ABSTRACT
Chandigarh was a product of the crisis and disorder prevailing in north-western India immediately after Partition and Independence in 1947. To place the planning and development of Chandigarh in perspective, it is necessary to look at the wider context of India at the time of Independence and the changes which have taken place within Indian society since then. A National Planning Committee, appointed by the Indian National Congress in 1938 under the chairmanship of Jawaharlal Nehru, had divided itself into twenty-five sub-committees, one of which related to population. In terms of the pattern of urban settlement, the independent nation had to contend with the legacy left by colonialism. Analysis of the Census data suggests that the 'net' migration evident through decennial Censuses does not give a true picture of the extent of population movement. The 1961 Census revealed considerable mobility; about one-third of the total population was enumerated outside its place of birth.
