Sex Ratio Patterns Among the Scheduled Castes in India 1981-2001

Abstract

The ratio of girls to boys (ie. sex ratios) in India reveals excess girl child deficit in comparison with developed and many other developing countries. Masculinisation in the juvenile sex ratio (i.e. f/m ratios) in Indian population further gets momentum during the last decade (Agnihotri 2001, 2002) in the wake of prosperity (Siddhanta et all 2003). Such lowering in f/m ratios cannot be explained away by the popular escape hatches of yesterdays, like - migration, under counting and biological factors, rather indicate the presence of human factors, which point out the change in behavioral pattern in the presence of socio-economic and cultural contexts. Sex ratio patterns in the Indian population show considerable variations by regions, religions, prosperity classes, social groups e.g. scheduled castes and tribes, location i.e. urban or rural and even by age groups. While some of these variations have been given adequate attention in the received literature e.g. the north south divide, many others e.g. variations in the sex ratio patterns among the scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes have not. It is important however, to study these patterns so as to understand the nature and evolution of the gender bias that may exist among these groups. The analysis below looks at the sex ratio patterns among the scheduled castes in the country as revealed by the population census data for 2001 and the previous census. Traditionally, the sex ratio patterns among the scheduled castes have been presumed to be more balanced than among the overall population, but the facts even from the 1991 census reveal otherwise. In fact in certain pockets where sex ratios among the overall populations have been masculine, the f/m ratio (FMR) figures among the scheduled castes are also alarmingly low. A comparison of the data from the 1991 and 2001 census shows a disturbing trend of spread of low female to male sex ratio in the child population among the scheduled castes to newer regions and intensification of such masculinity in the existing pockets. What is even more worrying is this emergence of 'daughter dislike' in pockets hitherto assumed to be free from such biases. This should be a matter of serious concern to policy planners, researchers and activists alike.