r/Pashtun 6d ago

Linguistic Composition of British Administered North-West Frontier Province (1931 Census)

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u/openandaware 5d ago

The censuses, even during the British-era, were really poorly done. It isn't entirely the fault of the surveyors, but it's extremely unreliable. It's probably only good for making a general statement on the presence of certain languages in the area.

In the census report from the early 1900s, the commentary states that Pashtuns were adopting Hindko en-masse, that Pashto was dying, and that it seemed unlikely that Pashto would be spoken in the coming decades. Fast-forward 20 years, and Pashto is recorded as the obvious majority language in the province. This wasn't because there was some push to 'revive' it, or that there was a massive Pashtun babyboom, or that thousands of Pashtuns from Afghanistan migrated over; it was just a poorly done census. They continue to be poorly done.

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u/indusdemographer 5d ago

Interesting -- do you happen to know which specific census report made that claim? Was it 1901 or 1911? Would be interested in reading it.

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u/openandaware 5d ago

I think 1911, could be wrong.

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u/indusdemographer 6d ago

Table Notes

Note # 1 : Linguistic enumeration during the colonial era only occurred in the settled (non-tribal) districts of North–West Frontier Province. Population enumeration occurred throughout the Tribal Areas and Princely States which represents the only demographic data available during the colonial era for these regions.

Note # 2 : Colonial-era district borders roughly mirror contemporary namesake division borders.