08-01-011

INTRODUCTION.

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follows caste rather than locality, but Sindh is stronger in the north-west. This dialect of Sindh is called Kachchh, and it is spoken not only in Cutch, but also in the neighbouring peninsula of Kathiawar. Here, in Cutch and Kathiawar, the number of speakers is estimated at 437,714. The people of Cutch are enterprising merchants, and, in addition to the above, no less than 53,500 speakers of the dialect were found in Bombay and the neighbourhood. The total number of speakers in the Bombay Presidency is therefore estimated at:-

　Under the head of Kachchh are included the figures for two minor sub-dialects, Kyasth and Bhi, which are dealt with in detail in the proper place.

　The above exhausts the number of people returned for the purposes of this Survey as speaking Sindh in the Panjab, Baluchistan, Rajputana, Sindh, and elsewhere in the Bombay Presidency. Arranged according to dialects the figures are as follows, and may be taken as representing the number of speakers of Sindh in its proper home:-

Dialect.	Nunber of Speakers.
Vichl (Standard) and Sirik Sindh...	2,488,612
Tharl (204,749)...	...
Ls...	42,613
L...	40,000
Kachchh...	491,214
TOTAL.	3,062,439

　If we add to this the 204,749 speakers of Tharl, already counted elsewhere under Mrw, our total is increased to 3,267,188.

　The above figures, like all the figures of this Survey, are derived from estimates based on the figures of the Census of 1891. No detailed figures for dialects are given in any later census reports, which deal only with the gross figures for languages, and, except in rare cases, take no cognisance of dialects. It is hence impossible to use the figures of either the Census of 1901 or that of 1911 for our present purposes. The dialect figures here given were furnished by local officers, and were all estimates founded on local knowledge controlled by the figures of the Census of 1891, which were the only ones then available. We may, however, compare the above total with the corresponding totals for Sindh, including all dialects, as recorded in the Census Report for 1911. The latter are as follows:-

Province or State.	Speakers of Sindh.
Baluchistan...	6,346
Bombay...	2,897,267
Baluchistan States...	63,628
Baroda State...	16,089
Bombay States...	599,287
Panjab States...	22,169
Bajputana Agency...	58,118
TOTAL.	3,662,904

Already recorded under R1ajasthn (Mrw).

VOL. VIII, PART I.

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