NEW DELHI: The Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India’s latest report on Child Sex Ratio (CSR) reveals a very disturbing trend. The report “Missing...” as titled by the RGI, which comes under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), says the CSR in India has declined from 927 girls per 1,000 boys in 2001 to 918 during census 2011. If the figures are embarrassing, the analysis of the RGI on different regions is even more disturbing.
The report says out of total 640 districts surveyed, 429 districts have experienced a decline in CSR. Of these, 26 districts had recorded a drastic decline while 52 districts reported a sharp decline.
The CSR ranged from a maximum of 972 in Arunachal Pradesh to a minimum of 834 in Haryana. Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Chandigarh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Maharashtra have recorded lower than 900 girls per 1,000 boys. In the South, Kerala recorded an increase in CSR between 2001 and 2011 to reach 964 girls per 1,000 boys. The figure in 2001 was 960 girls per 1,000 boys. Karnataka also registered a marginal increase from 946 in 2001 to 948 girls per 1,000 boys. At 943 girls for every 1,000 boys, Tamil Nadu recorded a one point increase in CSR between 2001 and 2011.
During this period, while rural CSR registered a marginal increase, urban CSR declined from 955 in 2001 to 952 in 2011. Rural CSR, however, continued to lag urban CSR by 16 points indicating a predominantly rural nature of the problem in Tamil Nadu.
Although, the CSR of undivided Andhra Pradesh is not as low as the other states, it has consistently declined from 975 in 1991 to 939 in 2011. Both rural and urban ratios in undivided Andhra Pradesh had registered a downward slide at 950.
Jammu and Kashmir recorded the highest decline in CSR in the country from 941 girls per 1,000 boys in 2001 to 862 in 2011 while Punjab has shown a positive change. From 798 in 2001 Punjab made a recovery in 2011 with an increase to reach 846 girls per 1,000 boys. Haryana, which was placed at the bottom of the CSR tally, recorded some improvement with 834 girls for 1,000 boys, up from 819 in 2001. Even Gujarat recorded a marginal increase in CSR from 883 girls to 1,000 boys in 2001 to 890 in 2011,though, it is still significantly lower than the desirable level.
Pointing out a complex web of factors behind the sharp decline in CSR, RGI said that the deep-seated patriarchal mindset leading to families preferring sons over daughters, the need for small families but with sons, and commercialisation and misuse of medical technology that enables illegal sex selection, resulted in the skewed CSR.
“Sex ratio imbalances are expected to have serious socio-demographic consequences, further reinforcing the subordination of girls and women. The issue therefore requires a multi-faceted response to enhance the value of girls, as well as legal measures to curb misuse of medical technology,” the RGI report stated.
Source: http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/Where-Do-All-Our-Girls-Go-Report-Shows-Disturbing-Trend/2014/11/21/article2534025.ece
The report says out of total 640 districts surveyed, 429 districts have experienced a decline in CSR. Of these, 26 districts had recorded a drastic decline while 52 districts reported a sharp decline.
The CSR ranged from a maximum of 972 in Arunachal Pradesh to a minimum of 834 in Haryana. Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Chandigarh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Maharashtra have recorded lower than 900 girls per 1,000 boys. In the South, Kerala recorded an increase in CSR between 2001 and 2011 to reach 964 girls per 1,000 boys. The figure in 2001 was 960 girls per 1,000 boys. Karnataka also registered a marginal increase from 946 in 2001 to 948 girls per 1,000 boys. At 943 girls for every 1,000 boys, Tamil Nadu recorded a one point increase in CSR between 2001 and 2011.
During this period, while rural CSR registered a marginal increase, urban CSR declined from 955 in 2001 to 952 in 2011. Rural CSR, however, continued to lag urban CSR by 16 points indicating a predominantly rural nature of the problem in Tamil Nadu.
Although, the CSR of undivided Andhra Pradesh is not as low as the other states, it has consistently declined from 975 in 1991 to 939 in 2011. Both rural and urban ratios in undivided Andhra Pradesh had registered a downward slide at 950.
Jammu and Kashmir recorded the highest decline in CSR in the country from 941 girls per 1,000 boys in 2001 to 862 in 2011 while Punjab has shown a positive change. From 798 in 2001 Punjab made a recovery in 2011 with an increase to reach 846 girls per 1,000 boys. Haryana, which was placed at the bottom of the CSR tally, recorded some improvement with 834 girls for 1,000 boys, up from 819 in 2001. Even Gujarat recorded a marginal increase in CSR from 883 girls to 1,000 boys in 2001 to 890 in 2011,though, it is still significantly lower than the desirable level.
Pointing out a complex web of factors behind the sharp decline in CSR, RGI said that the deep-seated patriarchal mindset leading to families preferring sons over daughters, the need for small families but with sons, and commercialisation and misuse of medical technology that enables illegal sex selection, resulted in the skewed CSR.
“Sex ratio imbalances are expected to have serious socio-demographic consequences, further reinforcing the subordination of girls and women. The issue therefore requires a multi-faceted response to enhance the value of girls, as well as legal measures to curb misuse of medical technology,” the RGI report stated.
Source: http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/Where-Do-All-Our-Girls-Go-Report-Shows-Disturbing-Trend/2014/11/21/article2534025.ece
