67 extractive question-and-answer pairs built from C 16 25062018, published by censusindia.gov.in. The source is a 52-page publication. Source-evidenced topics include language india, table c-16, scheduled languages, non-scheduled languages, mother tongue, assamese, bengali, hindi. Every answer is a verbatim span of text the source prints, and each row carries the passage it sits in, its offset in that passage, the source quote, the page and the location in the document, so any row can be checked against the original. Question types in the export: 45 factual, 8 relationship, 5 definition, 5 summary, 4 list. 22 of the 67 pairs (32.8%) ask explanatory questions; the remaining 45 are factual or table-based questions. 98.51% of rows pass the corpus quality gate.
This dataset contains 67 extractive question-and-answer pairs derived from the Census of India 2011 publication, focusing on language and mother tongue statistics. It includes details about Scheduled and Non-Scheduled languages, their classifications, and speaker populations. The dataset highlights the methodology used in the census, such as grouping mother tongues under broader language categories and recording data based on specific criteria like speaker strength. It also provides historical comparisons and explanations for changes in language classifications over time.
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# One-time install: pip install desidata
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import desidata
df = desidata.load("censusindia-gov-in-fd32ec5a732b013143870963fdf1b037")
df.head()First 10 of 67 rows
| question | answer | context | answer_start | question_type | knowledge_quality_score | source_document | source_quote | source_page | source_location | confidence | validation_status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What are There? | a total of 121 languages and 270 mother tongues | Presented below is an alphabetical abstract of languages and the mother tongues with speakers' strength of 10,000 and above at the all India level, grouped under each language. There are a total of 121 languages and 270 mother tongues. The 22 languages specified in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India are given in Part A and languages other than those specified in the Eighth Schedule (numbering 99) are given in Part B. | 187 | definition | 0.980 | https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/42458/download/46089/C-16_25062018.pdf | There are a total of 121 languages and 270 mother tongues. | 8 | page=8,block=5 | 0.850 | valid |
| What is Mother tongue? | the language spoken in childhood by the person’s mother to the person | 10: Mother tongue 3.1 Mother tongue is the language spoken in childhood by the person’s mother to the person. If the mother died in infancy, the language mainly spoken in the person’s home in childhood will be the mother tongue. | 39 | definition | 0.980 | https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/42458/download/46089/C-16_25062018.pdf | Mother tongue is the language spoken in childhood by the person’s mother to the person. | 5 | page=5,block=1 | 0.850 | valid |
| What is Presented below? | an alphabetical abstract of languages and the mother tongues with speakers' strength of 10,000 and above at the all India level, grouped under each language | Presented below is an alphabetical abstract of languages and the mother tongues with speakers' strength of 10,000 and above at the all India level, grouped under each language. There are a total of 121 languages and 270 mother tongues. | 19 | definition | 0.980 | https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/42458/download/46089/C-16_25062018.pdf | Presented below is an alphabetical abstract of languages and the mother tongues with speakers' strength of 10,000 and above at the all India level, grouped under each language. | 8 | page=8,block=5 | 0.850 | valid |
| What information is provided in Statement-9? | FAMILY-WISE GROUPING OF THE 121 SCHEDULED AND NON-SCHEDULED LANGUAGES – 2011 | STATEMENT - 9 FAMILY-WISE GROUPING OF THE 121 SCHEDULED AND NON-SCHEDULED LANGUAGES – 2011 Language families Number of Languages Persons who returned the languages as their mother tongue Percentage to total population 1 2 3 4 | 14 | definition | 0.980 | https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/42458/download/46089/C-16_25062018.pdf | STATEMENT - 9 FAMILY-WISE GROUPING OF THE 121 SCHEDULED AND NON-SCHEDULED LANGUAGES – 2011 Language families Number of Languages Persons who returned the languages as their mother tongue Percentage to total population 1 2 3 4 | 23 | page=23,block=2 | 0.700 | valid |
| On what principles is the presentation of the 2011 language data based? | the same principles as those adopted for the 1971, 1981, 1991 and 2001 censuses | 9. There are total 270 identifiable mother tongues which have returned 10,000 or more speakers each at the all-India level, comprising 123 mother tongues grouped under the Scheduled Languages (Part A) and 147 mother tongues grouped under the Non-Scheduled languages (Part B). Those mother tongues which have returned less than 10,000 speakers each and which have been classified under a particular language, are included in “Others” under that language. 10. The presentation of the 2011 language data is based on the same principles as those adopted for the 1971, 1981, 1991 and 2001 censuses. the speaker strength of all individual mother tongues returned by 10,000 or more speakers have also been given on the lines of 1991and 2001 censuses. The main table presented in this volume is Table C-16 divided into Part A–Scheduled Languages and Part B–Non Scheduled languages. | 513 | relationship | 0.970 | https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/42458/download/46089/C-16_25062018.pdf | The presentation of the 2011 language data is based on the same principles as those adopted for the 1971, 1981, 1991 and 2001 censuses. | ||||
| What is the main reason for the small population of Lahnda speakers in India? | the main area of Lahnda speaker is now in Pakistan | 3.LAHNDA: A number of Mother tongues including Lahnda have been grouped together under the name Lahnda on the basis of Linguistic Survey of India (LSI) classification of G.A. Grierson, but out of these only Bahwalpuri, Multani and Punchhi fulfils the criterion of 10,000 or more speakers at the all India level and hence Bahawalpuri, Multani and Punchhi appear by name as a Mother tongues and the rest are included under 'Others'. Since the main area of Lahnda speaker is now in Pakistan, India's population of Lahnda speakers is rather small. 5.MALTO: Malto represents a number of Mother tongues including Malto itself of which only Pahariya fullfills the criterion of 10,000 or more speakers at the all-India level and hence only Pahariya appears by name as a mother tongue and the rest are included under 'Others'. | 437 | relationship | 0.970 | https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/42458/download/46089/C-16_25062018.pdf | Since the main area of Lahnda speaker is now in Pakistan, India's population of Lahnda speakers is rather small. | 13 | page=13,block=10 | ||
| What is the reason for the relatively small population of Lahnda speakers in India? | the main area of Lahnda speaker is now in Pakistan | 3.LAHNDA: A number of Mother tongues including Lahnda have been grouped together under the name Lahnda on the basis of Linguistic Survey of India (LSI) classification of G.A. Grierson, but out of these only Bahwalpuri, Multani and Punchhi fulfils the criterion of 10,000 or more speakers at the all India level and hence Bahawalpuri, Multani and Punchhi appear by name as a Mother tongues and the rest are included under 'Others'. Since the main area of Lahnda speaker is now in Pakistan, India's population of Lahnda speakers is rather small. 5.MALTO: Malto represents a number of Mother tongues including Malto itself of which only Pahariya fullfills the criterion of 10,000 or more speakers at the all-India level and hence only Pahariya appears by name as a mother tongue and the rest are included under 'Others'. | 437 | relationship | 0.970 | https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/42458/download/46089/C-16_25062018.pdf | Since the main area of Lahnda speaker is now in Pakistan, India's population of Lahnda speakers is rather small. | 13 | page=13,block=10 | ||
| Why do the published figures for Hindi in 1971, 1981, and 1991 differ? | due to exclusion of Maithili figure from Hindi | Decadal percentage increase * For Hindi the published fiugres in 1971, 1981 and 1991 differ due to exclusion of Maithili figure from Hindi. Maithili is included in Scheduled Languages in 2001 following the 100th Amendment of the Constitution of India. ** Full figures for Tamil, Assamese and Bodo for 1981 are not available as the census records for Tamil Nadu were lost due to floods and the 1981 census was not be conducted in Assam due to the disturbed conditions then prevailing there. the decadal percentage increase of Tamil and Assamese and Bodo are not given. # Full figures for Kashmiri and Dogri for 1991 are not available as the 1991 census was not conducted in Jammu & Kashmir due to disturbed conditions. the decadal percentage increase of Kashmiri is not given. | 92 | relationship | 0.970 | https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/42458/download/46089/C-16_25062018.pdf | Decadal percentage increase * For Hindi the published fiugres in 1971, 1981 and 1991 differ due to exclusion of Maithili figure from Hindi. | 20 | page=20,block=30 | 0.700 | |
| Why is language data valuable in a diverse country like India? | since no separate question is asked on their ethnicity except in respect of the scheduled tribes. | GENERAL NOTE ________________________________________________ Language is an important attribute of a population, and has great relevance and significance in a pluri-lingual and pluri-ethnic land like India. The Census of India has been the richest source of language data collected and published at the successive decennial censuses for more than a century. The language data is particularly useful in the country having diverse people since no separate question is asked on their ethnicity except in respect of the scheduled tribes. The language data having the ethnic and linguistic characteristics of the population has thus been an indiscreet source of information. The presentation of the language tables has been progressively improved in terms of lucidity, detail to make it more comprehensible besides being user-friendly. 2. | 437 | relationship | 0.970 | https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/42458/download/46089/C-16_25062018.pdf | The language data is particularly useful in the country having diverse people since no separate question is asked on their ethnicity except in respect of the scheduled tribes. The language data having the ethnic and linguistic characteristics of the population has thus been an indiscreet source of information. | ||||
| Why was the percentage of Hindi speakers in 1991 different from the published percentage? | due to exclusion of Maithili from Hindi | Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali are appearing as Scheduled languages since 1991 following the 73rd Amendment of the Consitution of India. 3 The change in Hindi percentage in 1991 from the published percentage in 1991 is due to exclusion of Maithili from Hindi. * The percentage of speakers of each language for 1981 has been worked out on the total population of India excluding the population of Assam where the 1981 Census was not conducted due to disturbed conditions. ** Full figures for Tamil, Assamese and Bodo for 1981 are not available as the census records for Tamil Nadu were lost due to floods and the 1981 Census could not be conducted in Assam due to the disturbed conditions then prevailing there. | 217 | relationship | 0.970 | https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/42458/download/46089/C-16_25062018.pdf | 3 The change in Hindi percentage in 1991 from the published percentage in 1991 is due to exclusion of Maithili from Hindi. | 19 | page=19,block=17 | 0.700 | valid |
Read straight from the file — download or use the API URL for the full dataset.
| 7 |
| page=7,block=1 |
| 0.700 |
| valid |
| 0.700 |
| valid |
| 0.700 |
| valid |
| valid |
| 5 |
| page=5,block=1 |
| 0.700 |
| valid |