48

CHAPTER THREE
Migration in Assam: Nature, Trend and Magnitude

3.1 Introduction:

The census estimate of 2001 shows the total population of Assam as 26.6

million (26,638,407). The density of population has gone from 286 per

square kilometre in 1991 to 340 per square kilometre in 2001. This

indicates heavy pressure of population on land. It is generally felt that rapid

growth of population in Assam is the resuit~of~(iJ Natural increase in

population and (ii) Interregional or International migration. Assam is

experiencing the influx of population from time to time and from different

directions. Thus, migration is not a new phenomenon for Assam, but what is

new is its massive nature since the beginning of the 20th century.

The extent of migration and its impact on population growth and the socio

economic condition in Assam has been a matter of controversy especially in

the last two, three decades. In this chapter, using materials from published

sources on the subject and analyzing available secondary data from the

census reports of India and other sources, an attempt has been made to (a)

outline a brief history and nature of different streams of migrants to Assam,

(b) trace the causes of migration in Assam, (c) estimate the magnitude of

migration to Assam in the post-independence period and (d) identify the

 49

locations of the state in which the immigrant population has primarily

settled.

While the goals (a) and (b) are useful to get the study into a proper

perspective, (c) and (d) will be useful for assessing the economic

implication of migration in the subsequent chapter.

3.2 Brief History and Nature of Migrants to Assam

The in-migrants and immigrants that came to Assam in the last century

and half can be classified into five categories (Goswami, 1985). First,

labourers to work in the tea gardens of Assam coming from Bihar, Orissa,

Chotanagpur, Madras, West Provinces, Central Provinces and United

Provinces. Second, farmers settlings in the agricultural lands of the valley

and corning largely from the districts of East Bengal; Third, immigrants from

Nepal engaged in live-stock etc; Fourth, traders and artisans; and Fifth,

other migrants such as salary earners, planters, miners, administrators,

labourers etc. coming from various parts of India and abroad.

3.2.1 Tea Plantation Migrants

The discovery of tea in 1821 prompted Governor General Lord William

Bentinck to start tea industry in Assam in 1830. The industry soon grew up

covering Lakhimpur, Darrang, Kamrup and Cachar districts but at the cost
 50

of increase in the number of migrants coming from various parts of India

mostly as labourers. The basic reason for this influx was a thin population of

young energetic local Assamese people to work as labourers at that

particular period of time and also the difficulty to work under the British

rulers because of their misbehaviour towards the labour class.

i
Even though we team from literature regarding import of Chinese labourers

in the initial phase (Mann, 1934) they later on lost their contract due to

quarrels with local Indians. In the later period, the tea industry had to import
i

labourers to work in the tea gardens from those parts of India where the

population was dense, less secure viz. West Bengal, Bihar,Orissa,

Chotanagpur, Central Province (now Madhya Pradesh), United Province

(now Uttar Pradesh) etc. They migrated basically to earn their livelihood

owing to their poverty that can be attributed to the Zamindari system

prevalent in their place of origin. Thus, while the demand for labour to work

in the tea gardens of Assam generated a “pull-effect”, the unfavourable

economic conditions in the recruiting regions created a "push-effect" to

migration.

3.2.2 Migrants from East Bengal /East Pakistan /Bangladesh

(a)Pre-lndependence Period
In the beginning of the 20 ,h century the British rulers, in order to run their

administration smoothly brought to Assam trained people in various

 51

professions like doctors, lawyers, teachers, journalists, clerks, railw ay and

post office staff etc. w ho belonged m ostly to the Bengali Hindu com m unity.

The Assam ese population at tha t period had no proper training to run

adm inistration as w anted by the British rulers (W einer, 1978). This trend of

m igration rem ained w hich w as evident from the concentration o f Bengalis in

the Brahm aputra valley districts.

On the other hand, the flow o f M uslim m igrants seem s to be continuous

throughout the entire 19th century. This influx w as accounted to availability

o f cheap and plentiful supply of virgin lands and the easy ryotw ari

settlem ent procedure in the Brahm aputra valley. The inflow o f M uslim

cultivators w ere m ainly from the thickly populated M ym ensingh and

R angpur district o f East Bengal to S ylhet and Goalpara districts o f earlier

A ssam till 1891. The m ajor influx o f Bengali M uslim s begun after 1900 as

w as revealed from the growth rate o f population in th(e G oalpara district

which increased from 1.4 per cent in 1881-1891, 2 per cent in 1891-1900 to

30 pe r cent in 1901-1911. The following decade as reported in the census,

the East Bengal settlers had m oved to the Nowgong district and form ed 14

per cent o f their total population and also started to occupy the w aste lands

in Kamrup district.

The sam e trend continued through 1930-1940 and a second w ave occurred

in 1942 w hen the m igrants fled to Assam to get respite from the Bengal

r
 52

famine. The migration persisted even after East Bengal (including

Mymensingh) became part of Pakistan in 1947 and international borders

were interposed between Assam and East Bengal.

Assam Land Revenue Administrative Reports (in 1921 census) mentioned

some of the important contributions made by the migrants to the

development of Assam’s agriculture e.g. innovation in agriculture, brought

under permanent cultivation thousands of acT§s~of land which were

neglected by the local cultivators, opened up vast tracts of dense jungle

along the southern bank of Brahmaputra valley etc. But Vaghaiwalla (1954)

stated that these benefits were derived at the cost of encroachment of not

only government reserves but also lands belonging to the local people.

(b)Post-lndependence Period

After independence, in spite of the Pakistan Passport System, Pakistan

(control) Act and Migrants Act 1950, the flow of immigration continued.

The partition of the country compelled a large number of Hindus to migrate

to West Bengal, Assam, Tripura and various neighbouring stales and they

were rehabilitated under legal process. But another group of migrants (both

Hindu and Muslim) entered Assam illegally.

The exodus of Muslim farm labourers from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh)

were not only encouraged by the village landlord or Muslim 'Muttabbor’

 53

residing in India to get the supply of cheap agricultural labourers and ease

the pressure of population on land in East Pakistan but also by the political

motive of establishing pockets of influence in the state (Goswami,1984).

During the Bangladesh Liberation War (1971) both Hindu and Muslim

refugees came to Assam from erstwhile Pakistan and they were supposed

to return back to Bangladesh after its independence. Some of the refugees

returned to Bangladesh, but a much larger portion remained in Assam.

Infiltration continued as before and the new flow was not of refugees, but as

earlier, of migrants seeking land and employment

The economy of Bangladesh, from which a higher percentage of migrants

came to Assam, has exhibited a high degree of stagnation. It is a country

with a large population, great poverty and very limited natural resources.

According to the 1991 census, the density of population was 740 per sq.

km. Bangladesh is not only one of the poorest countries of the world in

terms of per capita income (PCI), but she suffers from substantial inequality

in income distribution. The economy is an agrarian economy with total

cultivated area of barely 22.5 million acres. Only about one-third of the

cultivated area is entirely free of floods. Of the rest, 40 per cent is

moderately flooded to less than 3 feet and the remainder to a depth of 6

feet or more. These factors create 'push-effect' to migration.

 54

3.2.3 Migrants from Nepal

Another major stream of immigrants to Assam was from Nepal. To get

better means of livelihood and to escape compulsory service in their native

country, a considerable number of Nepalese entered Assam from the

beginning of the 19th century. They came through Darjeeling district in West

Bengal, largely through Gorakhpur and Deoria districts of Uttar Pradesh,

and also through the Nepal bordering districts of Bihar. They occupied the

wastelands of the valley, mostly in Darrang, Kamrup and Lakhimpur

districts. They engaged themselves in livestock and dairy farming. Besides

*

grazing buffaloes and cows in the riverine tracts they also settled in hill

slopes. The settlement of Nepali graziers continued unnoticed since the

beginning of the 19th century, as they settled on uncultivated and unknown

hill slopes, which were not demanded by the indigenous Assamese people

or immigrants from East Bengal. Besides, they also settled down in the

outskirts of the towns and cities for selling milk and milk products and for

supplying firewood. But for supplying firewood they sometimes resort to

secret and illegal felling of trees from the forests. Moreover, their unplanned

clearing of the forest aggravated the problem of soil erosion in the hills and

consequent floods in the plains(Goswami, 1984).

Unlike the East Bengal settlers, the immigrants from Nepal were chiefly
 55

males, the number of women being half the number of men. Up to 1890-

1900, the immigrants from Nepal consisted of retired military soldiers who

settled down in Assam and their number was inconsiderable. But from1901-

1910 onwards the actual influx from Nepal started and their number

increased at a rapid rate.

3 .2 .4 M ig ra n ts fro m o th e r sta te s o f India

The traders and artisans from Rajasthan, Punjab, Bihar and West Bengal

constitute another stream of in-migrants to Assam. Except tea, nearly the

whole of import and export trade of Assam was in the hands of traders

coming from Rajasthan, who not only managed the wholesale but, to a

large extent, also the retail trade. Except a few from Kamrup district, the

indigenous Assamese hardly engaged themselves in any kind of trading.

The Punjabis were primarily contractors, skilled mechanics and carpenters.

The migrants from Rajasthan (Marwaris) played an important role in

opening up Assam to trade. They acted as money changers, bankers and

general agents to the managers of the tea-gardens, especially in Sibsagar

and Lakhimpur districts, operated most of trade throughout the state

{Weiner, 1973).

it
 56

3.2.5 Vet another stream of migrants were the clerks and other

professional men migrating from Bengal, the European planters,

industrialists and officials, the farmers from Surama valley, the Christian

Santhal .Colonists from Chotanagpur, labourers to work in the construction

of roads, buildings, railways and in the coalmines, oil and plywood

industries (Goswami, 1985).

3Z Causes of Migration in Assam - summary of findings of

some relevant studies

Various writers put forwarded a number of causes behind migration.

According to. Weiner (1973) the following factors were responsible for

migration in Assam:

(i)One major obstacle to start a tea industry in Assam was the lack of an

adequate labour supply. Diseases, civil conflict and the Burmese invasions
*

reduced the population of Assam. Moreover, for the local Assamese

cultivators, there was little incentive to work as low income wage labourers

in unhealthy jungle terrain as they were comparatively prosperous with rich

arable land. This prompted the British rulers to import labourers from the

Chittagong regidn of East Bengal (now Bangladesh) and hill areas of

Southern Bihar.

(ii) In the earlier stage in administrative work, the British sought to make

use of high ranking officials from the previous Ahom government, especially
 57

in revenue administration and the judiciary. But these officials did not
readily fit into the Anglo-Mughal administrative structure created by the
British. They have never kept written records; even judicial proceedings
were conducted without recording the statements of witnesses,
complainants or dependants. Moreover, the new administrative offices and
titles, such as tahsildar or district revenue collector were adapted from
British governance in Bengal father than based on indigenous Ahom
administrative structures. In consequence, the British increasingly imported
trained Bengali officers to work in Assam.
(iii) East Bengal (Bangladesh), especially Mymensingh district, from which a
large proportion of the migrants came, was one of the most densely
populated rural areas of the world with few industries or towns
accompanied by increased fragmentation of land holdings, a growing
number of landless labourers and marginal agriculturalists. In 1961, the
density of population in East Bengal was 925 persons per square mile,
whereas it was 252 persons per square mile in Assam.
(iv) In contrast to East Bengal, Assam had in the past at least substantial
virgin lands, some in easily flooded low lands along the Brahmaputra Valley
that are similar to the deltaic areas of East Bengal. Assam also had
substantial forest reserves that can be exploited, often illegally, which lured
the land-hungry migrants.
 58

(v) The movements of the migrants were facilitated by the contrasting land

tenure of the two regions. East Bengal(Bangladesh) had (until shortly after

independence) a land holding system in which large number of tillers were

tenants or under-tenants to large landowners (known as zamindars) or to

intermediary absentee rent collector, while Assam was a region of individual

small landowner cultivators (ryots) who paid revenue directly to the state

government.

(vi) Political factors also encouraged migration to Assam. It was claimed

that the Muslim League government which controlled the state allowed and

even encouraged, Muslim migrants from East Bengal to encroach on

government lands, grazing and forest reserves and this came to a halt only

in 1946 when the Congress government began to enforce revenue laws

and evict unauthorized trespassers. After partition in 1947, the flow of

Muslim migrants subsided, while the flow of Hindu refugees increased.

On the basis of the study covering the period 1901-1971, Goswami and

Gogol (1984) found the same reasons behind migration to Assam as

depicted by Weiner (1973).

According to Goswami (1984) the causes of immigration were:

(i) Acute economic crisis in East Bengal (Bangladesh) and the warm

welcome accorded to them by their co-religious groups in the neighbouring

 59

districts of Goalpara, Kamrup, Darrang and Nowgong were the main factors

behind the influx of Muslim farm labourers in the post-independence period.

(ii) The oppression of the Hindu zamindars and the landless status of the

people along with exploitative share-cropping arrangement also led to influx

of Muslim farm labourers from East Bengal (Bangladesh).

(iii) Another cause was the incentive from Assam (both from the local govt,

and private land owners) to settle down in waste land. The farm labourers

were encouraged to migrate by the village landlord (or Muttabor) as they

could be engaged as cheap agricultural labourers in their farms. In many

instances, the presence of such cheap farm labour in the household also

enabled the landlord to increase his area of farm land and avoid the Land

Ceiling Act.

(iv) Apart from economic motives, political motive of establishing

pockets of influence in the state also encouraged Muslim immigration from

East Bengal to Assam.

(v) Hindu refugees came as a result of religious persecution in East

Bengal (Bangladesh) and they also had the inducement (o get rehabilitation

grants and government assistance to start some business or profession in

Assam.

(vi) Another stream of immigrants who came from Nepal entered

Assam so as to earn a better source of livelihood.

 60

On the basis of the study of Population trends in the Brahmaputra Valley for

the period 1881-1931, G.oswami (1985) also narrated similar reasons as

Weiner (1973) behind tea-plantation migrants. In his opinion while the

demand for labour to work in the tea gardens of Assam generated “pull-

effect" (attraction force), the unfavourable economic conditions in the

recruiting regions created ‘ push-effect’ (repulsive force) to migration.

Forced by the poor economic and agrarian conditions, and extraordinary

rise in prices of food grains in over-populated East Bengal (Bangladesh)

and lured by plentiful virgin and fertile lands together with free land-tenure

system, land-hungry people from Mymensingh, Pabna, Bogra and Rangpur

entered Assam.

Moreover, in the pre-independence period when Assam had lost its

separate identity as a Province during the partition of Bengal in 1905 and

was administratively merged with the Dacca division of Bengal with a view

to form a new Province called the “Province of Eastern Bengal and Assam"

with headquarters at Dacca, the 'communication gap’ between the people

of Assam Valley and those of East Bengal narrowed down. This also

facilitated movements of people from one region to the other.

Another factor cited by him was the great improvements in railway transport

between East Bengal (Bangladesh) and Assam which induced many people

to migrate.
 61

The immigrants from Nepal came to get better means of livelihood and to
escape compulsory service in their native country.
Considering net migration as a cubic function of time it was found that
during 1881-1931 in-migrations to the Valley was induced by time and
economic factors like expansion of tea plantations and available cultivable
wastelands.
* Assam's economic potential, coupled with reluctance of the indigenous
people to do toilsome and hard work, and absence of capital and
entrepreneurship led to immigration into AssarrfTtTass, 1988). The high
density of population and pressure on land in East Bengal (Bangladesh)
intensified the trend and the partition of the country led to more immigration.
His study covered the period 1891-1981.
t

Bangladesh being a stagnant economy the heavy pressure of population

on land had forced the people to cross the border with the aid of dalals or
touts on either side. The_migrants also got the support of the Bangladesh
intellectuals (Barpujari, 1998).
Regarding the infiltration from Nepal, he argued that the presence of a
larger body of Nepalese in the Army Regiment and Frontier Police
encouraged the migrants to occupy virgin lands to carry a large-scale
. sugarcane ‘ cultivation and dairy farming. Migrants from Nepal were

j
 62

facilitated by the Indo-Nepalese Friendship Treaty (1950) and subsequent

agreements to have equal rights with Indians to free movement.
The total migrants in the North-Eastern region were divided into three
»
groups viz. foreign migrants, migrants from the rest of India and 'intra-
regionaP migrants (Bandyopadhyay and Chakraborty, 1999). They analyzed
the causes of migration as follows:
Foreign migrants: The 'pull-factors’ for foreign migrants were - (i) possible
employment opportunities, (ii) availability of abundant cultivable land, (iii)
the ryotwari land tenure system in Assam giving the opportunity of new life
of cultivator proprietorship.
The 'push-factors' mentioned by them were - (i) the heavy pressure on land
owing to high density of population in the districts of Bangladesh (erstwhile
East Bengal), (ii) the permanent settlement of Bangladesh under which the
• i

cultivators had to face Zamindari oppression because they were either

tenants or under tenants or virtual bonded labourers, (iii) devastating floods
often made th^ people landless, (iv) encouragement given to the
immigrants by the Saduilah ministry on political ground.
They mentioned about the migrants from Nepal but provided no reasons
behind such migration.
In line with the Hanris-Todaro framework (1970), the strength of the
economic force that drives migration had been explained by them and
 63

argued that migration will continue to occur as long a s the following

inequality holds:

(1 -q ) W M > W R

W h e re q is the rate o f unem ploym ent in the m odern sector

(1 -q ) o r p is the probability o f finding em ploym ent in the m odem sector.

W M is the per capita incom e in the m odem sector.

W R is the per capita incom e in the rural sector.

In their analysis they assum ed N orth-Eastern region of India as the m odern

sector and Bangladesh as the rural sector. T h e y believed that the average

Bangladeshi migrant fared better in the N orth-Eastern region. In their

opinion while incom e differentials of the H a rris-To d a ro type can explain

migration, the process m ust be continuously fueled b y the availability of

information about w ag es and em ploym ent opportunities in the m odern

sector flowing to the rural hinterland. T h e y concluded that linguistic and

cultural continuity and the initial presence of a large n um ber o f migrants

with d ee p rooted ties to Bangladesh such information w a s alw ays available

and continuously updated through personal contact and b y mail.

O n the basis o f 1991 census data w hich included a question on ‘reasons for

migration’, these writers found that in A ssa m m ost of the foreign migrants

cam e for the reason 'family m o ve d ’.

 64

Migrants from rest of India: Regarding inter-state migrants Bandyopadhyay

and Chakraborty (1999) also elaborated similar reasons as mentioned

above by the earlier writers.

Besides, on the basis of 1991 census data, they found that ‘employment’ is

an important reason for migration of the males whereas females moved

mainly for demographic reasons.

Intra-regional migrants: Assam got maximum intra-regional migrants owing

to (i) availability of different industries viz. tea, oil, coal etc. (ii) availability of

land for settlement.

The difference made by Bandopadhyay et al between inter-state and intra-

regional migrants is not at all clear to us.

Based upon extensive fieldwork in Assam and Bangladesh, censuses and

other statistical records, Hazarika (2000) examined what drives immigrants

to even a developing country like India - a flow that no government can

hope to stop. Distinguishing between environmental and political migrants,

he identified land hunger, population pressures, attraction, of greater

economic security, flood problem and environmental factors responsible for

this influx of migrants.

Among the two major groups of immigrants the first category of migrants

were the Bengali immigrants, mostly Muslims, from the districts of East

Bengal (Bangladesh), particularly from Mymensingh, who came to take up

 65

land for cultivation. In second category were those who came from Madhya

Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Bengal and Bihar to work in tea-gardens

and elsewhere. The recruitment of such workers virtually stopped before

the start of the- Second World W ar and they should have returned to their

parent states after their contract period was over. But most of them did not

go back. In fact, the tea-garden authorities helped them to stay behind and

in many cases land was given just outside the gardens (Bhuyan, 2002). He

also mentioned about the migrants who were traders mainly from Rajasthan

and Punjab; and Nepalese who came to work as graziers.

The migrants were motivated by the “push’ or “pull” factors of possible

origin/destination areas and other things being equal, were attracted to

areas where previous streams of predecessors succeeded in establishing a

network (Saikia, 2002).

Networks are particularly important for illegal or undocumented migrations.

While developed regions are main destinations of migrants and account for

major shares of global migration flows, smaller flows take place within

developing regions, based on variations in the levels of development.

India's north-east is one such area that has traditionally been an attractive

destination for migrants from Bangladesh.

Analyzing the causes behind migration of people to Assam and other North-
 66

Eastern states, Gopaikrishnan and Thomas (2003) also cited similar

economic, political and natural factors as mentioned above.
From above it is clear that Migration to Assam is the resultant of .multiple
factors, among which some acted as 'pull factors’ and other as ‘push
factors’. The next section has tried to analyze the trend and determine the
magnitude of migration in Assam in the post-independence period.

3.4 Trend and Magnitude of Migration in Assam in the post­

independence period
While the impact of different streams of migrants as described in section 3.2
is traceable in the composition of Assam’s population, a great deal of
controversy arises regarding the magnitude of migration. The anti-
foreigners movement against illegal immigration which came up in the late
1970s cited comparatively higher population growth rate of Assam in the
years from 1951 to 1971 as an indicator of large scale immigration to the
state. Since then several attempts have been made to get an estimate of
the size of immigration into Assam. In this section available demographic
data from census and other sources has been analyzed and examined to
what extent migration has contributed to the growth of population in Assam
i

especially in the post-independence period. — *—

3.4.1 Comparative Population Growth Rates

The population growth rate of Assam and India for the period 1901-2001
 67

has been presented in Table 3.1. During the fifty years from 1901-1951, the

percentage of increase in population for Assam was 144 and for India it was

53. From 1951-2001, the percentage of increase in population for Assam

was 232 while it iwas 184 for the whole country. For the past hundred years

(1901-2001), Assam's population increased by 710 per cent whereas

India’s population increased by 355 per cent.

Table 3.1

Population Trend in Assam and India during 1901-2001

Year India Assam

Population Decadal Compound Population (in Decadal Compound
(in crores) Percentage Annual lakhs) Percentage Annua!
Vanation Growth Variation Growth
Rate (%) Rate (%)
1 II III IV V VI VII
1901 23.6 — —
32.9 — ■-----

1911 25.2 + 6.8 0.66 38.5 + 17.0 1.58

1921 25.1 -0 .3 -0.0 4 46.4 +20.48 1.88
1931 27.9 + 11.0 1.06 55.6 +19.91 1.82
1941 31.9 + 14.2 1.35 66.9 +20.40 1.87
1951 36.1 +13.3 1.25 80.3 +19.93 1.84
1961 43.9 + 21.6 1.98 108.4 +34.98 3.05
1971 54.8 . + 24.8 2.24 146.2 +34.95 3.05
1981 68.5 + 25.0 2.26 *180.4 + 23.4 2.12
1991 84.4 + 23.5 2.11 224.1 + 24.2 2.19
2001 102.7 + 21.3 1.98 266.4 + 18.85 - 1.74
Note: Column III, IV, VI and VII are computed on the basis of census
data.
Source: (i) Various Census Reports of India for all the figures except (1981
Assam).
(ii) * The 1981 census could not be held in Assam and hence the
data was estimated by the Expert Committee Population
Projection, Registrar General of India.
 68

* )

Regarding decadal percentage variation of population and annual

compound growth percentage, except 1991-2001, Assam depicted a higher

rate than India. As a percentage of India’s population, Assam’s population

increased from 1.38 per cent in 1901 to 2.59 per cent in 2001 showing an

increasing trend throughout the period. This shows the alarming growth rate

of population in Assam compared to India. The variation in growth rate

during different periods is depicted below.

Growth during 1901-1921: During 1901-1921, the population of India

increased by 6.4 per cent whereas the population of Assam increased by

41.0 per cent. India’s growth of population was negative (- 0.3 per cent)

during 1911-1921 owing to the fact that 5 per cent of its population was

i wiped out by influenza (1918-1919) ; but for the same period Assam

experienced 20.48 per cent growth rate. Annual compound growth

percentage for India was 0.31 per cent and it was 1.73 per cent for Assam

during 1901-1921.

Growth during 1921-1951: For the period 1921-1951, the percentage

of increase in population for India and Assam was 44 per cent and 73.1 per

cent respectively. Regarding annual compound growth percentage, for India

it was 1,22 and that for Assam 1.85 per cent.

 69

Growth during 1951-1971: During 1951-1971. the population of India

increased by 51.8 per cent and Assam by 82.1 per cent. Annual compound
growth percentage for India was 2.11 and for Assam it was 3.04 per cent.
Growth during 1971-2001: For the period 1971 to 2001, the increase in

population was 87.4 per cent for India and 82.2 per cent for Assam. Annual
compound growth percentage for India was 2.12 and for Assam it was 2.02
per cent during this period.

3.4.2 Natural Growth Rate of Population as a contributing factor

of Population Growth Rate:

The high growth rate of population in Assam may be the result of two

possible factors:
(a) Large scale immigration to the state.
(b) Possible higher natural growth rate of population in the state than in
the country as a whole especially up to 1971.

In this section the possibility of higher natural growth rate of population in

Assam has been examined before attempting to estimate the magnitude of

migration to Assam.
Natural growth rate (difference between birth rate and death rate) is
regarded as one of the factors behind population growth. The birth and
 70

death statistics of our country are not greatly reliable, because a large

number of births and deaths remained unregistered. Even then, we are

compelled to use them in the absence of more reliable estimate. Under the

assumption that the figures of. Assam and India suffers from more or less

same degree and nature of errors, a comparison between the Assam and

all-India picture is acceptable. The natural growth rate of population for

Assam and India for the period 1951-2001 is presented in the following

table.

Table 3.2
Decade-wise Birth and Death Rates for Assam and India per
thousand Populations (1951-2001)
Decade Birth Rate Death Rate Natural growth rate
(p e r1000) (Per 000) (per 1 000)
Assam . India Assam India Assam India
l II III IV V VI VII
1951-61 49.0 41.7 26.9 22.8 22.1 18.9
1961-71 44.1 41.2 19.6 19.0 24.5 22.2
1971-81 *33.1 36.0 14.9 ttb— 18.2 21.2
1981-91 33.2 30.4 13.5 10.2 197 20.2
91-2001 27.0 26.1 9.7 ' 8.7 17.3 17.4

Note: * Based on Expert Committee Population Projection, RGI,

Source: (i) Census of India 1961, 1971 for data up to 1971.
(ii) Compendium of India’s Fertility and Mortality Indicators, the
SRS, Registrar General of India 1997, for data relating to 1981
and 1991.
(iii) SRS, RG11999, for 1991-2001.
 71

Table 3.2 shows that Assam’s natural growth rate of population was higher

than India from 1951 to 1971. In the later period there was a reverse trend.
But the fall in the natural growth rate was due to the higher death rate of

Assam compared to India and not as a result of decline in birth rate. The

natural growth rate of Assam is also more than that of the neighbouring

states (except Meghalaya) as is evident from the Table 3.3.

T ab le 3.3

Birth and Death rates for the North-Eastern states per thousand

populations in 1999
State Birth Rate Death Rate Natural Growth
(per 1000) (per 1000) Rate
I II ill IV
Assam 27.0 9.7 17.3
Arunachal 22.3 6.0 16.3
Manipur 18.6 5.4 13.1
Meghalaya 28.6 9.1 19.5
Mizoram 17.0 5.5 11.5
Nagaland Urban: 11.8 Urban: 2.3 Urban: 9.5
Tripura . 17.0 5.7 11.3
Source: Sample Registration System Dalta 1999, RGJ.

The continuous higher birth rate of Assam than India throughout the period

1951-2001 prompts us to find out the causes behind this.

it

3 .4 .3 Factors determining fertility rate

From Table (3.2 and 3.3) it becomes evident that the mortality rate of

Assam is higher than India during the period 1951-2001 and it is also higher
 72

than the other north eastern states. Therefore, for natural growth rate to be

higher in Assam, the fertility rate must be substantially higher. For

examining the possibility it may be instructive to examine and compare the

factors determining fertility rate. The major social and economic factors

determining fertility rates are:

• Mean age at mam'age

• Literacy rate (particularly female literacy)

* Infant mortality rate

* Economic status

M ean age at marriage: According to Ridley and Sheps (1966), age at,

marriage affects fertility by changing the fertility schedule and family

building pattern. Thus due to its combined effect through several routes,

age at marriage can be termed the best single predictor of fertility,

in India, there is a lot of variation in the age at marriage among the states

especially between the northern and southern states, and within stales

among castes, communities and across other social stratifications (Das and

Dey, 1998).

The singulate mean age at marriage (SMAM) for females in India (1991)

shows that it was higher than 20 years in Kerala, Assam, Punjab, Orissa,

< Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana (Table 3.4). During
 73

1998-99 the SM AM was higher than 20 years in Gujarat and Jam m u and

Kashmir besides the above states.

W hen one examines the proportion of females who are married before age

18 (legally prescribed minimum age at marriage for females) by state it

becomes evident that the states like Haryana, Orissa, Assam, W est Bengal,

Karnataka, Gujarat and Tamilnadu are relatively better placed.

Table 3.4
Singulate Mean Age at Marriage for Female by States in India,
1961-1991 and 1998-1999
State /Region SMAM NFHS-2
1961 1971 1981 1991 (1998-99)
North
Haryana NA 17.7 17.9 20.3 19.8
Himachal Pradesh 15.6 17.8 19.1 20.3 22.1
Jammu and Kashmir 16.1 17.8 19.7 N.A. 22.5
Punjab 17.5 20.1 21.1 21.0 22.1
Rajasthan 14.2 15.1 16.1 17.5 18.3
Centra!
Madhya Pradesh 13.9 15.0 16.6 17.8 18.9
Uttar Pradesh 14.5 15.5 16.7 18.1 19.0
East
Assam 18.6 18.7 N.A. 21.1 21.7
Bihar 14.3 15.3 16.6 17.6 18.8
Orissa 16.4 17.3 19.1 20.2 21.2
West Bengal 15.9 18.0 193 19.7 19.6
West
Gujarat 17.1 18.5 19.6 19.9 20.2
Maharashtra 15.8 17.6 18.8 19.7 19.8
South
Andhra Pradesh 15.2 16.3 1-7r3— - 18 3 18.3
Karnataka 16.4 17.9 19.3 20.1 20.1
Kerala 20 2 21.3 22.1 22.3 21.5
Tamilnadu 18.4 19.6 ' 20 3 20.9 20.9

Source: Das and Dey, (1998) and NFHS-2 (1998-99).

?
 74

Classical, indices characterizing nuptial schedules such as mean age at

marriage yield rather incomplete information; because they do not specify

the age at which nuptiality start or provide clues as to how the nuptiality

schedules proceed. Coale’s (1971) nuptiality parameters ‘a0’ and ‘k’ are

therefore useful in the study of different patterns of nuptiality transitions and

their relation with fertility (Das and Dey, 1998). Here 'a0' refers to the age at

which a substantial number of fust marriages begin to occur in a population

and ’k’ refers the speed at which marriage takes place. Table 3.5 presents

Coale’s nuptiality parameters a0 and k calculated for various states in India

for different census years.

It can be observed from Table 3.5 that in 1971 the starting age at marriage

was very low in all the Indian states, with the exception of Kerala (15.9),

Assam (15.0) and Punjab (14.2).

However during the decade 1971-1981 several states experienced a rise in

age at marriage. The table also reveals the value of *k’ for all the major

states of India during 1971-1991 Looking at the relative position of various

states on the given parameters a0 and k in 1991 the states have been

classified according to the progress made toward nuptiality transition in

Table 3.6.
 75

Table 3.5

Coale’s nuptiality parameters aQand k for various states of India

State/Region a0 value k value

Census years Census years
1971 1981 1991 1971 1981 1991
I II • III . IV V VI VII
North
Haryana N.A. 10.0 14.5 N.A. 0.86 0.38
Himachal 11.0 11.8 15.7 0.68 0.82 0.40
Pradesh 11.0 13.7 NA. 0.68 0.54 N.A
Jammu & 14.2 13.6 15.7 0.54 0.55 0.48
Kashmir 12.0 12.4 13.1 0.34 0.39 0.38
Punjab
Rajasthan
Central
Madhya 10.9 11.7 133 0.40 0.45 0.40
Pradesh 11.8 12.5 13.5 0 44 0.60 0.39
Uttar
Pradesh
East '
Assam 15.0 N.A. 15.0 0.38 N.A. 0.52
Bihar 11.0 10.3 10.6 0.44 0.60 0.66
Orissa 12.0 15.0 15.0 0.48 0.42 0.42
West Bengal 11.0 12.3 13.2 0.61 0.60 0.54
West
Gujarat 10 7 14.5 15.0 0.90 0.44 0.42
Maharashtra 10.6 13.4 15.0 0.67 0.47 0.40
South
Andhra 10.3 12.5 13.0 0 55 0.42 0 46
Pradesh 10.2 12.2 12.5 0 77 0.65 0.73
Karnataka 15.9 155 15.5 - 0; 46- 0 32 0 60
Kerala 104 155 14 3 0.30 0.32 0 56
I Tamilnadu i .

Source; Das and Dey, (1998) and NFHS-2 (1998-99)

 76

T a b le 3.6

N uptiality T ra n s itio n in India: C la s s ific a tio n -o iS ta te s b a s e d on

C o a le ’s N uptiality P a ra m e te rs
Timing of marriage (a,, Pace of mam'age (k value)
value) Relatively low marriage Relatively better
i spread marriage spread
k<0.5 k>0.5
Relatively high age at start Haryana, Rajasthan, M.P. Bihar, West Bengal,
of marriage U.P, Andhra Pradesh Karnataka, Tamilnadu
Relatively high age at start Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala, Assam
of marriage ao>15 years Orissa, Gujarat, Maharashtra
Source: Das and Day, (1999)

Lite ra cy rate: Empirical findings in the studies by NSS (1967) for both

rural and urban sampled areas, UN (1961) for Bangalore city. Driver’s

(1963) survey of Nagpur and some other studies depict the negative

association between fertility and education. Education has been considered

to be the single most important variable motivating people to have smaller

families.

Literacy rate, particularly female literacy has a significant effect on fertility.

Researches have established the fact that there is a negative correlation

between female literacy and fertility. T o have a comparison of female

literacy rate of Assam with some of the major states of India Table 3.7 has

been presented below.

 77

Table 3.7

Female Literacy Rate in some major states of India

State 1991 2001
1 II III
Assam 43.03 56.03
Kerala 86.17 87.86
Goa 67.09 75.51
Maharashtra 52.32 67.51
Tamilnadu 51.33 64.55
Punjab 50.41 63.55
Gujarat 48.64 58.60
Himachal Pradesh 52.13 68.08
West Bengal , 46.56 60.22
Karnataka 44.34 57.45
Haryana 40.47 56.31
Orissa 34.68 50.97
Andhra Pradesh 32.72 51.17
Madhya Pradesh 28.85 50.28
Uttar Pradesh 25.31 42.98
Bihar 22.89 ------- 36.47
Rajasthan ' 20.44 | 44.34

Note: In 1991 and 2001, the literacy rate included the children above 7
years whereas in the earlier censuses literacy rate included the
children above 5 years.

Source: Census of India 1991 and Primary Abstract, Census of India, 2001.
 78

Table 3.7 reveals that in the case of female literacy rate Assam's rank is not
discouraging. Female literacy rate of Assam is higher than that of India for
the period 1961-2001. — '—
Moreover, from 1951 the literacy rate of Assam (for both male and female)
shows an upward trend, which is evident from Table 3.8.

Table 3.8
Literacy rate of Assam and India for the period 1951-2001
Assam India
Year Total Male Female Total Male Female
I II III IV V VI VII
1951 18.53 28.01 7.58 18.3 27.2 8.9
1961 32.95 44.28 18.62 28.3 40.4 15.3
1971 33.94 43.72 22.76 34.5 46.0 22.0
1981 N.A. N.A. N.A. 43.4 56.4 29.8
1991 52.89 61.87 43.03 52.1 63.9 39.4
2001 64.28 71.93 56.03 65.4 75.9 54.2
ft

Note: In the year 1981, census could not be held in Assam.

Source: Census of India, 2001, Series-19 (Assam)

Infant Mortality Rate: Infant mortality has intensifying effects on fertility

rates. The direct relationship between infant mortality rates and birth rates
has been established in many studies reviewed by Mandelbaum (1974).
Lower infant mortality ensures couples higher probabilities for the survival
of their children to maturity and this motivate them to have a target number

r
 79

of surviving children. As a result the number of births is reduced (Gulati,

1988). To have a picture of Assam's Infant Mortality Rale Table 3.9 is

presented.

Table 3.9
Estimated Infant Mortality Rate of Assam and India (per
thousand live births)
Year Assam j India
1 II I III
1976 124 129
1977 115 130
1978 118 127
1979 104 120
1980 103 114
1981 106 110
1982 101 105
'1983 94 105
1984 99 104
-1985 111 97
1986 109 95
1987 102 95
1988 99 94
1989 91 91
1990 76 80
1991 81 80
1992 76 79
■ 1993 81 74
1994 78 74
1995 77 74
1996 75 72
1997 76 71
1998 \ 76 72
1999 76
70
2001 76 70

Source: Sample Registration Bulletin, Registrar General of India.

 80

Infant mortality rate of Assam was less than India during the period 1976-
1984. From 1985 to 1988 Assam’s rate was more than that of India.

Although in the subsequent period from 1989 to 2001, the table shows

variations in the gap between the Infant Mortality Rate of Assam and India

but it has been depicting a downward trend. Hence, we can at least assume

that it will not induce higher birth rate in Assam.

Economic Status: Empirical studies on the relationship between

economic status and fertility do not suggest any definite hypothesis.

Sinha (1957) and NSS (1970) find an inverse relationship between

fertility and income where income depicted economic status.

Apart from these major determinants of fertility there are also some other

factors such as religion, family structure, urbanization, occupation etc.

which have been found to influence fertility rate. Many empirical studies

attempting to highlight the importance of crucial factors affecting fertility

behaviour in India, even with a partial list of variables, have often viewed

that the problem of multicoilinearity is quite serious and renders the task

of identifying relevant factors extremely difficult (Gulati, 1988). Keeping

this viewpoint we have limited our analysis to the above-mentioned

factors.
From the analysis made so far it appears that there can be no traceable

reason for Assapi having higher fertility rate than the rest of India. In
 81

other words, there is no clear and strong evidence to believe that the

fertility rate of population in Assam is higher than that of India and also of

the neighbouring states. Hence it is not the only factor resulting rapid

population growth. Accordingly the possibility of migration contributing

significantly to the high population growth of Assam even in the post­

independence period gets strengthened.

The following sub-section is devoted to estimation of the m agnitude of

migration into Assam during the post-independence period, w here 3.4.4

deals w ith in-m igration (i.e. m igrants from the rest o f India) and 3.4.5

deals w ith im m igration (i.e. m igrants from neighbouring countries)

3.4.4 Trend of In-migration in the post-independence period on

the basis of Place of birth statistics:

The present study covers the post-independence period and as m entioned

earlier in section 1.3, up to 1961 census of India, inform ation on migration

o f population had been collected m ainly on birth returns only, hence our

analysis o f migration will be based on birth place statistics. W e present

below som e tables showing the distribution o f lifetim e m igrants in A ssam in

1961, 1971 and 1991. Census could not be held in Assam in 1981.
 82

T ab le 3 .1 0

Distribution of life-time In-Migrants in A ssam , 1961

Place of Birth In-Migrants
Total Male Female
1 II III IV
Andhra Pradesh 4,344 (0.9) 2,858 1,486
Bihar 2,57,732 (52.6) 1,87,254 70,478
Gujarat 933 (0.2) 690 243
Jammu & Kashmir 466 (0.1) 412 - 54
Kerala 2,182 (0.4) 1,807 375
Madhya Pradesh 11,166(2.2) 6,397 4,769
Madras 7.626(1.6) 4.942 2,684
Maharashtra 1,553 (0.3) 1,156 397
Mysore 728 (0.1) 509 219
Orissa 51,192(10.4) 30,123 21,069
Punjab 12,449 (2.5) 9,064 ,385
Rajasthan 22,263 (4.5) 16,375 5,888
Uttar Pradesh 40,791 (8.3) 30,924 9,867
West Bengal 55,015(11.2) 33,977 21,038
Andaman & Nicobar 42 (0.01) 41 1
Delhi 767 (0.2) 458 309
Himachal Pradesh 202 (0.04) 106 96
Manipur 5,739(1.2) 3,762 1,977
Tripura 11,476 (2.3) 6,512 4,964
Goa, Daman & Diu 29 (0.01) 11 ' 18
Pondichery 205 (0.04) 194 11
N.E.F.A. 159 (0.03) 62 97
Sikkim 47 (0.01) 19 28
Nagaland 2,822 (0.6) 1,889 933
Total 4,89,928(100) 3,39,542 1,50,386

Note: (i) Figures in Parentheses indicate percentage of total in-migrants.

(ii) Arunachal Pradesh was earlier known as N.E.F.A.
Source: Census of India 1961, Assam, Migration table.
 83

Table 3.11
Distribution of life-time In-Migrants in Assam, 1971
Place of Birth In-Migrants
Total Male Female
I II III IV
Andhra Pradesh 7,330(1.4) 4,515 2,815
Bihar 2,43,915(45.6) 1,81,807 6,21,08
Gujarat 650(0.1) 350 300
Haryana 3,780 (0.7) 2,565 1,215
Himachal Pradesh 495 (0.1) 350 145
Jammu& Kashmir 560 (0.1) 435 125
Kerala 4,620 (0.9) 3,590 1,030
Madhya Pradesh 13,965 (2.6) 8,045 3,920
Maharashtra 1,525 (0.3) 995 530............
Manipur 5,905(1.1) 3,375 2,530
Meghalaya 26,513(4.95) 13,727 12,786
Mysore 750 (0.1) 495 255
Nagaland - 4,670 (0.9) 2,635 2,035
Orissa 30,310 (5.7) 18,460 11,850
Punjab 8,785(1.6) 5,715 3,070
Rajasthan 28,727 (5.4) 20,801 7,926
Sikkim 50 (0.01) 35 15
Tamilnadu ' 3,070 (0.6) 2,005 1,065 '
Tripura 17,340 (3.2) 10,970 6,370
Uttar Pradesh 64,323(12.0) 48,161 16,162
West Bengal 65,671 (12.3) 34,450 31,221
Andaman & Nicobar 5(0.001) 5 0
Arunachal Pradesh 1,430 (0.3) 925 505
Chandigarh 20 (6.004) 5 15
Dadra & Nagar Haveli 5(0.001) 5 0
Delhi 985 (0.2) 655 330
Goa, Daman & Diu 30 (0.006) 25 5
Pondicherry 5(0.001) 0 5
Total 5,35,434 (100) 3,65,096 1,70,338

Note: Figures in Parentheses indicate percentage of total in- migrants.

Source: Census of India 1971, Assam, Migration Table

I
 84

T ab le 3.1 2

Distribution of life-time In-Migrants in Assam , 1991

Place of Birth In-Migrants
Total Male Female
Andhra Pradesh 10,301 (1.9) 5,561 4,740
Arunacha! 7,500(1.4) 3,040 4,460
Bihar 1,94,864 (36.3) 1,33,834 61,030
Goa 1,050 (0.2) 420 630
Gujarat 4,540 (0.8) 1,810 2,730
Haryana 4,080 (0.8) 2,380 1,700
Himachal Pradesh 8,182(1.5) 3,590 4,592
Jamu & Kashmir 970 (0.2) 520 450
Karnataka 730 (0.1) 350 380
Kerala 3,378 (0.6) 1,838 1,540
Madhya Pradesh 7,560(1.4) 4,050 3,510
Maharashtra 2,430 (0.5) 1,170 1,260
Manipur 7,500 (1.4) 3,550 3,950
Meghalaya 31,749 (5.9) 14,350 17,399.
Mizoram 2,790 (0.5) 1,350 1,440
Nagaland 9,800(1.8) 4,640 5,160
Orissa 10,300(1.9) 6,020 4,280
Punjab 6,520(1.2) 3,520 3,000
Rajasthan 29,599 (5.5) 19,150 10,449
Sikkim 1,820 (0.3) 1,120 700
Tamilnadu 2,580 (0.5) 1,460 1,120
Tripura 37,101 (6.9) 17,468 19,633
Uttar Pradesh 54,557(10.2) 33,017 21,540
West Bengal 94,548(17.6) 43,154 51,394
Andaman & Nicobar 70 (0.01) 40 30.
Chandigarh 120 (0.02) 70 50
Dadra & Nagar Haveli 100 (0.02) 30 70
Daman & Diu 30 (0.006) 10 20
Delhi 1730 (0.3) 860 870
Lakshadweep 70 (0.01) 30 40
Pondicherry 10(0.002) 0 10
Total 5,36,579 (100) 3,08, 402 2,28, 177

Note: Figures in Parentheses indicate percentage of total In-Migrants.

Source: Census of India 1991, Assam, Migration Table.
 85

Of these inter-state migrants in 1961, the largest proportion was from Bihar

(52.6 per cent) followed by West Bengal (11.2 per cent), Orissa (10.4 per

cent) and Uttar Pradesh (8.3 per cent). These latter three states together

contributed 29.9 per cent to total in-migrants. In 1971, there was a decline

in the proportion of migrants from Bihar (45.6 per cent) compared to 1961.

The second, third and fourth positions regarding proportion of in-migrants

were occupied respectively by West Bengal (12.3 per cent), Uttar Pradesh

(12.0 per cent) and Orissa (5.7 per cent) and together they comprised of

30.0 per cent. In 1991 also, Bihar (36.3 per cent) occupied the first position,

of course showing a declining trend followed by West Bengal (17.6 per

cent), Uttar Pradesh (10.2 per cent) and Tripura (6 9 per cent). These latter

three states together comprised 34.7 per cent of the total inter-state

migrants. Here mention may be made of the faciihaLfrom 1961 to 1991 the

proportion of migrants from West Bengal showed an upward trend.

Moreover, there was also an increase in the proportion of people who came

from Rajasthan (4.5 percent in 1961 became 5.5 per cent in 1991).

Regarding sex composition of the migrants, it has been noticed that in all

the above mentioned censuses the male outnumbered the female in most

of the states. However, in 1991 the female migrants were more than the

male in some states.

On the basis of the above In-Migration Tables and total in-migrants of 1951
 86

as available from census data, Table 3.13 has been constructed below.

Table 3.13
Trend of In-Migrants in Assam during 1951-1991
Decade Total In-Migrants Decadal Percentage
Chanqe of In-Miqrants
1 II III
1941-1951 4,47.416 (5.6) —

1951-1961 4,89,928 (4.5) +9.5

1961-1971 5,35,434 (3.7) +9.3
1971-1981 NA —

1981-1991 5,36,579 (2.4) +0.21

During (1951-1991) 15,61,941

Note: Figures in Parentheses are percentage of total population of Assam.

Source: Census of India 1951, 1961, 1971 &1991, Assam, Migration Tables

From our study during the period 1951-1991 the total in-migrants to Assam
has been found to be 15, 61,941. For the same period another, study to
estimate migration in Assam by Saikia et al (2003) found the total in-
migrants as 15, 10,066. Although both the estimates are based on place of
birth statistics the difference in figures occurred as the lattef study have
adjusted the migration figures to the present boundary of Assam. However,
both the study depicted large-scale iriter-state migrants from 1951 to 1971
which continued throughout 1971-91 but with a declining trend.
As far as migrants from other stales are concerned, it can be expected that
they have reported their place of birth correctly, because every citizen of
India has the right to move anywhere within the country. Moreover, as
 87

reported by Pakyntein 1 (1961), there has been an exchange o f M igration

Tables am ong the Superintendents o f Census O perations o f the various

states o f India from which it can be checked how m any people have m oved

from one state to another w ithin India. Therefore, it appears that the total in­

m igrants during 1951-91 into Assam are above 15 lakhs.

3.4.5 Trend of Immigration in the Post-Independence Period on

the basis of Place of Birth Statistics:

The tw o m ajor stream s o f im m igrants to A s sam ,in the post-independence

period were the people w ho cam e from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh)

and Nepal and so our study w ill be confined to these two stream s only. In

the M igration tables from 1951 to 1971 no distinction was m ade between

East Pakistan and W est Pakistan and from 1991 census w e get m igration

data depending on their birth place as Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal.

Tables 3.14 3.15, 3.16 and 3.17 show the distribution o f im m igrants to

Assam in 1951, 1961, 1971 and 1991 respectively. In 1951 and 1961

census,’ w e get com bined figures for the two hill "districts namely. United

M ikir and N.C. Hills; in 1971 and 1991 separate figures w ere available for

both the districts. H owever in 1991 United M ikir has been renam ed as Karbi

Anglong. Moreover, in our study from 1951 to 1971 census, total

im m igrants to Assam will vary w ith the district total because A ssam ’s figure
 88

included the immigration of people to some of the districts such as Garo

Hills, Mizo Hills, Khasi & Jaintia Hills etc. which were part of Assam prior to

1970s.

Table 3.14
District-wise Immigrants to Assam in 1951
District Immigrants Percentage of
total
Pakistan Nepal | Total population
........ . ....i__
1 II HI IV V
Cachar T1,29,573 410 1,29,983 11.65
M 70,053 302
F 59,520 108
Goalpara T1,35,626 3873 1,39,499 12.59
M 77,722 2704
F 57904 1169
Kamrup T 1,86,776 6,464 1,93,240 12.97
M1,06,384 4,007
<
F 80,392 2,457
Darrang T 84,277 10,427 ■9T7T04' 10.25
M 44,377 5,623
F 39,900 4,804
Nowgong T1,72,704 2,118 1,74,822 19.70
M 97,815 1,334
F 74,889 784
Sibsagar T 26,481 3,423 29,904 2.47
M 15,304 2,079
F 11,177 1,344
Lakhimpur T 60,976 12,808 73,784 6.55
M 33,928 8,299
F 27,048 4,509
U.Mikir & N.C. T 3,322 T 323 3.645 1.15
Hills M 1,723 M 179
F1.599 F 144
ASSAM T 8,33.288 56,572 8,89,860 11.08
, M 4,65,436 36,350
F 3,67,852 20,222

Source; Census of India 1951, Assam, Migration Table.

 89

Table 3.15
District-wise immigrants to Assam in 1961
District im m igrants P e rce n ta g e of
total
N epal Total population
Pakistan

I II III IV V
G oalp ara T 1 ,4 5,9 50 3,6 0 2 1,49,55 2 9 .69
M 7 9 ,72 6 2,1 7 6
F 66,224 1,426
K am rup T 1 ,3 6 ,3 7 7 8,042 1,44,419 7 .0
M 77 ,06 0 5,451
F 59,317 2,591
D arrang T 88,42 4 19,019 1,07,443 8 .3 3
M 51,310 11,137
F 37,114 7 ,8 8 2
N o w g on g T 1 ,3 6,6 25 3,329 _ _ X 3 9 ,9 5 4 11.56
M 7 7 ,77 0 1,695
. F 58,855 1,634
S ib sa g a r T 2 0 ,68 4 5,562 26 ,24 6 1.74
M 13,360 3,750
F 7,3 2 4 812
La khim pu r T 65 ,68 5 2 4 ,6 6 2 90,347 5 .7 8
M 41,00 8 15,810
F 24,67 7 8,852
Cachar T 1 ,3 4 ,1 5 9 464 1,34,623 9 .7 7
M 7 0 ,1 2 8 313
F 64,031 151
U .M ikir & T 12,846 4,7 2 9 17,575 6 .2 8
N .C .H ills M 7,727 3,499
F 5,1 1 9 1,230
ASSAM T 7 ,7 4 ,8 6 9 82,62 4 8,57,493 7.91
M 4 ,3 8 ,1 9 9 53,189
F 3,36,67 0 29 ,43 5

Source: Census of India 1961, Assam, Migration Table.

 90

Table 3.16
District-wise Immigrants to Assam in 1971
District Immigrants / Percentage of
total
Pakistan Nepal Total population

I II II! IV V
Goalpara T1.78.761 3,750 1,82,511 8.2
M 95,741 2.380
F83.020 1,370
Kamrup T1,67,500 11,025 1,78,525 6.25
M 92,096 6,555
F 75,404 4,470
Darrang T 96,963 14,685 1,11,648 6.43
M 54,753 7,565
F 42,210 7,120
Nowgong T1,76,294 3,855 1,80,149 10.72
M 91,339 1,930
F 84,955 1,925
Sibsagar T 29.882 6.635 36.517 1.99
M 18,286 5,005
F 11,596 1,630
Lakhimpur T 88,388 26,776 1,15,164 5.43
M 46,568 16,450
F 41,820 10,326
Cachar T 1,45,361 1,315 1,46,676 , 8.56
M 75,367 1,095
F 69,994 220
U.Mikir T 10,733 6,465 17,198 4.53
M 5,169 2,025
F 5,564 4,440
N.C.Hiils T 2,941 1,360 4,301 5.66
M 1,805 855
F 1,136 505
ASSAM T 9,03,429 78,268 9,81,697 6.7
M 4.84,850 46,037
F 4,18,579 32,231

Source: Census of India 1971, Assam, Migration Table.

 91

Table 3.17
District-wise Immigrants to Assam in 1991
District Immig rants Percentage
Bangladesh Nepal Pakistan Total of total
population
I II III IV V VI
Goalpara T 56,522 T 820 T 2,400 59,742 1.66
M 30,831 M 540 M 1,360
F 25,691 F 280 F 1,040
Kamrup T 49,152 T 47,80 T 2,100 56,032 1.27
M 26,242 M 30,00 M 1,140
F 22,910 F 17,80 F 960
Darrang T 32,727 T 2,800 T 1,640 37,167 1.36
M 18,292 M 1,510 M 900
F 14,435 F 1,290 F 740
Nowqonq T 49,411 T 840 T 4.420 . 54,671 2.16
M 27,327 M 550 M 2.360
F 22,084 F 290 F 2,060
Sibsagar T 4,382 T 1,663 T 210 6,255 0.24
M 2,522 M 1,093 M 150
F 1,860 F 570 F 60
Lakhimpur T 20,760 T 6,700 T 2,240 29,700 0.92
M 11,900 M 3,900 M 1,300
F 8,860 F 2„800 F 940
Cachar T £8,665 T 280 T 1„090 70,035 2.81
M 35,291 M 200 M 700
F 33,374 F 80 F 390
KAnglong T 5,800 T 3,360 T 960 10.120 1.53
M 3,280 M 2,100 M 430
F 2,520 F 1,260 F 530
N.C.Hills T 690 T 1,190 T 50 1,930 1.28
M 410 M 900 M 30
' F 280 F 290 F 20
ASSAM T 2,88,109 T 22,433 T 15,110 3,25,652 1.45
M 1,56,095 M 13,793 M 8,370
F 1,32,014 F 8,640 F 6,740

Source: Basic data has been taken from Census of India 1991,
Assam, Migration Table.

r
 92

It is evid en t from th e a b o v e tab les th at th e num bers o f m a le im m igrants

w e re m o re than their fe m a le counterparts. T h e p e rce n ta g e o f im m igrants to

total population o f A s s a m h a s show n a declining trend th a t is c le a r from

th e follow ing table.

T ab le 3.1 8

Trend of Immigrants (from East Pakistan / Bangladesh and

N epal) during 1951-1991

Decade Total Immigrants (from Pakistan Percentage to ' total

/ Bangladesh and N e p a l) Population of Assam

1941-1951 8,89,860 11.08

1951-1961 8,57,493 7.91

1961-1971 9,81,697 6.7

1971-1991 3,25,652 1.45

During 21,64,842

(1951-1991)

Source: C e n su s R eports of India 1 9 5 1 . 196 1, 1971 an d 1 9 9 1 , A s sam ,

M igration Tab les .

3 . 4 . 6 A ccording to S a ik ia et al (2 0 0 3 ), on the basis o f place o f birth

statistics during 195 1-91 th e total im m igrants (from all foreign countries)

to A s s a m w a s 21, 1 2 ,7 2 7 . O f course, their study adjusted th e d a ta to the

present b o u ndary of A s s a m . T akin g into account the inaccu racies of

cen sus place o f birth d a ta th ey also ado pted the survival m ethod o f
 93

estim ating migration and found the total im m igrants'to A ssam during the

period 1951-91 as 19, 54,958. They regarded the survival m ethod to be

more accurate than the other indirect method of estim ating migration,

namely, the vital statistics method. Because in the survival m ethod the

total population is split into different age groups and their corresponding

survival ratios are used instead o f the single births and deaths figure for

the entire population as in the vital statistics method. M oreover, by

applying A ssam ’s natural growth rate to the m igrant population they have

shown that A ssam ’s population increased by 49, 15,058 during 1951-91

when the cum ulative im pact o f both m igrants and their offspring are

taken into account.

Table 3.18 and the estim ates o f im m igration provided by S aikia et al

reveals the fact that w hatever might be the m ethod of estim ation (direct

o r indirect) m axim um im m igration occurred between 1951 and 1971. It is

also evident that the percentage of im m igration to total population of

Assam has depicted a declining trend in the post-independence period.

Since it cannot be expected that all the im m igrants entering Assam

would disclose their actual birth place, we can at least assum e that the

total im m igrants (from East Pakistan/ B ang ladesfrand Nepal) will not be
 94

less than what we have found (I.e. 21, 64,842) during the period 1951-

1991.

3.5 Location of Immigrants

3.5; 1 On the basis of Birth Place statistics:

After determining the magnitude of immigration in the post-independence

period our next objective is to locate the areas of concentration. For this

purpose Table 3.19 has been constructed on the basis of Table 3.14,

3.15, 3.16 and 3.17 showing district-wise concentration of immigrants

(from Pakistan / Bangladesh and Nepal) in descending order.

Table 3.19
District-wise concentration of Immigrants in different decades (in
descending order)
1941-1951 1951-1961 1961-1971 1971-1991
Kamrup Goalpara Goalpara Cachar
Nowgong Kamrup Nowgong Goalpara
Goalpara Nowgong Kamrup Kamrup
Cachar Cachar Cachar Nowgong
Darrang Darrang Lakhimpur Darrang
Lakbimpur Lakhimpur Darrang Lakhimpur
f
Sibsagar Sibsagar Sibsagar K. Anglong
U. Mikir & N.C. U. Mikir & N.C. Sibsagar
Hills Hills
N.C.Hills
 95

From the above table it becomes difficult to determine the districts with

concentration of immigrants for the entire peiiod from 1951 to 1991. For

this purpose another table (Table 3.20) has been constructed showing

the total immigrants across districts in Assam during the above

mentioned period on the basis of the Immigration tables presented in

section 3.4.5. Moreover, the percentage of immigration to the population

of 1951 and 1991 has also been shown in the table below.

Table 3.20
Total Immigrants across districts in Assam during 1951-91
District Total Percentage Rank Percentage Rank
Immigration of 1951 of 1991
1951-1991 Population Population
1 II III IV V VI
Goalpara 3,91,805 35.36 2 10 86 3
Kamrup 3,78,976 25.43 6 8.61 5
Darrang 2,56,258 27.75 5 9.41 4
Nowgong 3,74,104 42.18 1 14.77 1
Cachar 3,51,334 31.49 3 14.10 2
Sibsagar 69,018 5.69 8 2.65 9
Lakhimpur 2,35,211 20.88 7 7.27 6
K.Anglong 44,893 *30.90 4 6.77 7
N.C.Hills . 6,231 4.13 8
ASSAM 21,64,842 26.96 9.68

Note: (i) Since the total immigration figure for Assam includes the
immigration to some of the districts like Garo Hills, Mizo Hills, Khasi
& Jaintia Hills etc. which were part of Assam prior to 1970's the
district total will not be equal to the total figure of the state.
(ii) * Combined figure for both the hill districts.
 96

The above table shows that during 1951-91 immigrants mainly

concentrated in the districts of Nowgong, Cachar, Goalpara, Darrang and

Kamrup.

3.5.2 On the basis of Growth Rate of Population:

Migration estimates based on place of birth statistics are not expected to

give correct figures as mentioned by Pakyntein (1961), Dey (1971),

Saikia et al (2003) etc. Hence, to cross-check the accuracy of the

immigration estimate and thereby to determine the districts concentrated

with immigrants we can go for another index i e compare the population

growth rate in each district (decade wise) in the post-independence

period with the growth rate of Assam so that we can have some idea

about the location ,of these immigrants m various districts of Assam. For

this purpose, we have constructed table 3.21 and 3.22.

In Table 3.21 variation of population growth rate for the eight undivided

districts (as in the early 1970s) have been shown for 1951-61 and 1961-

71 whereas in Table 3.22 the same has been shown for the present

twenty-three divided districts of Assam during 1971-91 and 1991-2001.

Moreover, both the tables depicted the difference between the population

growth rates of various districts with that of Assam

 97

Table 3.21

Variation of Population Growth Rate of the undivided districts

in Assam during 1951-1961 and 1961-1971
District Population Difference Population Difference
Growth with Assam’s Growth with Assam’s
Rate Population Rate Population
1951-61 Growth Rate 1961-71 Growth Rate
I II HI IV V
Goalpara 39.32 4.34 44.12 9.17
Kamrup 38.39 3.41 3838 3.43
Darrang 39.64 4.66 34.62 -0.33
Lakhimpur 38.85 3.87 35.74 0.79
Nowgong 36.51 1.53 38.83 3.88
Sibsagar 24.43 -10.55 21.81 -13.14
Cachar 23.53 -11.45 24.29 -10.66
U.M.& N.C. Hills 69.08 34.10 62.80 27.85
ASSAM 34.98 34.95

Note: (i) Column No. Ill and V are computed on the basis of the
census data.
(iii) U.M. implies United Mikir and N.C. implies North Cachar
Hills.
Source: Census Reports of India 1951,1961 and 1971.
 98

Table 3.22
Variation of Population Growth Rate of the divided districts in
Assam during 1971-1991 and 1991-2001
District Population 1 Difference Population Difference
Growth Rate with Assam’s Growth Rate with Assam’s
(1971-1991) Population (1991-2001) Population
Growth Rate Growth Rate
1 II III IV V
Kokrajhar 76.75 23.49 15.05 -3.8
Dhubri 56.47 3.21 23.42 4.57
Goalpara 54.12 0.86 23.07 "4.22
Bongaiqaon 64.64 11.38 12.23 -6.62
Barpeta 43.02 -10.24 18.53 -0.32
Kamrup 65.72 12.46 25.75 6.9 ,
Nalbari £9.27 -3.99'' 11.98 -6.87
Darrang 55.63 2.37 15.79 -3.06
Morigaon 50.90 -2.36 21.29 2.44
Nagaon 51.26 -2.0 22.30 3.45
Sonitpur 57.14 3.88 17.80 -1.05
Lakhimpur 56.29 3.03 18.34 -0.51
Dhemaji 107.50 54.24 18.93 0.08
Tinsukia 47.03 -6.23 19.52 0.67
Dibrugarh 37.78 -15.48 12.43 -6.42
Sibsaqar 38.76 -14.50 15.95 -2.90
Jorhat 33.10 -20.16 15.84 -3.01
Golaghat 58.12 4.86 14.21 -4.64
Karbi-Anglong - 74.72 21.46 22.57 3.72
N.C.Hills 98.30 45.04 23.47 4.62
Cachar 47.59 -5.67 18.66 -0.19
Karimganj 42.08 -11.18 21.35 2.50
Hailakandi 45.94 -7.32 20.92 2.07
ASSAM 53.26 18.85

Note: Column No. Ill and V are computed on the basis of the
census data.

Source: Census Report of Assam. 2001 (Provisional)

 99

On the basis of the data provided by the above tables, the districts

having more than overall population growth rale of Assam in different

decades are singled out as shown in Table 3.23

Table 3.23
Districts with more than overall growth rate of population
in Assam in different decades (in descending order)
1951 1961 1961-1971 1971-1991 1991-2001 ...
U.Mikir& U. Miktr & Dhemaji Kamrup
N.C.Hills N.C.Hills
Darrang Goalpara N.C.Hills N.C.Hills
Goalpara Nowgong Kokrajhar Dhubri
Lakhimpur Kamrup K. Anglong Goalpara
Kamrup Lakhimpur Kamrup K. Anglong
Nowgong ‘ Bongaigaon Nagaon
Golaghat Karimganj
Sonitpur Morigaon
Dhubri Hailakandi
Lakhimpur Tinsukia
Darrang Dhemaji
Goalpara

Note: (i) At present Nowgong is known as Nagaon.

(ii) Up to 1971 census separate data for N.C.Hills district was
not available. f

/
 100

Some observations from Table 3.19, 3.21, 3.22 and 3.23 are given below:

• A comparison of Table 3.19 and 3.23 reveals the fact that there exist

some differences between districts shown to have heavy concentration of

immigrants on the basis of place of birth statistics and the districts having

higher population growth rate than that of Assam. For example, United Mikir

and N.C.Hills district and Lakhimpur district has depicted more than the

state level growth rate of population even though they have less

concentration of immigration. In fact, higher population growth rate of the

districts do not necessarily signify higher concentration of immigrants

Because according to Bogue (1969) there are two ways in which population

can change in size - through reproductive change (balance between births

and deaths) and through net migration . But identification of the areas of

concentration on the basis of place of birth statistics (as in 3.5.1) considers

only the immigrants.

• An interesting point to be noted is that during 1971-91 all the districts

had a much higher growth rate of population that fall to a considerable

extent during 1991-2001.

• Another point is that Dhemaji witnessed the highest population

growth rate during 1971-91 (107.50) but it dropped to 18.93 during 1991-

2001 .
 101

• Population growth rate in N.C.Hills was 98.30 during 1971-91

whereas it became 23.47 during 1991-2001.

• During 1991-2001 Kamrup had the highest population growth rate of

25.75 per cent which was much less than the lowest growth rate of

population (i.e. 33.10 per cent) as depicted by Jorhat district in Assam

during 1971-91.

The above fact raises two issues— (i) the authenticity of the census'data, (li)

there is every possibility of inter-district movement of people.

To arrive at an acceptable solution to the problem of locating the

immigrants in Assam the next section attempts to consider the distribution

of migrants across districts.

3.5.3 On the basis of District-wise Percentage distribution of

migrants in Assam:

The population of a district is the aggregate of persons born (i) within the

district, (ii) outside the district but within the state (inter-district migrants),

(iii) outside the state but within the country (inter-state migrants) and (iv)

outside the country (immigrants).

To locale the areas of the state where immigrants are concentiated and to

find out the reasons behind the high growth rate of population in some
 102

districts an attempt has been made in the following tables to show the
percentage of-inter-district, inter-state migrants and immigrants to the total
population of the districts. Our study could not include 1991-2001 data as
the migration table for 2001 was not released by the census authority.

Table 3.24

Percentage distribution of migrants across districts in Assam in

1961

District; Population Percentage of total population of the district

Inter-district Inter-state Immigrants
1 II III IV V
Goalpara 15,43892 1.65 3.24 9.69
Kamrup 20.62572 2.21 2.45 7.0
Darrang 12,89670 6.63 7.08 8.33
Nowgong 12,10761 3.34 3.55 11.56
Lakhimpur 15,63842 7.39 8.98 5.78
Sibsagar 15,08390 2.53 4.18 1.74
Cachar 13,78476 0.68 1.56 9.77
A

United Mikir & 2,79726 11.53 2.7 6.28

N.C. Hills

Note: Percentages are computed from census figures of 1961.

Source: Census of India 1961, Assam, Migration Tables.

)
 103

Table 3.25 .
Percentage distribution of migrants across districts in Assam in
1971
District Population P ercen tag e of total population of th e district

Inter-district Inter-state Im m igrants

1 II III IV V
r
G oalpara 2 2 ,2 5 1 0 3 2.01 3 .18 8 .2

Kam rup 2 8 ,5 4 1 8 3 2 .9 2 2 .7 2 6 .2 5

Darrang 1 7 ,3 6 1 8 8 5 .5 7 5 .13 6 .4 3

Nowgong 1 6 ,8 0 8 9 5 3 .3 3 2 56 10.72

Lakhim pur 2 1 ,2 2 7 1 9 7 .4 9 6 .15 5 .4 3

Sibsagar 1 8 ,3 7 3 8 9 2 .5 7 3 .6 7 1.99

C ach ar 1 7 ,1 3 3 1 8 0 .5 2 1.42 8 .5 6

United Mikir 3 ,7 9 3 1 0 11 38 5 .4 8 4 53

N.C.Hiils 7 ,6 0 4 7 9 .0 9 3.71 5 .6 6

Note: Percentages are computed from census figures of 1971.

Source: Census of India 1971, Assam, Migration Table

From Table 3.24 and 3.25 it becomes evident that during the decade 1951-

1961 and 1961-1971, the higher growth rate of population of United Mikir

and N.C.Hiils (as shown in Table 3.23) was the result of high rale of inter-

district migrants rather than immigration. Similarly, the higher population

growth rate of Lakhimpur district was mainly due to in-migrants and inter­

district migrants.
 104

Table 3 .2 6

Percentage distribution of migrants across districts in A ssam in

1991
District Population Percentage of total population of the district
Inter-district Inter-state Immigrants
\

1 II III IV V
Dhubri 13,32,475 2.96 1.8 1.04
Kokrajhar 8,00,659 6.5 2.5 1.5
Bongaigaon 8,07,523 10.8 2.7 2.7
Goalpara 6,68,138 6.2 1.3 1.8
Barpeta 13,85,659 3.2 0.6 1.5
Nalbari 10,16,390 7.3 1.01 0.9
Karnmp 20,00,071 10.5 4.7 1.3
Darrang 12,98,860 5.8 2.0 1.5
Sonitpur 14,24,287 7.2 29 1.2
Lakhimpur 7,51,517 6.2 1.5 0.7
Dhemaji. 4,78,830 20.4 2.2 1.4
Morigaon 6,39,682 6.01 0.9 2.5
Nagaon 18,93,171 3.7 1.6 0.3
Golaghat 8,28,096 8.7 2.2 0.3
Jorhat 8,71,206 5.3 2.1 0.23
Sibsagar . 9,07,983 4.5 1.9 0.19
Dibrugarh 10,42,457 6.8 3.9 ' 0.6
Tinsukia 9,62,298 7.9 5.5 1.2
Karbl-Anglong , 6,62,723 9.5 47 1.5
N.C.Hills 1,50,801 14.8 4.04 1.3
Karimganj 8,27,063 2.9 1.8 3.5
Hailakandi 4,49,048 j 4.5 1.4 1.4
Cachar 12,15,385 ! 3.4 1.6 2.9
Note: Percentages are computed from census figures of 1991.

Source: Census of India 1991, Assam, Migration Tables.

Table 3.26 exhibits that the high rate of inter-district migrants was the

significant factor behind the growth rate of population in Dhemaji and

N.C.Hills during 1971-1991.

 105

To facilitate comparison another table (Table 3.27) showing the

percentage distribution of migrants for the undivided districts of Assam

has been constructed on the basis of Table 3.26.

Table 3.27

Percentage distribution of migrants for the undivided districts

of Assam during 1971-1991
District Population Percentage of total population of the district
Inter-district Inter-state Immigrants
1 II III IV V
Goalpara 36,08,795 6.1 2.05 1.66
Kamrup 44,02,120 7.4 2.56 1.27
Darrang . 27,23,147 6.6 2.46 1.36

Nowgong 25,32,853 4.3 1.44 2.16

Lakhimpur 32,35,102 8.99 3 56 0.92

Sibsagar 26,07,285 6.1 2.07 0.24

Cachar 24,91,496 3.4 1.61 2.81
Karbi Anglong ' 6,62,723 9.5 4.74 1.53
N.C.Hills 1,50,801 14.8 4.04 1.28 .

On the basis of the tables 3.24, 3 25 and 3.27 respectively the districts

with concentration of immigrants (from Pakistan / Bangladesh and Nepal)

are presented in Table 3.28.

 106

Table 3.28

Concentration of Immigrants across districts in Assam

during 1951-1991 (in descending order)
1951-1961 1961-1971 1971-1991

Nowgong Nowgong Cachar

Cachar Cachar Nowgong

Goalpara Goalpara Goalpara

Darrang Darrang Karbi- Anglong

Kamrup Kamrup Darrang

United Mikir & N.C.Hills N.C.Hills

N.C.Hills Lakhimpur Kamrup

Lakhimpur United Mikir Lakhimpur

Sibsagar Sibsagar Sibsagar

!

Table 3.19 and 3.28 indicate that during 1951-1971 immigrants mainly

concentrated in the districts of Nowgong, Cachar, Goalpara, Darrang and

Kamrup. Table 3.19 has shown that during 1971-1991 also the areas of

concentration were the same districts but Table 3.28 revealed that in

Darrang and Kamrup districts the percentage of immigrants to the total

population of the district dropped compared to the previous decades. On

the other hand, Karbi Angfong district depicted concentration of more

immigrants than before. Of course, compared to the percentage of inter-

 107

district and inter-state migration the percentage of immigration in this

/

district has been quite negligible.

From the analysis made in section 3.5.1 and 3.5.3 it becomes evident

that during the post-independence period from 1951 to 1991 immigrants

concentrated mainly in the plain districts of Assam namely, Nowgong,

Cachar, Goalpara, Darrang and Kamrup as shown in Fig 3.1.

3.6 M ain Findings:

■1. Except 1971-1991 and 1991-2001, the population growth rate of

Assam has been found to be more than that of India not only in the

post-independence period but also in the pre-independence period.

2. During 1951-2001 the birth rate and death rate of Assam has been

found to be higher than that of India. For the period 1971-1991 and

1991-2001, the lower natural growth rate of Assam than the country

as a whole was not the result of a fall in its birth rate. However,

analysis of the various determinants of fertility rate do not provide

enough evidence to accept higher fertility rate of Assam compared to

other Indian states. Hence, migration to Assam has been found to be

a contributory factor of rapid population growth in the state during the

period from 1951 to 2001.

108
 109

3. The magnitude of inter-state migrants to Assam during 1951-91 has

been found to be 15, 61,941. Out of this total inter-state migrant,

during 1951-61 it was 4, 89,928, from 1961 to 1971 it was 5, 35,434

and during 1971-91 it was 5, 36,579. They comprised 4.5 per cent,

3.7 per cent and 2.4 per cent of the total population of Assam

respectively. Our study revealed that throughout the period from

1951-91 the highest percentage of migrants were from Bihar

followed by West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan and

T ripura.

4. The magnitude of immigrants from East Pakistan / Bangladesh and

Nepal to Assam during 1951-91 has been found to be 21, 64,842.

The decade-wise break up was 8, 57,493 during 1951-61. 9. 81,697

during 1961-71 and 3. 25,652 from 1971 to 1991. The percentage to

total population of Assam was respectively 7.9 per. cent, 6.7 per cent

and 1.45 percent.

5. Most of the inter-state migrants as well as immigrants entered

Assam during the period 1951-71. It continued throughout 1971-91

but depicting a downward trend.

6. During the post-independence period 1951-1991 the immigrants

mainly concentrated in Nowgong, Cachar, Goalpara, Darrang and

Kamrup districts of Assam.

f
Note: 1. Pakyntein, E. (1961). Superintendent of Census operations.
Assam, 1961.

2. Dey (1971), Assistant Director of Census Operations (Technical)

Assam, 1971.

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