Tim Dyson - A population history of India - From the First Modern People to the Present Day

This is a history of India written from a somewhat different perspectivethat of the population, its size, demographic features, and related characteristics. It begins with the arrival of the first modern people many tens of thousands of years ago, and ends with the situation a few years after the 2011 census.

The book is a brief introduction to an enormous and complex subjectalbeit one that has been rather neglected. Like any history, it assembles an account on the basis of what is known. But there are long periods of history for which very little is known, and what is thought to be known is tentative and fragmentary. Therefore, in bringing things together and joining them up, the book sometimes draws on unusual sources and follows an unconventional path. It is mainly when addressing the recent past that there has been much need to consider what topics might be omitted or pruned.

There is, of course, very considerable uncertainty about Indias population, especially in relation to the distant past. Indeed, much published general history about the country involves a fair amount of speculation. Inevitably, the present work is influenced by this. And the reader should also be cautioned about the use of numbers. They are all uncertain to varying degrees. Their inclusion here is frequently chiefly for purposes of broad illustration.

The present history is set within a framework whereamong other thingsrulers, dynasties, and empires rise and fall, territories are invaded, and battles and wars are fought. In general, then, it is a political frameworkone that is both helpful and used in the writing of many histories. However, it is also the case that, in the absence of hard evidence, political events can provide tentative clues as to what might have happened to the population. Moreover, even when considering recent decades it often makes sense to discuss events within their political context.

To write a population history of India covering such a very long period means that only central issues are addressed. Moreover, for much of the period the subcontinent is taken as a whole. Indeed, still wider geographical considerations are often germane. In this context, it is difficult not to remark on just how much of thevery littleinformation there is about Indias early population history derives from non-Indian (i.e. external) sources.

After 1947, of course, the focus here is very much on contemporary India, and population trends are discussed chiefly in relation to events within the country. However, as in most countries, in the last resort recent developments in India have often been very strongly conditioned by events in the wider world.

If Indias population history has been neglected, and one aim of this book is to join together pieces which lie scattered around, it is also the case that several scholars have made major contributions to the subjectfrom which, in places, this work draws freely. I mention, in particular, the important paper written by Leela and Pravin Visaria (Visaria and Visaria 1982) addressing the period 17571947, the stimulating collection of essays on past health and population trends written by Sumit Guha () which focuses mostly on the period 18711945. Other scholars whose work has had a substantial influence on the writing of this history include David Arnold, Mari Bhat, Jack Caldwell, George Erdosy, Arthur Geddes, Fabian Hirst, and Josiah Russell. I acknowledge too the particular influence of Irfan Habib. In providing general historical background I have also drawn on publications by John Keay, Barbara and Thomas Metcalf, Peter Robb, Burton Stein, and Romila Thapar, among others. The book has also benefited from helpful comments from anonymous referees.

Among many friends who have influenced me over the years in relation to this subject, I am particularly grateful to Jayant Banthia, the late Mari Bhat, the late Jack Caldwell, the late Nigel Crook, Monica Das Gupta, Arup Maharatna, S. Irudaya Rajan, Radhika Ramasubban, Gopinath Ravindran, Prem Saxena, K. Srinivasan, Leela Visaria, the late Pravin Visaria, and the late Avabai Wadia. I also want to record my appreciation of the various influences of Perianayagam Arokiasamy, Robert Cassen, Jean Drze, Christophe Guilmoto, K. S. James, Ramesh Kanbargi, Purushottam Kulkarni, Chris Langford, Michelle McAlpin, K. S. Natarajan, K. Navaneetham, Nandita Saikia, and Harish Srivastava, among others. Of course, in all cases the usual disclaimer applies. This is