When was a negative growth rate of population recorded in India ?

India's population growth history is divided into four distinct phases. The period from 1901 to 1921 is characterized as a stagnant or stationary phase [1]. Specifically, the decade 1911-1921 recorded a negative growth rate, with the population declining by approximately 772,117 people [t2]. This decline was primarily due to severe droughts in 1911, 1913, 1915, 1918, and 1920, which caused food shortages, alongside the loss of lives during the First World War and the 1918 influenza pandemic [c2]. Consequently, the census year 1921 is famously termed the 'Year of the Great Divide' or 'Demographic Divide' because it marks the last time India's population showed a declining trend before entering a period of steady growth [c2][t5]. Since 1921, India's population has consistently increased [t9].

Sources

1. [1] INDIA PEOPLE AND ECONOMY, TEXTBOOK IN GEOGRAPHY FOR CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 1: Population: Distribution, Density, Growth and Composition > Growth of owth of Population > p. 7