THE INDIAN CENSUS OF 1911 
A HINDU FESTIVAL 
All people attending these festivals on the night of the census were counted by special 
enumerators, 
the charge-superintendent, so as to se- 
cure the greatest possible accuracy. 
Elaborate provision was made for all 
who might be traveling by train, boat, or 
cart on the night of the census. Station- 
masters, train-guards, and others were 
enlisted, so that no one might escape. 
Thousands of Indians travel every night 
in the bullock carts of the country, the 
common mode of travel between the 
thousands of villages that have no rail- 
way service. The heat of the day makes 
the night the pleasantest time for trav- 
eling, so provision had to be made for 
these also; and tollgate keepers, as well 
as the keepers of caravansaries, were ap- 
pointed as enumerators to count the 
noses of all passing through their gates 
or stopping at their “‘pettahs,” or inns. 
At 7.00 p. m. on Friday, March 10, 
Photo by John J. Banninga 
every enumerator started out to make 
the real count of the people in his block. 
Going from house to house, he corrected 
the preliminary record, adding all who 
had come and striking off all that had 
gone since the first count was made. 
Then details as to sex, marriage, pro- 
fession, age, religion, language, etc., 
were recorded. In all, sixteen columns 
had to be filled in regarding each indi- 
vidual. Some of the people seemed to 
think it a joke if they could manage to 
have some in their house escape the eye 
of the enumerator. Children had to be 
dragged from dark corners and older 
persons from the cattle sheds, in order 
that the list might be made complete. 
If any one escaped entirely he was the 
hero of the day in his village the next 
morning. 
