Question: Public health services remained largely inaccessible to the masses during colonial rule. What was India's approximate life expectancy at the time of independence?
A) 42-45 years
B) 55-60 years
C) 30-32 years
D) 60-65 years
Answer: C) 30-32 Years.
History of Census in India
The census began with the British authorities holding a census for the town of Allahabad in 1824.
After that in 1827-28, Benares also had a census.
The first complete census of an Indian city was done for Dacca (now in Bangladesh) by Henry Walter in 1830.
In 1865, the Government of India decided that a general census of the country would be taken in 1871. Not all provinces and territories were included in the census.
In this first nation-wide census, 17 questions were asked.
The first complete census in India was conducted in 1881 by W.C. Plowden, the Census Commissioner of India.
The 1951 census’s enumeration period was from 9th to 28th February.
The National Register of Citizens of India (NRC) was prepared after this census.
The whole state of Jammu & Kashmir was omitted during this census and the data for this state was taken based on past figures.
This census revealed the population of the country to be 36,10,88,090. The male to female ratio was 1: 0.946.
Only 18% of the population was literate and the average life expectancy was a mere 32 years.
As per this census, 72,26,000 people migrated to Pakistan and 72,49,000 people migrated to India during the partition of India.
