Burma: Census of India 1901 Vol. I - Khamkoo

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REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF BURMA. 97
CHAPTER VII.
Infirmities.
144. The infirmities recorded at the recent Census were the same as at the
preceding three enumerations, namely, insanity, deafmutism,
blindness and leprosy. 10 qualify for entry
Definition of infinities.
in column i6of the schedule it was necessary for the deaf-mute to have been deaf
and dumb from birth, for the blind man to be totally blind, not blind of one eye
only, and for the leper to be suffering from true leprosy, not white leprosy or
leucoderma. Instructions with a view to securing correct entries in the case of the
last three infirmities were included among the rules for enumerators printed in
the inside cover of the enumeration book. No attempt was made in these rules
to define what was and was not an insane for the purposes of the enumeration.
The term " insane " was, as Mr. Baines points out in the opening paragraph of
Chapter VII of his General Report, intended to include both the imbecile and
lunatic, but, as the Burmese word employed in the schedule, 33^s (ayu), a madman,
is used indiscriminately for all classes of persons of unsound mind, no difficulty
was caused in this province by the absence of a specific definition.
145. One- of the features of the returns of the 1891 Census under the head of
infirmities was the extraordinarily large number of
gh UpPer Burma fiS"re in
Upper Burmans shown as afflicted with insanity, blindness
and leprosy. The following is a comparison of
i8^!
the 1891 average per 100,000 of each sex afflicted for Lower Burma, Upper Burma,
:
Burma and India as a whole
Insane. Deaf-mutes. Blind. Lepers.
( 1 1 >
1 * 1 \
Male. Female. Male. Female. Male. Female. Male. Female.
Lower Burma 83 51 42 34 89 99 92 31
Upper Burma 124 127 79 66 317 416 160 81
Burma ... 98 82 56 47 178 229 117 52
India ...
33 21 90 59 164 171 68 23
The above figures show for all infirmities except deaf-mutism, that while
Lower Burma was sometimes above, it was also sometimes below the Imperial
average, whereas the Upper Burma figures were invariably above, and in only one
case less than twice as high as the Indian figures. In one case they were more
than six, and in two more than three times as high. The hot dry climate of Upper
Burma accounts possibly for some of the discrepancy between the Upper and
Lower Burma figures in respect of blindness, but in the case of leprosy and insanity
it can hardly be urged that climatic factors can have caused any appreciable
portion of the difference between the upper and lower sections of the province,
or have placed the average so far above that for the Empire as a whole.
There is, moreover, no apparent reason why glare should affect the eyes of women
more than men, as would seem to have been the case in Upper Burma. Looked
at in the light of the Lower Burma figures on the one hand and the Imperial
figures on the other hand, there seems to be no question that an unduly liberal
interpretation was in 1891 placed upon the terms "insanity," "blindness" and
"leprosy" in Upper Burma. This fact was recognized in 1891 by Mr. Eales,
who, in the concluding paragraph of Chapter VI of his Report, says :
"Judging from the figures of previous enumerations, we may expect a large
decrease
in the returns of all four infirmities in the Upper Province and especially in the returns of
the blind and of lepers-"
This expectation has been abundantly justified : it may even be said to have
been more than justified, for not only have the Upper Burma figures been very
substantially reduced, but those for Lower Burma have diminished also.
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