/ Sen
Bengali
Bengali
West
Bengal
105
Kisan
ST
Sadri
Sadri, Bengali
West
Bengal
106
Koch
ST
Koch
Koch, Assmaese,
Bengali
Meghalay
a
107
Koery
Bengali
Bengali
West
Bengal
108
Kol
SC
Hindi
Hindi ,Bengali
Tripura
Kol lohar
ST
Oriya
Oriya, kol , Bengali
Orissa
109
Kollan
Oriya
Oriya, Hindi, Bengali
Orissa
110
Konai
SC
Bengali
Bengali
West
Bengal
111
Kora
St
Khotta
Khotta
West
Bengal
112
Koraga
Oriya
Oriya, Hindi ,Bengali
Orissa
113
Kotal
SC
Hindi
Hindi Bengali
Tripura
SC
Bengali
Bengali
West
Bengal
114
Krikshatriya
Bengali
Bengali, Assamese
Assam
115
Kulala
ST
Kuki
Kuki, Bengaliu
Tripura
116
Kumbhar
Bengali
Bengali
Tripura
Bengali
Bengali
West
Bengal
117
Kunjra
Hindi
Hindi Bengali
West
Bengal
118
Kunui
Bengali
Bengali
West
Bengal
119
Kurmi
Kudmi
mahato
Kudmali
Kudmali, Hindi,
Bengali
West
Bengal
120
Kurol
Bengali
Bengali
West
Bengal
121
Laskari
Bengali
Bengali
Tripura
122
Let
‘’
‘’
West
Bengal
123
Lodha
Bengali
Bengali, Hindi
Bihar
124
Lohara
SC
,,
,,
West
Bengal
125
Mag
Mag
Mag, Bengali
Tripura
126
Maghaya
Kumbar
Oriya
Oriya, Bengali
Orissa
127
Mahar
SC
Marathi
Marathi , Bengali
West
Bengal
128
Maheswari
Bengali
Bengali
West
Bengal
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Census and the Aspects of Growth and Development of Bangla vs. Bangla-Hindi
Bilingualism - With Special Focus on West Bengal
129
Mahisya
Bengali
Bengali
West
Bengal
130
Mahli
ST
Thar
Thar , Bangla, oriya
Orissa
ST
Bangla
Bengali
West
Bengal
131
Mal/ Malla
Bengali
Bengali, Hindi
Bihar
SC
,,
Bengali
West
Bengal
132
Mal paharia
ST
Bengali
Bengali, Hindi
Bihar
ST
Malto
Malto, Bangla, Hindi
West
Bengal
133
Malakar
SC
Bengali
Bengali
Tripura
,,
,,
West
Bengal
134
MALI
,,
,,
,,
135
Mangar
Nepali
Nepali, Bengali
West
Bengal
136
Manipuri
Meitei,
Meitei, Assamese,
Bengali
Assam
,,
Meitei, Bengali
Tripura
137
Maria
muslim
Assamese
Assamese, Hindi,
Bengali
Assam
138
Marwari
Marwari
Marwari, Hindi,
Bengali
West
Bengal
139
Mayara
Bengali
Bengali
West
Bengal
140
Mete
Bengali
Bengali
West
Bengal
141
Mizo
Lushai
ST
Lushai
Lushai, Bengali
Tripura
Ralte
Mizo
Mizo, Bengali
Tripura
142
Modak
Bengali
Bengali, Hindi
Bihar
Bengali
Bengali
Tripura
143
Mukhi
Assmaese
Assmaese, Hindi,
Bengali
Assam
144
Munda
Nundari
Mundari, Bengali
Tripura
145
Murasing
Kakbarak
Kakbarak, Bengali
Tripura
146
Mushahar/
Bhuiya
SC
Hindi
Hindi, Bengali
Tripura
SC
,,
,,
West
Bengal
147
Naga
Jeme/
Zeme
ST
Zemi
Zemi, Hindi,
Assamese, Bengali
Assam
148
Nagar
Brahman
Bengali
Bengali
West
Bengal
149
Nai/ nai
thakur
Napit
Bengali
Bengali, Hindi,
Assamese
Assam,
Tripura
150
Naickan
,,
Bengali
West
Bengal
151
Namasudra
,,
Bengali, Hindi
Bihar
,,
Bengali, Hindi
Madhya
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Census and the Aspects of Growth and Development of Bangla vs. Bangla-Hindi
Bilingualism - With Special Focus on West Bengal
Pradesh
152
Nat
,,
Bengali
West
Bengal
153
Newar
Nepali
Nepali, Bengali,
Hindi
West
Bengal
154
Nikari
Bengali
Bangla
West
Bengal
155
Noatia
ST
Kakabarak
Kakbarak, Bengali
Tripura
156
Nunia
Bengali
Bengali
Tripura
157
Oriya
,,
Bengali, Hindi
West
Bengal
158
Paharia
Paharia
Paharia, Bengali
Bihar
Bengali
Bengali
West
Bengal
159
Pakhimara
Hindi
Hindi, Bengali
West
Bengal
160
Paliyan
SC
Bengali
Bengali
West
Bengal
161
Pan
SC
Oriya
Oriya,Bengali
West
Bengal
162
Pan oriya
,,
Oriya, Bengali
Tripura
163
Pangan
Meitei
Meitei, Bengali
Manipur
164
Panika
ST
Chattisgarhi
Chattisgarhi, Bengali
Tripura
165
Parja/porja/p
oraja/paroja
Oriya
Oriya, Hindi, Bengali
West
Bengal
166
Pasi
SC
Hindi
Hindi, Bengali
West
Bengal
167
Pathan
Urdu
Urdu, Hindi, Bengali
West
Bengal
168
Patikar
Bengali
Bengali
West
Bengal
169
Patni
SC
,,
Bengali, Assamese
Assam,
170
Pnar/ Syteng
ST
Khasi
Khasi, Hindi, Bengali
Mizoram
171
Pondara
Oriya,
Bengali
Oriya, Bengali
Orissa
172
Punjabi
Hindu
Punjabi
Punjabi, Hindi,
Bengali
West
Bengal
173
Puran
Bhanja
puran
Bengali
Bengali, oriya
West
Bengal
175
Putuli bania
Bengali
Bengali, Hindi,oriya
Bihar
176
Rabha
ST
Bodo,
Bengali
Bodo, Assamese,
Bengali
Meghalay
a, west
Bengal
177
Rai
Nepali
Nepali, Hindi,
Bengali
West
Bengal
178
Rajbangsi
Bengali
Bengali, Hindi
Bihar
SC
,,
Bengali
West
Bengal
179
Rajbhar
SC
Bengali
Bengali, Hindi
Madhya
pradesh
180
Rajput
,,
,,
West
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Census and the Aspects of Growth and Development of Bangla vs. Bangla-Hindi
Bilingualism - With Special Focus on West Bengal
Bengal
Rajput
solanki
,,
,,
,,
181
Ranghi
dhoba
Assmese
Assamese, Hindi,
Bengali
Assam
182
Rangrez
Rajasthani
Rajasthani, Hindi,
urdu, Bengali
West
Bengal
183
Rautia
Panchparga
nia
Panchpargania,
Bengali
West
Bengal
184
Riang
ST
Riang
Riang, Assamese,
Bengali, Hindi
Assam
185
Rudrapal
Bengali
Bengali, Assmaese
Assam
186
Sabar
SC
,,
Bengali
Tripura
187
Sadgop
,
,,
West
Bengal
188
Sagar
,,
,,
Tripura
189
Sahi
,,
,,
West
Bengal
190
Santal
ST
Santali
Santali, Hindi,
Bengali
West
Bengal,
Tripura
191
Saora
ST
Bengali
Bengali
West
Bengal
192
Sarak
Bengali
Bengali
West
Bengal
193
Sarki
SC
Nepali
Nepali, Bengali
West
Bengal
194
Sarua
Brahman
Oriya
Oriya, Bengali
Orissa
195
Shabdakar
Bengali
Bengali
Tripura
196
Sheikh
,,
,,
West
Bengal
197
Shersahbadia
,,
Bengali, Hindi
Bihar
198
Siyal
,,
Bengali
West
Bengal
199
Subarna
banik
,,
,,
,,
200
Sunri
SC
,,
,,
,,
201
Supakar
Oriya
Oriya, Bengali
Orissa
202
Swarnakar
Bengali
Bengali
West
Bengal
203
Sutradhar
,,
,,
Tripura
204
Tanti
Oriya
Oriya, Bengali
Tripura
205
Teli
Bengali
Bengali, Assmaese,
Hindi
Assam
,,
Bengali
Tripura
206
Thetri
Bengali
Bengali, Hindi, Oriya
Bihar
207
Tiyor
SC
Bengali
Bengali
West
Bengal
208
Toto
ST
Toto
Toto, Bengali, Nepali
West
Bengal
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Bilingualism - With Special Focus on West Bengal
209
Tripura
Bengali
Bengali, Hindi
Assam
210
Turi
SC
Mundari
Mundari, Bengali
West
Bengal
211
Uchai
ST
Kokbarak
Kokbarak, Bengali
Tripura
212
Utkal
Brahman
Oriya
Oriya, Bengali
West
Bengal
References
Banthia, Jayant Kumar. (1991) Census of India. Delhi: Registrar general and census
commissioner, India.
Banthia, Jayant Kumar. (1991) Language atlas 1991. Appendix III (page— 175,265).Delhi:
Registrar general and census commissioner, India
Ghose, B. (1978) social cultural tables census of India 1971. Series 22 west Bengal part II
c (ii). Delhi: Registrar general and census commissioner, India.
Govt. of India. (1991). Census of india. west Bengal; series 26 part XI. Delhi: Registrar
general and census commissioner, India
Govt. of India. Statement 1 census of India 2001. Retrieved April 18, 2007 from
http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/Census_Data_Online/Language/Stateme
nt1.htm.
Govt. of India. Statement 6; census 2001. Retrieved April 18, 2007 from
http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/Census_Data_Online/Language/Stateme
nt6.htm.
Khaleque, Kibriaul. (2002). Ethnic communities of Bangladesh In Bangladesh: land forest
and forest people. Dhaka: Society for Environment and Human Development (SEHD), ,
Bangladesh.
Muthaiah. S. (1987). A social and economic atlas of india. (page 38-39). New Delhi:
Oxford university Press.
Singh, K.S. & S. Manoharan. (1993). Languages and Scripts in People of india project. Vol.
IX. Bombay (Mumbai): Popular Prakashan.
Language in India www.languageinindia.com 119
11 : 3 March 2011
Atanu Saha, M.A.
Census and the Aspects of Growth and Development of Bangla vs. Bangla-Hindi
Bilingualism - With Special Focus on West Bengal
Colophon:
The job is not accomplished until one acknowledges the people and the institutions without
whose help this project would not have been completed. I was not sure about things when I
started to think on this idea and doing a project on this topic. Things became even more
complicated when I began exploring the libraries and publications. I am grateful to Mr.
Pritam Dutta (of NIPFP & a Ph.D. scholar of Economics, CSRD, JNU) who gave important
suggestions over certain things. Finally I took the challenge up and I must thank my
Professor Anvita Abbi here because she is the one who generated my interest in the matter.
She always encouraged me and guided me on how to be precise on certain issues. After that
things became easier. I must extend my thanks to the following libraries and institutions also:
Central Arts Library, University of Delhi; Govt. Publication Section; Central Library,
Jawaharlal Nehru University; Ratan Tata Library, Delhi School of Economics, University of
Delhi; Library of the National Institute of Public Finance & Policy [NIPFP], the website of
Govt. of India on census http://www.census.gov.in, Central Secretariat Library, G-Wing;
Shastri Bhavan , New Delhi.
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Atanu Saha, M.A. (Linguistics)
Center for Linguistics
Jawaharlal Nehru University
New Delhi 110067
India
atanu.jnu@gmail.com
