A census is an official numbering of the
inhabitants of a country at a certain time, made by government order. In
England a census is made every ten year. The main object of a census is to give
the government of country accurate information as to the number of the
inhabitants. But at the same time much additional information is collected, so
the government may know the number of men. ‘Women and children, their ages,
occupations and nationality. The number of those married, and of the deaf, the
blind, the dumb, and the imbecile. In some countries, too, the number of the
adherents of each form of religion is ascertained.
The census is obviously very useful, for it
provides the government with a mass of information which is of great use, not
only for the purposes of taxation but also for legislation on social questions.
As it is carried out every ten years, the authorities can watch the increase or
decrease of the population, and the growth of large town centers or the gradual
depopulation of rural areas.
The taking of the census requires an elaborate
organization and an army of workers. For first, question-papers are prepared. And
these are distributed to all householders in me cry town and village in the
country’ each householder is bound by law to fill in all the particulars
required about his family, truthfully and accurately. Then, on a certain fixed
day, all these papers are collected by special officers. Who have to see that
they are correctly filled up? The collation and analysis of the facts and
figures thus collected will then take the Census Department months of hard
work.
There are really no reasonable objections to the
census. But when it was first introduced into Pakistan, ignorant and
superstitious people were very suspicious of it: and all sorts of wild and
absurd talks got about as to the Government object in wanting all this
information. Nowadays however, those objections have died down. Some people
however, still object to the census. Saving it asks a lot of inquisition questions
about their private affairs. Sensible people, however. Realize that the information
a census gives is really necessary to the governing powers. And answer the
questions put .willingly and truthfully.