Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-tf8b9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T20:24:28.586Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A Demographic Study of Mirpur: A Village in Coastal Midnapore District, West Bengal

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2008

Amitabha Basu ,
Ranjan Gupta  and
Kalyan K. Bhattacharya
Amitabha Basu
Affiliation:
Anthropometry and Human Genetics Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta
Ranjan Gupta
Affiliation:
Anthropometry and Human Genetics Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta
Kalyan K. Bhattacharya
Affiliation:
Biochemistry Section, Anthropological Survey of India, Calcutta
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Mirpur is a small village of 320 individuals in coastal Midnapore district, West Bengal, the inhabitants of which claim partial Portuguese ancestry. The demographic data collected in Mirpur are reported here. The age structure of the population suggests a growing population trend, but a constriction at the base of the pyramid indicates a recent decline of fertility. The completed family size, net reproductive index and total fertility rate are also compatible with high growth rate, but the age-specific fertility rates are lower in the younger than in the older women. The infant mortality rate is low in general, and is lower in the offspring of the younger women. The Mirpurians suffer from protein-calorie malnutrition and heavy intestinal parasitic load. The possible relationships among high fertility, malnutrition and high parasitic load are discussed.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 12 , Issue 2 , April 1980 , pp. 227 - 234
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1980

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alleyne, G.A.O., Hay, R.W., Picou, D.I., Stanfield, J.P. & Whitehead, R.G. (1977) Protein-energy Malnutrition. Arnold, London.Google Scholar
Barua, S. (1976) Selection intensity among the consanguineous and non-consanguineous groups of a Muslim population of 24-Parganas, West Bengal. Man in India, 56, 359.Google Scholar
Basu, A. (1967) Selection intensity in the Pahiras. Eugen. Q. 14, 241.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Basu, A. (1972) A demographic study of the Kota of Nilgiri Hills. J. Ind. anthrop. Soc. 7, 29.Google Scholar
Basu, Y.C. (1939) Medinipurer Itihas (in Bengali). Sen, Calcutta.Google Scholar
Bhattacharya, S.K. (1980) Intestinal parasitic infestations in two populations inhabiting contrasting habitats. Ind. J. publ. Hlth, (in press).Google Scholar
Campos, J.J.A. (1919) History of the Portuguese in Bengal. Butterworth, Calcutta.Google Scholar
Crow, J.F. (1958) Some possibilities for measuring selection intensities in man. Hum. Biol. 30,1.Google ScholarPubMed
Ghosh, A.K. (1970) Selection intensity in the Kota of Nilgiri Hills, Madras. Soc. Biol. 17, 224.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ghosh, B. (1957) Paschimbanger Sanskriti (In Bengali). Pustak Prakashak, Calcutta.Google Scholar
Gopalan, C., Balasubramanian, S.C., Rama, Sastri B.V. & Visweswara, Rao K. (1971) Diet Atlas of India. National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad.Google Scholar
Gopalan, C. & Naidu, A.N. (1972) Nutrition and fertility. Lancet, 2,1077.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gupta, R. (1980) Selection intensity in the Sherpas. Curr. Anthrop. (in press).Google Scholar
Haas, J. & Harrison, G.G. (1977) Nutritional anthropology and biological adaptation. Ann. Rev. Anthrop. 6,69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hiernaux, J. (1977) Long-term biological effects of human migration from the African Savanna to the equatorial forest: a case study of human adaptation to a hot and wet climate. In: Population Structure and Human Variation, pp. 187–217. Edited by Harrison, G. A. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Howell, N. (1973) The feasibility of demographic studies in ‘anthropological’ populations. In: Methods and Theories of Anthropological Genetics, pp. 249–262. Edited by Crawford, M. H & Workman, P. L. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.Google Scholar
Karan, M.N. (1958) Hijlir Mashnad-i-ala (in Bengali). Medinipur Sanskriti Parishad, Calcutta.Google Scholar
Lasker, G.W. (1960) Small isolated human breeding populations and their significance in the process of racial differentiation. In: Selected Papers of the 5th International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences. Edited by Wallace, A. F. C.. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia.Google Scholar
Mitra, A. (1978) India's Population. Aspects of Quality and Control, Vol. 1. Abhinay Publications, New Delhi.Google Scholar
O'malley, L.S.S. (1911) Bengal District Gazetteer, Midnapore. Bengal Secretariat Book Depot, Calcutta.Google Scholar
Roberts, D.F. (1956) A demographic study of a Dinka village. Hum. Biol. 28, 323.Google ScholarPubMed
Scrimshaw, N.S., Taylor, C.E. & Gordon, J.E. (1968) Interaction of Nutrition and Infection. World Health Organization, Geneva.Google ScholarPubMed
Talukdar, S. (1971) Selection intensity in two Bagdi groups of 24 Parganas, West Bengal. J. Ind. anthrop. Soc. 6, 131.Google Scholar