VI. DEMOGRAPHY:

A. Number of speakers

According to 2001 census the total number of Kom speakers in India is 14,673.

1.Main Habitat

a. Male/Female

The table below shows the male-female distribution of Kom speakers in the states and union territories of India as per 2001 census:

India/State/Union Territory Total Male Female
India 14,673 7,410 7,263
Manipur 14,558 7,330 7,228
Meghalaya 34 24 10
Nagaland 20 12 8
West Bengal 16 9 7
Assam 12 9 3
Delhi# 8 7 1
Karnataka 7 7 0
Haryana 4 2 2
Uttaranchal 3 3 0
Tripura 3 1 2
Jammu & Kashmir 2 2 0
Arunachal Pradesh 2 2 0
Maharashtra 2 1 1
Uttar Pradesh 1 0 1
Chhattisgarh 1 1 0


b.Rural/Urban

The table below shows the rural-urban distribution of Kom speakers in India as per 2001 census:

India/State/Union Territory Total Rural Urban
India 14,673 13,905 768
Manipur 14,558 13,847 711
Meghalaya 34 20 14
Nagaland 20 12 8
West Bengal 16 10 6
Assam 12 9 3
Delhi# 8 1 7
Karnataka 7 0 7
Haryana 4 1 3
Uttaranchal 3 0 3
Tripura 3 3 0
Jammu & Kashmir 2 0 2
Arunachal Pradesh 2 2 0
Maharashtra 2 0 2
Uttar Pradesh 1 0 1
Chhattisgarh 1 0 1


Decennial Growth

The table below shows the Decennial Growth of Kom Language in 3 consecutive census.

Year Language Speakers Decadal Percentage Increase
1981 10,062 -
1991 13,548 34.65
2001 14,673 8.30


b) Settelment Pattern

Kom is one of the important tribal communities of northeastern states, mainly found in the Senapati and Churachandpur districts of Manipur. Major chunk of the population resides in Manipur, inhabiting in all the districts of Manipur. Some of the Kom villages are Makokching, Saikul, and Sinam-Kom of Senapati District, the K.R. Lane of Imphal, Kharam, Ichum of Imphal west, Thei-ong of Imphal East. Sengpanjar, Kangathai, Khoirentak and Kom-keirap of Bishenpur district, greater Sagang of Churachanpur district, Tonsen and Mahou-tera of Chandel District and Mantak of Thoubal district of Manipur.Christianity is the main religious practice of Kom tribes.

Total Rural Urban
Persons 14,602 14,054 548
Male 7,354 7,095 259
Female 7,248 6,959 289

C) Literacy and education

1. Literacy

a. Rate

Table below shows the rural-urban and male-female literacy rate of Kom community

Total Rural Urban
Persons 63.89 63.18 82.80
Male 69.99 69.34 88.24
Female 57.78 56.99 77.87


Table below shows the male-female and rural-urban literacy Ratio of Kom community

Total Rural Urban
Male 54.83 55.04 50.65
Female 45.17 44.96 49.35

b. Agencies involved

There is no specific agency involved in the promotion of the literacy in the Kom community. However, the contribution of the religion where the reading and singing of songs either in Manipuri, the state official language of the state or in Kom written in the Roman script, and the government of Manipur can not be ignored. The Kom rem literature society is one of the agencies that play yeoman’s service for the development of the language and literature.

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