SEX COMPOSITION In 2001

SEX COMPOSITION In 2001, the sex ratio stood at 933 for the whole of India. The only state to show a higher number of females per 1000 males was Kerala with a sex ratio of 1,058. Among Union territories, Pondicherry had the highest sex ratio of 1,001; it was also the only Union territory to reach a figure above 950. In the Indian context, a sex ratio of 950 and above can be considered as favourable to females. Besides Kerala, other states in this category are Chhattisgarh (989); Tamil Nadu (987); Andhra Pradesh (978); Manipur (978); Meghalaya (972); Orissa (972); Himachal Pradesh (968); Karnataka (965); Uttaranchal (962); and Goa (961).

The sex ratio of 933 for the whole of India is an improvement over the figure for 1991. The sex ratio in India has always been unfavourable to females. It showed a continuous decline from 1901 to 1941 improved marginally in 1951, then dropped steeply to 930 in 1971. The sharpest decline of 11 points is to been seen in the period 1961 to 1971, after which the sex ratio has been fluctuating around this figure in successive censuses.

There were 11 states and Union territories that had a sex ratio greater than unity; among these, all except Kerala have shown a decline. The major responsibility for the overall decline in the sex ratio lies with the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. The sex ratio in Punjab, too, is low, but it has shown a long-term upward trend; Rajasthan has always shown a low sex ratio; West Bengal has shown a consistently increasing trend since 1941.

It appears that the law of nature itself establishes an unfav0urable sex ratio at birth: generally 943 to 952 female births take place for every 1000 male births, indicating a deficiency of about 50 females per 1000 males on an average. Even so, the sex composition of the population in India is a matter of concern, being much lower than 950 for it long time.

There is a wide variation among the states and Union territories in the matter of sex ratio. The changes in sex ratio over time, therefore, are dependent on the changes in the ratios of the individual States and Union Territories and their relative share in the population.

Though the number of entities with sex ratio below 916 remains almost the same, the percentage share of this population has declined from about 41 per cent to about 23 per cent. The population share of the group in the range 916-950 is more than 47 per cent, up from about 29 per cent. It thus appears as if it is due to these two groups that the national sex ratio has shown an increase in 2001 over 1991. The number of States and Union Territories below the national level of sex ratio has shown an increase, and the proportion of population in this group has also increased. If, in spite of this increase, the overall sex rati0 of the country has increased, it must be because of the relatively larger increase in the sex ratio of the four highly populated states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

The sex ratio in the age group 0-6 has decreased at a much faster rate than the overall ratio in the country after 1981; the relative share of States and Union Territories. with sex ratio of 951 and above in the 0-6 ag€ group has shown a sharp decline; and the number of States/Union Territories with sex ratio in this group of population below 915 has increased from four in 1991 to nine in 2001 (barring Manipur for which data is not available). Some states have shown a much sharper decline in sex ratio in this group of population than others. There is an uneasy thought whether such sharp declines could possibly be due to an underlying trend of sex-selective abortions in these areas. No definite conclusions can, however, be made in this regard in the absence of more data.

The Christian population has the highest sex ratio of 1009 females per thousand males at the 2001 Census followed by 'Other Religions and Persuasions' (992), Bud­dhists (953) and Jains (940). Sex ratio of Sikh population is 893, which is the lowest among the different religious communities. Sex ratio among Muslim population at na­tionallevel is 936 which is just above the national average of 933 for all religions while a shade lower is the Hindu population sex ratio of 931.

One of the alarming facts that emerged at the 2001 Census is declining child sex ratio in the age group 0-6 in many states and Union territories. At the All-India level the Sikh population has recorded the lowest child sex ratio of 786 at the 2001 Census preceded by Jains at 870. Christians have reported the highest child sex ratio of 964 followed by Muslims at 950 and Buddhists at 942. Hindus have reported a child sex ratio of 925 which is slightly lower than the national average of 927 for the total population. Persons professing 'Other Religions and Per­suasions' have recorded the highest child sex ratio of 976 at the national level. This pattern is also evident in majority of the states and union territories.