Gujarat: Population and Demographic Dynamics

What the official syllabus says

General Studies-III (Main Examination, Paper VI), (C) Geography:

• Demographic Dynamics of India and Gujarat: Population distribution, density, age-sex, composition, growth, Rural-urban composition, Race, Composition of Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste, religion, language, literacy, education. Migration-urbanisation, population policies and issues, etc.

This page takes the Gujarat part of the line. Gujarat is more urban than India as a whole, has a larger share of Scheduled Tribes, and draws migrant workers from other States to its cities and industrial belts.

Gujarat at a glance

Topics in detail

Distribution and density

• Dense: the Ahmedabad-Vadodara-Surat belt, Charotar, the coastal plains of South Gujarat
• Sparse: Kachchh (the largest district by area), the Rann, the Dang hills
• Ahmedabad as the most populous district; Surat as one of India's fastest-growing cities
• Factors: rainfall, soils, irrigation, industry and ports

Age, sex and growth

• Growth rate compared with India; falling fertility
• Sex ratio and child sex ratio below the national figure: causes and campaigns
• Sex ratio affected by male in-migration to industrial cities

Rural-urban composition and urbanisation

• Gujarat among the more urbanised large States
• Major cities: Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, Gandhinagar, Junagadh
• Municipal corporations, municipalities and urban development authorities; the town planning scheme model
• Urban issues: slums, housing, water supply, riverfront development, metro rail projects in Ahmedabad and Surat

Scheduled Tribes

• The eastern tribal belt from Banaskantha and Sabarkantha through Panchmahal, Dahod, Chhota Udaipur, Narmada, Tapi and Surat to Valsad and the Dang
• Main tribes: Bhil (the largest), Dubla (Halpati), Dhodia, Gamit, Chaudhari, Kokna, Rathwa, Warli, Vasava, Naika
• Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups of Gujarat: Kathodi, Kotwalia, Kolgha, Padhar and Siddi
• The Siddis of Gir and Jambur, of African origin
• Fifth Schedule areas; Tribal Sub-Plan; Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana
• Issues: literacy, health and nutrition, land and forest rights, seasonal migration

Scheduled Castes

• A smaller share than the national figure, spread across the State
• Issues: education, landlessness, atrocities, manual scavenging; welfare institutions

Religion, language, literacy and education

• Religious composition: a Hindu majority, Muslims about one in ten, and Jain, Christian, Parsi and Sikh minorities; the Parsi community's link with Gujarat (Udvada, Navsari)
• Gujarati as the main language; dialects such as Surti, Charotari and Kathiawadi; Kachchhi; tribal languages (Bhili, Dhodia, Gamit, Kukna); Hindi, Sindhi, Marathi and Urdu speakers
• Literacy above the national average, with gaps between men and women, towns and villages, and tribal districts
• Education drives: Shala Praveshotsav, Kanya Kelavani, Gunotsav

Migration

• In-migration to Surat, Ahmedabad, Vadodara and industrial estates from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Rajasthan and Maharashtra
• Seasonal migration from tribal districts to farms, brick kilns and construction
• Out-migration overseas (the Gujarati diaspora, taken up in General Studies-I)
• Issues: housing, labour rights, portability of ration cards (One Nation One Ration Card)

Overlaps

• General Studies-I: cultural landscape of Gujarat (coastal, tribal and other communities) and the Gujarati diaspora.
• Prelims General Studies: Social Geography in relation to Gujarat, and life of Adivasi (tribes).