Indian District Database

Recreating 1991 districts before shifts in territory:

In creating districts for the 1961-91 panel file, when transfers of territory had been made from one district to another, we have attempted to recreate as best as possible, the 1991 districts. These estimates are based on census publications which record what percent of the population and area were transferred from one district to another. We then go to the old (1961 or 1971) data and subtract the appropriate percentage from all population and area records of districts that lost territory and add it to the districts that gained territory. (See records # 092-093).

This procedure assumes that the transferred portion had the same population composition (e.g., proportions of cultivators, scheduled castes, rice production) as the rest of the district--an unlikely assumption but the best that could be determined in any feasible way. Because the areas transferred are usually small, the changes had only minor effects on the data.

An alternative method is available that does not make these assumptions and produces more exact counts but at the cost of creating very large "super-districts" that have never been a true district.

1961 data:

Forty-seven 1961 districts had portions of their territory transferred to other districts by 1981. Most of these transfers were quite small. Only eighteen lost more than 10% of their population. The most significant changes resulted from the reorganization of the old Punjab state.

1971 data:

Thirty-one 1971 districts had portions of their territory transferred to other districts by 1981. Most of these transfers were quite small. Only eleven lost more than 10% of their population.

Transfers:

The following 1991 districts were created from portions of two or more previous districts. The percentages report the percentage of the population in the previous census that was incorporated in the new district; area percentages are reported in parentheses. More exact proportions are found in records 092 and 093. The changes are listed in approximate chronological order.

Gandhinagar (10 11)
was created from 4% (4% of the area) of Ahmedabad (10 12) and 3% (3%) of Mahesana (10 10) in 1964.
Rupar (Rupnagar, 24 08)
was created from 13% (12%) of Hoshiarpur (24 07) and 22% (23%) of Ambala (11 01) in 1966.
Ongole (Prakasam) (02 08)
was created from 23% of Guntur (02 07), 31% of Nellore (02 09), and 18% of Kurnool (02 13) in 1970.
Bhiwani (11 10)
was created from 38% (42%) of Mahendragahr (11 09) and 21% (26%) of Hissar (11 11) in 1972.
Faridkot (24 12)
was created from 45% (42%) of Firozpur (24 03) and 22% (21%) of Bhatinda (24 11) in 1972.
Idukki (14 08)
was created from 26% (65%) of Kottayam (14 09) and 9% (30%) of Ernakulam (14 07) in 1972.
Jind (11 04)
was created from 32% (34%) of Sangrur (24 10) in 1966. 7% (7%)of Karnal (11 03) was transferred to it in 1973.
Pudukkottai (26 13)
was created from 17% (22%) of Tiruchirapalli (26 11) and 8% (15%) of Thanjavur (26 12) in 1973.
Lahul and Spiti (12 08)
was re-created from all of the previous Lahul and Spiti district and 2% (23%) of Chamba (12 01) in 1975.
Malappuram (14 04)
was created from 39% of Kozhikode (14 03) and 21% of Palghat (14 05) in 1976.
Wayanad (14 02)
was created from 5% (13%) of Cannanore (14 01) and 8% (21%) of Kozhikode (14 03) in 1980.
Vizianagram (02 02)
was created from 34% (35%) of Srikakulum (02 01) and 25% (13%) of Visakhapatnam (02 03) in 1980

 

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Indian District Database
Last updated October 1, 2000
comments to: Reeve Vanneman. reeve@umd.edu