India's preference for the boy child rises

Latest Census data reveal that child sex ratio in India is at an all-time low of 919 females per thousand males since independence

Between 2001-02 and 2011-12, a time when India’s average annual economic growth stood at a high 7.76 per cent, perception of the girl child changed little. Rather, it deteriorated.

According to the Census data released recently, in 2011, the child (up to six years) sex ratio in India stood at 919 girls per 1,000 boys, the lowest since Independence.

In 2001, the ratio stood at 927. Between 2001 and 2011, the child sex ratio plunged from 934 to 923 in rural areas, while in urban regions, it declined from 906 to 905. (‘UNFAIR’ DEMOGRAPHICS)

Between 2001 and 2011, the girl child population declined from 78.8 million to 78.7 million, while the population of boy children rose from 84.9 million to 85.7 million. Contrary to this, despite a decline in girl child ratio over boy child in this period, the overall sex ratio rose from 933 to 944.

“These are stark revelations, as this shows people still prefer a boy child over a girl child in our country, a sad state of affairs,” said Amitabh Kundu of the Centre for the Study of Regional Development, Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Since 1951, the child sex ratio has declined consistently. While economic growth stood at just 2.3 per cent in 1951-52, the child sex ratio was 983.

“It shows a pitiful side of our society, as data suggest people have become more gender-selective. It also depicts females are more vulnerable at an early stage and face discrimination within families,” Kundu said. He added the primary factor behind the decline in the child sex ratio was girl child abortion.

An official said this was symbolic of the fact that as girls grew up, there was more awareness among them and this added to their safety, against early stages when they weren’t taken care of effectively.

More than half the states and Union Territories saw declines in the overall sex ratios. In 20 of the 35 states and Union Territories, ratios of girl children to boy children declined. The steepest fall was seen in Jammu and Kashmir, where the sex ratio among children declined from 941 in 2001 to 864 in 2011. Punjab, which had the lowest child sex ratio in 2001, saw significant improvement — 798 to 846.

Haryana recorded the lowest child sex ratio of 834 in 2011, even as this ratio improved from 819 in 2011.

Half the top ten states with the lowest child sex ratios saw a decline in these ratios. These included Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Daman and Diu and Maharashtra.

North-eastern states had a better proportion of girl child over boy child as the top three states with highest sex ratio were: Arunachal Pradesh (972), Meghalaya (970) and Mizoram (970). However, northern parts of the country had the worst ratio in this regard as the lowest sex ratio was registered in Haryana (834), Punjab (846) and Jammu and Kashmir (864).