The 1961 census of India was the tenth in a series of censuses held in India every decade since 1872.[1]

1961 census of India

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General information
CountryIndia
Results
Total population438,936,918 (21.62)
Most populous ​regionUttar Pradesh (70,144,160)
Least populous ​regionSikkim (162,863)

The population of India was counted as 438,936,918 people.[2]

Population by state

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Population of Indian states and union territories in 1961 [3]
State/Union Territory Population
Andhra Pradesh 35.99 million
Assam 11.87 million
Bihar 46.45 million
Gujarat 20.63 million
Jammu and Kashmir 3.56 million
Kerala 16.9 million
Madhya Pradesh 32.37 million
Madras 33.68 million
Maharashtra 41.64 million
Maharashtra 39.55 million
Mysore 23.58 million
Orissa 17.54 million
Punjab 20.3 million
Rajasthan 21.15 million
Uttar Pradesh 73.74 million
West Bengal 34.92 million
Andaman and Nicobar Islands 63,548
Delhi 2.65 million
Himachal Pradesh 1.35 million
Lakshadweep 24,108
Manipur 780,037
Tripura 1.14 million
Dadra and Nagar Haveli 57,963
Goa, Daman and Diu 626,978
North-East Frontier Agency 336,558
Nagaland 369,200
Pondicherry 369,079
Sikkim 162,189

Language data

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The 1961 census recognized 1,652 mother tongues, counting all declarations made by any individual at the time when the census was conducted.[2] However, the declaring individuals often mixed names of languages with those of dialects, sub-dialects and dialect clusters or even castes, professions, religions, localities, regions, countries and nationalities.[2] The list therefore includes "languages" with barely a few individual speakers as well as 530 unclassified "mother tongues" and more than 100 idioms that are non-native to India, including linguistically unspecific demonyms such as "African", "Canadian" or "Belgian".[2] Modifications were done by bringing in two additional components- place of birth i.e. village or town and duration of stay (if born elsewhere).

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Vijayanunni, M. (26–29 August 1998). "Planning for the 2001 Census of India based on the 1991 Census" (PDF). 18th Population Census Conference. Honolulu, Hawaii, US: Association of National Census and Statistics Directors of America, Asia, and the Pacific. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 November 2008. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d Mallikarjun, B. (5 August 2002). "Mother Tongues of India According to the 1961 Census". Languages in India. 2. M. S. Thirumalai. ISSN 1930-2940. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  3. ^ "Census of India 1961 Final Population Totals" (PDF). 1962. pp. 3–6.