PopuIaIion Dynamics

1he book PopulaIioh Dyhamics is a compilaIioh o! experI khowledge oh

populaIioh issues. 1he book has beeh seI up ihIo 11 chapIers. 1his book
provides ih!ormaIioh abouI Ihe di!!erehI aspecIs o! populaIioh dyhamics.
lI cohIaihs mosI o! Ihe criIical issues currehIly beihg raised by Ihe
researchers. 1his book is a uhique collecIioh o! research arIicles which may
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academiciahs, researchers, admihisIraIors, ihdusIrialisIs ahd Ihe ihIeresIed
people ih geheral.

Dr. Ah|u O|ha is workihg as ah AssisIahI Pro!essor ih
Geography. She did her Ph.D. !rom UhiversiIy o!
Ra|asIhah, Jaipur. Dr. O|ha devoIed mosI o! her Iime
Io acquire khowledge o! Geography ahd
EhvirohmehI. Her Ma|or area o! specializaIiohs are
Demography, AgriculIure, EhvirohmehI ahd DeserI
Ecology.
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Anju Ojha
PopuIation Dynamics
Anju Ojha
PopuIation Dynamics
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Preface
Human beings evolved under conditions of high mortality due to
famines, accidents, illnesses, infections and war and therefore the
relatively high fertility rates were essential for species survival. In
spite of the relatively high fertility rates it took all the time from
evolution of mankind to the middle of the 19th century for the global
population to reach one billion. The twentieth century witnessed an
unprecedented rapid improvement in health care technologies and
access to health care all over the world; as a result there was a
steep fall in the mortality and steep increase in longevity. The
population realized these changes and took steps to reduce their
fertility but the decline in fertility was not so steep. As a result the
global population has undergone a fourfold increase in a hundred
years and has reached about 7 billion.
The State of World Population 2011 looks at the trendsthe
dynamicsthat are defining our world of 7 billion and shows what
people in vastly different countries and circumstances are doing in
their own communities to make the most of our world of 7 billion.
Some of the trends are remarkable: Today, there are 893 million
people over the age of 60 worldwide. By the middle of this century
that number will rise to 2.4 billion. About one in two people lives in a
city, and in only about 35 years, two out of three will. People under
the age of 25 already make up 43 per cent of the worlds population,
reaching as much as 60 percent in some countries. India has the
second largest population in the world, with 1.21 billion people
comprising 623.7 million males and 586.5 million females, according


to the provisional 2011 Census report. In the last ten years, 181
million people were added and, since 1947, the population of India
has more than tripled. Interestingly, the addition of 181 million
people to the population during 2001-11 is slightly lower than the
total population of Brazil, the fifth most populous country in the
world. Significantly, the growth is slower compared to the previous
decade. India accounts for 17.5 percent of the world population.
The present book is an initiative to bring out the innovative
ideas of authors and scholars on population issues, I am highly
indebted and gratitude to all authors and scholars who have given
consent for publishing their articles in the edited book form. It gives
me great pleasure to express my thanks to all, who have extended
their helping hands in the completion of this book. I am very grateful
to Dr. M. M. Sheikh, Associate Professor, Dept. of Geography, Govt.
Lohia PG Collage, Churu for his valuable guidance and supervision.
I deeply express my gratitude to my father Mr. Shiv Kumar Ojha,
mother Mrs. Uma Ojha, Brother Mr. Anil Kumar Ojha, and sister in
law Nisha Ojha, Sister Manju Sharma, brother in law Mr. Manoj
Sharma and my aunty Hemlata Ojha for their co-operation in this
work. I also extend special thanks to our all friends who motivated
me to bring out this book. It is hoped this book will be useful for
researchers, environmental activists, subject experts and policy
makers.
Place: Churu, Rajasthan (India) (Anju Ojha)
Dated: 21
th
March, 2014


Contents

Preface i
Contents iii
List of Authors iv
1. Population Growth Dynamics in India
Anju Ojha
1
2. Detecting Fallow Agricultural Land and Correlation
with Demographic Indicators in the Branicevo and
Pomoravlje Districts, Serbia
Darko Jaramaz and Veljko Perovic
34
3. Population Dynamics in Rajasthan State
M. M. Sheikh
60
4. Population Explosion Menace: An Overview
Malti P. Sharma
81
5. Declining Sex Ratio in India
Vibhuti Patel
90
6. Education and Women Population in India
L. R. Patel and Pankaj Rawal
138
7. In-Vitro Fertilization in India: Negotiating Gender
and Class
Sneha Annavarapu
151
8. Woman Literacy in Rajasthan State of India
Ratan Lal
172
9. Population Challenges and Development Goals
Preeti Sharma and Devendra Kumar Sharma
180
10. Population Growth Trends in India
Pardeep Sharma
201
11. Population Trends and Policy in selected
Countries
Akshita Chotia, Pratibha Sharma and Preeti Sharma
217


List of Authors
1. Akshita Chotia
Assistant Professor
Dept of Geography, R.K.J.K Barasia PG College,
Surajgarh, Jhunjhunu (Raj)
2. Anju Ojha
Assistant Professor
Department of Geography
Govt. Lohia PG College, Churu, Rajasthan, INDIA

3. Darko Jaramaz and Veljko Perovic
Institute of Soil Science, Teodora Drajzera 7,
Belgrade, Serbia

4. Devendra Kumar Sharma
Assistant Professor, Department of Geography
RKJK Barasia PG College, Surajgarh (Jhunjhunu )
Raj.
5. Education and Women Population in India
L. R. Patel
Department .of Geography
JRN University, Udaipur (Raj.) India

6. M. M. Sheikh
Associate Professor
Department of Geography
Govt. Lohia PG College, Churu, Rajasthan, India

7. Malti P. Sharma
Associate Professor (English), S.K. Govt. (P.G.)
College
Sikar (Rajasthan), India

8. Pankaj Rawal
Department .of Geography
JRN University, Udaipur (Raj.) India


9. Pardeep Sharma
Assistant Professor
Dept of Geography
R.K.J.K Barasia PG College, Surajgarh, Jhunjhunu
(Raj)
10. Pratibha Sharma
Assistant Professor
Dept of Geography, R.K.J.K Barasia PG College,
Surajgarh, Jhunjhunu (Raj)
11. Preeti Sharma
Assistant Professor, Department of Geography
RKJK Barasia PG College, Surajgarh (Jhunjhunu )
Raj.
12. Ratan Lal
Govt. School, Badi Kallan (Jodhpur), India
13. Sneha Annavarapu
Research Scholar
Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT
Madras.

14. Vibhuti Patel
Professor & Head, Department of Economics,
SNDT Womens University, Churchgate, Mumbai


1

Chapter-1
Population Growth Dynamics in India
Anju Ojha
Assistant Professor
Department of Geography
Govt. Lohia PG College, Churu, Rajasthan, INDIA
Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time
comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full
measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour,
when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A
moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out
from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a
nation, long suppressed, finds utterance. It is fitting that at this
solemn moment we take the pledge of dedication to the service of
India and her people and to the still larger cause of humanity. That
future is not one of ease or resting but of incessant striving so that
we may fulfill the pledges we have so often taken and the one we
shall take today. The service of India means the service of the
millions who suffer. It means the ending of poverty and ignorance
and disease and inequality of opportunity. The ambition of the
greatest man of our generation has been to wipe every tear from
every eye. That may be beyond us, but as long as there are tears
and suffering, so long our work will not be over. (Jawahar Lal Nehru,
1947)
With these evocative words, an independent India began her
tryst with destiny. It is fitting that we celebrate the awakening of the
2

Indian economy and an era of faster annual growth by remembering
this pledge of service to the 1.2 billion-plus population in diverse
corners of India. This book is dedicated to exploring the contours of
the day to day lives of Indians in 2004 and 2005, nearly 60 years
after this pledge was made. This search must acknowledge the
achievements of the last century as well as anticipate the challenges
of the twenty-first century. It must document the lived experiences of
Indian families in cities and villages from Kashmir to Kanyakumari as
they go about negotiating their daily lives in a globalizing India.
The high rate of population is a major problem of the Country
and the State as well. Population control remains the most
challenging task before our nation and our state today. Although
India was the first developing country to adopt the Family Planning
Program in 1951, the efforts towards population stabilization in the
last five decades did not fetch the desired results. After the 1994
International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) at
Cairo, the country as a whole approaching the issue of population
stabilization from a Reproductive Child Health (RCH) perspective.
Due to socio-economic and demographic heterogeneity it is,
however, not possible to implement all the components of the
program of action adopted at ICPD, in all the states all at once.
There is an urgent need, therefore, to take the regional variations
into account while developing programs and action plans that are
state specific. The population of an area is the outcome of its
physical, socio-economic environment. Population study, gives an
idea not only about the region but also gives an idea about the
resource because, population is also one on the major resource of
3

any region. Population study is concerned not only with the
population variables but also with the relationship between
population variables and social, economic, political, biological,
geographical variables etc. It includes both qualitative and
quantitative aspects of human population.
India is one of the very few countries in the world, which has a
proud history of holding Census after every ten years. The Indian
Census has a very long history behind it. The earliest literature Rig
Veda reveals that some kind of population count was maintained
during 800-600 BC. Kautilyas Arthasastra, written around 321-296
BC, laid stress on census taking as a measure of State policy for
purpose of taxation. During the regime of Mughal king Akbar the
Great, the administrative report Ain-e-Akbari included
comprehensive data pertaining to population, industry, wealth and
many other characteristics.
The History of Census began with 1800 AD when England had
begun its census but the population of dependencies was not known
at that time. In its continuation , based on this methodology census
was conducted in town of Allahabad in 1824 and in the city of
Banaras in the year 1827-28 by James Princes. The first complete
census of an Indian city was conducted in 1830 by Henry Walter in
Dacca. In this census the statistics of population with sex and broad
age group and also the houses with their amenities were collected.
The first census in India, commonly referred to as 1872 census, was
conducted over five years between 1867 and 1872, and thus was
not synchronous. The exercise was started by the British who
wanted to know the size, composition and characteristics of
4

population in their colonies but it was not conducted over the entire
territory controlled by the British. The subsequent censuses were
synchronous and gradually were canvassed throughout the country.
Despite political and other problems, Censuses in India have
continued to be conducted every 10 years. After Independence,
Parliament passed the Census Act of 1948 and created a post of
Census Commissioner. Earlier, the whole operation used to be
temporarily set up for 2-3 years and wound up after the census was
conducted and results published. The Act empowered census
department to ask certain questions and made answering them
obligatory for citizens. Information collected is treated as confidential
and can be used only for statistical purposes.

Population in the World currently growing at a rate of 1.1.0
percent per year. India has more people than Europe, more than
Africa, more than the entire Western Hemisphere. Indias population
will exceed that of China before 2030 to become the worlds most
populous country, a distinction it will almost certainly never lose.
Just one group, Indian boys below age 5, numbers 62 million-more
than the total population of France. Indias annual increase of nearly
19 million contributes far more to annual world population growth
than any other country (Population Bulletin, Sep. 2006). The
average population changes currently estimated at round 75 million
per year. Indias population in 1901 was about 238.4 million which is
increased by more than four times in 110 years to real population of
1210 million in 2011. India is often described as a collection of many
countries held together by a common destiny and a successful
democracy. Its diverse ethnic, linguistic, geographic, religious, and
5

demographic features reflect its rich history and shape its present
and future. No fewer than 16 languages are featured on Indian
rupee notes. It is also only the second country to achieve a
population of 1 billion. While it is an emerging economic power, life
remains largely rooted in its villages. India, accounting for nearly 18
percent of the world population has been experiencing slow but
steady demographic transition since the second half of the last
century. In recent years, however, the fertility transition in India has
accelerated resulting in rapid changes in the age structure of the
population. This change creates unique opportunities along with
significant challenges both for the economy and society. The
Census 2011 was the largest such exercise in the world. Our census
history goes back to 1872 when although a census was conducted,
it is not regarded as a regular census as it was not conducted at the
same time. Since 1881 India has conducted decennial censuses
without any interruption. We have numerous tables on the
demographic, social and economic life of the people in this country
of great demographic diversity
The census in India collects and publishes information on
various characteristics of the population, such as, age and sex
distribution, social and cultural factors such as religion, literacy,
languages known, migration and economic activities of the people.
Besides, during housing census conducted a year before the
population count, information is also collected on type of housing,
amenities and assets possessed by households. Analysis of the
data collected from several Censuses provide a unique opportunity
to understand the dynamics of and trends in various facets of the
6

diverse population of the country. A population Census is the
process of collecting, compiling, analyzing and disseminating
demographic, social, cultural and economic data relating to all
persons in the country, at a particular time in ten years interval.
Conducting population census in a country like India, with great
diversity of physical features, is undisputedly the biggest
administrative exercise of peace time. The wealth of information
collected through census on houses, amenities available to the
households, socio economic and cultural characteristics of the
population makes Indian Census the richest and the only source for
planners, research scholars, administrators and other data users.
The planning and execution of Indian Census is challenging and
fascinating.
7


Background
India is the largest democratic country in the world. It accounted for
more than 17 percent of the worlds population in 2010 according to
the estimates prepared by the United Nations (United Nations,
2008). This 17 per cent of the world population lives on less than 2.5
percent of the total land area of the planet Earth. Between 2000 and
2010, worlds population is been estimated to have increased at the
rate of 1.22 percent per year, adding an average of 79 million
persons each year. Very close to 22 percent of this increase is
estimated to have accounted for by the increase in population in
India and this contribution has been the largest, even larger than the
contribution of China, the most populous country in the world today
8

(United Nations, 2008). Projections prepared by the United Nations
suggest that by the year 2050, population of India will increase to
1614 million which will account for almost 19 percent of the
estimated world population of 9150 million at that time. This means
that of the projected 2854 million increases in world population in the
50 years between 2000 and 2050, more than 571 million or almost
19 percent increase in the world population will be confined to India
alone. These projections also indicate that by the year 2050, India
will become the most populous country in the world.
During the nineties, the government of India has taken a
number of key policy initiatives that have relevance to future
population growth in the country. The first of these initiatives was the
National Population Policy 2000 which aimed at achieving zero
population growth in the country by the year 2045 through reducing
fertility to the replacement level by the year 2010 (Government of
India, 2000). At the same time the process of economic reforms that
started in 1990 continued with varying pace throughout this period.
A revival of economic reforms and better economic policies during
the first decade of the present century has accelerated the economic
growth rate. Today, India is the second fastest growing major
economy of the world. These facts explain the special interest with
which the results of the 2011 population census in India have been
published. They supply basic information about population size, rate
of population growth, population sex ratio and levels of literacy for
the country as a whole as well as for its constituent states and Union
Territories.
9

Trends of Growth Rate
The population of India as of 1 March 2011 was 1,210,193,422
persons. This implies an increase of 17.653 percent in the ten-year
period since the 2001 population census. The proportionate
increase in the population of the country during the decade 1991-
2001 was 21.353 per cent which means that the population increase
in the country has continued to slow down and the rate of retardation
in population growth appears to have increased. In terms of the
average annual growth rate, the population of the country increased
at a rate of 1.626 percent per year, well below the average annual
increase of 1.935 percent per year during 1991-2001. A notable
feature of the population figures is that they are very close to the
population projected by the Government of India for the period 2001-
2011 on the basis of the 2001 population census. Government of
India had projected that the population of the country will increase to
1,192,506 thousand by the year 2011 (Government of India, 2006).
Similarly, United Nations had estimated that Indias population would
increase to more than 1214 million by the year 2010 (United
Nations, 2008). The population figures of 2011 population census
suggest that the enumerated population in the country exceeded the
projected population by almost 18 million. During the period 1991-
2001, the enumerated population of the country exceeded the
project population by around 16 million whereas, the enumerated
population exceeded the projected population by less than 9 million
during the period 1981-91(Chaurasia and Gulati, 2008). In fact, the
average annual population growth rate during the period 2001-2011
based on the figures of the 2011 population census works out to be
almost 1.63 percent per year which is substantially higher than the
10

project average annual growth rate of 1.48 percent per year. This
suggests that demographic transition - reduction in fertility and
mortality - in the country has been slower than the projected one.
Population projections prepared by the Government of India are
based on the assumption that the replacement fertility will be
achieved by the year 2021 not in 2010 as aimed in the National
Population Policy 2000. However, the average annual population
growth rate during the period 2001-2011 derived from the figures of
the 2011 population census suggests that the decrease in fertility in
the country has been slower than the project one which means that
the country will not able to achieve replacement fertility even by the
year 2021. This means that there is only a distant possibility of
achieving stable population by the year 2045 as stipulated in
National Population Policy 2000.
11

Table 1: India: Population and Population Growth, 1901-2011.
Source: Census of India, 2011
As the result of the slowdown in the population growth, the net
addition to the population decreased in India for the first time during
the period 2001-2011. During the period 1991-2001, the net addition
to the population of the country was around 182.32 million (Table 1)
12

whereas, the net addition to the population of the country during the
period 2001-2011 was 181.6 million. This decrease in the net
addition to the population is perhaps the most remarkable feature of
population transition in India during the period 2001-2011. This is an
indication that the population growth in the country has now started
shrinking. Had the average annual population growth rate during the
period 2001-2011 would have been the same as the average annual
population growth rate during the period 1991-2001, the population
of the country would have increase to 1246.315 million and the net
addition to the population of the country would have been almost
218 million - 56 million more than the actual addition to the
population during the period 2001-2011 as revealed through figures
of the 2011 population census. This trend in the net addition to the
population of the country again confirms that population transition in
the country is picking the momentum and the net addition to the
population of the country has now peaked. However, actual slow
down in the growth of the population during the period 2001- 2011
has been slower than the projected one.
13

14

Figure 1: India Population, 1901-2011
Regional differentials in Growth
Regional diversity or inequality in the growth of population in India is
well known. Moreover, this diversity in population growth has
persisted over time. Any discussion about Indias population growth,
therefore, is incomplete without a discussion on regional differences
in the growth of population. The results of 2011 population census
15

provide information on population size and growth for all the states
and union territories of India.
It reveals considerable geographic variation in the population
growth rate across the states and union territories of the country.
Some states of the country grew relatively slowly, well below the
growth of the country as a whole. Since the size of the population of
different states and Union Territories of the country varies widely,
the population growth rate of different states and Union Territories
has different impact on the population growth rate of the country as
a whole. Because of the varying population size, it is customary to
group the states and Union Territories of the country into three
broad categories; major states (states with a population of at least
20 million at the 2001 census), small states (states with a population
of less than 20 million at the 2001 census), and Union Territories.
According to the 2001 population census, there were 17 states in
the country with a population of 20 million and more while the
population of 12 states was less than 20 million. In addition, there
are 6 Union Territories all of which had a population of less than 20
million. The provisional results of 2011 population census suggest
that the 17 major states of the country account for almost 95 per
cent of the population of the country while the 12 small states
accounted for only about 5 percent of the countrys population.
Union Territories, on the other hand, account for just around 0.3
percent of the population of the country. Trends and patterns of
Indias population growth, therefore, are primarily determined by
population growth trends and patterns in the 17 major states. The
contribution of small states and Union Territories to the growth of the
16

population of the country has always been almost negligible,
although trends and patterns of population growth in Union
Territories are themselves an important area of interest and
analysis. Among the major states of India, the population growth
during the period 2001-2011 has been the most rapid in Bihar
followed by Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. These states are the only
three major states of India where the average annual population
growth rate was more than 2 percent year during the period under
reference. Interestingly, these three states constitute a geographical
continuity.
The average annual population growth rate has also been
more than 2 percent per year in Jammu and Kashmir, Meghalaya,
Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram during the period under
reference. These states are the smaller states of the country.
Population growth rate has also been quite high in Rajasthan,
Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. In these states,
population increased at an average annual rate of more than 1.8
percent year during the period under reference which is well above
the population growth rate of the country as a whole. In all, there are
18 states and Union Territories where the average annual
population growth rate has been estimated to be higher than the
national average during the period under reference. These states
and Union Territories account for more than 638 million or almost 53
percent of the population of the country. On the other hand,
Nagaland is the only state in the country which has recorded a
negative population growth during the period under reference.
During the period 1991-2001, the population of Nagaland increased
17

by a whopping 64.5 million but, during 2001-2011, the population of
the state decreased. This appears to be a very conspicuous finding
of the provisional results of 2011 population census. Moreover, there
are only two states - Kerala and Goa - and two Union Territories -
Andaman and Nikobar and Lakshadweep - where the average
annual growth rate during 2001-2011 is estimated to be less than 1
percent per year. The three states where the average annual
population growth rate appears to have increased during the period
2001-2011 compared to the period 1991-2001 are Tamil Nadu,
Chhattisgarh and Manipur. Among these three states, Tamil Nadu
recorded a very low growth rate during the period 1991-2001
whereas the growth rate in Chhattisgarh and Manipur was more
than 2 percent per year. It appears that rapid population growth
situation has continued in these states during the period 2001-2011
also.
The situation is however not so encouraging when the
population growth estimated on the basis of provisional figures of
2011 population census is compared with the projected population
growth based on the projected population for the year 2011. This
comparison suggests that in 20 states and Union Territories of the
country, the actual population growth has been faster than the
projected population growth rate with the difference being the largest
in Tamil Nadu followed by Bihar among the major states of the
country. In these states and Union Territories, actual population
transition during the period 2001-2011 has been slower than the
projected one. At the same time, in 9 out the 12 small states, the
actual population growth rate based on the provisional figures of
18

2011 population census has been faster than the project one.
However, in all Union Territories of the country, the actual population
growth during 2001-2011 has been slower than the project one. This
comparison suggests that the pace of population transition in the
country during the period 2001-2011 has been slower than what was
projected or expected. Obviously, the population transition scenario
in the country and in most of the states, as revealed through the
provisional figures of the 2011 population census, does not appear
to be very encouraging. It is obvious from table 3 that the country
has missed the projected target of average annual population
growth rate for the period 2001-2011, set on the basis of the results
of the 2001 population census. This means that the country will take
more time to achieve the goal of population stabilization as
stipulated in the National Population Policy 2000.
There has been considerable variation in regional changes in
the growth rate over time with acceleration in population growth in
some states and Union Territories during 2001-2011 as compared to
1991-2001 and slowdown in other states and Union Territories. Most
of the states fall very close to the 45 degree line. The deviation from
the line is marked in Andaman and Nikobar, Sikkim, Chandigarh,
Delhi and Nagaland and in Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Manipur and
Puducherry. In the first group of states and Union Territories,
average annual population growth rate has slowed down during the
period 2001-2011 as compared to the average annual growth rate
during 1991-2001 with the change in the average annual population
growth rate being the most typical in Nagaland. In the second group
of states and Union Territories, it has accelerated. In other states,
19

the average annual population growth rate registered during 2001-
2011 is what that could have been predicted on the basis of the
average annual population growth rate recorded during the period
1991-2001. This suggest that, although, the population growth rate
in the states and Union Territories of the country have shown a
decline on the basis of the provisional results of 2011 population
census, this decline appears to be, at best, a normal pattern in most
of the states and Union Territories. There are only a few marked
deviations.
Rate of Population Growth
Among the major states, Bihar with 25.1 percent growth rate during
2001-2011is the fastest growing state. Decadal Growth rates have
exceeded 20 percent in all the core north India states Bihar, Uttar
Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh including Jharkhand and
Chattisgarh. Keralas growth rate during 2001-2011 of 4.9 percent is
indicative of the state reaching stationary population in the next 10-
20 years. Growth rate around 11-13 percent is reported by Punjab,
Andhra Pradesh, and West Bengal and around 15-16 percent by
Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. Southern states are the
harbinger of population stabilization.
Geographic Distribution
One implication of population growth pattern observed on the basis
of the results of 2011 population census is a change in the
distribution of the population across the states and Union Territories
of the country. An understanding of population distribution over
administrative areas can be achieved through a consideration of the
components of population distribution. Population distribution,
20

essentially, has two components - extensiveness and intensiveness.
Extensiveness is nothing but the size of the population of an
administrative unit relative to the size of other administrative units.
Intensiveness, on the other hand, implies the denseness of the
population within the administrative unit. In any analysis of the
change in population distribution, it is important to take both into
consideration.
The state of Uttar Pradesh with 199.6 million people is Indias
most populous state accounting for 16.5 percent of countrys
population. Bihar (103.8) and Maharashtra (112.4) are other two
states with more than 100 million people. Other large states are
West Bengal with 91, Andhra Pradesh with 85, Madhya Pradesh
with 73, and Tamil Nadu with 72 million people. Nearly 42.4 percent
of Indians now live in formerly undivided Bihar, Uttar Pradesh,
Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan; a proportion that has increased
from 40 percent in 1991. Conversely, the proportion of Indians living
in the four southern states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and
Andhra Pradesh has decreased from 22.5 percent in 1991 to 20.8
percent in 2011, causing concerns about their representation in
parliamentary democracy.
Sex Ratio of Population
The good news is that female to male sex ratio of population has
began to improve from 927 in 1991 to 933 in 2001 to 940 in 2011.
Yet, compared to what is observed elsewhere in most countries in
the world, Indias sex ratio is anomalous. The British Census
commissioners also noted it and were quite puzzled. Quite
systematically, they examined a number of factors to understand
21

why there were fewer women in India compared to men in the total
population. The possible reasons dwelt upon by them and by other
noted population scientists were: under enumeration of women,
more masculine sex ratio at birth compared to observed in other
populations, higher mortality experienced by women compared to
men due to epidemics (such as plague, malaria and influenza) or
deficiency diseases, or due to neglect, premature cohabitation and
unskillful midwifery. Except for the persistent survival disadvantage
that women experienced from early infancy well into the
reproductive period, evidence did not support any of the other
factors. The female to male sex ratio of population historically noted
in the contiguous area of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi,
has improved between 2001 and 2011, but it is still below 900
women per 1000 men. On the other hand, sex ratio close to unity is
recorded in the southern states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra
Pradesh. This phenomenon observed since the beginning of the
20th Century has persisted even now.
Child Sex Ratio
Since 1981 Indian Censuses have made available data on
population in the age group 0-6 by sex, as a byproduct of
information on literacy rates which are calculated for 7+ population,
enabling calculation of sex ratio of children in the age group 0-6.
(Typically, age data are generated in five year age groups and thus
most populations would provide data on children in the age group 0-
4 and not 0-6.) The Census Commissioners office has calculated
sex ratio of children aged 0-6 from the previous Censuses of 1961
and 1971 also showing the trend over 50 years. The child sex ratio
22

has steadily declined from 976 in 1961 to 927 in 2001 and further to
914 in 2011. This phenomenon has drawn worldwide attention and
is largely attributed to the increasing practice of sex detection and
selectively aborting female foetuses. Between 2001 and 2011, child
sex ratio fell in practically the whole country, giving credence to a
belief that the practice of female selective abortion is spreading to
parts of the country, where it was not noted earlier. Child sex ratio
improved in 2011 from the level in 2001 in Himachal Pradesh,
Haryana, Punjab and marginally in Gujarat; the states where it was
below 850. In 2011 in these states, there are still less than 900 girls
for 1000 boys.
23

Table 2: Sex Ratio, 1991-2011
Literacy Trends in India
The pace of progress in literacy rates as revealed by decennial
census is very slow in India. In the span of fifty years i.e. from1951
24

(18.33) to 2001(64.83), there has been only marginal increase of
46.5 percent in literacy rate. Between 1951 to 2001, female literacy
shows a mere 44.7 percent increase which is only five times for the
whole point. According to census 2011, out of 74.04 percent of
literacy rate, the corresponding figures for male and female are
82.14 and 65.46 percent respectively which means four out of every
five males and two out of every three females of the age seven and
above are literate in the country. Though the target set by Planning
Commission to reduce the gender gap by 10 percent in 2011-12 has
not been achieved yet the reduction by 5 percent (4.99 percent) has
been achieved which is a positive stride towards decreasing
illiteracy. A significant milestone of Census 2011 is that the total
number of illiterates has come down from 30.4 crores in 2001 to
27.2 crores showing a decline of 3.1 crore. Out of total 21.7 crores
literates, female (11.0 crores) outnumber males (10.7 crores).
Another striking feature is that, out of total decrease of 3.1 crore of
illiterates, the females (1.7 crores) top male (1.4 crore) in the list.
This trend of rising female literacy will have far reaching
consequences which may lead to development of the society. When
we portray the literacy picture of India we find that the ordering of
the states are almost same as it was in 2001 as Kerela still
continues to top the list with 93.91 percent literacy rate whereas
Bihar remains at the bottom of the ladder with 63.82 percent.
Although Bihar has performed well in 2011census compared to
literacy rate in 2001 (47.00 percent) still it lies in the lowest rank.
States like Punjab (76.68 percent), Haryana ( 76.64 percent),
Madhya Pradesh ( 70.63 percent), Andhra Pradesh (75.60 percent),
Karnataka (67.66 percent) and Tamil Nadu ( 80.33 percent) and UTs
25

like Andaman & Nicobar Islands (86.27 percent), Chandigarh (86.43
percent) were downgraded from their previous rank whereas Tripura
(87.75 percent), Sikkim (82.20 percent), Manipur (79.85 percent),
Nagaland (80.11 percent) and UTs like Dadra & Nagar Haveli (77.65
percent), NCT of Delhi (86.34 percent), Puducherry (86.55 percent)
and Lakshadweep (92.28 percent) have shown higher rankings than
before.
Table 3: Literacy Rate in India, 2011
Source: Census of India, 2011
26

27

Demographic Dividend
Demographic dividend refers to a change in the age distribution of
population from child ages to adult ages. It leads to larger proportion
of population in the working age group compared to younger and old
age groups. Apparently, given the diversity in the fertility transition in
India, the demographic dividend is likely to continue as it shifts from
one state to another based on the pace of demographic changes in
the respective states. It is generally argued that the demographic
change in India is opening up new economic opportunities (James
2008). There is generally high optimism both based on the
experience of many other countries and from India that demographic
changes will take the country to newer economic heights (Bloom
and Williamson, 1998; Aiyer and Modi 2011; James 2008).
Along with high optimism, there are also larger concerns on
the ability of the nation to take full advantage of the demographic
dividend. It is often argued that demographic dividend might turn into
a nightmare given the composition of the Indian population in terms
of educational level and skill levels (Altbach and Jayaram, 2010;
Chandrasekhar, Ghosh and Roychwdhury, 2006). It is argued that
large segments of adult population in the country are illiterate and do
not have the capacity to contribute substantially to the modern
economy. Perhaps, demographic dividend needs to be understood
more critically and in a proper perspective. Many of the good
empirical studies estimating the impact of age structure changes on
the economic progress have indicated very high impact of age
structure change and positive demographic dividend in the country
(Aiyer and Modi 2011; Bloom et al, 2006; James 2008). In other
28

words, these studies bring out clearly that those states moving faster
in demographic and age structure change are also experiencing
rapid economic growth. The best examples come from southern and
western states in India where the demographic changes are also
leading to sustained economic changes both in the aggregate
economy and in the lives of people.
The 2011 census results show that there has been significant
inflow of migration to many southern states in India. Tamil Nadu,
Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh are attracting huge inflow of
migrants from other states. In these states, the enumerated
population has been far higher than the projected population.
Perhaps, it points towards a replacement migration taking place into
these states. The replacement migration refers to migration
occurring as a result of age structure changes. With the
demographic and age structure changes, there will be scarcity of
labour particularly in the unskilled sector. This labour has to be
replaced from other places with abundance of labour due to lack of
any significant demographic changes. In the context of Western
countries, the replacement migration mainly came from poor
developing countries. On the contrary, India is able to take care of
the replacement migration from within due to large diversity in the
nature of demographic transition. The replacement migration into
Kerala is well known and many studies have pointed out large inflow
of such migrants from other parts of the country (Zachariah and
Rajan 2004).
29

Thus it is clear that the demographic changes create
demographic opportunities and dividend and the concern that India
may not be able to experience demographic dividend is perhaps not
empirically validated. There is also ample evidence to suggest that
demographic changes enhance economic changes. Micro level
evidence also suggests that age structure changes lead to
substantial investment in children both in terms of education and
health (Bhat, 2002). Thus the demographic dividend emanates from
rapid changes in fertility which has several positive impacts both at
macro and at household level.
Urbanization and Economic Growth
Only 30 percent of India's population lives in urban areas. This is
much lower than in China, Indonesia, South Korea, Mexico, and
Brazil. Some of this may be due to much lower per capita incomes in
India. The Committee's projections suggest that India's urban
population as presently defined will be close to 600 million by 2031,
more than double that in 2001. Already the number of metropolitan
cities with population of 1 million and above has increased from 35
in 2001 to 50 in 2011 and is expected to increase further to 87 by
2031. The expanding size of Indian cities will happen in many cases
through a process of peripheral expansion, with smaller
municipalities and large villages surrounding the core city becoming
part of the large metropolitan area, placing increasing strain on the
country's urban infrastructure. Future growth is likely to concentrate
in and around 60 to 70 large cities having a population of one million
or more. Decentralization of municipal governance and greater
reliance on institutional financing and capital markets for resource
30

mobilization are likely to increase the disparity between the larger
and smaller urban centers. A satisfying outcome will depend on the
formulation of effective public policies to accelerate all-round
development of smaller urban centers and to refashion the role of
the state as an effective facilitator to compensate for the deficiencies
of market mechanisms in the delivery of public goods. Three
decades of rapid economic growth would normally have propelled
migration from rural areas but growth in India has not had this effect
thus far. This is because industrialization has been capital intensive
and the services boom fuelled by the knowledge economy has also
been skill intensive. A few cities of India have acted as centers of
knowledge and innovation. As more cities provide economies of
agglomeration and scale for clusters of industries and other non-
agricultural economic activity, the urban sector will become the
principal engine for stimulating national economic growth.
Industrialization will absorb more people as India advances further in
its integration with the world economy. At the present juncture, India
faces the challenge of continuing on its high growth trajectory while
making growth more broad-based and labour intensive. The fortunes
of the agricultural sector are crucially linked to the manner in which
growth in the industry and services sectors unfolds. People living in
rural areas typically tap the opportunities that cities provide for
employment, entrepreneurial avenues, learning, and monetary
repatriation. As urbanization grows, demand for food items other
than food grains, i.e. vegetables, lentils, milk, eggs, etc., also grows.
This leads to investments in infrastructure, logistics, processing,
packaging, and organized retailing. These investments and other
economic inter-linkages connect and build synergy between rural
31

and urban centers. Of course, government policy should also focus
on enhancing the productive potential of the rural economy. From
the report, that India's urban future promises to be an inclusive one,
with the benefits extending to rural areas as well. Already, there is
evidence to suggest that rising standards of living in India's urban
areas in the post-reform period have had significant distributional
effects favoring the country's rural poor.
Conclusion
There are unmistakable signs that population transition in India has
progressed and the average rate of population growth in the country
has declined substantially during 2001-2011. However, the actual
growth of population between 2001 and 2011 has been faster than
the population growth projected by the Government of India on the
basis of the results of the 2001 population census and observed
trends in fertility, mortality and migration (Government of India,
2006). Obviously, efforts to moderate the growth of the population
during 2001-2011 appear to have fallen short of the projected, most
likely, path. Results of the 2011 population census also indicate that
there is little possibility of realizing the expectations laid down in the
National Population Policy 2000 and there is little probability that the
country will be able to reach stable population by the year 2045.
These results do not provide any indication that the country will be
able to achieve the cherished goal of population stabilization during
the current century until and unless a serious effort is made to
reinvigorate population stabilization efforts. It is in this context that
there is a need of revisiting the goals and objectives of the National
Population Policy and reviewing ongoing population stabilization
32

efforts after taking into consideration the results of the 2011
population census.
In the brief, demographic changes are inevitable and generally
contribute positively to the nation. The demographic changes are
also accompanied by considerable social and economic changes. It
is important that the nation is prepared to take care of such rapid
changes. In the future, the success of a nation will critically depend
upon its ability to address such sweeping demographic changes
effectively though policies and programs. India is on the course of
rapid demographic changes.
References
Carl Haub and O.P. Sharma, "Examining Literacy Using India's
Census" October 2008.
Census of India, www.censusindia.gov.in/.
Chaurasia Alok Ranjan, Gulati SC (2008) India: The State of
Population 2007. National Population Commission, Oxford
University Press, New Delhi.
Government of India (2000) National Population Policy 2000.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, New Delhi.
Government of India (2005) National Rural Health Mission. Ministry
of Health and Family Welfare, New Delhi.
Government of India (2006) Census of India 2001. Population
Projections for India and States 2001-2026. Report of the Technical
Group of Population Projections. National Commission on
Population, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. New Delhi.
Government of India Ministry of Home Affairs, Sample
Registration System Report 2008, Ministry of Home Affairs, New
Dehli.
33

Human Development in India 2010, Oxford University Press, New
Delhi.
International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) and Macro
International, National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3), 2005-
2006 (Mumbai: IIPS, 2007).
Mari Bhat PN (1999) Population projections for Delhi: Dynamic
logistic model versus cohort component method. Demography India
28(2).
Nehru, Jawaharlal (1946). The Discovery of India. Oxford University
Press. New Delhi.
PRB's Discuss Online in 2009 with Leela Visaria, researcher and
president of the Asian Population Association.
Reports, United Nations Population Fund, New York, USA
United Nations (2008) World Population Prospects. 2008 Revision.
Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Population Division,
New York.
United Nations Development Programme. 2010. Human
Development Report 2010. Human Development Report Office, New
York.
United Nations. 2011. The Millennium Development Goals Report
2011. Department of Economic and Social Affairs, New York.
World Bank (2010). World Development Indicators, 2010.
Yojna, July 2011. GoI, New Delhi.
34

Chapter-2
Detecting Fallow Agricultural Land and Correlation with
Demographic Indicators in the Branicevo and Pomoravlje
Districts, Serbia
Darko Jaramaz and Veljko Perovic
Institute of Soil Science, Teodora Drajzera 7, Belgrade, Serbia
Introduction
Agricultural land is a non-renewable natural resource whose
development strategy is of the highest importance to each country.
The Republic of Serbia has great potential in the sector of
agricultural production due to favorable climatic conditions, good
natural characteristics of the land and available water resources, but
this potential is not fully utilized, partly because there is a lot of area
with fallow agricultural land. The fallow agricultural land can be
defined as plowed and left unseeded agricultural land for one or
more seasons.
Branicevo district is located in the northeastern part of
Republic of Serbia. District area is approximately 3,862 km
2
, and
according to the Census 2011 district have 185,165 inhabitants. The
relief of district is divided into two parts: lowland on the western part
and highlands on the eastern half of district. District are consists of
the following eight municipalities: Zagubica, Kucevo, Petrovac,
Pozarevac, Blace, Veliko Gradiste, Malo Crnice and Zabari.
Pomoravlje districts is located in the central part of Republic of
Serbia. Covering a area of approximately 2,613 km
2
, and have a
total of 212,304 inhabitants by Census 2011 data. District includes
35

the following six municipalities: Despotovac, Paracin, Cuprija,
Rekovac, Svilajnac and Jagodina.
The research aims to within Branicevo and Pomoravlje
districts identify fallow agricultural land based on the analysis of
aerophoto images, and also to evaluate demographic characteristics
for specified area base on Census 2011 data, by performing
Multivariate analyses (Principal Components Analysis and Cluster
Analysis) and Descriptive statistics methods. With the intention that
the ultimate result gave the response on the question, which
demographic indicators can be correlated with the appearance of
fallow agricultural land.
Literature Review
The case for linking statistical data analysis techniques to
Geographic information system (GIS) is grounded in the idea that
additional explanation, understanding, and insight can be gleaned
when data is viewed and examined from both a spatial and
statistical perspective [1]. The integration of these two perspectives
in an environment that supports flexible methods for data retrieval,
manipulation, and display, is argued to yield more than the sum of
the component parts [2]. A number of researchers have explored
different approaches to integrating statistical analysis within GIS [3,
4, 5].
1. The Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
The Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are a powerful set
of tools that are intended to store, visualize, process and analyze
digital spatial data, with the most common application for information
36

visualizations. In the recent past many science disciplines adopted
GIS as a tool for solving various spatial problems. Furthermore,
should be noted that currently there is a little consensus about which
criteria define a one geographic information system. The core GIS
idea that the world can be understood as a series of layers of
different types of information, that can be added together
meaningfully through overlay analysis to arrive at conclusions [6].
2. Statistics Analysis
In our research, will be evaluated characteristics of Branicevo and
Pomoravlje districts using the Multivariate analyses and Descriptive
statistics methods.
2.1. Multivariate Analyses
As the name implies, multivariate statistics refers to an assortment
of descriptive and inferential techniques that have been developed
to handle situations in which sets of variables are involved either as
predictors or as measures of performance [7]. Multivariate analysis
deals with issues related to the observations of many (usually
correlated) variables on units of a selected random sample [8].
Multivariate analysis also may be defined as the branch of statistics
which is concerned with the relationships among sets of dependent
variables and the individuals which bear them [9]. Conventional
multivariate analysis analyzed a numerical multivariate data set. On
the other hand, in functional data analysis, each data is not a
numerical data set but a set of functions, and in this case functions
are directly analyzed [10].
37

In this research, inside the multivariate analyzes is employed
Principal Components Analysis (PCA) and Cluster Analysis
techniques.
2.1.1. Principal Components Analysis (PCA)
The classical procedures of statistics are principal components
analysis, which reduce dimensionality by forming linear
combinations of the features. The PCA is a technique that can be
used to supply to a statistic analysis of the data set, being used as
pre-processing stage to the prediction [11]. The PCA is indicated for
the analysis of variables that have linear relations. Each principal
component brings statistic information different from the others.
However, the first principal components are such more relevant that
we can even disdain the others [12].
This multivariate technique has a the central aim to reduce the
dimensionality of a multivariate data set while accounting for as
much of the original variation as a possible present in the data set,
this aim is achieved by transforming to a new set of variables (the
principal components) those represent linear combinations of the
original variables. The principal components are uncorrelated and
are ordered so that the first few of them account for most of the
variation in all the original variables. The object of principal
components analysis is to find a lower-dimensional representation
that accounts for the variance of the features. The result of a
principal components analysis would be the creation of a small
number of new variables that can be used as surrogates for the
originally large number of variables and consequently provide a
38

simpler basis for graphing or summarizing of the data, and also
perhaps when undertaking further multivariate analyses of the data
[13].
If we think of the problem as one of removing or combining
(i.e., grouping) highly correlated features, then it becomes clear that
the techniques of clustering are applicable to this problem. In terms
of the data matrix, whose n rows are the d- data dimensional
samples, ordinary clustering can be thought of as a grouping of the
rows, matrix with a smaller number of cluster centers being used to
represent the data, whereas dimensionality reduction can be thought
of as a grouping of the columns, with combined features being used
to represent the data. Roughly speaking, the most interesting
features are the ones for which the difference in the class means is
large relative to the standard deviations, not the ones for which
merely the standard deviations are large.
This analysis is concerned with the extraction of the factors
that better represent the structure of interdependence between
variables of large dimensions. Therefore, all the variables are
analyzed simultaneously, each one in relation to all the others,
aiming at determining factors (principal components) that maximize
the explanation of variability existing in the data [14].
2.1.2 Hierarchical Cluster Analysis
Cluster analysis is a technique to classify an original data set
into some subsets (called clusters) by using some distance or
similarity/dissimilarity criterion. Cluster analysis can be roughly
divided into hierarchical clustering and non-hierarchical clustering:
39

Hierarchical clustering makes an original data set a hierarchy
of clusters which may be represented in a tree structure
(called dendrogram) based on some linkage criterion (single
linkage, complete linkage, median method, centroid method.
Ward's method, Mcquitty's method, group average method,
etc.).
On the other hand, non-hierarchical (or partitional) clustering
assigns each data to the cluster whose center is nearest. Af-
means algorithm is a typical technique of non-hierarchical
clustering.
When clusters have subclusters, these have sub-subclusters, and
so on. In fact, this kind of hierarchical clustering permeates
classifactory activities in the sciences. The most natural
representation of hierarchical clustering is a corresponding tree,
called a dendrogram, which shows how the samples are grouped. If
it is possible to measure the similarity between clusters, then the
dendrogram is usually drawn to scale to show the similarity between
the clusters that are grouped. Because of their conceptual simplicity,
hierarchical clustering procedures are among the best-known of
unsupervised methods.
2.2 Descriptive Statistics
In essence, descriptive statistical procedures enable you to turn a
large pile of numbers that cannot be comprehended at a glance into
a very small set of numbers that can be more easily understood [15].
Roughly can be said that, descriptive statistics condense data sets
to allow for easier interpretation [16]. Mann [17] defines descriptive
40

statistics like a discipline of quantitatively that describe the main
features of a collection of data. The descriptive statistics, unlike
inferential statistics, are not developed on the basis of probability
theory [18].
There are also many different ways of obtaining descriptive
statistics. There is not a right way or a wrong way; it simply comes
down to personal preference on procedure and the way the statistics
are formatted in the output [19].
Materials and Methods
1. The Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
Analysing aerophoto images to determine the fallow agricultural land
are started by field research when the samples were taken for each
researched municipality. Preliminary work also included the
purchase of vector and raster data covering researched area, but
the basic layer was aerophoto images of the national territory of the
Republic of Serbia in the resolution of 2.5 meters per pixel, from
2005
th
- 2008
th
years.
Softwares that are used for interpretation of aerophoto images
have implemented algorithms for raw data processing, and also
enables that the results can be stored for each pixel individually. The
purpose of the aerophoto images classification were categorization
of all image pixels in a classes. It should be noted that the
classification can be done using two main groups of computer
operations: supervised (semi-automated) classification and
unattended (automated) classification. Unsupervised classification is
determined by the research area, this method compare pixels and
categorize them into class base on color similarity. Unattended
41

classification do not use fixed classes, but algorithms that
interpreting the unknown pixels and collects them in classes.
In this research, supervised classification is applied to obtain
map of land use. Supervised classification can be performed at
aerophoto images, when the resolution is less than 5 meters per
pixel. Given that, in this research, images have the resolution of 2.5
meters per pixel, the obtained result of supervised classification will
be with an accuracy of over 70 percent.
Set of classes need to be identified before entering the
supervised classification process. Set of classes integrate values of
research area as much as possible (arable agricultural land, fallow
agricultural land, forests, pastures and meadows, water surface,
urban areas), during which are created a sample grid for each class.
Represented samples were the ones which are taken from the field,
at the beginning of the research, by GPS devices. Each created
sample must be relatively homogeneous, and as such it represents
his class. With the supervised classification process, each sample
area need to be analyzed for the determination of the statistical
characteristics of the class for the selected raster object, afterwards
these class characteristic need to be applied for the classification of
aerophoto images, that are used as input.
After the classification, the quality of the obtained results is
estimate, and repairs are made if the results were not acceptable.
Repairs includes a precise determination of the class by new
classification of pixel.
42

2. Statistics Analysis
In our research, SPSS software is used in order to perform
multivariate analyses (Principal Components Analysis and Cluster
Analysis) and Descriptive statistics methods. The SPSS is software
designed to enable: data mining, customer relationship
management, business intelligence and data analysis. Demographic
data are obtained from Republic of Serbia Census 2011 [20]. For
this research, the following 18 demographic factors are employed:
1. Population aged 0-4,
2. Population aged 5-14,
3. Population aged 15-24,
4. Population aged 25-44,
5. Population aged 45-64,
6. Population aged over 65,
7. Employed,
8. Unemployed,
9. Employed - Women,
10. Employed - Man,
11. Unemployed - Women,
12. Unemployed - Man,
13. Unemployed - Without qualification,
14. Unemployed - With qualification,
15. Unemployed - Without work experience,
16. Unemployed - With work experience,
17. Employed in the legal entities (companies, enterprises,
institutions, co-operatives and other organizations), and
18. Employed in private entrepreneurs (people self-employed and
their employees).
Before beginning the statistical analysis each of these factors
will obtain a numeric value, which will be later transformed to
percentages to be suitable for analysis inside SPPS.
43

2.1. Multivariate Analyses
As in the previous part of the paper indicated, inside the
multivariate analyzes are employed Principal Components Analysis
(PCA) and Cluster Analysis techniques.
2.1.1. The Principal Components Analysis
The Principal components analysis (PCA) is Factor Analysis,
and its represents a method of data reduction. When data set
contains numerous variables that are correlated, researchers use
principal components analysis to reduce measures to a small
number of principal components. The PCA analyzes the total
variance, assuming that each original measure is retrieved without
measurement error. By obtaining the component scores, we are
able to perceive the dimensionality of the data. PCA method can be
used the correlation matrix and covariance matrix. The correlation
matrix standardized the variables and the total variance will
equivalent the amount of variables used in the analysis (because
each standardized variable has a variance equal to 1). On the other
hand, in the covariance matrix, the variables will stay in their original
metric. In our research is applied Correlation matrix technique.
Performing the PCA inside SPSS software, the obtained
results have the following forms:
The Communalities table; represents the proportion of every
variable's variance that can be explained by the principal
components analysis, and contains the Initial values and
Extraction values.
The total variance explained table; display the Initial Eigen
values (represents the variances of the factors) and the
44

Extraction Sums of Squared Loadings (precisely replicate the
values given on the same row on the left side of the table
inside SPSS).
The scree plot graphs; display the eigenvalue in opposition to
the component number. Performing the PCA, researchers are
interested only for saving principal components, which
eigenvalues are greater than 1.
The Component Matrix table; contains component loadings,
which represents the correlations between the components
and the variables, in values range from -1 to +1.
The factor score variables are obtained on the end of Principal
components analysis, this variables will be used like an input for the
Hierarchical cluster analysis. The factor score is equal to the
summation of the standardized value of each variable multiplied by
its factor loading [21].
2.1.2 Hierarchical Cluster Analysis
The classification aims to capture the important socio-
economic dimensions of, and differences between, areas. The goal
of classification is to arrange N units into M clusters such that the
inter-M variation in attributes is maximise, and the intra-M variation
in attributes is minimized [22].
The Hierarchical cluster analysis is the major statistical
method, that use measured characteristics, for discovering relatively
standardized clusters, that are based on cases. The analysis starts
with each case as a separate cluster, and then combines the
clusters sequentially by further reducing the number of clusters. This
45

method calculates the distances and dissimilarities among research
items when forming the clusters.
Performing the Hierarchical cluster analysis, inside SPSS
software, obtained results have a following forms:
The agglomeration schedule table; display cases information
about all stages of a hierarchical clustering process.
The Cluster membership table; specified cases belongs to the
clusters.
The dendrogram (hierarchical tree diagram); is a graphical tool
for displaying clustering results, where the clusters that are
joined together are connected with lines.
2.2. The Descriptive Statistics
Based on previously obtained Clusters results inside the
Hierarchical cluster analysis, the Descriptive statistics analysis are
performed to describe each cluster based on his model significant
variables mean values. The descriptive statistics give us
informations about the variables distribution, by presenting the
maximum, minimum, mean and standard deviation values for each
cluster variable.
Inside Descriptive statistics table, obtained results produce
following columns:
The N value; represents a number of clusters.
The Maximum value; represents the largest value in the
distribution.
The Minimum value; represents the smallest value in the
distribution.
46

The Mean value; represents the average value of the
distribution.
The standard deviation value; represents a measure of
variability.
Evaluation of the clusters are performed based on the
obtained results, mentioned evaluation represents description of
demographic characteristics for Branicevo and Pomoravlje districts.
Results
Analysing aerophoto images are obtained results (represented
at Map 1) that displays Branicevo and Pomoravlje districts area,
divided into following six classes:
Forests,
Water surface,
Urban areas,
Pastures and meadows,
Fallow agricultural land, and
Arable agricultural land.
47

Map 1. Branicevo and Pomoravlje districts area, divided into six
classes
The same results are represented on the Map 2, where are
(using the charts) displayed the ratio inside each municipality of:
Arable agricultural land, Fallow agricultural land and other four
classes.
48

Map 2. Ratio inside each municipality of Arable and Fallow
agricultural land
The all six classes area (Arable agricultural land, Fallow
agricultural land, Pastures and meadows, Forests, Urban areas and
Water surface) of Branicevo and Pomoravlje districts municipalities,
are represented inside Table 1 (expressed in hectares).
49

Table 1. The all six classes area of Branicevo and Pomoravlje
districts municipalities (ha)
Municip-
alities
Arable
agric-
ultural
land (ha)
Fallow
agric-
ultural
land (ha)
Pastures
and mea.
(ha)
Forests
(ha)
Urban
areas
(ha)
Water
surface
(ha)
Total
area (ha)
Pozarevac 33968.61 3517.62 3074.41 3670.79 2296.42 1831.31 48359.16
Veliko
Gradiste
20090.04 3020.60 2806.44 6247.66 347.52 1803.93 34316.19
Golubac 6338.29 2338.19 5848.00 20004.85 194.66 2037.58 36761.57
Malo
Crnice
18251.81 2033.31 3181.45 3220.82 220.65 4.59 26912.63
Zabari 16310.35 2418.66 2532.84 4577.71 423.82 92.57 26355.95
Petrovac 33459.65 4990.83 9809.54 15713.41 1408.70 55.95 65438.08
Kucevo 10394.03 2419.21 22789.12 36111.08 371.38 8.99 72093.81
Zagubica 11434.49 3892.78 17882.37 42133.89 611.57 11.93 75967.03
Jagodina 26323.87 3008.86 6098.52 10469.51 1339.08 183.00 47422.84
Cuprija 17711.91 1731.89 3027.05 5212.72 939.08 210.95 28833.60
Paracin 20969.15 4281.90 9483.47 16297.85 3040.75 167.48 54240.60
Svilajnac 19082.95 2445.86 4648.38 5550.15 515.79 260.04 32503.17
Despotovac 16325.62 3177.82 13718.54 28573.89 451.44 16.47 62263.78
Rekovac 16747.65 3357.59 6741.26 9450.16 265.29 12.47 36574.42
Total: 267408.42 42635.12 111641.39 207234.49 12426.15 6697.26 648042.83
The relationship between all six classes (Arable agricultural
land, Fallow agricultural land, Pastures and meadows, Forests,
Urban areas and Water surface) inside each total municipality area,
are represented inside Table 2 (expressed in percentage).
50

Table 2. Relationship between all six classes inside each
municipality (%)
Municipalities Arable
agricultural
land (%)
Fallow
agricultural
land (%)
Pastures
and
mea. (%)
Forests
(%)
Urban
areas
(%)
Water
surface
(%)
Total
(%)
Pozarevac 70.24 7.27 6.36 7.59 4.75 3.79 100.00
Veliko
Gradiste
58.54 8.80 8.18 18.21 1.01 5.26 100.00
Golubac 17.24 6.36 15.91 54.42 0.53 5.54 100.00
Malo Crnice 67.82 7.56 11.82 11.97 0.82 0.02 100.00
Zabari 61.88 9.18 9.61 17.37 1.61 0.35 100.00
Petrovac 51.13 7.63 14.99 24.01 2.15 0.09 100.00
Kucevo 14.42 3.36 31.61 50.09 0.52 0.01 100.00
Zagubica 15.05 5.12 23.54 55.46 0.81 0.02 100.00
Jagodina 55.51 6.34 12.86 22.08 2.82 0.39 100.00
Cuprija 61.43 6.01 10.50 18.08 3.26 0.73 100.00
Paracin 38.66 7.89 17.48 30.05 5.61 0.31 100.00
Svilajnac 58.71 7.52 14.30 17.08 1.59 0.80 100.00
Despotovac 26.22 5.10 22.03 45.89 0.73 0.03 100.00
Rekovac 45.79 9.18 18.43 25.84 0.73 0.03 100.00
The relationship between Arable agricultural land and Fallow
agricultural land, base on total Agricultural land inside each
municipality, are represented inside Table 3 (expressed in
percentage).
51

Table 3. The relationship between Arable agricultural land and
Fallow agricultural land inside each municipality (%)
Municipalities Arable
agricultural land
(%)
Fallow
agricultural land
(%)
Agricultural land
(%)
Pozarevac 90.62 9.38 100.00
Veliko Gradiste 86.93 13.07 100.00
Golubac 73.05 26.95 100.00
Malo Crnice 89.98 10.02 100.00
Zabari 87.09 12.91 100.00
Petrovac 87.02 12.98 100.00
Kucevo 81.12 18.88 100.00
Zagubica 74.60 25.40 100.00
Jagodina 89.74 10.26 100.00
Cuprija 91.09 8.91 100.00
Paracin 83.04 16.96 100.00
Svilajnac 88.64 11.36 100.00
Despotovac 83.71 16.29 100.00
Rekovac 83.30 16.70 100.00
The Scree plot graphs (Picture 1) displays the PCA Total
Variance Explained where each successive component accounts
less and less variance, for all 18 demographic variables that are
employed in this research. In our research, five principal
components are obtained with eigenvalues 1 or greater than 1 (first
6.252, second 3.743, third 2.964, fourth 2.305 and fifth 1.148). Also
the PCA inside SPSS provide cumulative value for each component,
for example the fifth component displays a cumulative value of
91.178, which means that the first five components mutually account
for 91.178% of the total variance.
52

Picture 1 Scree plot graphs (PCA)
On the Hierarchical cluster analysis visually presented by
Dendrogram (picture 2) that visually displayed cluster results. The
clusters are linked by the increasing levels of similarity, and the
dendrogram graphically displays these linkage points.
53

Picture 2 - Dendrogram (Hierarchical cluster analysis)
In this research are employed three to five numbers of
solutions, and following solutions with five clusters was selected as
the most suitable (Map 3):
Cluster 1: Pozarevac, Jagodina, Cuprija and Paracin,
Cluster 2: Veliko Gradiste, Malo Crnice and Petrovac,
Cluster 3: Golubac,
Cluster 4: Zabari, Svilajnac, Despotovac and Rekovac , and
Cluster 5: Kucevo and Zagubica.
54

Map 3. Clusters
Based on the results obtained inside Descriptive Statistics
table (due to its size, whole table will not be displayed in the paper),
following cluster labels are created:
55

Cluster 1 - Mainly employed population, under 45 years.
Cluster 2 - Employed population, with a large percentage work
as private entrepreneurs.
Cluster 3 - Unemployed population, with large percentage of
unemployed without qualification,
Cluster 4 - Population employed in the legal entities, and
unemployed without work experience.
Cluster 5 - Employed population at age 45-64, and population
over 65 years.
Conclusion
Inside this study, different methods are used for obtaining the
results for relationship between fallow agricultural land and
demographic indicators inside the Branicevo and Pomoravlje
districts, Serbia. Applying the first the Geographic Information
Systems (GIS) technique for the detecting and mapping fallow
agricultural land. Second applying the multivariate analysis
(Principal Components Analysis and Cluster Analysis) and
Descriptive statistics methods on the Census 2011 attribute data
inside SPSS software. For previously stated, 18 variables are used
for getting the final result in the form of the cluster classifications
with five clusters types that describe the studied areas. Each cluster
type carries its own characteristics, which are described in detail
using the Descriptive statistical analysis. Third applying the
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technique for the mapping
multivariate analysis and descriptive statistics results by the joining
with the vector data (borders of the municipalities that are inside
Branicevo and Pomoravlje districts) by ArcGIS software.
56

The Cluster 3 (which includes municipality Golubac) are
labeled by descriptive statistics as Unemployed population, with
large percentage of unemployed without qualification, and the
Cluster 5 (which includes municipalities Kucevo and Zagubica) are
labeled by descriptive statistics as Employed population at age 45-
64, and population over 65 years. These three previously
mentioned municipalities have the highest percentage of fallow
agricultural land in regards to entirely agricultural land inside
municipality (Table 3); Golubac 26.95%, Zagubica 25.40% and
Kucevo 18.88%.
The Cluster 1 (which includes municipalities Pozarevac,
Jagodina, Cuprija and Paracin) are labeled by descriptive statistics
as Mainly employed population, under 45 years, and he basically
contains (with the exception of Paracin municipality) municipalities
with lowest percentage of fallow agricultural land in regards to
entirely agricultural land inside municipality (Table 3); Cuprija 8.91%,
Pozarevac 9.38%, Jagodina 10.26% and Paracin 16.96%.
Base on the obtained results we can conclude that percentage
or fallow agricultural land is directly related to the population age
group; the highest percentage of fallow agricultural land is
characteristic for the municipalities that have high percentage of old
population and otherwise. Also, although this is typical for Republic
of Serbia and other countries that are in period of transition
economy, the highest percentage of fallow agricultural land in
combination with the highest percentage of unemployed population
can be related with former Agricultural companies that are currently
in bankruptcy, liquidation process or in restructuring.
57

Research has shown that combining Geographic Information
Systems with the statistical methods can provide good foundation
for understanding the situation in agriculture base on demographic
characteristics of the population.
Acknowledgement
The paper is the result of research carried out within the
scientific projects TR37006 "Impact of soil quality and irrigation
water quality on agricultural production and environmental
protection"; financed by the Ministry of Education, Science and
Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia for the period
2011-2014.
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60

Chapter-3
Population Dynamics in Rajasthan State
M. M. Sheikh
Associate Professor
Department of Geography
Govt. Lohia PG College, Churu, Rajasthan, India
Rajasthan is situated in the northern part of India. It is the largest
State in India by area constituting 10.4 percent of the total
geographical area of India and it accounts for 5.67 percent of
population of India. Topographically, deserts in the State constitute a
large chunk of the land mass, where the settlements are scattered
and the density of population is quite low. It is administratively
divided into 7 divisions, 33 districts, 244 Tehsils, 249 Panchayat
Samities, 9,177 Gram Panchayats, inhabited villages and 184 urban
local bodies as of Census 2011. The State has a population of 6.86
crore according to the provisional totals of Census 2011. Compared
to Indian averages, Rajasthan has slightly better proportion of total
cropped area and net shown area. The net irrigated area for
Rajasthan is at par with all India averages. While the countrys forest
area constitutes about 23.6 per cent of total land; in Rajasthan the
corresponding figure is only 9.5 per cent. This indicates Rajasthan
has comparative low forest coverage.
Geographic Profile of Rajasthan
Rajasthan state, initially constituted in 1949 after the merger of 19
princely states and later further consolidated in 1956 with the
incorporation of Ajmer (earlier a central territory), has for long best
61

been known for its colourful history: forts and palaces built in the
yesterera and the valour and sacrifice of its princes and
princesses, which apparently has also been its main tourist rallying
point. It has not been a major contender for heralding
industrialisation or economic growth in the countrybeing
landlocked and having more than 60 per cent of its area covered
by desertdespite that among the major trading communities in the
country, many (e.g. Marwaris) hail from Rajasthan. This state, like
any other in the country, is not a monolith: there are regional
diversities, nuances and issues that need to be put forth at the
outset. Seen from an agroclimatic and social point of view, there
are four loose geographic groupings:
(1) The west (Jaisalmer, Barmer, Bikaner, Jalore, Jodhpur, Nagaur
Pali), which lies in the heart of the Thar Desert, is arid, sparsely
populated and vast. The Aravali hills provide a natural barrier
between the desert and other regions. For their livelihoods, people
here have traditionally depended on one millet crop (lowintensity
cultivation), livestock, handicrafts, and extensive outmigration for
physical labour (as well as recruitment in army). In its social context
the region is extremely orthodox, with rigid and rather unequally
defined caste and gender relations.
(2) The north (Churu, Sikar, Jhunjhunu, Ganganagar and
Hanumangarh), located at the edge of the Thar, is arid to
semiarid. The region has harnessed some groundwater;
additionally some districts have benefited from waters population
groups, people who have become successful traders and merchants
62

in other parts of the country and has in turn helped to strengthen
human capital and other social attainments. Better educational
standards at all levels have also ushered a more liberal social
environment here.
(3) The east/northeast/southeast region (Ajmer, Alwar,
Bharatpur, Dholpur, Jaipur, Dausa, Sawaimadhopur, Kota,
Jhalawar, Bundi, Baran and Tonk) is less arid, and farmers in large
parts of it have benefited from ground water (northeast) and some
surface waters (southeast), to reap benefits of the green
revolution. Since many areas here are closer to Delhi and the
Western Railway line, the region has experienced some
industrialization. In terms of social structure, this region is varied: in
many locales, middle/peasant castes control land and hence define
the agrarian structure. This has permitted a larger number of women
to join the labour force; sex ratios, therefore, are better. In some
small pockets here, however, chronic malnutrition has been
witnessed in the recent past (among tribal population), not for
reasons of lack of aggregate food supply but severed entitlements.
(4) Finally, the southern region (Bhilwara, Rajsamand, Banswara,
Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Dungarpur and Sirohi) is hilly, was thickly
forested in the past, and is to an extent inhabited by people of
indigenous communities, now classified as scheduled tribes (ST). It
receives higher rainfall compared to most other regions in the state.
Agriculture, particularly in the uplands, is of low intensity and low
value. One reason for the backwardness of the region is the social
and geographic isolation of the ST communities here. Next, the
63

terrain itself is submontane and in the absence of transport, its
markets are less developed and links to the outside world
comparatively restricted.
Source: Census Dept. GoI
64

Rajasthan has traditionally been classified as a state ranking low on
human development. For the three decades of development up to
the early 1980s, the state exhibited slow progress on almost all
economic and social and health indicators. In the 1980s, like most
other southern and north-western states Rajasthan too began to
display improvement in its economic and social performance.
Economic growth rates rose, poverty proportions noticeably
reduced, literacy rates visibly improved, and there was an all round
improvement in the infrastructure. Additionally, there has been a
regional dimension to this development pattern: some northern and
a few eastern districts and most urban areas have exhibited
dynamism but the southern districts, particularly, have lagged
behind. Next, sharp differences in social attainment exist between
the far western districts (e.g. low literacy rates and extremely
adverse sex ratios in Jaisalmer, Barmer) and some eastern ones
(e.g. low female literacy and high infant mortality in Bharatpur,
Dholpur) on the one hand, and the rest of the districts, on the other.
Population
Population of Rajasthan as per 2011 Census is 6.86 crore (Male:
3.56 crore and female: 3.30 crore). The state has recorded almost
21.44 per cent growth in population the last ten years, and ranks
eighth in terms of the highest populated states in the country. There
is a significant decline in the rate of growth of population in all the 33
districts of the state. The rate of growth of population is highest in
Barmer district (32.55 percent) followed by the district Jaisalmer
(32.22 percent). The rate of growth of population was lowest in
65

Ganaganagar district (10.06 percent). Jaipur is the highest
populated district in the state as per census of 2011 and 2001.
66

Population and Decadal Change in Rajasthan, 2011
Source: Census Dept. GoI
67

Source: Census Dept. GoI
It could be seen from the table 1 above that Rajasthan has more
proportion of SC and ST population in the total population when
68

compared to the national averages. The proportion of rural
population, literacy rates, and female literacy rates are also lower in
Rajasthan when compared to the corresponding figures of the
national averages. The under developed status of Rajasthan is
further accentuated by the fact that the state has higher birth rate
and infant mortality when compared to corresponding figure for the
national averages.
Source: Census Dept. GoI
69

Sex Ratio
There is 5 point increase in the sex ratio (926) of Rajasthan in
census 2011 over the corresponding figures in census 2001 (921).
Sex ratio in the state at 926 is below the national average of 940.
Sex ratio is the highest at 990 in Dungarpur district. Sex ratio is the
lowest at 909 in Dholpur district. In census 2011, two districts of
Rajasthan, i.e. Dungarpur (1022) and Rajasmand (1000) had
crossed and touched the figure of 1000.
Sex Ratio in Rajasthan State 2001-2011
Source: Census Dept. GoI
70

Source: Census Dept. GoI
71

Source: Census Dept. GoI
Demographic Features
As per 2002 BPL survey, the state has a population of 15.28 per
cent of its total population recorded as those living below poverty
line, this is less than the national average at 26.10. As per 2011 BPL
survey the proportion of the poor in the state now stands at 23.13
72

per cent of the total population. Moreover, as per the World Banks
1997 India Poverty Assessment Report the states rural poverty was
reported as 47.5 per cent as against the national average of 36.7
per cent in the country. The regional imbalance in growth and
development is significant in the state of Rajasthan. The state has
high concentration of poor in the resource-poor regions largely
occupied by the Scheduled Tribes. Among various causes, such
regions have lacked severely in productive land, irrigation facilities,
industrialization, skills and higher incidences of illiteracy.
Work Force
As per 2001 Census, the total work force was estimated at 237.66
lakh (42.05 per cent of the total population) consisting of 146.95 lakh
male and 90.71 lakh female workers. The marginal workers were
59.19 lakh (15.95 lakh males and 43.24 lakh females). About 67 per
cent of the work force was engaged in agriculture and allied
activities.
73

Total Workers and Work Participation Rate, 2011
Source: Census Dept. GoI
74

Agricultural Labourers and Total Workers, 2011
Source: Census Dept. GoI
75

Source: Census Dept. GoI
76

Source: Census Dept. GoI

The services sector continues to occupy the predominant
position in Rajasthans economy. It continues to grow over period of
time. The occupational pattern among households in general and
the poor in particular, shows their dependence on varied sources of
livelihood. Overall, about half of the households are self employed in
the agriculture sector, followed by other labour which is substantially
higher than national level estimates. The dependence of poor
households on wage employment as agricultural labourers is three
times lower than at the national level. Inter-regional comparison
shows that except in the southern region, the agriculture sector is
the major source of livelihood. In the southern region, the non-farm
sector absorbs about one-third of the total labour force deployed.
Among the poor households, agriculture is the major source of
employment followed by other activities, whereas about one-third of
them are dependent on wage employment in other sectors.
77

In the south-eastern and north-eastern regions, which are well
endowed with a good natural resource base, agriculture is the major
source of employment; while in other regions wage employment is
the major source of livelihood. The availability of wage employment
in the agriculture sector is considerably lower than at the national
level. This may be due to limited availability of irrigation facilities and
lower size of land holdings.
Tribal Population
As per the 2001 census Rajasthan has 7.10 lakh scheduled tribe
population. It registered a growth rate of 29.6 per cent during 1991-
2001, a 1.2 per cent higher growth than the total population.
Scheduled tribes in the state are overwhelmingly rural; 94.6 per cent
reside in rural areas. The constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order,
1950, (SRO.510, dated 6th September, 1950 has included the
following clan names under Scheduled Tribes in Rajasthan. The
important tribal groups are: Bhil, Bhil Garasia Dholi Bhilm Dungri
Garasia, Mewasi Bhil, Rawal Bhil, Tadvi Bhil, Bhagalia, Bhilala,
Pawra, Vasava, Vasave; Bhil Mina; Darnor, Damaria; Dhanka,
Tadvi, Tetaria, Valvi; Garasia (excluding Rajput Garasia); Kathodi,
Katkari, Dhor Kathodi, Dhor Katkari, Son Katkari; Kokna, Kokni,
Kukna; Koli Dhor, Tokre Koli, Kolcha, Kolgha; Mina; Naikdam
Nayaka, Cholivala, Nayaka, Kapadia, Nayaka, Mota Nayaka, Nana
Nayaka; Patelia and Seharia, Schriam Sahariya amongst others.
78

Source: Census Dept. GoI
Rajasthan has given birth to numerous nomadic communities.
In recent years these nomadic communities have seen severe
disappearance. The vibrant culture and traditions of Rajasthani
Nomads that are diversified in communities like Banjaras, Bhils,
Minas, Gujars, Tribals, like Rabaries, Gavaria and Banjaras are the
most colourful and exotic wanderers in the ruins of desert, who keep
moving from one village to another in search of work, money, living
and livelihood.
79

Status of Women
The status of women in a society is an indicator of the level of
development of any civilization. In this respect, India society is
caught between tradition and modernity, between respect for women
and exploitation, and between restrictive patriarchal values and
progressive ideals, Rajasthan society is, by and large, matrilineal
and follows the system of patrilocality i.e., transfer of a women to the
residence of her husband after marriage. Hence, daughters
generally do not inherit immovable assets, and instead, are given a
portion of the movable property as dowry. This results in the
preference for the male child and discrimination against the girl
child, whether it is in matters of food and nutrition, healthcare,
education, freedom, rights and justice.
a. Age at Marriage
The mean age at marriage for girls in Rajasthan is 15.1 years and
mean age at cohabitation is 16.2 year. Though the legal age of
marriage is 18, 68.3 per cent of women in the age group of 20-24
years were found to have been married before 18 years.
b. Total Fertility Rate
The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) for Rajasthan is higher than the
national average. With a high Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) of 80 and
an under-five mortality rate of 114.9, there is a tendency for women
to bear more children. Most mothers in Rajasthan, especially in the
rural areas, lose one or more children. The mortality in children
belonging to scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and OBCs is higher
than in other social groups, as a result of which the TFR in these
80

groups is also higher. The total wanted fertility rate is 2.57 as
against the TFR of almost 3.78.
Conclusion
The demographic changes are inevitable and generally contribute
positively to the nation. The demographic changes are also
accompanied by considerable social and economic changes. It is
important that the nation is prepared to take care of such rapid
changes. In the future, the success of a nation will critically depend
upon its ability to address such sweeping demographic changes
effectively though policies and programs. The increase in population
due to high birth rate is definitely affecting the reduction of
multidimensional poverty in many of the states. With limited
resources and low levels of income, reduction of population growth
will be beneficial to reduce the cost of resources, personnel and the
infrastructure required to meet the millennium development goals.
References
District Statistical Report, Rajasthan, 2012, GoR, Jaipur.
Human Development Report 2008, GoR, Jaipur.
Millennium Development Goals, 2004, IIMA, Ahmadabad.
Reports of Census Department Report 2011, Rajasthan, GoI.
Reports of Population Foundation of India, New Delhi.
UNDP Human Development Report.
United Nations, World Population Prospects.
81

Chapter-4
Population Explosion Menace: An Overview
Malti P. Sharma
Associate Professor (English), S.K. Govt. (P.G.) College,
Sikar (Rajasthan), India
"Which is the greater danger - nuclear warfare or the population
explosion? The latter absolutely! To bring about nuclear war,
someone has to DO something; someone has to press a button. To
bring about destruction by overcrowding, mass starvation, anarchy,
the destruction of our most cherished values-there is no need to do
anything. We need only do nothing except what comes naturally -
and breed. And how easy it is to do nothing." -- Isaac Asimov
Population Growth is a Voluntary Inclination, Not an
Inescapable Force of Nature
There have been millions of discussions and debates regarding the
size of population that should exist. It has been observed all round
the globe that the population is exploding because the discussions
being held are restricted to theoretical concerns. It will be controlled
only by adopting practical measures, because population growth is a
matter of choice not an unrestricted force of nature. If we wish to, we
can keep our population at sustainable levels. If we don't, the forces
of biology, technology and economics will keep us growing. Our
descendants will have to pay a heavy price for our negligence or
ignorance because they will not see the stars at night. They will not
have the flourishing lifestyles we can aim at today. We have pretty
sufficient amounts of farms and forests for ourselves today but they
82

will experience wasteland because of our recklessness. In the words
of Sir David Attenborough, Instead of controlling the environment
for the benefit of the population, maybe we should control the
population to ensure the survival of our environment.
Major Population Concerns to be taken Care of
The planet we inherit is crowded with a thick population. More than 7
billion people currently inhabit it. Statistical analysis shows that
every year about 135 million people are born and 55 million people
die, adding 80 million to our global population. This amounts to
population equal to one United States every 4 years, or 1 billion
more every 12 years. Almost half of the global population is under
the age of 25 which is the prime productive age. Therefore their
decisions during their reproductive years will play a vital role in
deciding whether we have 6 billion or 14 billion people in the
forthcoming decade.
This may sound very insignificant but the young adults affect
the population graph directly and substantially. As Carl Sagan has
said, As agonizing a disease as cancer is, I do not think it can be
said that our civilization is threatened by it. But a very plausible
case can be made that our civilization is fundamentally threatened
by the lack of adequate fertility control. Exponential increases of
population will dominate any arithmetic increases, even those
brought about by heroic technological initiatives, in the availability of
food and resources, as Malthus long ago realized. During a normal
routine life, each person uses and exhausts far more land than the
few feet they actually occupy. This use may be direct or indirect. We
83

use cropland for agriculture, grazing land for meat and dairy
products from cattle, oceans for fishing and other forms of seafood
and oxygen generation. Forests are used for lumber and carbon
appropriation whereas developed land is used for occupancy,
transportation and trade. This is our Global trace of how the average
population uses land for its sustenance and livelihood. An average
man uses almost 10 to 20 acres of land to pursue his normal life.
This use may be direct or indirect.
Co-relation between Population Size and Socio-ecological
Menace
Problems that arise due to population explosion are varied in
intensity. Some are very simple and lucid whereas others are great
in intensity and hazardous by nature.
The first and foremost repercussion of population explosion is
the paucity of adequate amount of food for all and safe and
pure drinking water. This tends to be a life threatening
situation.
The existing population exhausts all the natural sources of
energy. Forest resources like firewood and oil are being
consumed at a fast speed giving rise to scarcity on a large
scale. Firewood is fast diminishing whereas the level of natural
oil is receding with utmost rapidity.
Excessive use of energy is resulting in global warming which is
the main cause of dislocation of people from one place to the
other. The disrupted ecosystem is creating a lot of disturbance
in the lives of people and they are changing places to make
84

life more compatible for themselves and their future
generations.
The increase in population is engulfing the living area on land.
This is consequently resulting in the stretching of the area
towards hitherto unoccupied surface areas. Man is forced to
extend towards precarious areas and put his life to great risk.
Many people are moving towards unsafe territories which are
prone to frequent natural disasters like floods, storms and
other natural calamities. The tsunami washed away population
on a large scale from the coasts of countries like Japan and
Pakistan thereby proving the fact that increased population is
irrationally stretching itself towards risky peripheries and
inviting threat to itself. Many areas which were previously
unoccupied have now become crowded in less than a few
decades time.
Population growth is closely followed by social problems of a
grave nature. Most frequent of these are poverty and
inequality. This widens the gap between the rich and the poor.
The affluent people can afford to pay the price for the limited
resources available on the earth whereas the poor cant afford
even the nominal resources. The population explosion shows
a direct effect on the limited natural resources and their
consumption limitations in the different strata of economically
different classes. When urbanization spreads and expands its
area, it eats into the farmland, ranch areas and forest land on
a large scale.
Explosion makes living places crowded and congested.
Resultantly, the movements are badly blocked. People waste
85

a good deal of time getting out of the ruckus. A thinner
population would have saved all the trouble.
Population, when unchecked, increases in a geometrical ratio.
Subsistence increases only in an arithmetical ratio. A slight
acquaintance with numbers will show the immensity of the first
power in comparison of the second. -Thomas Robert Malthus
The only Solution to the Problem is to find Appropriate
Alternatives and Implement Them
There was a time when things were beyond the comprehension of
the most intelligent men because many scientific and social issues
were lying unattended. Fortunately, we have overcome this dilemma
because of the huge awareness boom that has taken place over the
decades and our potential to fight out the jumbled up predicaments
has increased. We are in a better situation to understand the things
and reach solutions fast. Martin Luther King Jr. said: "Unlike plagues
of the dark ages or contemporary diseases we do not understand,
the modern plague of overpopulation is soluble by means we have
discovered and with resources we possess. What is lacking is not
sufficient knowledge of the solution but universal consciousness of
the gravity of the problem and education of the billions who are its
victim." This endorses the fact that with the increase in awareness,
we can confidently find ways of coming out of a problem which will
improve the quality of life of all living beings unanimously.
86

Solutions to Population Explosion Menace
Women Empowerment and Sensible Considerations:
In the earlier days women had a limited responsibility sphere which
revolved round the domestic duties and other household concerns.
This enabled them to give birth to a good number of children and
pay a lot of attention on their upbringing. Over the years the scene
has changed drastically. Now women are in jobs and have
developed a professional approach to life and their own existence.
Hence they prefer to build their professional careers properly before
settling down on the family way. They would like to use
contraceptives to postpone conception for a couple of years.
Sometimes they are not aware of the right type of contraceptive
methods. If this awareness is spread widely, it can play a vital role in
controlling population. The second predicament is the social hitch of
women in obtaining contraceptives. This should be made socially
viable so that more and more women are encouraged to use them.
Thirdly, the medical pros and cons of contraceptives become very
challenging. If adequate support is provided by healthcare centers,
then apprehensions can be overcome and they can be used largely
and fearlessly. Proper service and accurate scientific awareness will
play a vital role in enabling women to take charge of family
expansion decisions, thereby controlling population substantially.
Educating Women for Rational Family Decisions:
The advancement of education in women is very important. When
they contribute to the economic infrastructure of the family, it results
in an automatic reduction of poverty. Educated women have a
preference for smaller families. The per capita income helps them to
87

spend more on every single child because there are lesser number
of claimants on the limited family exchequer. They can live
respectably on the limited income in comparison to the larger family
with too many children, all unable to live up to their minimum
financial requirements. Educated women are free from the concept
of gender inequality. Uneducated women are brainwashed with the
idea of the essential requirement of a male child. In pursuit of a male
child, they give birth to half a dozen of female children. On the
contrary, educated women think and decide healthily. They are the
girl child with utmost care and give equal opportunities of growth and
d development to her instead of heaping too many girls in the family
and overpopulating it. In this way, poverty is automatically curtailed.
Encouraging Women to Take Up Jobs:
Women in job are very rational and balanced. They understand a lot
many things in the right perspective as compared to the jobless
ones. They conceptualize the family structure on realistic terms and
prefer to have small and controlled families which they can handle
easily. Many jobs make it mandatory for their employees to have
only one or two children. This way, they have small and properly
rare families. Children brought up in such families become very
good parents and themselves believe in small and controlled
families. The professional women are very efficient in maintaining
their families.
Environmental Awareness and Rational Decisions:
The existing population should be made aware of the current
situation of population with relation to the available natural
resources. Rapid depletion of these resources will result in
88

starvation for all in future. People, who realize the fact that
environment has its own limitations and we should use our
resources judiciously, also know that too many stomachs will
aggravate the situation of depravity. Population control thus
becomes incumbent.
Effect of Overpopulation on Social Factors:
Overpopulation disturbs the social level of each and every person.
On the other hand a controlled population enhances the social life of
all. Therefore, it is very essential to take into consideration the social
factors that are vital to our life and how they are affected by the
population explosion. Such awareness will encourage the masses to
opt for smaller and socially viable families.
Social Pressures and Changing Mindsets:
A few decades ago, heads of the families were recognized by the
size of their families. The trend was to take a deep plunge and bring
forth many children. This is no more a social trend. If the new
generation is not inclined to have too many children, they should not
be brought into pressure in this matter. Many couples prefer to
remain childless for personal or professional reasons. If they decide
not to have children and yet remain happy, they should not be
brought under social pressure to decide on contrary lines. Their
mindset should be respected and their individuality valued.
Economic Realities and Population Growth:
The virtual economic situation of the family has to be properly
considered before planning the family. It is easy to bring a child into
this world but it is very difficult to understand that a single child
requires all the basic facilities to live a satisfactory life. Every
89

requirement is directly related to the economic condition of the
family. On a larger scale, more the number of people, more the
economic transactions. Therefore, one should not be blind to the
economic realities while deciding the size of the family. Slower
population growth is part of a 'virtuous circle' that can help promote
equality. Where family planning is available, where couples are
confident their children will survive, where girls go to school, where
young women and men have economic opportunity, couples will
have healthier and smaller families and the gaps that divide men
and women, rich and poor, will diminish. says Laurie Mazur.
Similarly, Sir Peter Scott founder of WWF has correctly said, "If the
human population of the world continues to increase at its current
rate, there will soon be no room for either wild life or wild
placesBut I believe that sooner or later man will learn to limit his
overpopulation. Then he will be much more concerned with optimum
rather than maximum, quality rather than quantity, and will recover
the need within himself for contact with wilderness and wild nature."
References
Carl Sagan, From 'In Praise of Science and Technology', in Broca's
Brain: Reflections on the Romance of Science (1975, 2011), 43
http://populationmatters.org/making-case/quotations/
http://www.doonething.org/quotes/population-quotes.html
Laurie Mazur, A Pivotal Moment: Population, Justice & The
Environmental Challenge, 2010: page 11
Thomas Robert Malthus, An Essay on the Principle of Population
(1798). In E. A. Wrigley and David Souden (eds.), The Works of
Thomas Malthus (1986), Vol. 1, 9.

90

Chapter-5
Declining Sex Ratio in India
Vibhuti Patel
Professor & Head, Department of Economics,
SNDT Womens University, Mumbai, India
Overview
Global comparisons of sex ratios shows that sex ratios in Europe,
North America, Caribbean, Central Asia, the poorest regions of sub
Saharan Africa are favourable to women as these countries neither
kill/ neglect girls nor do they use New Reproductive Technologies
(NRTs) for production of sons. Deficit of women in India since 1901
is a result of violence and discrimination against women over the life
cycle. From womb to tomb- female infanticide, ante natal sex
selection, neglect of girl child in terms of health and nutrition, child
marriage and repeated pregnancy are taking heavy toll of girls lives.

Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques Act was enacted in 1994 as a
result of pressure created by Forum against Sex-determination and
Sex-pre-selection. But it was not implemented. After another decade
of campaigning by womens rights organisations and public interest
litigation filed by CEHAT, MASUM and Dr. Sabu George, The Pre-
natal Diagnostics Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse)
Amendment Act, 2002 received the assent of the President of India
on 17-1-2003. The Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation
and Prevention of Misuse) Amendment Rules, 2003 have activated
the implementation machinery to curb nefarious practices
contributing for missing girls.
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There is a need to clarify the gender-just position from the anti-
abortionist position. Women should have a right to their bodies and
unconditional access to abortion is not in conflict with the claim that
sex selection and sex selective abortions are unethical. It is not the
abortion which makes the act unethical, but the idea of sex
selection.
We have a great task in front of us i.e. to change the mindset
of doctors and clients, to create a socio-cultural milieu that is
conducive for girl childs survival and monitor the activities of
commercial minded techno-docs thriving on sexist prejudices. Then
only we will be able to halt the process of declining sex ratio
resulting into the phenomenon of missing girls. To stop a gender
imbalanced society we will have to convince doctors and clients,
state and civil society that Daughters are not for slaughter.
Introduction
Discriminatory abortions of female foetuses and selection of male at
a preconception stage contributes to more and more missing girls.
Legacy of continuing declining sex ratio in India in the history of
Census of India has taken new turn with widespread use of NRTs in
India. NRTs are based on principle of selection of the desirable and
rejection of the unwanted. In India, the desirable is the baby boy
and the unwanted is the baby girl. The result is obvious. India had
deficit of 60 lakh girls in age-group of 0-6 years, when it entered the
new millennium. As per the Census of India, child (0-6 age group)
sex ratios were 971, 945, 927 and 914 for 1981, 1991, 2001 and
2011 respectively. Now, it is officially accepted that, this deplorable
scenario is a result of the widespread use of SD and SP tests
92

throughout the country. The Census results of 2011 have revealed
that Child sex ratio (0-6 years) in India is 914. Due to pro-active
intervention of the state, womens organisations and health activists,
increasing trend in the child sex ratio (0-6) is seen in Punjab,
Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Mizoram and
A&N Islands. In all remaining 27 States/UTs, the child sex ratio
show decline over Census 2001. Mizoram has the highest child sex
ratio (0-6 years) of 971 followed by Meghalaya with 970. Haryana is
at the bottom with ratio of 830 followed by Punjab with 846. All India
literacy rate has gone up from 64.83 per cent in 2001 to 74.04 per
cent in 2011 showing an increase of 9.21 percentage points. The
male and female literacy rates in 2011 have gone up 82% and 65%
from the same in 2001 of 76% and 54% respectively. The increase
in the gender ratio, from 933 to 940 women per 1,000 men, got
drowned in the alarming decline in the number of girls under 6
years: from 927 to 914 per 1,000 boys. In some states, that ratio
went below 800 girls per 1,000 boys. The census figures showed
that while the child sex ratio in rural areas is 918 girls per 1,000
boys, the figure is 904 girls per 1,000 boys in cities and urban areas.
0 to 6 years child sex ratio in India is even worse than sex ratio of
total population. 2011 census in India reveals the true fact of gender
discourse in India. Male female sex ratio of children under 6 years of
age is just 914 female children per 1000 male child. This dropped
1.40% during the last decade while allover sex ratio raised 0.75% in
India.
As of census 2011 top three states for child sex ratio are
Mizoram has the highest child sex ratio of 971 girls per 1000 boys
93

followed by Meghalaya with 970 girls per 1000 boys and Andaman &
Nicobar Islands with 966 girls per 1000 boys. Though Meghalaya
has a negative growth of 0.31% for child sex ratio, the state still
sands on the second position. Bottom three states for child sex ratio
in India are Haryana with only 830 girls per 1000 boys. Next is
Punjab with 846 girls per 1000 boys and Jammu & Kashmir with 859
girls per 1000 boys. Punjab registered the highest growth of 6.02%
in child sex ratio during the decade. Unfortunately Jammu &
Kashmir has a whopping -8.71% negative growth and that bring the
sex ratio from 941 to just 859. In last 10 years only 6 states and 2
union territories out of 35 states/union territories in India have a
positive growth in child sex ratio. Only 4 out of these 8 states/UTs
have a change of above 1%. Those are Punjab with 6.02%,
Chandigarh (UT) with 2.60%, Haryana with 1.34% and Himachal
Pradesh with 1.12 percent.
94

Source: Census of India, 2011.
Interplay of Patriarchy and NRTs
Female infanticide was practiced among selected communities,
while the abuse of NRTs has become a generalised phenomenon
encompassing all communities irrespective of caste, class, religious,
educational and ethnic backgrounds. Demographers, population
control lobby, anthropologists, economists, legal experts, medical
fraternity and feminists are divided in their opinions about gender
implications of NRTs. NRTs, in the context of patriarchal control over
womens fertility and commercial interests are posing major threat to
95

womens dignity and bodily integrity. The supporters of sex selective
abortions put forward the argument of Womens Choice as if
womens choices are made in social vacuum. In this context, the
crucial question is- Can we allow our girls to become an endangered
species?
Asian countries are undergoing a demographic transition of
low death and birth rates in their populations. The nation-states in
South Asia are vigorously promoting small family norms. India has
adopted two-child norm and China has imposed one child per
family rule. Sex ratios in Europe, North America, Caribbean, Central
Asia, the poorest region- sub Saharan Africa are favourable to
women as these countries neither kill / neglect girls nor do they use
(New Reproductive Technologies) NRTs for production of sons.
Only in the South Asia the sex ratios are adverse for women as
Table 1 reveals. The lowest sex ratios are found in China and India.
Table 1. Women per 100 men
Europe & North America 105
Latin America 100
Caribbean 103
Sub Saharan Africa 102
South East Asia 100
Central Asia 102
South Asia 95
China 92
India 94
Source: The Worlds Women- Trends and Statistics, Dept of Economic and
Social Affairs, United Nations, NY, 2010
96

There is an official admission to the fact that it is increasingly
becoming a common practice across the country to determine the
sex of the unborn child or foetus and eliminate it if the foetus is
found to be a female. This practice is referred to as pre-birth
elimination of females (PBEF). PBEF involves two stages:
determination of the sex of the foetus and induced termination if the
foetus is not of the desired sex. It is believed that one of the
significant contributors to the adverse child sex ratio in India is the
practice of female foetuses. (UNDP 2003)
Historical Legacy of Declining Sex Ratio in India
Historically, most Asian countries have had strong son-preference.
The South Asian countries have declining sex ratios. In the
beginning of the 20
th
century, the sex ratio in the colonial India was
972 women per 1000 men, it declined by 8, -11, -5 and 5 points in
1911, 1921, 1931 and 1941 respectively. During 1951 census it
improved by +1 point. During 1961, 1971, 1981 and 1991 it declined
by 5, -11, -4, -7 points respectively. Even though the overall sex
ratio improved by +6 points, decline in the juvenile sex ratio (0-6 age
group) is of 18 points which is alarmingly high. (See Table 2) Prof.
Amartya Kumar Sen, in his world famous article MISSING
WOMEN, has statistically proved that during the last century, 100
million women have been missing in South Asia due to
discrimination leading to death experienced by them from womb to
tomb in their life cycles.
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Table 2. Sex Ratio in India, 1901 to 2011
Year. Number of Women per 1000 Men Decadal
Variation
1901 972 -
1911 964 - 8
1921 955 -11
1931 950 -5
1941 945 -5
1951 946 +1
1961 941 - 5
1971 930 -11
1981 934 - 4
1991 927 -7
2001 933 +6
2011 940 +7
Source: Census of India, 2011
Table 3. Demographic Profile
Population of India 121.0 crores
Males 62.4 crores
Females 58.6 crores
Deficit of women in 2011 3.8 crores
Sex ratio (no. of women per 1000
men)
940
Source: Census of India, 2011.
Dynamics of Missing Women in the Contemporary India
The declining juvenile sex ratio is the most distressing factor
reflecting low premium accorded to a girl child in India. As per the
Census of India, juvenile sex ratios were 971, 945 and 927 for 1981,
1991 and 2001 respectively. In 2001, India had 158 million infants
and children, of which 82 million were males and 76 million, were
98

females. There was a deficit of 6 million female infants and girls.
This is a result of the widespread use of sex determination and sex
pre-selection tests throughout the country (including in Kerala),
along with high rates of female infanticide in the BIMARU states,
rural Tamilnadu and Gujarat. Millions of girls have been missing in
the post independence period. According to UNFPA (2003), 70
districts in 16 states and Union Territories recorded more than a
50point decline in the child sex ratio in the last decade.
To stop the abuse of advanced scientific techniques for
selective elimination of female foetuses through sex -determination,
the government of India passed the PNDT Act in 1994. But the
techno-docs based in the metropolis, urban and semi-urban centers
and the parents desirous of begetting only sons have subverted the
act.
Sex determination and sex pre-selection, scientific techniques
to be utilized only when certain genetic conditions are anticipated,
are used in India and among Indians settled abroad to eliminate
female babies. People of all class, religious, and caste backgrounds
use sex determination and sex pre selection facilities. The media,
scientists, medical profession, government officials, womens groups
and academics have campaigned either for or against their use for
selective elimination of female foetuses/ embryo. Male supremacy,
population control and moneymaking are the concerns of those who
support the tests and the survival of women is the concern of those
who oppose the tests. The Forum against Sex Determination and
Sex Pre Selection had made concerned efforts to fight against the
abuse of these scientific techniques during the 1980s.
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Amniocentesis became popular in the last twenty-five years
though earlier they were conducted in government hospitals on an
experimental basis. Now, this test is conducted mainly for SD and
thereafter for extermination of female foetus through induced
abortion carried out in private clinics, private hospitals, or
government hospitals. This perverse use of modern technology is
encouraged and boosted by money minded private practitioners who
are out to make Indian women male-child- producing machines. As
per the most conservative estimate made by a research team in
Bombay, sponsored by the Womens Centre, based on their survey
of six hospitals and clinics; in Bombay alone, 10 women per day
underwent the test in 1982 (Abraham 1982).
This survey also revealed the hypocrisy of the non-violent,
vegetarian, anti-abortion management of the citys reputable
Harkisandas Hospital, which conducted antenatal sex determination
tests till the official ban on the test, was clamped in 1988 by the
Government of Maharashtra. The hospitals handout declared the
test to be humane and beneficial. The hospital had outpatient
facilities, which were so overcrowded during 1978-1994 that couples
desirous of the SD test had to book for the test one month in
advance. As its Jain management did not support abortion, the
hospital recommended women to various other hospitals and clinics
for abortion and asked them to bring back the aborted female
foetuses for further research.
Scenario during the 1980s
During 1980s, in other countries, the SD tests were very expensive
and under strict government control, while in India the SD test could
100

be done for Rs. 70 to Rs. 500 (about US $6 to $40). Hence, not only
upper class but even working class people could avail themselves of
this facility. A survey of several slums in Bombay showed that many
women had undergone the test and after learning that the foetus
was female, had an abortion in the 18
th
or 19
th
week of pregnancy.
Their argument was that it was better to spend Rs. 200 or even Rs.
800 now than to give birth to a female baby and spend thousands of
rupees for her marriage when she grew up.
The popularity of this test attracted young employees of
Larsen and Tubero, a multinational engineering industry. As a result,
medical bills showing the amount spent on the test were submitted
by the employees for their reimbursement by the company. The
welfare department was astonished to find that these employees
were treating sex determination tests so casually. They organized a
two-day seminar in which doctors, social workers, and
representatives of womens organisations as well as the family
planning Association were invited. One doctor who carried on a
flourishing business in SD stated in a seminar that from Cape-
Comorin to Kashmir people phoned him at all hours of the day to
find out about the test. Even his six-year-old son had learnt how to
ask relevant questions on the phone such as, Is the pregnancy 16
weeks old, etc (Abraham 1985).
Three sociologists conducted micro-research in Bijnor district
of Uttar Pradesh. Intensive field work in two villages over a period of
a year, and an interview survey of 301 recently delivered women
drawn from randomly selected villages in two community developed
blocks adjacent to Bijnor town convinced them of the fact that
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Clinical services offering amniocentesis to inform women of the sex
of their foetuses have appeared in North India in the past 10 years.
They fit into cultural patterns in which girls are devalued (Jeffery
1984). According to the 1981 Census, the sex ratio of Uttar Pradesh
and Bijnor district respectively, were 886 and 863 girls per 1000
boys. The researchers also discovered that female infanticide
practiced in Bijnor district until 1900, had been limited to Rajputs and
Jats who considered the birth of a daughter as a loss of prestige. By
contrast, the abuse of amniocentesis for the purpose of female
foeticide is now prevalent in all communities.
In Delhi, the All India Institute of Medical Science began
conducting a sample survey of amniocentesis in 1974 to find out
about foetal genetic conditions and easily managed to enroll 11000
pregnant women as volunteers for its research (Mazumdar 1994).
Main interest of these volunteers was to know sex of the foetus.
Once the results were out, those women who were told that they
were carrying female fetuses, demanded abortion (Chhachhi &
Satyamala 1983). This experience motivated the health minister to
ban SD tests for sex selection in all government run hospitals in
1978. Since then, Private sector started expanding its tentacles in
this field so rapidly that by early eighties Amniocentesis and other
sex selection tests became bread and butter for many
gynecologists.
A sociological research project in Punjab in 1982 selected, in
its sample, 50% men and 50% women as respondents for their
questionnaire on the opinions of men and women regarding SD
tests. Among male respondents were businessmen and white-collar
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employees of the income group of Rs. 1000/- to Rs. 3500/- per
month, while female respondents were mainly housewives. All of
them knew about the test and found it useful. (Singh & Jain 1983).
Why not? Punjab was the first to start the commercial use of this test
as early as in 1979. It was the advertisement in the newspaper
regarding the New Bhandari Ante-Natal SD Clinics in Amritsar that
first activised the press and womens groups do denounce the
practice.
A committee to examine the issues of sex determination tests
and female foeticide, formed at the initiative of the government of
Maharashtra in 1986, appointed a gynecologist, Dr. Sanjeev
Kulkarni (1986) of the Foundation of Research in Community Health
to investigate the prevalence of this test in Bombay. Forty-two
gynecologists were interviewed by him. His findings disclosed that
about 84% of the gynaecologists interviewed were performing
amniocentesis for SD tests. These 42 doctors were found to perform
on-an-average 270-amniocentesis tests per month. Some of them
had been performing the tests for 10-12 years. But the majority of
them started doing so only in the last five years. Women from all
classes, but predominantly middle class and lower class of women,
opted for the test. About 29% of the doctors said that up to 10% of
the women who came for the test already had one or more sons. A
majority of doctors feel that by providing this service they were doing
humanitarian work. Some doctors feet that the test was an effective
measure of population control. With the draft of the 8
th
Five-Year
Plan, the Government of India aimed to achieve a Net Reproduction
Rate of one (i.e. the replacement of the mother by only one
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daughter). For this objective SD and SP were seen as handy; the
logic being a lesser number of women means less reproduction
(Kulkarni 1986).
Recent studies have revealed that, in South Asia, we have
inherited the cultural legacy of strong son-preference among all
communities, religious groups and citizens of varied socio-economic
backgrounds. Patrilocality, patrilineage and patriarchal attitudes
manifest in, women and girls having subordinate position in the
family, discrimination in property rights and low-paid or unpaid jobs.
Womens work of cooking, cleaning and caring is treated as non-
work. Hence, women are perceived as burden (Patel 2003). At the
time of marriage, dowry is given by the brides side to the grooms
side for shouldering the burden of bride. In many communities
female babies are killed immediately after birth either by her mother
or by elderly women of the households to relieve themselves from
the life of humiliation, rejection and suffering. In the most prosperous
state of Punjab, the conventional patriarchal preference of male
children leads to thousands of cases of sex selective
abortions.(Patel 2003 June) Recently a man drowned and killed his
8-year old daughter and also tried to kill his wife for having borne
him the girl child. According to the Chandigarh (Punjab) based
Institute for Development and Communication, during 2002-2003
every ninth household in the state acknowledged sex selective
abortion with the help of ante-natal sex determination tests (The
Asian Age, Mumbai, 25-4-2003).
Recently, Voluntary Health Association of India has published
its research report based on fieldwork in Kurukshetra in Haryana,
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Fatehgarh Sahib in Punjab and Kangra in Himachal Pradesh that
have worst child sex ratio as per 2001 Census. The study surveyed
1401 households in villages, interviewed 999 married women, 72
doctors and 64 Panchayat members. It revealed that The
immediate cause for the practice of female foeticide is that
daughters are perceived as economic and social burden to the
family due to several factors such as dowry, the danger to her
chastity and worry about getting her married.(VHAI 2003)
In this context, commercial minded techno-docs and laboratory
owners have been using new reproductive technologies for femicide
for over two and half decades. Among the educated families,
adoption of small family norm means minimum one or two sons in
the family. They can do without daughter. The propertied class do
not desire daughter/daughters because after marriage of the
daughter, the son-in-law may demand share in property. The
property fewer classes dispose off daughters to avoid dowry
harassment. But they dont mind accepting dowry for their sons.
Birth of a son is perceived as an opportunity for upward mobility
while birth of a daughter is believed to result in downward economic
mobility. Though stronghold of this ideology was the North India, it is
increasingly gaining ground all over India.
Overall literacy rates in all states and Union territories have
gone up as compared with the 1991 census. Even states and Union
Territories with high female literacy-Goa, Delhi, Mizoram,
Pondicherry, Lakshadweep, Kerala, Andaman & Nicobar, Daman &
Deo, Chandigarh have experienced decline in Child Sex Ratio. In a
micro-study of Kolkata, the Census Report observes, Out of 141
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municipal wards, the percentage of child population has declined in
134 wards since 1991. More importantly, the child sex ratio has
declined sharply, from a high of 1011 females per 1000 male
children in 1951 to abysmal 923 in 2001. This is the lowest child sex
ratio for Kolkata in the last 50 years. A major cause for the decline is
sex selective foeticide (Sen, V. 2002). Rates of female foeticide
have increased along with the increase in female literacy rates
(Chattopadhyay 2003).
This neo-classical logic of Law of Demand and Supply does
not apply to the complex social forces where patriarchy controls
sexuality, fertility and labour of women without any respect to her
bodily integrity. Hence, the real life experiences speak to the
contrary. In fact, shortage of women in Haryana, Punjab and the
BIMARU states have escalated forced abduction and kidnap of girls,
forced polyandry, gang rape and child-prostitution.
It has been noted that the fertility rates in Kerala have declined
over the past few decades and currently the Crude Birth Rates
(CBR) for the State is as low as 17.9 per thousand population in
1997 (RGI 1998). The Infant Mortality Rates (IMR) is also one of the
lowest experienced among Indian States, about 12 per thousand live
births again in 1997 (RGI 1998). The indicators of human well
being in Kerala are among the best in relation to the different states
of India. With modernisation and changing life styles wrought by
both external migration and incomes from remittances there has
been a qualitative change in the lives of the people. There has been
a proliferation of private health care in the state and this in addition
to the demand driven factors has contributed to the better access to
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health care in the state. One of the factors associated with the
proliferation of health care facilities, especially in the private sector,
has been the improvement in the availability of medical diagnostics.
Medical personnel have also sought the use of such facilities not
only to improve diagnostics, but also to avoid the complications of
expensive litigation in the light of the inclusion of private medical
practice within the preview of Consumer Protection Act, 1986. All
this has resulted in the increasing trend of use of medical diagnostic
facilities and increasing the cost of health care for the consumer. A
micro study in Trivandrum city found that the known number of ultra-
sonographs in the city alone was about 37, of which only 6 were in
the public sector (Sunita and Elamon 2000).
NRTs and Women
NRTs perform 4 types of functions. In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) and
subsequent embryo transfer, GIFT (Gamete Intra Fallopian
Transfer), ZIFT and cloning assist reproduction (Nandedkar and
Rajadhyaksha 1995). In Mumbai girls are selling their eggs for Rs.
20000. Infertility clinics in Mumbai receive 4-5 calls per day from
young women who want to donate their eggs (The Asian Age, 11-6-
2004).
Contraceptive Technologies prevent conception and birth.
Amniocentesis, chorion villai Biopsy, niddling, ultrasound and
imaging are used for prenatal diagnosis (Patel 2000). Foetal cells
are collected by the technique of amniocentesis and CVB. Gene
technologies play crucial role through genetic manipulation of animal
and plant kingdoms (Agnihotri 2000). Genomics is the science of
improving the human population through controlled breeding,
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encompasses the elimination of disease, disorder, or undesirable
traits, on the one hand, and genetic enhancement on the other. It is
pursued by nations through state policies and programmes (Heng
Leng 2002).
It is important to examine scientific, social, juridical, ethical,
and economic and health consequences of the NRTs. NRTs have
made womens bodies, a site for scientific experimentations.
New Reproductive Technologies in the neo-colonial context of
the third world economies and the unequal division of labour
between the first and the third world economies have created a
bizarre scenario and cut throat competition among body chasers,
clone chasers, intellect chasers and supporters of femicide. There
are mainly three aspects to NRT -assisted reproduction, genetic or
pre-natal diagnosis and prevention of conception and birth. It is
important to understand the interaction among NRT developers,
providers, users, non-users, potential users, policy makers, and
representatives of international organisations (FINNRAGE 2004).
Assisted Reproduction
The focus of assisted reproduction experts is on the healthy women
who are forced to menstruate at any age backed by hazardous
hormones and steroids. The processual dimensions involve- Use of
counsellors, technodocs and researchers to know the details of
personal life of women to delegitimise victim's experience. Utter
disregard for woman's pain, carcinogenic and mutogenic
implications, vaginal warts, extreme back pain, arthritis, sclerosis,
heavy bleeding, growth of hair on face, nose, chin, cheeks, joint pain
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associated with uterine contractions for production of egg-cells are
dismissed as Mood-Swings. Network between stake groups has
only one goal- impregnating women for embryo production which in
the technodocs language is assisted reproduction. Embryos and
foetuses are used for cure of Parkinsons disease among influential
and wealthy aging patriarchs. Side- effects on women's health are
totally ignored. Growth of moustache, deformation of teeth and
dietary requirements are totally ignored.
Political Economy of Assisted Reproduction
By using phallocentric and misogynist psychologists, psychiatrists,
state and the politicians (ever ready for plastic smile and neat
presentation) have found a ruthless weapon to cretinise,
dehumanise, degrade, humiliate, terrorise, intimidate, and cabbagify
women. Through advertisement in newspapers, poor/needy women
are asked to lend their womb for IVF on payment of money. Through
websites rich clients are sought.
Selective Elimination of Female Foetuses and Selection of Male
at a Preconception Stage
Rapid advances in the field of new reproductive technologies has
created a situation where there has been a breakdown of the moral
consensus (Malik 2003) with respect to medical ethics and gender
justice. Techno-docs refuse the see larger contexts, future
implications and gender implications.
Sharp remark of the Member Secretary of Maharashtra State
Commission for Women represents the concerns of womens rights
organisations in these words, The attempt at legitimising the
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vetoing of female life even before it appears, is worse than the
earlier abortion related violence in the womb, precisely because it is
so sanitised and relies on seemingly sane arguments against the
policing of human rights in a democracy in the intensely personal
matter of procreation. This needs to be resisted at all cost.
(Thekkekara 2001)
Diametrically opposite views come from Dr. Anniruddha
Malpani, the most articulate proponent of sex-pre-selection tests.
When asked, Is it ethical to selectively discard female embryos? he
said, Where does the question of ethics come in here? Who are we
hurting? Unborn girls? (Benerjee 2001)
My questions are: Can we allow Indian women to become an
endangered species? Shall we be bothered only about endangered
wild life- tigers, Lions, so on & so forth? Massive resources are
invested in OPERATION TIGER. When shall we start OPERATION
GIRL CHILD?
Population Control Policies
There is a serious need to examine Population policies and Global
funding from the perspective of statisation of Medical Market and
marketisation of the nation states in the context of newly emerging
culture of daily changes of sponsors. Financial economists have
reigned supreme to generate moment-to-moment existence among
population so that they can get an unending supply of cannon fodder
for the NRT experimentation. Budgetary provision on health has a
hidden agenda of NRT. The victims are not given scientific details
and by labelling them as parasites and beneficiaries, their consent is
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not sought. It has burdened women with backbreaking miseries. The
nation states have been coached to implement the use of NRT in
Secrecy -in line with the programmes executed by G8 in Thailand,
Indonesia, Philippines and Bangladesh. To achieve population
stabilisation, 2.1% growth rate of population and NRR -net
reproduction rate of 1(i.e. mother should be replaced by 1 daughter
only) are envisaged. These have inherent sexist bias because it
desires birth of 1 daughter and 1.1 sons. Those who support sex-
determination (SD) and sex-pre-selection (SP) view these tests as
helpful to achieve NRR1. Recent study of Haryana revealed that out
of 160 mothers and grandmothers interviewed by AIIMS study team,
40 % supported SD on the ground that it contributed to population
control and prevented families from having series of females in an
attempt that a male was born (Bardia et al 2004).
This will further widen the gap between number of girls and
number of boys in the country .As it is 100 million women have been
missing due to femicide (female infanticide, ill treatment and
discrimination leading to higher mortality rate among women/girls in
the first three quarters of 19
th
century and in the last quarter of 19
th
century due to misuse of SD and SP) over a period of 1901 to 2001.
Gendered Power-relations and NRT
Search for "perfect' baby through genetic screening, ante natal sex
determination tests, pre-implantation diagnosis, commercialization of
sperm and /or egg donation, commercialization of motherhood and
hormonal contraceptives raise many socio-legal and ethical
questions.
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Division of labour among women to control women's sexuality,
fertility and labour by utilising homophobia and pitting women of
different race, religions, age and looks to suit the interest of NRT will
serve the interest of patriarchy, medical mafia, pharmaceutical
industries, scientists, and technodocs at the cost of vulnerable
human beings as raw material. If the NGOs don't want to get
criminalised, they must dissociate from NRTs and divert the funding
for public health, library, education, skill building, and employment
generation as a long-term investment and channelise their energies
towards formation of self-help groups.
It is important to understand that reproduction has an
individual and a social dimension. While examining birth control
practices, an individual is a unit of analysis. While examining the
population control policies we have to analyse pros & cons of NRTs,
national governments, population control organisations,
multinational pharmaceutical industries, public and private funded
bodies, medical researchers and health workers who shape
women's "choices"- women's autonomy or control at micro and
macro levels. Thus choices are not made in vacuum. NRT as a
choice for some women (educated career women) can become
coercion for others (powerless and less articulate women). Hence it
is important to be vigilant about power relations determined by race,
age, class and gender while examining implications of NRT on
different stake groups.
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Informed Consent and Medical Malpractice
Power relations in the medical market favour the technodocs and
the clients are not given full details of the line of treatment and its
consequences. Respect for diversity, adoption of child/children is
a far simpler and more humane solution than subjecting women to
undergo infertility treatment. Obsession about creation of designer
baby boys has made development agenda subsidiary.
Science in Service of Femicide
Advances in medical science have resulted in sex-determination and
sex pre-selection techniques such as sonography, fetoscopy,
needling, chorion villi biopsy (CVB) and the most popular,
amniocentesis and ultrasound have become household names not
only in the urban India but also in the rural India. Indian metropolis
are the major centres for sex determination (SD) and sex pre-
selection (SP) tests with sophisticated laboratories; the techniques
of amniocentesis and ultrasound are used even in the clinics of
small towns and cities of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar
Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu
and Rajasthan. A justification for this has been aptly put by a team
of doctors of Harkisandas Narottamdas Hospital (a pioneer in this
trade) in these words, in developing countries like India, as the
parents are encouraged to limit their family to two offspring, they will
have a right to quality in these two as far as can be assured,
Amniocentesis provides help in this direction. Here the word
quality raises a number of issues that we shall examine in this
paper (Patanki et al 1979).
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At present, ultrasound machines are most widely used for sex
determination purposes. Doctors motivated in part by multinational
marketing muscle and considerable financial gains are increasingly
investing in ultrasound scanners. (George and Dahiya 1998) But
for past quarter century, Amniocentesis, a scientific technique that
was supposed to be used mainly to detect certain genetic
conditions, has been very popular in India for detection of sex of a
foetus. For that purpose, 15-20 ml of amniotic fluid is taken from the
womb by pricking the foetal membrane with the help of a special
kind of needle. After separating a foetus cell from the amniotic fluid,
a chromosomal analysis is conducted on it. This test helps in
detecting several genetic disorders, such as Downs syndrome,
neurotube conditions in the foetus, retarded muscular growth, Rh
incompatibility, haemophilia, and other physical and mental
conditions. The test is appropriate for women over 40 years because
there are higher chances of children with these conditions being
produced by them. A sex determination test is required to identify
sex specific conditions such as haemophilla and retarded muscular
growth, which mainly affect male babies. Other tests, in particular
CVB, and preplanning of the unborn babys sex have also been
used for SD and SP tests. Diet control method, centrifugation of
sperm, drugs (tablets known as SELECT), vaginal jelly, Sacred
beads called RUDRAKSH and recently advertised Gender Select kit
are also used for begetting boys (Kulkarni 1986).
Compared to CVB and pre-selection through centrifugation of
sperm, amniocentesis is more hazardous to womens health. In
addition, while this test can give 95-97% accurate results, in 1% of
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the cases the test may lead to spontaneous abortions or premature
delivery, dislocation of hips, respiratory complications or needle
puncture marks on the baby (Ravindra 1986).
Controversy around Amniocentesis and other SD & SP Tests
Twenty years ago a controversy around SD and SP started as a
result of several investigative reports published in popular
newspapers and magazines such as India Today, Eves Weekly,
Sunday and other national and regional English language journals.
One estimate that shocked many, from academicians to activists,
was that between 1987 and 1983, about 78000 female foetuses
were aborted after SD tests as per Times of India editorial in June,
1982. The article by Achin Vanayak (1986) in the same paper
revealed that almost 100% of 15914 abortions during 1984-85 by a
well-known abortion centre in Bombay were undertaken after SD
tests.
All private practitioners in the SD tests who used to boast that
they were doing social work by helping miserable women, exposed
their hypocrisy when they failed to provide facilities of amniocentesis
to pregnant women during the Bhopal gas tragedy, in spite of
repeated requests by womens groups and in spite of many reported
cases of the birth of the deformed babies as a result of the gas
carnage. Thus it is clear that this scientific technique is in fact not
used for humanitarian purposes, not because of empathy towards
poor Indian women as has been claimed. Forced sterilization of
males during the emergency rule brought politically disastrous
consequences for the Congress Party. As a result in the post
emergency period, there has been a shift in the policy and women
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became the main target of population control. SD and SPs after
effects, harmful effects of hormone based contraceptive pills and
anti- pregnancy injections and camps for mass IUD insertion and
mass sterilization of women with their unhygienic provisions, are
always overlooked by enthusiasts of the Family Planning Policy.
Most population control research is conducted on women without
consideration for the harm caused by such research to the women
concerned (Mies 1886).
India has had a tradition of killing female babies (custom of
DUDHAPITI) by putting opium on the mothers nipple and feeding
the baby, by suffocating her in a rug, by placing the afterbirth over
the infants face, or simply by ill-treating daughters (Clark 1982). A
survey by India Today, 15.6.1986, revealed that among the Kallar
community in Tamilnadu, mother who gave birth to baby girls may
be forced to kill their infant by feeding them milk from poisonous
oleander berries. This author is convinced that researcher could also
find contemporary cases of female infanticide in parts of western
Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab and Madhya
Pradesh. In addition, female members of the family usually receive
inferior treatment regarding food, medication and education (Kynch
& Sen 1983). When they grow up, they are further harassed with
respect to dowry. Earlier, only among the higher castes, the brides
parents had to give dowry to the grooms family at the time of
engagement and marriage. As higher caste women were not
allowed to work outside the family, their work had no social
recognition. The women of the higher castes were seen as a
burden. To compensate the husband for shouldering the burden of
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his wife, dowry was given by the girls side to the boys side. Lower
class women always worked in the fields, mines, plantations, and
factories and as artisans. Basic survival needs of the family such as
collection of firewood and water, horticulture and assistance in
agricultural & associated activities; were provided by the women of
lower castes and lower classes. Hence women were treated as
productive members among them and there was no custom of
dowry among the toiling masses.
Historically, practice of female infanticide in India was limited
among the upper caste groups due to system of hypergamy
(marrige of woman with a man from a social group above hers)
because of the worry as to how to get a suitable match for the upper
caste woman? (Sudha. and Irudaya Raja 1998)
Males in the upper class also thought that a daughter would
take away the natal familys property to her in-laws after her
marriage. In a patri-local society with patri-lineage, son preference is
highly pronounced. In the power relations between the brides and
grooms family, the brides side always has to give in and put up with
all taunts, humiliations, indignities, insults and injuries perpetrated by
the grooms family. This factor also results into further devaluation of
daughters. The uncontrollable lust of consumerism and
commercialization of human relations combined with patriarchal
power over women have reduced Indian women to easily
dispensable commodities. Dowry is easy money, get rich quick
formula spreading in the society as fast as cancer. By the late
eighties, dowry had not been limited to certain upper castes only but
had spread among all communities in India irrespective of their
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class, caste and religious backgrounds. Its extreme manifestation
was seen in the increasing state of dowry related murders. The
number of dowry deaths was 358 in 1979, 369 in 1980, 466 in 1981,
357 in 1982, 1319 in 1986 and 1418 in 1987 as per the police
records. These were only the registered cases; the unregistered
cases were estimated to be ten times more.
Academicians Plunged in the Debate
In such circumstances, Is it not desirable that a woman dies rather
than be ill-treated? asked many social scientists. In Dharam
Kumars (1983) words: Is it really better to be born and to be left to
die than be killed as a foetus? Does the birth of lakhs or even
millions of unwanted girls improve the status of women?
Before answering this question let us first see the demographic
profile of Indian women. There was a continuous decline in the ratio
of females to males between 1901 and 1971. Between 1971 and
1981 there was a slight increase, but the ratio continued to be
adverse for women in 1991 and 2001 Census. The situation is even
worse because SD is practiced by all-rich and poor, upper and the
lower castes, the highly educated and illiterate - whereas female
infanticide was and is limited to certain warrior castes (Jeffery and
Jeffery 1983).
Many economists and doctors have supported SD and SP by
citing the law of supply and demand. If the supply of women is
reduced, it is argued, their demand as well as status will be
enhanced (Sheth 1984). Scarcity of women will increase their value
(Bardhan 1982). According to this logic, women will cease to be an
easily replaceable commodity. But here the economists forget the
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socio-cultural milieu in which women have to live. The society that
treats women as mere sex and reproduction object will not treat
women in more humane way if they are merely scarce in supply. On
the contrary, there will be increased incidences of rapes, abduction
and forced polyandry.
Agents Hired to buy the Brides and Forced Polyandry
In Madya Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Punjab, among certain
communities, the sex ratio is extremely adverse for women. There, a
wife is shared by a group of brothers or sometimes even by
patrilateral parallel cousins (Dubey 1983). Recently, in Gujarat,
many disturbing reports of reintroduction of polyandry (Panchali
system- woman being married to five men) have come to the light. In
villages in Mehsana District, the problem of declining number of girls
has created major social crisis as almost all villages have hundreds
of boys who are left with no choice but to buy brides from outside
(The Times of India, 8-7-2004).
To believe that it is better to kill a female foetus than to give
birth to an unwanted female child is not only short- sighted but also
fatalistic. By this logic it is better to kill poor people or Third World
masses rather than to let them suffer in poverty and deprivation.
This logic also presumes that social evils like dowry are God- given
and we cannot do anything about it. Hence, victimise the victims.
Another argument is that in cases where women have one or
more daughters they should be allowed to undergo amniocentesis
so that they can plan a balanced family by having sons. Instead of
continuing to produce female children in the hope of giving birth to a
male child, it is better for the familys and the countrys welfare that
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they abort the female foetus and produce a small and balanced
family with daughters and sons. This concept of the balanced
family however, also has a sexiest bias. Would the couples with one
or more sons request amniocentesis to get rid of male foetuses and
have a daughter in order to balance their family? Never! The author
would like to clarify the position of feminist groups in India. They are
against SD and SP leading to male or female foeticide. What price
should women pay for a balanced family? How many abortions can
a woman bear without jeopardising her health?
Do Women Have a Choice?
Repeatedly it has been stated that women themselves
enthusiastically welcome the test of their free will. It is a question of
womens own choice. But are these choices made in a social
vacuum? These women are socially conditioned to accept that
unless they produce one or more male children they have no social
worth (Rapp 1984). They can be harassed, taunted, even deserted
by their husbands if they fail to do so. Thus, their choices depend
on fear of society. It is true that feminists throughout the world have
always demanded the right of women to control their own fertility, to
choose whether or not to have children and to enjoy facilities for
free, legal and safe abortions. But to understand this issue in the
Third World context, we must see it against the background of
imperialism and racism, which aims at control of the coloured
population. Thus, It is all too easy for a population control advocate
to heartily endorse womens rights, at the same time diverting the
attention from the real causes of the population problem. Lack of
food, economic security, clean drinking water and safe clinical
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facilities have led to a situation where a woman has to have 6.2
children to have at least one surviving male child. These are the
roots of the population problem, not merely desire to have a male
child (Chhachhi & Sathyamla 1983).
Economics and Politics of Femicide in the Developing
Countries
There are some who ask, If family planning is desirable, why not
sex-planning? The issue is not so simple. We must situate this
problem in the context of commercialism in medicine and health
care systems, racist bias of the population control policy and the
manifestation of patriarchal power (Wichterrich 1988). Sex choice
can be another way of oppressing women. Under the guise of
choice we may indeed exacerbate womens oppression. The
feminists assert; survival of women is at stake.
Outreach and popularity of sex pre-selection tests may be even
greater than those of sex determination tests, since the former does
not involve ethical issues related to abortion. Even anti - abortionists
would use this method. Dr. Ronald Ericsson, who has a chain of
clinics conducting sex pre-selection tests in 46 countries in Europe,
America, Asia and Latin America, announced in his hand out that
out of 263 couples who approached him for begetting off-springs,
248 selected boys and 15 selected girls (Patel 2003). This shows
that the preference for males is not limited to the Third World
Countries like India but is virtually universal. In Erricssons method,
no abortion or apparent violence is involved. Even so, it could lead
to violent social disaster over the long term. Although scientists and
medical professionals deny all responsibilities for the social
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consequences of sex selection as well as the SD tests, the reality
shatters the myth of the value neutrality of science and technology.
Hence we need to link science and technology with socio-economic
and cultural reality (Holmes & Hoskins, 1984). The class, racist and
sexiest biases of the ruling elites has crossed all boundaries of
human dignity and decency by making savage use of science. Even
in China, after 55 years of revolution, socialist reconstruction and
the latest, rapid capitalist development SD and SP tests for femicide
have gained ground after the Chinese governments adoption of the
one-child family policy (Junhong 2001). Many Chinese couples in
rural areas do not agree to the one child policy but due to state
repression they, while sulking, accept it provided the child is male.
This shows how adaptive the system of patriarchy and male
supremacy is. It can establish and strengthen its roots in all kinds of
social structures- pre-capitalist, capitalist and even post-capitalist - if
not challenged consistently (Patel 1984). As per UNDP report of
1996, eighty countries had adverse sex ratio leading to deficit of
women.
Action against SD and SP
How can we stop deficit of Indian Women? This question was asked
by feminists, sensitive lawyers, scientists, researchers, doctors and
womens organizations such as Womens Centre (Bombay), Saheli
(Delhi), Samata (Mysore), Sahiar (Baroda) and Forum Against SD
and SP (FASDSP) - an umbrella organisation of womens groups,
doctors, democratic rights groups, and the Peoples Science
Movement. Protest actions by womens groups in the late 70s got
converted into a consistent campaign at the initiative of FASDSP in
122

the 1980s. Even research organisations such as Research Centre
on Womens Studies (Mumbai)), Centre for Womens Development
Studies (Delhi) and Voluntary Health Organisation, Foundation for
Research in Community Health also took a stand against the tests.
They questioned the highly educated, enlightened scientists,
technocrats, doctors and of course, the state who help in
propagating the tests (Patel, 1987). Concerned group in Bangalore,
Chandigarh, Delhi, Madras, Calcutta, Baroda and Bombay have
demanded that these tests should be used for limited purpose of
identification of serious genetic conditions in selected government
hospitals under strict supervision. After a lot of pressure, media
coverage and negotiation, poster campaigns, exhibitions, picketing
in front of the Harkisandas Hospital in 1986, signature campaigns
and public meetings and panel discussions, television programs and
petitioning; at last the Government of Maharashtra and the Central
Government became activised. In March 1987, the government of
Maharashtra appointed an expert committee to propose
comprehensive legal provisions to restrict sex determination tests for
identifying genetic conditions. The committee was appointed in
response to a private bill introduced in the Assembly by a Member of
Legislative Assembly (MLA) who was persuaded by the Forum. In
fact the Forum approached several MLAs and Members of the
Parliament to put forward such a bill. In April 1988, the government
of Maharashtra introduced, a bill to provide for the regulation of the
use of Medical or Scientific techniques of pre natal diagnosis solely
for the purpose of detecting genetic or metabolic disorders or
chromosomal abnormalities or certain congenital anomalies or sex
linked conditions and for the prevention of the misuse of prenatal
123

sex determination leading to female foeticide and for matters
connected therewith or incidental thereto (L. C. Bill No. VIII of 1988).
In June 1988, the Bill was unanimously passed in the Maharashtra
Legislative Assembly and became an Act. The Acts preview was
limited only to SD tests; it did not say anything about the SP
techniques. It admitted that medical technology could be misused by
doctors and banning of SD tests had taken away the respectability
of the Act of SD tests. Not only this, but now in the eyes of law both
the clients and the practitioners of the SD tests are culprits. Any
advertisement regarding the facilities of the SD tests is declared
illegal by this Act. But the Act had many loopholes.
Two major demands of the Forum that no private practice in
SD tests is allowed and in no case, a woman undergoing the SD test
be punished were not included in the Act. On the contrary the Act
intended to regulate them with the help of an Appropriate Authority
constituted by two government bureaucrats, one bureaucrat from the
medical education department, one bureaucrat from the Indian
Council of Medical Research, one Gynecologist and one geneticist
and two representatives of Voluntary Organisations, which made a
mockery of peoples participation. Experiences of all such bodies
set by the government have shown that they merely remain paper
bodies and even if they function they are highly inefficient, corrupt
and elitist.
The Medical mafia seemed to be the most favoured group in
the act. It, has scored the most in the chapter on Offences and
Penaltieslast clause of this chapter empowers the court, if it so
desires and after giving reasons, to award less punishment than the
124

minimum stipulated under the Act. That is, a rich doctor who has
misused the techniques for female foeticide, can with the help of
powerful lawyers, persuade the court to award minor punishment,
said Dr. Amar Jesani (1988) in his article in Radical Journal of
Health, 1988. The court shall always assume, unless proved
otherwise, that a woman who seeks such aid of prenatal diagnosis
procedures on herself has been compelled to do so by her husband
or members of her family. In our kind of social milieu, it is not at all
difficult to prove that a woman who has a SD test went for it of her
free will. The Act made the victim a culprit who could be
imprisoned up to three years. For the woman, her husband and her
in-laws, using SD tests became a cognisable, non-bailable and non-
compoundable offence! But the doctors, centers and laboratories
were excluded from the above provision. The Act also believed in
victimising the victim. With this act, the medical lobbys fear that the
law would drive SD tests underground vanished. They could
continue their business above ground. A high powered committee of
experts had been appointed by the Central Government to introduce
a bill applicable throughout India to ban SD tests leading to female
foeticide.
The Forum accepted that with the help of the law alone, we
cant get rid of female foeticide. Public education and the womens
right movement are playing a much more effective role in this
regard. Some of the most imaginative programs of the Forum and
womens groups have been a rally led by daughters on 22.11.86, a
childrens fair challenging a sex stereotyping and degradation of
daughters, picketing in front of the clinics conducting the SD tests,
125

promoting a positive image of daughters through stickers, posters
and buttons, for example, daughters can also be a source of
support to parents in their old age, eliminate inequality, not women,
Demolish dowry, not daughters, make your daughter self sufficient,
educate her, let her take a job, she will no longer be a burden on her
parents. The Forum also prepared Womens struggle to survive, a
mobile fair that was organised in different suburbs of Bombay,
conveyed this message through its songs, skits, slideshows, video
films, exhibitions, booklets, debates and discussions.
Initiatives by the State and NGOs
Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of
Misuse) Act was enacted in 1994 by the Centre followed by similar
Acts by several state governments and union territories of India
during 1988 (after Maharahstra legislation to regulate prenatal sex
determination tests), as a result of pressure created by Forum
Against Sex-determination and Sex pre-selection. But there was a
gross violation of this central legislation.
In response to the public interest petition filed by Dr. Sabu
George, Centre for Inquiry into Health and Allied Themes Mumbai)
and MASUM fought on their behalf by the Lawyers Collective (Basu,
2003); the Supreme Court of India gave a directive on 4-5-2001 to
all state governments to make an effective and prompt
implementation of the Pre-natal Diagnostics Techniques (Regulation
and Prevention of Misuse) Act (enacted in 1994 and brought into
operation from 1-1-1996). Now, it stands renamed as The Pre-
conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex
Selection) Act.
126

Recently enacted Prenatal Daignostic Techniques (Prohibition
of Sex Selection) Act, 2003 tightens the screws on sex selection at
pre-conception stage and puts in place a string of checks and
balance to ensure that the act is effective (Kamdar, 2003). The Pre-
natal Diagnostics Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse)
Amendment Act, 2002 received the assent of the President of India
on 17-1-2003. The Act provides for the prohibition of sex selection,
before or after conception, and for regulation of pre-natal diagnostic
techniques for the purposes of detecting genetic abnormalities or
metabolic disorders or sex-linked disorders and for the prevention of
their misuse for sex determination leading to female foeticide and for
matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
Under the Act, the person who seeks help for sex selection
can face, at first conviction, imprisonment for a 3-year period and be
required to pay a fine of Rs. 50000. The state Medical Council can
suspend the registration of the doctor involved in such malpractice
and, at the stage of conviction, can remove his/her name from the
register of the council.
The Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and
Prevention of Misuse) Amendment Rules, 2003 have activated the
implementation machinery to curb nefarious practices contributing
for MISSING GIRLS. According to the rules this all bodies under
PNDT Act namely Genetic Counselling Centre, Genetic Laboratories
or Genetic Clinic cannot function unless registered (Handbook,
2002). The Bombay Municipal Corporation has initiated a drive
against the unauthorised determination of gender of the foetus as
per the directive of the Ministry of Law and Justice. All sonography
127

centers are required to register themselves with the appropriate
authority- the medical officer of the particular ward. The registration
certificate and the message that under no circumstances, sex of
foetus will be disclosed are mandatory to be displayed (Patel, 2003).
The shortcomings of the PNDT Act (2003) lie in criteria set for
establishing a genetic counselling centre, genetic laboratory and
genetic clinic/ultrasound clinic/imaging centre and person qualified
to perform the tests.
The terms genetic clinic/ultrasound clinic/imaging centre cant
be used interchangeably. But the Act does.
Moreover, the amended Act should have categorically defined
persons, laboratories, hospitals, institutions involved in pre-
conception sex-selective techniques such as artificial
reproductive techniques and pre-implantation genetic
diagnosis.
Who is a qualified medical geneticist? As per the Act, a
person who possesses a degree or diploma or certificate in
medical genetics in the field of PNDT or has minimum 2 years
experience after obtaining any medical qualification under the
MCI Act 1956 or a P.G. in biological sciences. Many medical
experts feel that a degree or diploma or 2 years experience in
medical genetics cant be made synonymous.
As per the Act, an ultrasound machine falls under the
requirement of genetic clinic, while it is widely used also by
the hospitals and nursing homes not conducting Pre-
implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) and PNDT.
128

Ban on the Advertisements of SD & SP Techniques
Another important initiative that has been taken is against any
institution or agency whose advertisement or displayed promotional
poster or television serial is suggestive of any inviting gestures
involving/supporting sex determination. MASUM, Pune made a
complain to the Maharashtra State Womens Commission against
Balaji Telefilms because its top rated television serials episode
telecast during February 2002 showed a young couple checking the
sex of their unborn baby. The Commission approached Bombay
Municipal Corporation (BMC) and a First Investigation Report (FIR)
was lodged at the police station. After an uproar created by the
Commission, the Balaji tele-film came forward to salvage the
damage by preparing an ad based on the Commissions script that
conveyed that sex determination tests for selective abortion of
female foetus is a criminal offence. Now there is another battle
brewing. The womens groups insist that the ad should be telecast
for 3 months before each episode, while the Balaji Tele-films found it
too much (The Indian Express, Mumbai, 19-5-2003).
Conclusion
Three overarching concerns to save the girl child are reduction of
discrimination against women and girls in all spheres of life,
promoting gender equity thro' affirmative action by the state and civil
society and change in mindset-value system, customs and tradition
that promotes daughter aversion and son-preference. Accountability
of medical professional must be ensured thro' strict implementation
of Pre-conception and pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 2002.
129

We need to counter those who believe that it is better to kill a
female foetus than to give birth to an unwanted female child. Their
logic eliminates the victim of male chauvinism, does not empower
her. The techno-docs dont challenge anti-women practices such as
dowry, instead display an advertisement, Better Rs.5000 now than
Rs.5 lakhs later i.e. better spend Rs.5000 for female foeticide than
Rs. 5 lakhs as dowry for a grown up daughter. By this logic, it is
better to kill poor people or third world masses rather than let them
suffer in poverty and deprivation. This logic also presumes that
social evils like dowry are God-given and that we cannot do anything
about them. Hence victimise the victim. Investing in daughters
education, health and dignified life to make her dependent are far
more humane and realistic ways than brutalising pregnant mother
and her would be daughter. Recently series of incidents in which
educated women have got their grooms arrested at the time of
wedding ceremony for demand and harassment for dowry, is a very
encouraging step in the direction of empowerment of girls. Massive
and supportive media publicity has empowered young women from
different parts of the country to cancel marriages involving dowry
harassment. They have provided new role models.
Hence, our slogans are Daughters are not for slaughter
Eliminate Inequality, not Women, Destroy Dowry, not Daughters,
Say No to Sex-determination, Say Yes to Empowerment of
Women,
Say No to Sex Discrimination, Say Yes to Gender Justice.
Philosophical and medical details of NRT need public debate
without iron wall of secrecy, in all Indian languages as NRT is
penetrating even in those areas where you dont get even safe
130

drinking water or food. Technologies for population control are
primarily concerned about efficiency of techniques to avert births
rather than safety of women. Women have to put up with the side
effects of NRTs. New reproductive technologies are provider/doctor
controlled, not women controlled. Hence the womens groups
repeatedly state that NRTs have inherently anti women bias. In the
petition filed by CEHAT-MASUM in the Supreme Court of India and
supported by the womens rights groups, Dr. Sabu George, the
petitioners demand of expansion of the scope of the Pre Natal
Diagnostic Techniques Act to include sex pre-selection techniques
and effective implementation of the PNDT ACT (Contractor, 2002)
has not only been accepted but also rules have been formulated for
its implementation. The state governments are also organising state
level seminars for doctors from the government and private sectors
to focus on raising awareness to the fact of sex selective foeticide as
a discriminatory practice. They are also trying to deal with the issue
from the point of view of responsibility of science towards gender
justice, medical ethics and human rights. Recent publication of
CEHAT Sex Selection- Issues and Concerns selected important
writings of spokespersons, who have examined the problem of
missing girls from these angles.
There is a need to clarify the gender-just position from the anti-
abortionist position. Women should have a right to their bodies and
unconditional access to abortion is not in conflict with the claim that
sex selection and sex selective abortions are unethical. It is not the
abortion which makes the act unethical, but the idea of sex selection
(Madhiwalla, 2001).
131

We have a great task in front of us i.e. to change the mindset
of doctors and clients, to create a socio-cultural milieu that is
conducive for girl childs survival and monitor the activities of
commercial minded techno-docs thriving on sexist prejudices. Then
only we will be able to halt the process of declining sex ratio
resulting into the phenomenon of missing girls. To stop a gender
imbalanced society we will have to convince doctors and clients,
state and civil society that Daughters are not for slaughter.
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Table 4. State wise Change in Child Sex Ratio during the decade in India
Sr States/Union Territory #
0-6 in
2001
0-6 in
2011
Change
Total
2001
Total
2011
Change
INDIA 927 914 -1.40% 933 940 0.75%
1 Jammu & Kashmir 941 859 -8.71% 892 883 -1.01%
2 Himachal Pradesh 896 906 1.12% 968 974 0.62%
137

Sr States/Union Territory #
0-6 in
2001
0-6 in
2011
Change
Total
2001
Total
2011
Change
3 Punjab 798 846 6.02% 876 893 1.94%
4 Chandigarh # 845 867 2.60% 777 818 5.28%
5 Uttarakhand 908 886 -2.42% 962 963 0.10%
6 Haryana 819 830 1.34% 861 877 1.86%
7 NCT of Delhi # 868 866 -0.23% 821 866 5.48%
8 Rajasthan 909 883 -2.86% 921 926 0.54%
9 Uttar Pradesh 916 899 -1.86% 898 908 1.11%
10 Bihar 942 933 -0.96% 919 916 -0.33%
11 Sikkim 963 944 -1.97% 875 889 1.60%
12 Arunachal Pradesh 964 960 -0.41% 893 920 3.02%
13 Nagaland 964 944 -2.07% 900 931 3.44%
14 Manipur 957 934 -2.40% 974 987 1.33%
15 Mizoram 964 971 0.73% 935 975 4.28%
16 Tripura 966 953 -1.35% 948 961 1.37%
17 Meghalaya 973 970 -0.31% 972 986 1.44%
18 Assam 965 957 -0.83% 935 954 2.03%
19 West Bengal 960 950 -1.04% 934 947 1.39%
20 Jharkhand 965 943 -2.28% 941 947 0.64%
21 Orissa 953 934 -1.99% 972 978 0.62%
22 Chhattisgarh 975 964 -1.13% 989 991 0.20%
23 Madhya Pradesh 932 912 -2.15% 919 930 1.20%
24 Gujarat 883 886 0.34% 920 918 -0.22%
25 Daman & Diu # 926 909 -1.84% 710 618 -12.96%
26 Dadra & Nagar Haveli # 979 924 -5.62% 812 775 -4.56%
27 Maharashtra 913 883 -3.29% 922 925 0.33%
28 Andhra Pradesh 961 943 -1.87% 978 992 1.43%
29 Karnataka 946 943 -0.32% 965 968 0.31%
30 Goa 938 920 -1.92% 961 968 0.73%
31 Lakshadweep # 959 908 -5.32% 948 946 -0.21%
32 Kerala 960 959 -0.10% 1058 1084 2.46%
33 Tamil Nadu 942 946 0.42% 987 995 0.81%
34 Puducherry # 967 965 -0.21% 1001 1038 3.70%
35
Andaman & Nicobar
Islands
957 966 0.94% 846 878 3.78%

138

Chapter-6
Education and Women Population in India
L. R. Patel and Pankaj Rawal
Department .of Geography, JRN University, Udaipur (Raj.) India
Introduction
If you educate a man you educate an individual, however, if you
educate a woman you educate a whole family. Women empowered
means mother India empowered. - Jawaharlal Nehru
Women constitute almost 50% of the worlds population but India
has shown disproportionate sex ratio whereby females population
has been comparatively lower than males. As far as their social
status is concerned, they are not treated as equal to men in all the
places. In the Western societies, the women have got equal right
and status with men in all walks of life. But gender disabilities and
discriminations are found in India even today. The paradoxical
situation has such that she was sometimes concerned as Goddess
and at other times merely as slave. Women in India now the women
in India enjoy a unique status of equality with the men as per
constitutional and legal provision. But the Indian women have come
a long way to achieve the present positions. First, gender inequality
in India can be traced back to the historic days of Mahabharata
when Draupadi was put on the dice by her husband as a commodity.
History is a witness that women were made to dance both in private
and public places to please the man. Secondly, in Indian society, a
female was always dependent on male members of the family even
139

last few years ago. Thirdly, a female was not allowed to speak with
loud voice in the presence of elder members of her in-laws. In the
family, every faults had gone to her and responsible. Forth, as a
widow her dependence on male members of the family still more
increase. In many social activities she is not permitted to mix with
other members of the family. Other hand, she has very little share in
political, social and economic life of the society. The early twenty
century, it was rise of the National Movement under the leadership
of Mahatma Gandhi who was in favor of removing all the disabilities
of women. At the same time, Raja Ram Mohan Rai, Iswar Chandra
Vidyasagar and various other social reformers laid stress on
womens education, prevention of child marriage, withdrawals of evil
practice of sati, removal of polygamy etc. The National Movement
and various reform movements paved the way for their liberations
from the social evils and religious taboos. In this context, we may
write about the Act of Sati (abolish) 1829, Hindu Widow Remarriage
Act 1856, the Child Restriction Act, 1929, Women Property Right
Act, 1937 etc. After independence of India, the constitution makers
and the national leaders recognized the equal social position of
women with men. The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 has determined the
age for marriage, provided for monogamy and guardianship of the
mother and permitted the dissolution of marriage under specific
circumstances. Under the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act,
1956, an unmarried women, widow or divorce of sound mind can
also take child in adoption. Similarly, the Dowry Prohibition Act of
1961 says that any person who gives, takes, or abets the giving or
taking of dowry shall be punished. Empowerment of women would
mean equipping women to be economically independent, self-
140

reliant, have positive esteem to enable them to face any difficult
situation and they should be able to participate in development
activities. The empowered women should be able to participate in
the process of decision making. In India, the Ministry of Human
Resource Development (MHRD-1985) and the National Commission
for Women (NCW) have been worked to safeguard the rights and
legal entitlement of women. The 73
rd
&74
th
Amendments (1993) to
the constitution of India have provided some special powers to
women that for reservation of seats (33%), whereas the report HRD
as March 2002, shows that the legislatures with the highest
percentage of women are, Sweden 42.7%, Denmark 38%, Finland
36% and Iceland 34.9%. In India The New Panchayati Raj is the
part of the effort to empower women at least at the village level. The
government of India has ratified various international conventions
and human rights instruments committing to secure equal rights to
women. These are CEDAW (1993), the Mexico Plan of Action
(1975), the Nairobi Forward Looking Strategies (1985), the Beijing
Declaration as well as the platform for Action (1995) and other such
instruments. The year of 2001 was observed as the year of womens
empowerment. During the year, a landmark document has been
adopted, the National Policy for the empowerment of women. For
the beneficiaries of the women, the government has been adopted
different schemes and programs i.e. the National Credit Fund for
Women (1993), Food and Nutrition Board (FNB), Information and
Mass Education (IMF) etc. The most positive development last few
years has been the growing involvement of women in the
Panchayati Raj institutions. There are many elected women
representatives at the village council level. At present all over India,
141

there are total 20, 56, 882 laces Gaonpanchayat members, out of
this women members is 8, 38, 244 (40.48%), while total Anchalik
panchayat members is 1, 09, 324, out of this women members is 47,
455, (40.41%) and total Zilaparishad members is 11, 708, out of this
women members is 4, 923 (42.05%). At the central and state levels
too women are progressively making a difference. Today we have
seen women chief ministers, women president, different political
parties leader, well establish businessmen etc. The most notable
amongst these are Mrs. Pratibha Devi Singh Patil, Shila Dexit,
Mayawati, Sonia Gandhi, Brinda Karat, Nazma Heptulla, Indira Nuye
(pepsi-co), BJP leader Sushma Swaraj, Chief Minister Mamta
Benarji, Vasundhra Raje Sindhiya, Jaya Lalita,Narmada Basao
leader Medha Patekar, Indian Iron Woman, ex-prime minister Indira
Gandhi etc. Women are also involving in human development issues
of child rearing, education, health, and gender disparity. Many of
them have gone into the making and marketing of a range of cottage
product speckles, tailoring, embroidery etc.
Women constitute almost half of the population in the world.
But the hegemonic masculine ideology made them suffer a lot as
they were denied equal opportunities in different parts of the world.
The rise of feminist ideas has, however, led to the tremendous
improvement of women's condition throughout the world in recent
times. Access to education has been one of the most pressing
demands of theses women's rights movements. Women education
in India has also been a major preoccupation of both the
government and civil society as educated women can play a very
important role in the development of the country. India is poised to
142

emerge as one of the most developed nations by 2020, more
literate, knowledgeable and economically at the forefront. No doubt,
women will play a vital role in contributing to the country's
development. Women power is crucial to the economic growth of
any country. In India this is yet to meet the requirements despite
reforms. Little has been achieved in the area of women
empowerment, but for this to happen, this sector must experience a
chain of reforms. Though India could well become one of the largest
economies in the world, it is being hindered due to a lack of
women's participation.
History of Women Education in India
Although in the Vedic period women had access to education in
India, they had gradually lost this right. However, in the British
period there was revival of interest in women's education in India.
During this period, various socio religious movements led by
eminent persons like Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Iswar Chandra
Vidyasagar emphasized on women's education in India. Mahatma
Jyotiba Phule, Periyar and Baba Saheb Ambedkar were leaders of
the lower castes in India who took various initiatives to make
education available to the women of India. However women's
education got a fillip after the country got independence in 1947 and
the government has taken various measures to provide education to
all Indian women. As a result women's literacy rate has grown over
the three decades and the growth of female literacy has in fact been
higher than that of male literacy rate. While in 1971 only 22% of
Indian women were literate, by the end of 2001 54.16% female were
143

literate. The growth of female literacy rate is 14.87% as compared to
11.72 % of that of male literacy rate.
Importance of Women Education
Women education in India plays a very important role in the overall
development of the country. It not only helps in the development of
half of the human resources, but in improving the quality of life at
home and outside. Educated women not only tend to promote
education of their girl children, but also can provide better guidance
to all their children. Moreover educated women can also help in the
reduction of infant mortality rate and growth of the population.
Obstacles: Gender discrimination still persists in India and lot more
needs to be done in the field of women's education in India. The gap
in the male- female literacy rate is just a simple indicator. While the
male literary rate is more than 75% according to the 2001 Census,
the female literacy rate is just 54.16%.
Women Empowerment through Education
Women Empowerment is a global issue and discussion on women
political right are at the fore front of many formal and informal
campaigns worldwide. The concept of women empowerment was
introduced at the international women conference at NAROIBI in
1985. Education is milestone of women empowerment because it
enables them to responds to the challenges, to confront their
traditional role and change their life. So that we cant neglect the
importance of education in reference to women empowerment India
is poised to becoming superpower, a developed country by 2020.
The year 2020 is fast approaching; it is just 13 year away. This can
became reality only when the women of this nation became
144

empowerment. India presently account for the largest number no of
illiterates in the world. Literacy rate in India have risen sharply from
18.3% in 1951 to 64.8% in 2001 in which enrolment of women in
education have also risen sharply 7% to 54.16%. Despite the
importance of women education unfortunately only 39% of women
are literate among 64% of the man. Within the framework of a
democratic polity, our laws, development policies, plan and
programs have aimed at womens advancement in difference
spheres. From the fifth five year plan (1974-78) onwards has been a
marked shift in the approach to womens issues from welfare to
development. In recent years, the empowerment of women has
been recognized as the central issue in determining the status of
women. The National Commission of Women was set up by an Act
of Parliament in 1990 to safeguard the right and legal entitlements of
women. The 73
rd
and 74
th
Amendments (1993) to the constitution of
India have provided for reservation of seats in the local bodies of
panchayats and Municipalities for women, laying a strong foundation
for their participation in decision making at the local level.
Womens Education Prospects and Challenges
In spite of the forceful intervention by a bastion of female privilege,
feminist critics, constitutional guarantees, protecting laws and
sincere efforts by the state governments and central government
through various schemes and programs over the last 62 years and
above all, the United Nations enormous pressure with regard to the
uplift of the plight of women in terms education is still in the state of
an enigma in India for several reasons. The 2001 Census report
indicates that literacy among women as only 54 percent it is
145

virtually disheartening to observe that the literacy rate of women
India is even much lower to national average i.e. 65.38.The growth
of womens education in rural areas is very slow.
Table 1. Literacy Rate in India
Year Persons Males Females
1901 5.3 9.8 0.7
1911 5.9 10.6 1.1
1921 7.2 12.2 1.8
1931 9.5 15.6 2.9
1941 16.1 24.9 7.3
1951 16.7 24.9 7.3
1961 24.0 34.4 13.0
1971 29.5 39.5 18.7
1981 36.2 46.9 24.8
1991 52.1 63.9 39.2
2001 65.38 76.0 54.0
2011 74.04 82.14 65.46
Source: Census of India, 2011
According to the Table the pre- Independence time literacy
rate for women had a very poor spurt in comparison to literacy rate
of men. This is witnessed from the fact that literacy rate of women
has risen from 0.7 % to 7.3 % where as the literacy rate of men has
risen from 9.8 % to 24.9 % during these four decades. During the
post- independence period literacy rates have shown a substantial
increase in general. However the literacy rate of male has almost
tripled over the period e.g. 25% in 1951 and 76 % in
2001.Surprisingly the female literacy rate has increased at a faster
pace than the male literacy during the decade 1981 - 2001. The
growth is almost 6 times e.g. 7.9 % in 1951 and 54 % in 2001. From
this analyze one can infer that still the female literacy rate (only half
of the female population are literates) is wadding behind male
146

literacy rate (three fourth of the male population are literates).The
rate of school drop outs is also found to be comparatively higher in
case of women. This higher rate of illiteracy of women is
undoubtedly attributing for women dependence on men and to play
a subordinate role. The lack of education is the root cause for
womens exploitation and negligence. Only literacy can help women
to understand the Indians constitutional and legislative provisions
that are made to strengthen them. Thus promoting education among
women is of great important in empowering them to accomplish their
goals in par with men in different spheres of life.
Educational Equality
Another area in which womens equality has shown a major
improvement as a result of adult literacy programs is the area of
enrolment of boys and girls in schools. As a result of higher
participation of women in literacy campaigns, the gender gap in
literacy levels is gradually getting reduced. Even more significant is
the fact that disparity in enrolment of boys and girls in neo- literate
households is much lowered compared to the non- literate
householders.
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Table 2. State wise Percentage of Female Literacy in the Country
S. No. Name of the State Female Literacy in %
1 Andhra Pradesh 59.7
2 Arunachal Pradesh 59.6
3 Assam 67.3
4 Bihar 53.3
5 Chattisgarh 60.6
6 Delhi 80.9
7 Goa 81.8
8 Gujarat 70.7
9 Haryana 66.8
10 Himachal Pradesh 76.6
11 Jammu and Kashmir 58.0
12 Jharkhand 56.2
13 Karnataka 68.1
14 Kerala 92.0
15 Madhya Pradesh 60.0
16 Maharashtra 75.5
17 Manipur 73.2
18 Meghalaya 73.8
19 Mizoram 89.4
20 Nagaland 76.7
21 Orissa 64.4
22 Punjab 71.3
23 Rajasthan 52.7
24 Sikkim 76.4
25 Tamil Nadu 73.9
26 Tripura 83.1
27 Uttar Pradesh 59.3
28 Uttarakhand 70.7
29 West Bengal 71.2
Union Territories
1 Andaman & Nicobar Islands 81.8
2 Chandigarh 81.4
3 Dadra & Nagar Haveli 65.9
4 Daman & Diu 79.6
5 Lakshadweep 88.2
6 Pondicherry 81.2
Source: Census of India, 2011
148

According to the table the state wise female literacy rate had
an average of 65.46% in all India basis in 2011 census the high
literacy rate is 92.0% in Kerala and least literacy rate is 52.7% in
Rajasthan in 2011 census while comparing literacy rate of female
11% increase in 2011 census is increased from 54.16% to 65.46%.
Womens are growing well in the last 10 years. Government of India
has been taken various steps and plans especially for women in
every movement.
Conclusion
According to the Country Report of the Government of India,
Empowerment means moving from a weak position to execute a
power. Education of women in the education of women is the most
powerful tool of change of position in society. Education also brings
a reduction in inequalities and functions as a means of improving
their status within the family. To encourage the education of women
at all levels and for dilution of gender bias in providing knowledge
and education, established schools, colleges and universities even
exclusively for women in the state. To bring more girls, especially
from marginalized families of BPL, in mainstream education, the
government is providing a package of concessions in the form of
providing free books, uniform, boarding and lodging, clothing for the
hostilities midday meals, scholarships, free circles and so on. The
economic empowerment of women is being regarded these days as
a sine-quo-none of progress for a country; hence, the issue of
economic empowerment of women is of paramount importance to
political thinkers, social thinkers and reformers. Reasons for the
empowerment of women today we have noticed different Acts and
149

Schemes of the central government as well as state government to
empower the women of India. But in India women are discriminated
and marginalized at every level of the society whether it is social
participation, political participation, economic participation, access to
education, and also reproductive healthcare. Women are found to
be economically very poor all over the India. A few women are
engaged in services and other activities. So, they need economic
power to stand on their own lesson per with men. Other hand, it has
been observed that women are found to be less literate than men.
According to 2001 census, rate of literacy among men in India is
found to be 76% whereas it is only 54% among women. Thus,
increasing education among women is of very important in
empowering them. It has also noticed that some of women are too
weak to work. They consume less food but work more. Therefore,
from the health point of view, women folk who are to be weaker are
to be made stronger. Another problem is that workplace harassment
of women. There are so many cases of rape, kidnapping of girl,
dowry harassment, and so on. For these reasons, they require
empowerment of all kinds in order to protect themselves and to
secure their purity and dignity. To sum up, women empowerment
cannot be possible unless women come with and help to self-
empower themselves. There is a need to formulate reducing
feminized poverty, promoting education of women, and prevention
and elimination of violence against women.
References
A Search for Aggregate- Level Effects of Education on Fertility,
Using Data from
150

Bright, Prato Singh (edit.)- Competition Refresher, August, 2010,
New Delhi.
Government of India, Census of India 2001
Hasnain, Nadeem-Indian Society and Culture, Jawahar
Publishers and Distributors, 2004.New Delhi.
Kar, P. K- Indian Society, Kalyani Publishers, 2000, Cuttack.
Kidwai, A. R- (edt.)Higher Education, issues and challenges, Viva
Books, 2010, New Delhi),
N.L. Gupta (2003) Womens Education Through Ages, Concept
Publications Co, New Delhi.
R.K. Rao (2001) Women and Education, Kalpaz Publications,
Delhi .
Rao Shankar, C. N.-Indian Society, S. Chand & Company Ltd,
2005, New Delhi
S.P. Agarwal (2001), Womens Education in India(1995-
98)Present Status, Perspective, Plan, Statistical Indicators with
Global View, Vol III Concept Publications Co, New Delhi.

151

Chapter-7
In-Vitro Fertilization in India: Negotiating gender and class
Sneha Annavarapu
Research Scholar
Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Madras.
The growth of medical tourism in India is at a high annual growth
rate of thirty percent and is on its way to becoming an Rs 10,800
crore industry by 2015, some reports state (PTI, 2011). The fertility
tourism within its auspices is valued as high as 450 million dollars
(Nadimipally, Marwah, & Shenoi, 2011). Assocham, in a recent
report, indicated that the weakening rupee has a positive effect on
the fertility tourism in India (PTI, 2013). All hail medical tourism
might be the popular mantra of economic policy, but there are social
implications that one must look at. For instance, there seems to be
no reliable official estimate of the number of fertility clinics in the
country estimates range from 300 to 3000. An unregulated private
industry is on the rise and this has ramifications, as this article will
allude to in its later sections. Technology, and its eminence in the
market, is not apolitical.
In a recent article on in-vitro fertilization in India in a national
daily, it was indicated that around ten percent of the general
population suffers from some form of infertility (TOI, Infertility
Experts say 63% childless couples consulting them in prime
reproductive age, 2013). Two things stand out in the article: one,
that more and more couples are looking for assisted reproductive
technologies in their prime reproductive age (that is, 31-40 years);
152

and two, that this is a cause for worry since it points to the fact that
infertility is a rising concern in society. In fact, as indicated above,
the general population suffers from it. This notion of suffering
associated with infertility can also be seen in the bulletin of
international organizations such as the World Health Organization.
In a bulletin released in 2010, dramatically titled mother or nothing:
the agony of infertility, the discussion points to how women in
developing countries grapple with childlessness and the loss of
motherhood (WHO, 2010). These two articles are just the tip of the
iceberg; they simply point to a symptom of the structural architecture
in which gender and social diagnosis intertwine to uphold certain
social constructions as facts of everyday life.
This paper is yet another attempt at uncovering these
intricacies of the way structures in society construct facts, which has
a bearing on gender relations, class relations and even the political
economy of the country at large. Taking the case of in-vitro
fertilization, I want to explore how this naturalized construction of
infertility has implications on social policy and how class interests
are implicated by a monolithic approach to medical technologies
such as IVF
1
.
A Political History of IVF in India
Simply understood as a process of fertilization that takes place
outside the body, in-vitro fertilization (IVF) is considered to be an
optimal medical intervention after other methods of assisted
reproductive technologies have failed. In vitro which literally

1
Owing to constraints of space and a narrower research focus, I will not be addressing the question of
bioethics at all.
153

translates into in glass which refers to the biological procedure
being carried out outside the organism in glass containers such as
petri dishes, beakers and test tubes. This is contrast with in vivo
procedures which are carried out inside the living organism. The
process involves monitoring and stimulating a woman's ovulatory
process, removing ovum or ova (egg or eggs) from the woman's
ovaries and letting sperm fertilise them in a fluid medium in a
laboratory. The fertilised egg (zygote) cultured for 26 days in a
growth medium and is then transferred to the patient's uterus with
the intention of establishing a successful pregnancy. The first
successful birth of a test tube baby, Louise Brown, occurred in
1978 in Britain. Robert Edwards and Patrick Steptoe were the brains
behind this endeavour and were endowed with due credit and
recognition. In fact, Robert Edwards won the Nobel Prize in
Medicine in 2010 for his work on in-vitro fertilization. Today, the
fertility industry in India is large and growing. Not only did it
experience a thirty percent growth in 2000, but it has been
experiencing a consistent growth of fifteen percent since 2005
(Nadimipally et al, 2011, p. 3). Similarly, the valuation of medical
tourism, according to some estimates, stands close to $450 million
per year (p. 4). How this emerged and what implication this has on
several counts makes for an interesting study.
The Indian Experience
In India, the history of IVF is not all that smooth
2
. According to
scientific records, the first test tube baby in India is Harsha born on

2
The details in the next few paragraphs have been taken from newspaper reports by Times of India
(2004) and IBN (2010) and a magazine (Outlook, 2010).
154

16 August 1986 with the procedure being carried out by T C Anand
Kumar of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Dr.
Indira Hinduja. However, this has not just been disputed but also
disproved by findings that suggest the original pioneer of IVF in India
is Late Subhash Mukhopadhyay, a little known physician from
Kolkata. In fact, research documents meticulously scrutinized by
Anand Kumar himself reveal how Subhash Mukhopadhyay created
the worlds second and Indias first test tube baby Durga (or
Kanupriya Agarwal) just 67 days after Louise Brown was born. The
fact that this became a revelation much after the birth of Harsha is
telling. What is also telling is that Dr. Mukhopadhyay committed
suicide in 1981, just three years after he pleaded for recognition of
his scientific feat but received none. In fact, while Edwards,
professor emeritus at University of Cambridge, was lauded for his
efforts, Mukhopadhyay was fighting a hostile state government that
rubbished his findings. Ridiculed and ostracised, Mukhopadhyay
was also not allowed to publicise his work in the international arena.
He was invited by the Kyoto University in 1979 to present his
findings during a seminar in Japan but denied a passport by the
Indian government. The depressed physician committed suicide in
1981.
After conducting the IVF experiment with reliance on his own
apparatuses, which ranged from a mere refrigerator to quotidian
ampoules, Dr. Mukhopadhyay announced the birth of Durga to the
press. Considering this to be a gross violation of the integrity of the
scientific community, an expert committee was set up by the
Government of West Bengal to look into the matter and then release
155

official statements. This committee was presided over by a radiology
physicist, and was composed of a gynaecologist, a psychologist, a
physicist and a neurologist not quite a panel fluent in the nuances
of modern reproductive technologies. The committee considered this
experiment to be bogus and the case was shut. No credit was given
to the pioneer of IVF in India and he was, relegated, to the sidelines.
In 1990, Tapan Sinha directed a Hindi movie based on Subhash
Mukhopadhyays experiences called Ek Doctor Ki Maut
3
.
While the intricacies of this event are certain in this specific
scenario, the political factors must be taken into account for an
insight into the way public policy functions. Why did the Indian
government deny Dr. Mukhopadhyay his passport? Why did his
path-breaking experiment find no resonance in scientific circles,
which in the 1970s, were deeply intertwined with the State?
Population Control and other external factors
One possible explanation could be the orientation of state policy on
population control. Matthew Connelly (2006) traces the engagement
of the Indian state with population control, especially during the time
of Emergency under the despotic leadership of Indira Gandhi.
Throughout the narrative, one finds the constant worry of a
Malthusian nightmare that plagued policymakers and academics in
India. In fact, Hoover and Coales seminal thesis in 1958 articulated
concerns of how capital accumulation for industrial development can
be impeded due to high rates of population growth in low-income
countries, and this resonated in the policymaking circles in Delhi at

3
Roughly translates into the death of a doctor.
156

that time (Connelly, 2006, p. 638). Through the 1960s and 1970s,
international organizations and the discourse on development aid
also urged countries like India to work on population control in order
to reap the benefits of faster economic development. At such a time,
the focus was on sterilization technologies and medical intervention
that could impede population growth, not add to it. In fact, Connelly
contends that no government since wartime Japan had pursued a
population program with specific demographic goals and this was
the first in history aimed at blatantly reducing population growth
4
.
(2006, p. 645) The focus of scientists, activists, officials and the
State was population control (p. 662).
In the broader rubric of policies that focused, with desperation,
to control population by reducing population growth, it is hardly
surprising that the pioneering of IVF, a technological antidote to
infertility was neglected (Allahbadia & Kaur, 2003). One could
extend this argument to probe whether this was actively
discouraged, but owing to a lack of credible literature on that, I will
not pursue such a cause. In fact, making ample use of the suspicion
regarding the need for fertility-inducing technologies and following
the success of the official experiment on in-vitro fertilization
undertaken in 1986, Dr. Anand Kumar stated in an interview that
The IVF technique has now provided a major and justifiable
reason to investigate infertile couples thoroughly and thus has
offered many opportunities to identify and study factors
contributing to infertility. And, an understanding of these factors

4
Concerns regarding class playing an important factor in deciding the receipt of population control, or the
allegation that certain populations were sought to be reduced is addressed later in the paper.
157

may provide clues as to how to induce infertility in fertile couples as
a means of family planning. There are a number of reasons to be
learnt from Natures Workshop which has created the infertile
couple. (Sheth, 1987)
My primary concern regarding the neglect of IVF during the
time that population reduction was the name of the game is that, on
the face of it, it is an apparent contradiction to the historical and
cultural ethos associated with infertility. However, upon some
reflection it becomes abundantly obvious that the stark reaction
against sterilization and contraception, and the consequent
unpopularity of these policies, was not just a matter of human rights
but had its roots in a cultural, historical and emotional understanding
of infertility as a perverse and shaming condition. Therefore, in its
tryst to reduce population numbers in India, the state did not
destigmatize infertility but might have even fuelled further
stigmatization, which is reflected even today. At the same time, state
policy today is ambiguous regarding reproductive technologies that
cure infertility, and the need for population control and reducing
fertility rate. The reasons for my allegation that the status is
ambiguous will be discussed later.
It is this tension between concern regarding increasing
population control, which rests on the concerns of an emerging
middle-class and the popular mainstream socio-cultural ethos
regarding infertility in the Indian society that I would like to explore.
In the next section, I will discuss the various political, social,
economic and cultural aspects in the Indian society that contribute to
the construction of infertility as an illness and also play an active role
158

in reinforcement of this wider belief. I will also take gender and class
as being the two structural elements that shape this belief and the
ramifications that follow.
Socio-cultural construction of infertility in India
One consequence of the recent medicalization of infertility is the
medical merry-go-round of interventions available to those women
who can afford them (Whiteford & Gonzalez, 1995, p. 27)
In a telling analysis of the North American society with regard
to fertility norms, Veevers contends that there are two overriding
assumptions that govern family values: one, all married couples
reproduce; and two, all married couples should want to reproduce
(1980, p.3, cited in Miall, 1986). This narrative of fertility norm is
present even in Indian society. In fact, the internalization of this pro-
natalist norm is so stark that an involuntary childlessness is largely
stigmatized. The growth of assisted reproductive technologies
(ARTs) all over the world seeks to address the problem of infertility
in couples and reinforces this very norm that childlessness is social
suicide. However, this social pressure is not free of its gendered and
classist tendencies, as we shall see in the following paragraphs.
When I was told an acquaintance that she was considering
surrogacy since despite several attempts, she and her husband
were unable to conceive, I remember wondering why they were not
looking at adoption as a viable alternative. Her reply was that few
people would be supportive of that measure in her family, and also
that she wanted her own genetic make-up passed on to subsequent
generations. While the latter part of her answer can be dispensed
159

with owing to personal preferences, the former explanation strikes
out as derivative of deep-seated ethos regarding adoption.
Stigmatization, Taint and Gender
I was quite surprised when I came across IVF being labeled gender-
sensitive in the sense that it provides relief to women who are
socially excluded owing to infertility and involuntary childlessness
(Nadimipally et al, 2011, p. 4). There is such palpable tension in this
assertion since this would mean that the so-called gender-sensitive
technology is providing a superficial solution to a problem that has
its roots in the stigmatization of infertility itself. In fact, this
technology, by reinforcing the conflation of womanhood and
motherhood, would be gender insensitive to say the least. It not just
rids itself of sexist tendencies, but also takes the sheen off
alternatives such as adoption. In fact, Bharadwaj, in his thorough
work on adoption and infertility in India, argues that adoption
accentuates the pre-existent stigma surrounding infertility (2003, p.
1867). More than the arguments regarding adoption as being
preferred or not, what interests me in this paper is the stigma
surrounding infertility itself. Stigma surrounding infertility is a
complex issue with gender playing a crucial role (Mukherjee &
Nadimipally, 2006). While motherhood is conflated with womanhood
(Ussher, 1989; Phonenix, Woolett, & Lloyd, 1991), fatherhood plays
an important role in consolidating the masculinity of a man
(Humphrey, 1977, cited in Gannon et al , 2004).
However, Mason (1993) has asserted that this manliness is
viewed as the ability to make the woman pregnant rather than
undertake the role of the father. It was this that triggered extreme
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reactions against the stringent sterilization programme undertaken
by the Indian government in the 1970s under the overarching goal of
population control. However, while male infertility has its own
ramifications on the notions of masculinities and potency (Inhorn,
2004), the notion of female infertility has a direct implication on the
preponderance of the reproductive technologies that target women
as the primary recipients of medical intervention. Owing to a
hegemonic conflation of womanhood with motherhood, there is a
crisis of femininity owing to infertility. Further, there is also the added
pressure of societal expectation of carrying forward the bloodline or
corporeal progeny. Women, in their performance of their gender, get
trapped in a no-exit cycle of individual and societal disappointment.
The social control is a function of social diagnosis that occurs in a
bottom-up fashion when it comes to how society and culture shape
public consciousness. The personal does become political but in a
manner that does not further the interests of women at large.
The stigma on infertility is further deepened in Hindu societies
in India where the idea of genetic purity is integral to its core
philosophy. A rabid fear of miscegeny can be traced to the centrality
of caste, gotra and the patrilineal descent that receives rapt attention
from individuals in the society. Bharadwaj contends that this cultural
importance of children can be traced to the gendered norms that
permeate the Hindu patriarchal order where the male principle is
sustained through the agency of male offspring (2003, p. 1870). In
this case, the infertility of a couple is a cause for major social flak
since the genetic purity might be compromised and the entire
bloodline affected. Hence, options like in-vitro fertilization and
161

surrogacy become more sought-after compared to adoption.
Raymond (1998) argues that technological reproduction has made
medicalised access to the female body acceptable, and that a
woman will endure anything to become pregnant. In an interesting
take on fertility, Lingam (1990, p.16) argues that rights and needs
are used simultaneously to attack and defend technological
intervention in reproduction. For instance, IVF technologies are
justified on the grounds that couples have the right to bear children
or that they need to bear children. The social control here is quite
evident. By creating a narrative of what family norms are and ought
to be, the hegemonic ideas regarding natalism are promoted and
these exert unquestioned pressures on women (Widge, 2005).
Society has diagnosed infertility to be a disease or disability
5
which needs medical intervention. This intervention seeks to play on
the existing pro-natalist ethos of the society and also actively
creates the space for the intensification and internalization of such
ethos. In this quest, there is the explicit involvement of the scientific
community (Lingam, 1990), the popular media (Bharadwaj, 2000),
the markets (Mukherjee & Nadimipally, 2006; SAMA, 2009; Gupta
2011), and the State playing both a covert and an overt role (SAMA,
2009; Gupta, 2011).

5
See Miall (1986) for a detailed discussion on involuntary childlessness as being a disability. I find it
interesting that the term disability is used, since it implicitly attributes the presence of reproductive
organs with their ability or function procreation. The politics of epistemology can be unearthed here.
Judith Butler (1989, 1990, and 1993) has theorized intensely on how ones sex is not a natural fact but is
in immersed in a matrix of discursive practices in society.
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Compounded Concerns: Class, Gender and State Policy on
ARTs
Medical research in India is, to a large extent supported by the
public exchequer and the fruits of such a public-fund supported
research must be available to all segments of the population
including those who are extremely fertile as well as those who
are infertile. TC Anand Kumar (Lingam, 1990, p. 16)
The aspect of social diagnosis as being gendered has been
explored. However, this notion of gendered medicalization, when
combined with the aspect of class, compounds the issue of infertility
and social diagnosis. Matthew Connelly has argued that Indian elites
were in favour of the population control policy partly because they
were worried about population quality (2006, p. 662). Also, the
targeting of the poor was evident in the focus of the population
control policies and this was justified on the grounds that they did
not know what they wanted. The idea of lower classes being subject
to invasive technologies is telling of the bias in state policy. This
policy was aimed at actively targeting the poor for sterilization.
At the same time, with regard to ARTs there is a conspicuous
absence of state intervention in terms of financial investment or strict
legislative measures to regulate the industry of reproductive
technologies. Nadimipally et al (2011) find that in the climate of state
restructuring and privatization, the priorities of the state in relation to
health care have shifted from protecting the public good to
promoting the interests of industry, thus creating conditions for
healthcare to be a site for corporate profit (p. 1). By the way of
ignoring the implications of excessive privatization of ARTs, the
163

state is passively creating conditions for the population growth of a
certain class of people those who can afford quality medical
intervention while ignoring the concerns of infertility in lower
classes.
The social diagnosis of infertility, then, seems to be based on
a very strong conception of class while womanhood is conflated
with motherhood for those who can afford technological intervention
that cures infertility, the same does not apply to lower classes since
there is no tangible effort at making reproductive technologies
accessible to the poor (SAMA, 2009). In other words, while on the
one hand the state favours medical tourism and takes pride in the
fact that India is slowly become the most favoured destination for
IVF, it is yet to invest in it and create domestic conditions wherein
IVF can become accessible to all. It is a very convoluted attempt at
maintaining population quality.
The reason that there is hesitancy in regulating the market of
ARTs in India is simple and quite obvious: currently, India provides
inexpensive treatment for infertility vis--vis other countries like the
US or Singapore. This is possible through the unregulated
burgeoning of IVF clinics in India, ranging from small ones to large
hospitals. While modest governmental estimates put the number of
IVF clinics at 300, other estimates say that there are close to 30,000
or more clinics in India (SAMA, 2009, p. 25). This lack of clarity on
what the number of quality of clinics is itself indicative of how there
is no record of the quality of treatment at these clinics. Owing to a
wide pool of human resources and an overwhelming demand for
cheap technological intervention, this industry is thriving in India. If
164

this is regulated by the state and the suppliers reduce in number, the
price of medical treatment will initially go up. At the same time, state
intervention in the form of investment and provision in government
hospitals will make it accessible to the lower classes. In such a
case, it is interesting to see the stand that the state is taking with
regard to IVF: lax legislative measures and a tacit compliance with
the growth of an unregulated private sector. I cannot help but point
to the nexus this stance has with the ambitions of unbridled success
in medical tourism.
At the same time, there is a conflict of interests with regard to
state policy on IVF from a gender perspective: should the state
promote IVF for all considering the fact that it would then be playing
into the conflation of womanhood with motherhood? I argue that the
state should instead work on a larger project of promoting a right to
be fertile for all classes while taking on an educational project that
emphasized on playing down the need to be fertile. This way, it
challenges the existing assumptions of motherhood while combating
the stigmatization of infertility without a class bias which would invite
questions regarding whose genetic make-up does the state seek to
propagate?
The point I am trying to make is that it is important to view a
technology in context of the wider politics surrounding it in a
comprehensive manner because each of these aspects has linkages
that characterize elements in a complex structure. The system of
tacit oppression and the propagation of the population control policy
in India have shifted from being focused on numbers to being
focused on quality. This shift in perception is hard to capture as
165

compared to the overt population control programmes earlier, but
this shift is tangible due to its sheer absence. The social control
exerted by socio-cultural factors is compounded by the state through
its policies with regard to IVF. Gender and class are implicated in
different ways by state policy and there is a need to work out a
solution that does not discriminate against either. Social control on
gender is manifest in a patriarchal hegemony of gender roles and
functions in society, while the system of oppression when it comes
to class is evident in the lack of choice or the conscious non-
involvement by the state in making medical technology accessible to
all. There is dire need for reflection, research and re-imaginations
regarding reproductive technologies in India which look beyond the
smokescreen of medical tourism and the economics of markets to
the politics of policy.
Conclusion
The history of in-vitro fertilization in India is encompassed within the
broader socio-cultural politics of infertility and motherhood. When
this socio-cultural context comes into contact with the medicalization
of infertility owing to the growth in reproductive technologies, the
process of social diagnosis plays itself out in several different ways
ranging from media narratives to public policy. As noted earlier, the
contextual constructionist approach makes analysis of
medicalization of infertility credible. Using this framework of
medicalization, I find that there are three consequences that have a
tangible impact on social control: one, the internalization of the
neutrality of technology and its freedom from any politics of
epistemology; two, the internalization of gendered norms of
166

womanhood and natalism along with an uncritical outlook towards
infertility; and three, the lack of concern regarding how the spurt of
an unregulated private fertility industry in India makes access to
quality intervention unfeasible to the poor. This fact becomes even
more sinister when one juxtaposes the concerns of surrogacy
alongside. Owing to lack of legislative measures in this industry,
surrogacy and IVF serves the interests of foreign tourists by
providing cheap services, but the same services are hardly
accessible to an entire chunk of the population today not
surprisingly, the same chunk that was actively sought out to be
sterilized in the 1960s and 1970s.
In the case of IVF in India, while the aspect of gender and
motherhood is implicated by IVF and its thriving industry India when
it comes to social diagnosis of infertility and the reinforcement of
norms regarding motherhood, the aspect of class bias and quality
of population is implicated by the covert and overt policies of the
Indian state. As we have seen, the policies of the state create
tensions that are compounded in the case of gender and class. In
the broader context of medicalization and social diagnosis, the
Indian state ought to create an environment in which reproductive
technologies can be promoted in a manner that is accessible to all
whilst actively working towards an educational initiative that helps in
weeding out the gendered impact of infertility from its structural
rootedness in patriarchy and aids the consolidation of the agency of
women in India. Without a combined effort, the state fill fail to
address the concerns of either women or the poor or both.
167

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172

Chapter-8
Woman Literacy in Rajasthan State of India
Ratan Lal
Govt. School, Badi Kallan, Jodhpur, India
Rajasthan state is located in north-western India, the great
sub-continent. On globe, geometrical location of Rajasthan is
between from 23
0
3 northern latitude to 30
0
12 northern latitude and
from 69
0
30 eastern longitudes to 78
0
17 eastern longitudes. The
circ line (i.e. 23 northern latitude) passes nearby Banswara city, a
district headquarter, in the southern Rajasthan, Punjab in north,
Haryana in north-east. Uttar Pradesh in east, Madhya Pardesh in
south east, Gujrat in south and south-east, are its neighbour state
while Pakistan also nation is located in its west. This state is also
known as maru-meru-maal
.
This state is surrounded by river-
planes of ganges-yamuna in east, malwa plateau in south and river-
planes of Satluj-Vyas in north-east. Area of Rajasthan is 3,42,239
square kilometer. It is the largest state of India in area point of river.
The ancients mountaineer of world, namely Aravali, is here, it runs
from amid of the state of north-east. The western and north-western
side of Aravali mountaineer is almost desert or semi-desert, that is
famous as that desert. Twelve districts of Rajasthan are scattered in
the desert with 61.11 % of total area. According to census-2011,
total population of Rajasthan is 6, 86, 21,012. Out of the total
population, 3.56 crores are male and 3.30 crore female. This sex-
ratio in not in favor of female side.
173

Population has been a man topic or subject to be studied by all
geographers as well social-scientists. In some decades recently,
there is an increase of study about population and related problems
in geographical study. Year of 1953 is known as prominent
benchmark in population study in geography. Glenn Twiwarthae
announced in his presidential address of American Geographys
council that a geography of population is a branch of systematic or
chronide geography. According to him human beings are users of
physical landscape as well as developer builders of cultural
landscape. He divided vivid symptoms of population into two
categories- (a) biological (b) cultural, in his views, population was
put under cultural symptom.
174

Transformation from pre-literacy stage to literacy began
4000 years B.C. The change started with painting skill and gradually
reached in letter writing. After development of writing and reading
skill, importance of literacy in cultural progress increased, that is why
literacy is known as a reliable indicator of social, economical and
cultural progress in geography of population. Concept of literacy
means minimum efficiency in literacy that somehow different from
one country to another. The United Nations Population commission
(UNPC) has accepted the ability to write and read with good
comprehension simple message in any language as base of literacy
parameter. Indian census commission has also accepted this
definition. Collection of literacy data and it period is different in vivid
nations.
In India, evaluation of literacy in population above 6 years age
class is made at ten years space. Before 1991 there was a trend to
count total population in calculation of literacy. For there is not total
literacy in some countries, so the classification is presented on vivid
bases. Difference is found in literacy of male-female, rural-urban and
vivid population groups even in each nation or state. In India, where
education and literacy was omnivorous in ancient times, low literacy
rate is only result of its recent history. Differences between male-
female, rural-urban, and sub-classes based on vivid castes, and
social-economical background in one region to other regions, are
main feature of literacy in India. In 1981, female literacy rate was
24.8% that increased up to 65.46 % in 2011 in India.
Due to vast population of country, strength of the most illiterate
person in world is found in India.
7
According to census-2011, Kerala
175

is the best literate state (93.91% total literacy) while Bihar is the
most backward state in country in literacy point of view. After that
Arunachal Pradesh (66.95%) and Rajasthan (67.06%) are
numbered. Kerala holds first position also in female literacy, where
Rajasthan (52.66%) is the most background state in female literacy
rate. However an acute and better increase in female literacy in
computer to make literacy during 1951-2011 is a positive point.
Literacy in Rajasthan is much less than other states in India. In
1901, total literacy rate in Rajasthan was only 3.47 percent.
Situation of female literacy in Rajasthan has been very slow. From
1901 to 1950, this rate had been neglect able. Increase in woman
literacy only during 1991-2001 was more than total increase of
female literacy 1951-1991 i.e. 40 years. Female literacy rate was
44.34% in year 2001 that was less than total literacy rate (61.03%)
of state. Due to many new literacy campaign and programs female
literacy rate increased during 1991-2001. Kota district with 61.25%
female literacy rate was first topper but Jalore district. (27.53%)
remained at the last position in the last position in the view in year
2001. 1
st
year 2011; female literacy rate is 52.66 percent that is also
less than T.L.R. (67.06%) in Rajasthan. In 2011, Kota district with
66.32% female literacy rate and Jalore district with 38.73% female
literacy rate have been accordingly first topper and the last as
previous decade. However female literacy rate increase, yet
maximum position could not be gained.
176

Table 1. Rajasthan Female Literacy 1951-2011
S. No. Year Female Literacy Rate
1 1951 2.66
2 1961 7.01
3 1971 10.06
4 1981 14.60
5 1991 20.44
6 2001 44.34
7 2011 52.66
In fifteen districts of Rajasthan, more than fifty percent women
are literate. Female are literate. Female literacy in Rajasthan was
only 2.66% in year 1991. Rate of increase in female literacy rate
which could not be gained in forty year up till 1991, was 43.85% with
increase of 23.41% in year 2001. But it could not keep continue as it
remained 52.66%with only 8.81% increase rate.
This slow indicates in downfall of government schemes
implementation and also of neutrality in public-participation.
Analyzing the causes, this slow rate should be led to maximum or its
177

climax. It is obvious that female literacy rate in Rajasthan is very
poor. The state is even today backward in the point of view. Rural
female literacy rate is less than urban female literacy rate trails to
remove rural female illiteracy are need of hours. To say candidly
illiteracy in women of schedule castes and schedule tribe is Omni-
present.
Main cause of Illiteracy:-
1. Most of population in Rajasthan is rural and employed in
primary occupations. So education and literacy level in
villages is less urban population.
2. Availability of opportunities for education in rural areas in
lesser. In last decades, government has managed to avail
education opportunities but it is only qualitative measure
and recognible qualitative achievements could not be
achieved due to social backwardness and economical
poverty.
3. Due to poverty, children, instead of getting schools, begin
to add their family income. Many girls are barred within
their homes to look after their younger brothers or sisters.
4. Literacy is less in those rural areas where scheduled
caste and scheduled tribe population is much.
5. Seen through historical perspective, there had been
colonialism and feudalism for a long period, due to which
no heed were paid towards social welfare programmers.
Female literacy rate is very low due to many factors; some
there are following opposition for woman education, in
social point of view, their low status in society, scarcity of
178

woman-teacher, tendency of early-age or child marriage
etc.
6. Scarcity of separate girls education institutes and social
environment is also a big barrier.
Government Programs to get higher literacy level
Many schemes have been launched by government for girls
education in Rajasthan.
1. Saraswati Yojana
2. Establishment of Girls Education Foundation.
3. Lok Jumbish, Shiksha Karmi, Guru Mitra Yojana.
4. DPEP District Primary Education Programme.
5. Shiksha Aapke Dwar (Education on your Doors).
6. Proudh Shiksha Kendra (Adult Education Centre).
7. Establishment of Anganwadi Centers.
8. Mid-Day-Meal scheme, stability and solution of Mal-
nutrition problem.
9. Free Text-Book scheme.
10. Bicycle distribution scheme for secondary level girl
students.
11. A secondary level scheme at each village panchayat level
and minimum one primary school in each hamlet or
inhabitant.
Conclusion
In recent years, a change in literacy of male and female of traditional
society also has come. Female literacy rate increase more rapidly
than those of males. So difference between female literacy rate and
Male literacy rate has minimized. Increase in female literacy rate is
mainly due to the lower previous literacy rate. Besides there is good
extension of educational in rural areas. As a result, there is increase
in number of woman-teacher that is increase in number of woman-
179

teacher that is important in women education. Growing social
awareness, increase in government programs, growing male literacy
also supported women literacy. A part from all this, female literacy
today is becoming matrimonial necessity. Higher female literacy rate
can be obtained with government and non-government programs as
well as active public participation. By this way, total women
participatory in Nation Building will be achieved. Then the day is not
far away, when India stands in leading and pioneering rank in world
in development point of view.
References
1. Deepak Maheshwari, Geography (Geography of Rajasthan)
Pratiyogita Sahitya, 2004 Page-2
2. Ratan Lal, Social Geography of Rajasthan (Seervi Samaj Ke
Sandarbh Me) Laghu Shodh Prabandh, Jodhpur, 2003-04
Page-1
3. L.R. Bhalla, Samyik Rajasthan, Kuldeep Publications 2003-04,
Page-8
4. R.C. Chandna, Population Geography, Kalyani Publishers,
Ludhiyana, 1999 Page-01
5. Purva Varnit S.No. 4 Page 233
6. G.S. Gosal, Literacy in India: An Interpretative Study Rural
Sociology, VOL. 29, 1964, Page 276.
7. R.C. Tiwari, Indian Geography, Prayag Pustak Bhawan,
Allahabad, 2012 Page-533
8. Purva Varnit S.No. 3 Page 92
9. Purva Varnit S.No. 1 Page 201

180

Chapter-9
Population Challenges and Development Goals
Preeti Sharma and Devendra Kumar Sharma
Assistant Professors, Department of Geography
RKJK Barasia PG College, Surajgarh (Jhunjhunu ) Raj.
Introduction
Part one of this report provides a global overview of demographic
trends for major areas and selected districts. It reviews major
population trends relating to population size and growth,
urbanization and city growth, population ageing, fertility and
contraception, mortality, including HIV/AIDS, and international
migration. In addition, a section on population policies has been
included, in which the concerns and responses of Governments to
the major population trends are summarized. Demography can be
defined as the study of human populations including their
composition, distributions, densities, growth and other
characteristics as well as the causes and consequences of changes
in these factors.
Population Size and Growth
Rajasthan population passed 6 billion persons at the end of the
twentieth century and stands at 6.5 billion in 2005. It is currently
growing at 1.2 per cent annually. The addition of the sixth billion took
place in a 12-year period, namely, between 1987 and 1999, which is
the shortest period within which the Rajasthan has gained a billion
persons. The addition of the next billion, the seventh, is expected to
take about 13 years. The population of the Rajasthan is expected to
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increase by 2.6 billion during the next 45 years, from 6.5 billion
today to 9.1 billion in 2050 (medium variant). However the
realization of these projections is contingent on ensuring that
couples have access to family planning and that efforts to arrest the
current spread of the HIV/AIDS epidemic are successful in reducing
its growth momentum. The population of the more developed
regions, currently estimated at slightly more than 1.2 billion persons,
is anticipated to change little during the coming decades. However,
some noteworthy demographic changes are expected to occur. In
many districts, especially in Europe, populations are projected to
decline, as fertility levels are expected to remain below replacement
levels. Other developed districts will see their populations continue
to grow because their fertility levels are closer to replacement levels
and because of significant flows of international migration. The
population of the less developed regions is projected to rise steadily,
from about 5.3 billion persons today to 7.8 billion persons by mid-
century (medium variant). That projection assumes continuing
declines in fertility.
Population Ageing
During the twentieth century, the proportion of older persons (those
aged 60 years or over) continued to rise and this trend is expected
to continue well into the twenty first century. For example, the
proportion of older persons was 8 per cent in 1950 and 10 per cent
in 2005 and is projected to reach about 22 per cent by mid-century.
As the twenty-first century began, the Rajasthan population included
approximately 600 million older persons, triple the number recorded
50 years earlier. By 2050, the Rajasthan is expected to have some 2
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billion older personsonce again, a tripling of the number in that
age group within a span of 50 years. Globally, the population of
older persons is growing by 2.0 per cent each year, considerably
faster than the population as a whole. For at least the next 25 years,
the older population is expected to continue growing more rapidly
than other age groups. The growth rate of those aged 60 years or
over will reach 3.1 per cent annually in the period 2010-2015. Such
rapid growth will require far-reaching economic and social
adjustments in most districts.
The population of all districts will continue to age substantially.
For example, the median age of the Rajasthan will rise from 28
years today to 38 years in 2050. As already noted the number of
persons aged 60 years or over will rise from 10 percent of the
Rajasthan population today to 22 per cent in 2050. The percentage
aged 80 years or over will rise from just 1 per cent today to 4 per
cent in 2050.
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Marked differences exist between regions in the number and
proportion of older persons. In the more developed regions, one fifth
of the population was aged 60 years or over in the year 2005; by
2050, that proportion is expected to reach one third. In the less
developed regions, 8 per cent of the population is currently over age
60; however, by 2050, older persons will make up one fifth of the
population. As the pace of population ageing is much faster in the
developing districts than in the developed ones, developing districts
will have less time to adjust to the consequences of population
ageing. Moreover, population ageing in the developing districts is
taking place at much lower levels of socio-economic development
than has been the case in the developed districts.
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Fertility and Contraception
Fertility has declined substantially over the last several decades in
all areas of the Rajasthan. Around 30 years ago, for example, the
total fertility ratethat is to say, the average number of children a
woman would bear if fertility rates remained unchanged during her
lifetimewas close to five children per woman at the Rajasthan
level. By the end of the twentieth century, the fertility rate had
declined to slightly less than three children per woman.
In 2000-2005, districts or areas exhibited fertility levels at or
below replacement level. These districts accounted for about 45 per
cent of the Rajasthans population, or 2.8 billion persons in 2003.
Because their levels of fertility are low and are expected to remain
low during the coming decades, the populations of those districts are
projected to grow relatively little by mid-century, and in a number of
districts population is expected to decline. The remaining districts of
the Rajasthan, with a combined population of about 3.5 billion
persons, exhibit total fertility levels above replacement level. Forty-
two districts have fertility levels at or above five children per woman
in 2000-2005. As a consequence, the population of that group of
districts is expected to grow markedly in the coming decades.
Among the developing districts, the pace of fertility decline during
the recent past has varied significantly.

Mortality, Including HIV/AIDS
During the twentieth century, mortality experienced the most rapid
decline in the history of humanity. Although the sustained reduction
of mortality had started in the eighteenth century, it gained
momentum in the early part of the twentieth century as better
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hygiene, improved nutrition and medical practices based on
scientific evidence became the rule in the more advanced districts.
The century also marked an important turning point in the less
developed regions. With the expanded use of antibiotics, vaccines
and insecticides, mortality in the developing Rajasthan began to
decline rapidly. For example, life expectancy at birth for the less
developed regions increased by slightly more than 50 per cent from
1950-1955 to 2000-2005, rising from about 41 to 63 years. As a
result, the mortality differentials between the less developed and the
more developed regions narrowed.
By the period 2000-2005, the difference in life expectancy
between the two groups amounted to 12 years instead of 25 years,
the difference observed in the period 1950-1955. There remains,
however, a group of districts the least developed where the
reduction of mortality has lagged behind. While mortality declined in
the least developed districts, it did not keep pace with mortality
improvements in the less developed regions. For example, the
difference between the life expectancy for the least developed
districts and that for the less developed regions as a whole
increased from 5 years in the period 1950-1955 to 12 years.

Demographic Measurement Tools and Techniques
The major demographic processes of fertility, mortality and migration
constitute the basic components to determine the size, composition
and distribution of a population which require basic tools and
techniques of measurement.
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Tools of Measurement
Ratios: Ratio is a quotient of any two demographic quantities. It is
the result of dividing one quantity by another. Ratio quantifies the
magnitude of one occurrence or condition in relation to another. It is
expressed in the form of: 1.2. Proportion: A proportion is a ratio
which indicates the relation in magnitude of a part of the whole. The
numerator is always included in the denominator. A proportion is
usually expressed as a percentage.
Rates: A rate measures the occurrence of some particular event
(example death) in a population during a given time period. It is a
statement of the risk of developing a condition. It indicates the
change in some event that takes place in a population over a period
of time. It is defined per unit of time.
ACHIEVING DEVELOPMENT GOALS
Population Trends Relevant For Development
The goal of development is to improve the quality of life of all
people. In that sense, population is at the core of development. In
2005, 759 million, or 12 per cent, of the 6.5 billion inhabitants of the
Rajasthan live in the least developed districts. Between 2005 and
2015, the least developed districts as a whole are expected to
absorb a quarter of all population growth in the Rajasthan. High
fertility levels characterize the majority of the least developed
districts. Consequently, their populations are still young, with 42 per
cent of their inhabitants being children under age 15. Levels of
extreme poverty in most of the least developed districts are high:
over 20 per cent of their overall population live in extreme poverty,
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surviving on less than US$ 1 per day, and in 10 of them that
proportion is higher than 40 per cent. Although fertility levels have
started to decline in some of the least developed districts, the
desired number of children remains high. Nevertheless, in the
majority of the least developed districts, the number of children that
women have surpasses the number desired; suggesting that
universal provision of family planning services could result in a
reduction of unwanted fertility.
Importance of Human Rights
Respect for human rights underpins the attainment of development
because if a persons human rights are not safeguarded and
respected that persons well-being is undermined. The Programmed
of Action underscores the importance of human rights by reiterating
several of them in the principles set forth in its chapter II.
Furthermore, a number of objectives and recommendations
contained in the Programmed of Action are justifiable not only
because they lead to development or have positive impacts on the
socio-economic status of people, but because they are an
expression of the fundamental rights of the individual. For instance,
article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights14 states that
everyone has the right to education and that elementary education
shall be compulsory. Both the Programmed of Action and the
Millennium Development Goals reaffirm this right in setting out the
goal of achieving universal primary education for both girls and boys
by 2015. Similarly an article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of
the Child15 calls for a reduction of infant and child mortality.
Eradication of poverty
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The Programmed of Action recognizes that widespread
poverty remains the major challenge to development efforts. Poverty
is often accompanied by unemployment, malnutrition, illiteracy, low
status of women, exposure to environmental risks and limited
access to social and health services ... including family planning. All
these factors contribute to high levels of fertility, morbidity and
mortality, as well as to low economic productivity. Poverty is also
closely related to inappropriate spatial distribution of population, to
unsustainable use and inequitable distribution of such natural
resources as land and water, and to serious environmental
degradation. The Programmed of Action stresses that sustained
economic growth in the context of sustainable development is
essential to eradicating poverty.
Population Challenges and Development Goals
Advanced in the transition of low fertility. Most of them are middle-
income districts where levels of extreme poverty are low. Relative
poverty, however, is significant. Consequently, in addition to the
positive effects that the demographic onus might still have on
economic growth, measures adopted to improve income distribution
for instance, income-generation and employment strategies directed
to the poor, as suggested by the Programmed of Actionwould be
of benefit to these districts. The Programmed of Action also
recognizes that high priority should be given to meeting the needs,
and increasing the opportunities, for information, education, jobs,
skill development and relevant reproductive health services, of all
underserved members of society, who generally include the poor in
both urban and rural areas.
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Relation between Poverty and Population Growth
1. Lack of access to education and health care is at the root of the
problem. In many districts, the costs of books and other fees
prevents many families from sending their children. In addition, girls
may be discouraged from attending schools due to cultural or
religious beliefs.
2. Without access to education, those in poverty poor have few job
prospects outside manual labor and subsistence farming. Wages
are low and often inadequate to meet basic needs.
3. Low wages mean that families cannot afford enough nutritious
food. This can result in malnourished mothers who are more likely to
give birth to premature or low-weight babies. Lack of nutritious food
also means that other children in the family may lag in their physical
and mental development.
4. The result of poor nutrition is higher rates of mortality for mothers
and children alike. Surviving children are weaker and lack energy.
This leads to (5), a reduced ability to work and learn, even if the
children are fortunate enough to go to school.

6. Without a good e
from manual labor or
7. People who are d
have more children to
little access to healt
likely to repeat the Cy
Reduction of Hunge
Because poverty an
economic growth b
hunger, particularly
190
ducation, children have few job c
subsistence farming.
dependent on subsistence farming
o provide much-needed labor and i
th care and education, the next g
ycle.
er
nd malnutrition often go togethe
roadly shared is also necessary
y in the least developed di
hoices aside
are likely to
income. With
generation is
er, sustained
y to reduce
stricts. The
191

Programmed of Action acknowledges the importance of attaining
food security at all levels and calls for measures to strengthen food,
nutrition and agricultural policies and Programmed, and fair trade
relations. The Millennium Development Goal target of reducing by
half, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people suffering
from hunger is consistent with this call. Because there is no
shortage of food Rajasthan wide, combating hunger implies
providing people with the means of acquiring food.
Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women
Whether and when the Rajasthans population stabilizes will depend
in large measures on changes in the status of women around the
Rajasthan. There is a growing body of scientific evidence supporting
the view that improvement in womens status is good development
policy and may well be the key to lower birth rates. Based on
national reports the UN received from 150 districts for the 1994
International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD),
certain characteristics of the status of women are common to all
regions of the Rajasthan: lower status and salary levels than men in
the formal work force; large proportions of women in the informal
sector of the economy a rising number of female headed
households; lack of enforcement of legislation protecting womens
rights; and under representation of women in politics and decision
making positions. Women are poorly represented in national
governments around the Rajasthan.
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Understanding Gender
Gender refers to the different roles that men and women play in a
society, and the relative power they wield. Gender roles vary from
one country to another, but almost everywhere, women face
disadvantages relative to men in social, economic and political
spheres of life. Where men are viewed as the principal decision
makers, women often hold a subordinate position in negotiations
about limiting family size, contraceptive use, managing family
resources, protecting family health, or seeking jobs. Gender
differences affect womens health and well being throughout the life
cycle.
Violence against Women
Around the Rajasthan at least one woman in every three has been
beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her life time. Most
often the abuser is a member of her own family. Increasingly,
gender based violence is recognized as a major public health
concern and a violation of human rights. The effect of violence can
be devastating to a womans reproductive health as well as to other
aspects of her physical and mental well being. In addition to
causing injury, violence increases womens long term risk of a
number of other health problems, including chronic pain, physical
disability, drug and alcohol abuse, and depression. Women with a
history of physical or sexual abuse are also at increased risk for
unintended pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, and adverse
pregnancy outcomes. Yet victims of violence who seek care from
health professionals often have needs that providers do not
recognize, do not ask about, and do not know how to address.
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Empowering Women Education
Education is the primary avenue for elevating womens status. Two
thirds of the Rajasthans illiterate adults are women; and 70
percent of the children not enrolled in primary school are girls. There
is abundant evidence that more educated women tend to marry
later; thus they delay child bearing and have fewer children over the
course of their lives. In many districts, women with secondary
education have about half as many children as those with no
education. As women gain more autonomy over their lives as a
result of education, this gives them wider employment opportunities
and may make them want to delay marriage. Education means they
are more able to make decisions over the number of children they
wish to have. As they gain control over their reproductive lives so
they can gain control over the rest of their lives. Their greater
autonomy in turn increases the livelihood that their children will
survive and in turn be educated.
Employment Opportunities
Education also expands womens employment possibilities and their
ability to secure their own economic resources. Women are less
likely than men to hold a paying job in part, because women are not
treated as equals to men in the work place. Women are paid less
than men throughout the Rajasthan, although the gap is somewhat
smaller in developed districts. In many developing districts, women
hold less than 25 percent of formal sector jobs. Instead, women
work in the informal economy in subsistence agriculture, in the
markets, or in cottage industries where their contribution often is
not counted in official statistics.
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Legislating Equality
Governments have to enact legislation to provide equal
opportunities for women and men and to protect women from
discrimination. However, legislation to improve womens status is
often not enough to change behavior. Cultural and religious barriers
to womens advancement are deeply rooted. In many societies, laws
to protect womens rights were designed merely to placate vocal
minorities, and the mechanisms for enforcing them are weak or
nonexistent. The elimination of exploitation, abuse, and violence
against women and of other forms of genderbased discrimination is
considered essential to increasing womens participation in national
development agendas and much has to be done beyond enacting
legislation.
Emphasizing the Girl Child
Discrimination can begin even before girls are born. Sex selective
abortions have been reported in some districts of the Rajasthan,
such as China and India, where sons have a higher economic and
social value than daughters. The preference for boys encourages
families to invest more in their sons than their daughters, further,
perpetuating gender disparities. When boys receive preferential
treatment within the family and community, girls grow up thinking
that their contribution to society is less worthy than that of their
brothers. Increasing the awareness of the value of girls and
investing early in girls lives with more education, better health
care, and sufficient nutritionare the first steps towards advancing
womens status.
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Male Responsibility
Programs designed to elevate womens status are unlikely to
succeed if they do not have the backing of men. Men have a
deceive role in eliminating gender disparities because they hold the
power to influence societal thinking in most parts of the Rajasthan.
Government policies and programs have to pay special attention to
the role men can play in easing womens domestic burdens;
encouraging men to take active part in all aspects of family life:
attending to childrens health, nutrition, and education; practicing
family planning; providing economic support; caring for their own as
well as their partners reproductive and sexual health.
Improvement of Health
Good health is essential for the well-being of individuals and
societies. In districts where poor health is common, labour
productivity suffers. High rates of morbidity and mortality are still
common in many low-income districts, especially those highly
affected by infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and
tuberculosis.
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1. Reducing Mortality in Childhood
The Programmed of Action urged that by 2000, under-five mortality
should be reduced by one third or to a maximum of 70 deaths per
1,000 births in all districts, and that under-five mortality should
decline to below 45 deaths per 1,000 births in all districts by 2015
(para. 8.16), a goal consistent with the United Nations Millennium
Declarations goal of reducing under-five mortality by two thirds
between 1990 and 2015.
2. Improving Maternal Health
Ensuring womens health is a major concern of the Programmed of
Action. In that respect, its implementation would contribute to
realizing the basic right contained in article 12 of the Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, 18
which states:
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States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate
discrimination against women in the field of health care in order to
ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women, access to health-
care services, including those related to family planning.
Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1 of this article,
States Parties shall ensure to women appropriate services in
connection with pregnancy, confinement and the post-natal period,
granting free services where necessary, as well as adequate
nutrition during pregnancy and lactation.
Combating HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other Diseases
The Programmed of Action recognizes that infectious and parasitic
diseases continue to be a major affliction of large numbers of
people. To combat them, it suggests that developing districts be
assisted in producing generic drugs for their domestic markets so as
to ensure the wide availability and accessibility of such drugs.
Whereas the Programmed of Action does not include quantitative
targets regarding HIV/AIDS, the key actions for its further
implementation do, by calling for a reduction by 2005 of global HIV
prevalence among persons aged 15-24 and for a 25 per cent
reduction in that prevalence in the most affected districts. It also
calls for a 25 per cent reduction by 2010 of global HIV prevalence
among those aged 15-24. Achievement of these goals would
therefore contribute directly to the goal included in the United
Nations Millennium Declaration of having halted or begun to reverse
the spread of HIV by 2015. Reducing the prevalence of HIV/AIDS
would also contribute to the achievement of other development
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goals, including the reduction of poverty, the reduction of child
mortality and the reduction of maternal mortality.
IMPACT OF RAPID POPULATION GROWTH ON SOCIO
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Social Implications of Population Growth
Rapid population growth in less developed districts is linked to many
problems, including poverty, hunger, high infant mortality and
inadequate social services and infrastructure (transportation,
communication etc.) Rapid population growth may intensify the
hunger problem in the most rapidly growing districts. Population
growth can reduce or eliminate food production gains resulting from
modernization of farming. Population pressures may also encourage
practices such as over irrigation and overuse of crop lands, which
undermine the capacity to feed larger numbers. In some cases
population growth is quite directly related to a social problem
because it increases the absolute numbers whose needs must be
met.
Population Growth and Environment
The relationship between population growth and environmental
degradation may appear to be rather straight forward. More people
demand more resources and generate more waste. Clearly one of
the challenges of a growing population is the mere presence of so
many people sharing a limited number of resources strains the
environment. Many of the Rajasthans population live in poor
districts already strained by food insecurity; inadequate sanitation,
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water supply and housing; and an inability to meet the basic needs
of the current population. These same districts are also among the
fastest growing places in the Rajasthan. A large proportion of these
populations are supported through subsistence agriculture. As
populations grow competition for fertile land and the used of limited
resources increases. Meeting the increasing demand for food is
probably the most basic challenge and the most salient population
and environment crisis.
Health and Development
Development is movement of the whole system upward. Improving
health conditions used to be low priority of least developed districts
(LDC) governments. It was regarded as something the governments
would like to do if possible, but not at the expense of more directly
productive expenditure categories. Development specialists
generally took similar view as far as known. No previous economic
development textbook includes a chapter on health and nutrition.
Conclusion
Rajasthan population has reached 6.5 billion and is currently
growing at about 1.2 percent annually. The 7 billion mark is
projected to be reached in 2012, just seven years from now. Long-
range population projections suggest that the Rajasthans population
could ultimately stabilize at about 9 billion people. The proportion of
older persons is expected to continue rising well into the twenty-first
century. As the pace of population ageing is much faster in the
developing districts than in the developed ones, developing districts
will have less time to adjust to the consequences of population
ageing. Moreover, population ageing in the developing districts is
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taking place at much lower levels of socio-economic development.
Developed and developing districts differ significantly with regard to
their population concerns. High mortality, particularly infant and child
mortality, maternal mortality and mortality related to HIV/AIDS, is the
most significant population concern for developing districts. The
most significant demographic concern of the developed districts
relates to low fertility and its consequences, including population
ageing and the shrinking of the working-age population. In sum, the
current population picture is one of dynamic population change,
reflected in new and diverse patterns of childbearing, mortality,
migration, urbanization and ageing. The continuation and
consequences of these population trends present opportunities as
well as challenges for all societies in the twenty-first century.
References
Acharya, Shankar (2004). Indias Growth Prospects Revisited.
Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 39, No. 41 (Oct. 9-15),
Visaria and Visaria, Indias Population in Transition; and
International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Reproductive
and Child Health: District Level Household Survey 2002-04
(Mumbai: Government of India, 2006).
IIPS, National Family Health Survey 1992-93 (Mumbai: IIPS, 1995);
IIPS and ORC Macro, National Family Health Survey (NFHS-2)
(Mumbai: IIPS, 2000).
Registrar General, India, Census and You (New Delhi: Government
of India, 2011

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Chapter-10
Population Growth Trends in India
Pardeep Sharma
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Geography,
RKJK Barasia PG College, Surajgarh, Jhunjhunu (Raj)
Over 6 billion people inhabit the world as per the latest
estimates. The billions of humanity are not distributed evenly over
the globe. Population geographers have traditionally been
interested in this uneven spatial expression from region to region
and from place to place. The present chapter presents an account
of some of the salient features of population distribution in the world,
in general, and in India, in particular. The factors affecting
population distribution have also been examined. It is, therefore,
worthwhile to discuss the exact meaning of the terms and their
various measures before we embark upon population distribution.
Population geographers have traditionally been concerned
with the analysis of trends and patterns of growth in world population
during early times rendered their task very difficult. It may be
recalled that the first census operation began in a few countries, and
as late as the middle of the twentieth century, several countries of
the world had never conducted any census. Even at present times,
reliable estimates are not available for most of the regions in the
less developed parts of the world. Despite this limitation, several
attempts have been made to chart the trends and patterns of world
population growth using some indirect evidences. These indirect
sources include archaeological remains, inferences from population
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structure of some modern societies with economies similar to those
of earlier groups, and for more recent periods, written records and
estimates based on survey of different kinds (Hornby and Jones,
1980:4). These estimates help us construct trends in world
population growth in the past and identify its spatial patterns. The
present chapter presents an account of the trends in growth of world
population and its spatial manifestations. But, before we embark
upon that, it is necessary to discuss the various measures used in
the analysis of population change.
Population Growth in India
India is the second largest population country in the world after
China accounting for about 17.5 per cent of the worlds population
on barely 2.4 per cent area. He final figures of 2011 census put
Indias population at 1210.19 million as on the sunrise of March 1,
2011. Earlier, the 2001 census had also revealed a decline in
growth rate, albeit marginally, during 1991s as compared to the
previous decade. The continuation of decline in the pace of
population growth for the second consecutive decade is indeed an
important achievement. When the 1991 census had revealed a
deceleration in the growth rate, some scholars took it as
encouraging (e.g., Premi, 1991; Tyagi, 1991; Goyal, 1991). It was
argued that a faster decline in birth rates has indeed set in and the
trend will continue in future also. However, Ashish Bose, a famous
demographer, was of the opinion that the decline is not real and the
growth rate continues to increase in India (Das and Bhavsar,
1991:227). A further decline in the growth rate in the 1990s,
therefore, has validated the proposition that birth rates in India have
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begun to decline at a faster pace, and Indias population is fast
approaching the end of third stage of transition.
In fact, since ancient times, India has been the home of a
considerably large size of population. Though census taking in the
country is a matter of only recent past, based on archaeological and
historical evidences, scholars have tried to construct the trends in
population growth since ancient times. A land of worlds one of the
earliest civilizations, India possessed a fairly high level of
technological knowledge to support a large and dense population
even some three to seven thousand years ago. Kingslay Davis, in
his pioneering book Population of India and Pakistan, has remarked
that before Christian era, India had a substantial population, first
because of its advanced technology and second because of the
fertile environment for the application of this technology (Davis,
1968:29). One estimate puts Indias population in the range of 100
to 140 million in 300 BC (Bhende and Kanitkar, 200:86). The
population size, however, appears to have remained more or less
static for almost another two thousand years. The underlying
reasons for this static population size were the same (i.e., an
abnormally high death rate) as that which checked population
growth elsewhere in the world during the pre-industrial stage.
According to Davis, the population of the country remained in the
neighborhood of 125 million until the middle of the nineteenth
century, and thereafter a gradual acceleration in the growth rate
began taking place. The first census in the country was conducted
during 1867-72. However, it was neither synchronous nor did it
cover the whole country. This was followed by another census
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count in 1881, which was synchronous and covered a much wider
area. Since then, every ten years, census enumeration has been
conducted in the country. In the early stage, however, with each
census additional territories were covered and improvement effected
in the methodology of data collection. It will, therefore, be more
meaningful to confine the present discussion on the trends in
population growth during the more recent times to post-1901 period.
Population Growth in India since 1901
The history of growth in Indias population can be divided into four
distinct phases the points of division being 1921, 1951 and 1981.
Prior to 1921, Indias population was characterized by a chequered
growth. Decades of substantial growth regularly alternated with
decades of small increase or even negative growth. The Census
Commissioner for the 1951 census, therefore, rightly called 1921 as
the year of Great Divide, which differentiated the earlier period of
fluctuating growth rates from a period of moderately increasing
growth rates. The second point of division was 1951, which
differentiated the period of earlier moderate growth from a period of
rapid growth in the post-independence period. This phase of rapid
growth in population continued up to 1981. Thereafter, though
population continues to grow, the rate of growth shows a definite
deceleration.
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Table 1. Population Growth in India 1901-2011
Census
Years
Population
(in millions)
Decadal Change Annual
Exponential
Growth Rate
(%)
Absolute Percent
1901 238.40 - - -
1911 252.09 13.70 5.75 0.56
1921 251.32 -0.77 -0.31 -0.03
1931 278.98 27.66 11.00 1.04
1941 318.66 39.68 14.22 1.33
1951 361.09 42.42 13.31 1.25
1961 439.23 77.68 21.51 1.96
1971 548.16 108.92 24.80 2.20
1981 683.33 135.17 24.66 2.22
1991 846.30 162.97 23.85 2.14
2001 1027.01 182.31 21.34 1.93
2011 1210.19 181.31 17.83 1.81
Sources: Census of India for various years.
Presents the trends in population growth in India during the last
hundred years. The figures for pre-independence period have been
adjusted to take care of partition of the country in 1947. The rate of
intercensal growth in Indias population remained very low till 1921,
and in fact, the rate of growth was negative during 1911-21. The
first twenty years of the twentieth century, thus, witnessed a growth
rate of only 5.42 per cent in Indias population. It may be recalled
here that the decade 1901-11 was struck by several local famines.
For instance, one such famine occurred in 1907 in areas what later
came to be known as Uttar Pradesh. In addition, plague claimed a
heavy toll of life during the decade in Bengal and Bombay
Presidencies. Further, in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, plague and
malaria caused considerable number of deaths. The northern zone,
comprising Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab,
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Rajasthan, Chandigarh and Delhi, had, in fact, recorded a negative
growth in its population during the decade. The situation was even
worse during 1911-21 when Indias population recorded a virtual
shrink in its size in the wake of influenza epidemic, which had struck
in 1919. It has been estimated that the epidemic claimed claimed
the life of nearly 7 per cent of the population in the country. The
central zone comprising Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh had
suffered the most. In western zone also, the absolute size of
population is reported to have declined. Premi and Tyagi (1985), in
their district-level analysis of patterns of population growth, have
shown that four distinct areas were marked with strikingly high loss
of population during 1901-21. A continuous belt extending from the
Ganga plain down to the Mahanadi dela, part of Rajasthan desert
plain, Punjab plain and upper Godavari, Krishna and Tungbhadra
basins in Maharashtra and Karnataka plateaus had recorded decline
in population during the period. Some of the districts in these areas
had recorded a decline in population by more than 10 percent.
207

Population Growth in India 1901-2011
From 1921 onward, a progressive control of the epidemics of
cholera and plague resulted in acceleration in the rate of population
growth. The decadal rate of growth in population increased from 11
per cent during 1921-31 to over 14 per cent during 1931-41. The
northern zone, which had recorded substantial loss of population
during 1901-21, witnessed an exceptionally higher growth. The
growth rate remained otherwise virtually stable during 1931-51.
Over a period of thirty years, i.e., 1921-51 population grew at
moderately increasing rate. Strikingly, the central zone recorded a
consistently lower growth rate than the nations average perhaps
because of a persistently higher incidence of mortality and
substantial out-migration. On the other hand, the western zone
experienced a much faster growth in its population. It may be
recalled that this was the period of initial industrial growth in the
1901 1911 1921 1931 1941 19S1 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2011
238.4
2S2.09 2S1.32
278.98
318.66
361.09
439.23
S48.16
683.33
846.3
1027.01
1210.19
0
S00
1000
1S00
2000
2S00
1 2 3 4 S 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Census ears opu|at|on (|n m||||on)
208

western zone, particularly in the areas of Bombay Presidency and,
to some extent, in the state of Baroda, which attracted migrants from
different parts of the country (Premi and Tyagi, 1985:26). In
addition, other major states, which recorded a substantially higher
growth than the nations average during 1921-51, were Assam,
Kerala, Rajasthan and West Bengal. The major factors responsible
for this high growth in these states were again in-migration of
workers from other parts of the country. Some parts in the
northeastern states did were again in-migration of workers from
other parts of the country. Some parts in the northeastern states did
experience rapid growth due to influx of population from the East
Pakistan (now Bangladesh). On the other extreme, states like Bihar,
Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Tamil Nadu
and Uttar Pradesh recorded a consistently lower growth. Some of
these states, e.g., Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh, lost their
substantial population through the process of out-migration.
209

Table 2. Trends of Growth in Population by Zones and Major States
Zones/States Average Annual Exponential Growth Rage
1901-21 1921-51 1951-81 1981-01 1981-91 1991-
01
Northern -0.07 1.21 2.50 2.47 2.48 2.46
Haryana -0.41 0.96 2.74 2.45 2.42 2.47
Himachal
Pradesh
0.02 0.71 1.95 1.75 1.89 1.62
Punjab -0.27 0.82 2.02 1.85 1.89 1.80
Rajasthan N 1.46 2.54 2.50 2.50 2.49
Eastern 0.33 1.20 2.23 2.06 2.15 1.98
Bihar 0.15 1.07 1.96 2.26 2.11 2.39
Orissa 0.40 0.91 1.96 1.65 1.83 1.48
West Bengal 0.16 1.36 2.43 1.93 2.20 1.64
Central 0.03 1.02 2.01 2.05 2.30 2.20
Madhya
Pradesh
0.64 1.02 2.31 2.21 2.38 2.04
Uttar Pradesh -0.21 1.01 1.87 2.27 2.27 2.27
Western 0.53 1.46 2.32 2.09 2.16 2.03
Gujarat 0.56 1.56 2.47 1.97 1.92 2.03
Maharashtra 0.36 1.42 2.25 2.16 2.29 2.03
Southern 0.53 1.27 1.86 1.51 1.78 1.24
Andhra
Pradesh
0.58 1.24 1.81 1.73 2.17 2.39
Karnataka 0.12 1.24 2.16 1.75 1.92 1.59
Kerala 0.99 1.84 2.10 1.12 1.34 0.90
Tamil Nadu 0.58 1.10 1.58 1.25 1.43 1.06
Note : (i) N Negligible negative growth.
(ii) As per administrative division of 1991 census.
Sources
(i)Census of India, 1991, Series 1, India General Population Tables, Part II, A(i).
(ii)Census of India, 2001, Provisional Population Totals, Paper 1 of 2001,
210

The year 1951 marks the beginning of a rapid growth in the
population in the country, as a result of a sharper decline in death
rates after independence in 1947. The acceleration in the growth
rates continued up to 1981. The total population increased from
361.09 million in 1951 to 683.33 million in 1981 recording a growth
rate of a little short of 90 per cent. The average annual exponential
growth increased from 1.21 per cent during 1921-51 to 2.13 per cent
during 1951-81. Though all the zones witnessed increase in pace of
population growth, the northern zone recorded the largest
acceleration. The northern zone, in fact, recorded a faster growth
211

than the nations average. In this zone, Haryana and Rajasthan
experienced a very rapid growth in their population. The next
highest growth rate was recorded in the western zone. In fact, as
during the pre-independence period, the western zone continued to
experience a faster growth than all India average even after
independence. At the state level, Gujarat maintained its leading
position among the major states in the zone. On the other hand, the
central zone continued to record a lower growth than the nations
average probably due to persisting high mortality rates and out-
migration. Uttar Pradesh is found to have recorded one of the
lowest growth rates in population among the major states during the
period. The southern zone, which had experienced a faster growth
than the nations average up to 1951, experienced a reversal in eh
pattern. With a much smaller increase in the pace of growth, the
zone recorded a significantly lower growth than the nations average
during 1951-81. This could perhaps be attributed to out-migration
and also to an early decline in the rate of natural growth with decline
in the birth rates. Among the major states in the zone, Tamil Nadu
recorded the lowest growth rate, followed by Andhra Pradesh.
Remarkable, in Kerala, the growth rate was only marginally lower
than the nations average.
As already stated, the growth rate maintained an increasing
pace up to 1981, and since then though population continues to
grow, the pace of growth has undergone a definite deceleration. It is
expected that this deceleration will continue in future also as decline
in the birth rates becomes sharper in more and more sates. Thus,
the year 1981 can be called yet another year of great divide in the
212

demographic history of the country. The annual exponential growth
rate declined to 2.04 per cent during 1981-2001. The rates
separately for the two decades were 2.14 per cent and 1.93 per cent
respectively. Notably, except the central zone, the deceleration in
the growth rate has been witnessed all over the country. The central
zone has instead recorded a further rise, albeit small, in the annual
exponential growth rate, due to a sharp decline in the death rates,
unaccompanied by any substantial change in the birth rates during
the post-1981 period. Importantly, it is Uttar Pradesh in the zone
that recorded an increase in the growth rate. The only other
example from amongst the major states in the country is Bihar,
which witnessed a similar increase in the pace of population growth.
These two states (undivided) taken together account for over 27 per
cent of Indias population in 2001. Obviously, but for these two
states, the deceleration in the growth rate in Indias population in the
post-1981 period would have been far more rapid.
Some of the southern states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu, on
the other hand, have experienced a noteworthy decline in the growth
rate. In Kerala, the average annual growth rate is found to have
declined from over 2 per cent during 1951-1981 to 1.12 during 1981-
2001. In both Kerala and Tamil Nadu, birth rates have undergone
significant decline during the last few decades.
It will be useful to examine the trend in population growth in
the major states of India separately for the last two decades. It is
interesting to note that the state of Bihar has reported a continuous
increase in the growth rate. Much of the gain in the growth rate was
213

witnessed in areas, which came to the share of Bihar after is
bifurcation into two sates in the late 1990s. In fact, whole of the
state, barring three districts, has witnessed a further acceleration in
the pace of population growth during the decade. In the newly
created state of Jharkhand, gain in the growth rate was confined to
its southwestern part mainly. Similarly, in Rajasthan and Uttar
Pradesh, the annual growth rate has remained almost constant over
the two decades. However, almost whole of upper Ganga plain in
Uttar Pradesh and a major part of Rajasthan, mainly in the west and
southwest, are reported to have witnessed gain in the growth rate
during the 1990s as compared to the previous decade. Although,
Madhya Pradesh has witnessed some decline in the pace of growth
at the aggregate level, these four states will continue to be the focus
of attention for demographers and policy makers in the coming
decades. Still growing at an annual rate of over 2 per cent, the
population in these states is projected to increase by over 40 per
cent between now and 2016. In Uttar Pradesh, the projected growth
is likely to be of order of 55 per cent. Strikingly, the states of Gujarat
and Haryana also experienced increase in the growth rate during the
1990s. It seems, however, that much of this acceleration is due to
gain in the population through migration at least in the case of
Gujarat. Elsewhere in the country also, there are evidences of gain
the pace of growth in population at district-level, many of the districts
recording gain in the growth are, however, mainly confined to the
north and northeastern parts of the country.
The spatial pattern in the growth of population in the country
during the 1990s, thus, again reveals a marked north-south divide.
214

On an average, the northern parts of the country are found to have
recorded faster growth in population during the decade as compared
to the counter-parts in the south. If a straight line is drawn
connecting the southernmost tip of Gujarat in the west and the
southern limit of Murshidabad district of West Bengal in the east,
one comes across a generally higher growth in population to the
north of this line. The only exceptions to this can be seen in some
areas in Punjab plains, in the hilly areas of Himachal Pradesh and
Uttaranchal and in districts located in eastern Gujarat. A small belt
with a somewhat lower growth can also be seen in the southern part
of central Uttar Pradesh along the northern margin of peninsular
uplands. Likewise, to the south of this line also, notable exception of
a faster growth can be noticed in northern Maharashtra in and
around the district of Thane. The capital district of Bangalore in
Karnataka and the areas surrounding the capital district of Andhra
Pradesh also appear conspicuous with a reasonably faster growth
on the map.
Some of the highest growth rates in the population during the
decade were recorded in the northeastern region of the country.
Interestingly, the only district witnessing decline in the size of
population in the 1990s is also located in this region. In the major
states, however, the fastest growth in population was recorded in
Thane district in Maharashtra. As can be seen on the map, parts in
Bihar and Uttar Pradesh plains, western and central Rajasthan, and
areas in and around the national capital territory of Delhi are
conspicuous with significantly faster growth in population. To the
contrary, almost the whole of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, major parts of
215

Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh have witnessed a
lower growth than the nations average. It is in these southern
regions that the pace of growth in population has undergone further
deceleration during the 1990s. The deceleration has been more
conspicuous in the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. A remarkably
lower annual growth rate in the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu is
indicative of the fact that they have reached an advanced stage of
demographic transition. With substantial decline in the birth rates
during the post-independence period, these states have already
reached a replacement level fertility in the country.
References
Bhende, Asha A. and Kanitkar, Tara (2000) Principles of Population
Studies, 14
th
Revised Edition, Himalaya Publishing House, Mumbai.
Champion, Tony (2003) Demographic Transformations, in Peter
Daniels et al. (eds.) Human Geography : Issues for the 21
st
Century,
First Indian Edition, Indian Branch of Pearson Education (Singapore)
Pvt. Ltd., Delhi.
Das, N.P. and Bhavsar, Saroj (1991) Population Growth Rate in
India: Emerging Trend in the Light of 1991 Census Result,
Demography India, Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 227-41.
Davis, K. (1968) Population of India and Pakistan, Russel and
Russel, New York.
Findlay, A. (1995) Population Crises: The Malthusian Specter? in
R.J Johnston et al. (eds.) Geographies of Global Change: Re-
mapping the World in the late 20
th
Century, Blackwell, London.
Goyal, R.P. (1991) First Results of 1991 Census: A Small Decline
in Growth Rate. Paper presented in the symposium on The 1991
Census of India: Methodology and Implications of the First Result,
Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi, April 16, 1991.
216

Hornby, W.F. and Jones, M. (1980) An Introduction to Population
Geography, Cambridge University Press, London.
Fathak, K.B. and Ram, F. (1998) Techniques of Demographic
Analysis, Himalaya Publishing House, Mumbai.
Premi, M.K. and Tyagi, R.P. (1985) Distribution and Growth of
Population in India, in Sundram, K.V. and Nangia, Sudesh (eds.)
Population Geography: Contributions to Indian Geography, Vol. 6,
Heritage Publishers, New Delhi, pp. 7-39.
Premi, M.K. (1991) Indias Population Heading Towards a Billion: An
Analysis of 1991 Census Provisional Results, B.R. Publishing
Corporation, Delhi.
Srinivasan, K. (1998) Basic Demographic Techniques and
Applications, Sage Publications, New Delhi.
Tyagi, R.P. (1991) Pattern of Population Change in India (1981-91)
. Paper presented in the symposium on The 1991 Census of India:
Methodology and Implications of the First Results, Institute of
Economic Growth, Delhi, April 16, 1991.
Visaria, P.M. (1995) Demographic Transition and Policy Responses
in India, Demography India, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 1-12.

217

Chapter-11
Population Trends and Policy in Selected Countries
Akshita Chotia , Pratibha Sharma and Preeti Sharma
Assistant Professors, Dept. of Geography,
RKJK Barasia PG College, Surajgarh, Jhunjhunu (Raj)
Introduction
The Population of the World is growing at an unprecedented rate.
The current population of the world has already reached 7 billion
and is likely to reach over 9 billion by 2050 (UNFPA, 2012a). It is
reported that even if the fertility rate decreases continued
population growth is inevitable. Future population growth would
mean increase in social, economical and environmental disparities,
inequities and impacts. Increasingly, most developing countries
have witnessed growth in population and it is further projected that
future human population growth will remain concentrated in the poor
countries (Grundy, 2002), especially those in the most vulnerable
parts of the countries.
The highest infant mortality rates are currently found in sub-
Saharan African countries and in certain regions of South Asia
where population growth is expected to be highest and larger
impacts are on infant and maternal mortality rates with poor social
and gender development indicators. Of the nine countries included
in this publication, currently, Uganda has the highest fertility rate
(6.7) after Mali (6.6), and Mali has the highest infant mortality rate
(95.8 per 1000) in the world. While some progress has been made
218

across the countries, the scenarios presented in this edited volume
do not project a satisfactory population stabilization picture. Even if
the wanted/required fertility rate is achieved, the population will
continue to grow in many developing countries.
There are several reasons behind rapid population growth
historic, social, political and economic conditions. However, one of
the key determinants of rapid population growth is the socio-
economic status of women and womens inability to exercise their
sexual and reproductive health rights. The experiences of nine
country (Bangladesh, India (Bihar), Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria,
Senegal, Uganda and Zimbabwe) reports included in this edited
volume have moderate to rapid patterns of growth. The countries
selected for this compendium can be categorized into fragile, low-
income and developing countries countries that have gained
Independence in the last few decades and conflict affected settings
such as Uganda and Mali.
While the country chapters presented in this book have similar
social and economic challenges, they arise at different stages both
economically and politically. The socio-cultural, political and
economic transitions of these countries are set out in a different
space and time that separates them from one another. However, the
thematic areas outlined and discussed in this chapter are where the
reader will begin to see an interesting coalesce between all these
countries that present a similar story, occurring in different settings.
The authors of the nine reports borrowed from various
published/unpublished sources including website sources, some of
which may not be adequately referenced. There may also be
219

variations in the individual country report formats. There was no
uniform format and rigorous methodological process and
investigations followed as may be entailed for an academic
publication and for journals. The reports were originally written for
sharing information on population stabilization policies and
programmes in southern countries. However, Partners in Population
and Development (PPD) found the country reports worth compiling
into a book to communicate a compelling story at the global level in
the wake of review of achievements towards the International
Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme of
Action (PoA) and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This
publication is first in the series of analytical work we are planning to
bring out which we expect to contribute to the on-going policy
dialogue on challenges of population policy in the context of post
ICPD & MDG initiatives.
In the introductory chapter, we present and discuss the
experiences from nine countries to contribute to knowledge based
on population stabilization. Where information was lacking, the
editors consulted the UNFPA, World Bank and MDG indicator
websites that present and discuss specific region-based MDG
indicators progress. As insiders, who have firsthand experience of
working with those who are vulnerable and marginalized as well as
the government machinery. We believe the authors of the nine
country reports present the realities of their countries in their own
ways by embracing the lived grounded realities of disadvantaged
communities. In essence, the chapters give an overall picture of the
population transition and provide a useful qualitative historic
220

background to the situation of women, religion, culture and the
overall socio-political transition itself. The chapters incorporate
cultural, political, faith based and social elements in order to reach a
better understanding of the population of their countries. Authors of
country chapters report Government policies and commitments as
the main determinants to stabilize population through programme
achievements, programme approaches, and sustainability.
The particular strength of this edited book is a more integrated
approach to changing population stabilization strategies. This
includes attention to sustainable development and gender equity.
Another innovative feature of the book is the use of case studies
from African and Asian countries. And yet another advance is its
focus on the intersection between gender and a wide range of social
inequalities, for instance migration status, geographical location,
history and social space. In this chapter, we begin by identifying
themes commonly presented in all the chapters and current debates
on population development that recur across the various chapters
and topics of this handbook. Population stabilization is explored
through a lens of sustainable development. This book is designed to
enable sharing of reflective information, respective country
experiences and population policies that contributed to the nine
countries population stabilization programmes. The editors allowed
the expression of frustration and left insights from lived experiences
unchanged. These insights would not have been possible if the
opportunities were not created. As insiders, the editors feel, the
authors are aware of the disappointments of grounded realities
which are better understood by the authors. By adopting this
221

approach, PPD is creating opportunities for South-South
Partnerships in analyzing the experiences of population transition in
developing countries. This book provides developing country
perspective on population stabilization and related policy challenge.
The first chapter aims to present comprehensive analysis of the
current country situations with regard to its demographic trends,
social, economic, political and policy analysis.
Each country chapter follows a historic trail and patterns of
population transition affecting the fertility rate of their urban and rural
population. The chapters look at successes and challenges towards
population stabilization what worked, what did not work and
possibilities of introducing improved family planning strategies with
particular attention to social protection, economic growth, gender
equity, sexual and reproductive health, prevention of HIV/STIs and
improving the rates of maternal and child mortality.
In this introductory chapter, we make attempts to excavate and
present population stabilization country scenarios and present a
comparative analysis. The chapter addresses these questions by
uncovering the policies, programmes and intervention strategies and
mechanisms that worked. It also analyses the trends within and
across the nine counties in order to determine whether or not
population in these countries is stabilizing. Subsequently, we
present and discuss the key population and demographic indicators,
compliance with international agreements and goals, and finally
conclusion and recommendations are presented. Due to the rapid
demographic transition during the past five decades, the world is
now more diverse in birth, death and population growth and
222

countries can be divided into groups such as; Rapid growth (>2%
per year), Moderate growth (12% per year) and Low or no growth
(<1% per year) (Ezeh, Bongaarts and Mberu 2012).
Though the Population Growth Rates (PGR) and Total Fertility
Rates (TFR) are closely linked, they are two different population
phenomenons. According to the World Bank, Population Growth
Rate (PGR) is defined as the increase in a countrys population
during a period of time, usually one year, expressed as a
percentage of the population at the start of that period. It reflects the
number of births and deaths during a period and the number of
people migrating to and from a country. Whereas, TFR is the
number of children that would be born to a woman if she were to live
to the end of her childbearing years and bear children in accordance
with age-specific fertility rates.
The relation between PGR and TFR is complex. In high
mortality settings, it is possible to have high fertility rates
accompanied by low population growth. Likewise, even when fertility
rates are declining, high population growth rates can continue due to
population momentum. The complex relationship between PGR and
TFR is manifested in many ways. Rapid PGR and high fertility rates
correlate closely with high rates of infant and maternal mortality.
Country Scenarios of Population trends and policy options
Bangladesh
Bangladesh has a TFR of 2.3 and the population growth rate is 12
to 1.4. The country has noticed increase in contraceptive methods
and decline of fertility due to addressing two forms of equity
223

gender and geographical. The constant efforts on family planning
services provided opportunity to expand access to a wide range of
modern contraceptive methods geographically to both men and
women. Given the existing complex social, political, religious and
economical settings, decline was noticed due to widespread
acceptance of contraceptive practice resulting from a strong family
planning programme. The contraceptive methods were promoted
through joint efforts between the public sector and civil society
organizations, including faith based organizations and NGOs as well
as advocacy at the local level. Moreover, a policy of financial
compensation to service providers, acceptors and referrer played an
important role in promoting methods acceptance. The acceptance
of methods helped in building user confidence. The major method
utilized was the permanent family planning method for women (tubal
ligation) and an increase in male vasectomy was also promoted.
However, challenges in the country remain to reach the replacement
fertility level such as elimination of all unwanted birth rates, early
child marriage, socio-economic factors, involvement of private and
public sector. The additional questions Bangladesh needs to
address are sustainability of the financial compensation system and
also female and male user experience and access to counselling for
informed choice and voluntary family planning uptake, increasing
method mix and sustaining clients contraceptive use.
Bihar, India
Fertility transition in the rural state of Bihar, India is much slower.
The state has a high fertility rate of 3.7 in comparison with the other
states and urban areas in the country where the TFR is 2.5. The
224

country authors report social, economic and governance, as well as
intervention methodological issues, as the key problems creating
obstacles to stabilize the population. Social issues involve high
number of marriages under the age of 18 years, preference for male
child, low rate of female literacy and low female status, and modest
level of infant mortality. Other social issues are desire for large
families and the male child, but more importantly because women
are unable to use contraception necessary to achieve their wanted
fertility. This is due to weak family planning intervention strategies
resulting in lack of information, choices for safe family planning
services and low level of contraceptive use. The intervention and
governance issues include accessibility, availability and quality of
care for family planning as well as non comprehensive policies
policies. In the past, the focus has been in achieving the stipulated
target by any one method rather than provision of multiple
contraceptive methods. For instance, it was IUDs in the 1960s,
vasectomy in the 1970s and tubectomy in the 1980s. Moreover, the
state decisions have been dependent on the Central government.
Critical review of this analysis reported that deep rooted gender
inequality, 6
225

lack of holistic approach, top-down approach, targeting only women
for contraception rather than seeking and increasing male
involvement, poor counselling, poor follow-up services and lack of
needs based programmes are some of the reasons for high fertility.
However, the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) Programme
provides a window of opportunity, bringing all programmes including
Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) and population stabilization
under one umbrella. The NRHM seeks to provide universal access
to equitable, affordable and quality health care. The authors are
optimistic about the NRHM, they express concerns around the time,
infrastructure and human power shortages in the State. There is an
opportunity to work in partnership with local NGOs, women and civil
society organizations to shift the TFR pattern to a wanted or a
desired fertility rate.
Ghana
The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) in Ghana declined from 6.4 in 1988 to
4.0 in 2008 and is one of the lowest in Sub-Saharan Africa. The
population growth is 2.4 to 2.6. The country has achieved almost
universal knowledge in family planning (over 90 per cent) with its
ongoing political commitment towards stabilizing population. Despite
the recorded declines in fertility in Ghana, the author reports that
population will continue to grow. The population growth rates have
not shown much change, and have remained between 2.4 and 2.7
per cent from the period of 19842010. Even though increased
knowledge in family planning has been reported, practice of
contraception in the country remains low. This is due to low
educational status, demographic momentum and population
226

increase concentrated in specific geographical areas and social
disparities leading to marginalization geographical and gender of
some population groups. The difficulties in reaching the replacement
level are the unavailability of resources and capacity issues in rural
areas. The authors suggest that to achieve population policy goals
and objectives successfully, a large body of trained human resource
needs to be in place, particularly district planning officers.
Furthermore, socio-cultural and demographic factors continue to
pose challenges in addressing the reproductive health needs of
Ghanas young people. These challenges include early age at first
marriage, early age at first (unprotected) sex, increasing indulgence
in premarital (unprotected) sex and low use of contraception.
Governance issues could also present challenges to achieve the
replacement rate such as lack of political commitment, issues with
policy planning and implementation, social disparities and
burgeoning of the youth population at reproductive age. Despite the
growth in economy being between 7 per cent and 14 per cent per
annum, literacy rate in the country remains low (50%). The country
needs to address challenges it is currently facing, i.e., inequalities,
low literacy level, lack of political commitment, regular demographic
information and regular commitment to the ICPD principles.
Kenya
With a population that has doubled over the past 25 years, the
authors highlight a number of relevant policies in an effort to
stabilize population and remain committed to the ICPD 7
227

Principles. The chapter on Kenya presents an interesting fertility
transition. The current TFR of the country is 4.7. The population in
the country has continued to grow (PGR is 2.6 to 2.7). The
population growth is attributed towards increase in fertility levels and
decline in maternal mortality, and also improvement in health,
especially child nutrition and socio-economic status. However, a
sharp decline between 1979 and 1999 was noticed due to Kenya
entering the demographic transition as well as promotion and use of
contraceptive method mix; substantial national and international
support of the National Family Planning (FP) Programme, including
reinvigoration of the Population Policy. Human and financial
resources were invested in the National FP Programme. However,
the authors report that family size in some parts of the country have
been reduced due to migration to other regions, modern agricultural
technologies, intensification of agriculture activities, and more
importantly, investment in their childrens education. The National
FP Programme was launched in 1967. Knowledge on FP methods
has increased steadily and currently it is almost universal for both
men and women. The authors are optimistic that the fertility rate in
the country will decline with ongoing education reforms and gender
empowerment activities. However, there is concern that the
population momentum could cause the population to increase even
after fertility rates decline to the replacement level. The country also
has social, economic and demographic challenges. The major
challenges are contraceptive commodity insecurity; social, cultural
and religious beliefs and practices; coupled with over dependency
on erratic donor funding for modern contraceptives. The authors
also report there might be variations in the data attributed to the
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large sampling errors, and socio-cultural myths, beliefs and
practices associated with death, where family members rarely report
deaths. The author suggests collecting data regularly on all
demographic information, addressing unmet family planning need,
and sustained clients contraceptive use as the key to stabilize the
population in Kenya.
Mali
The TFR of Mali is 6.6 and has remained invariable since 1987. The
population growth rate is 3 to 3.1. The government of Mali has made
numerous efforts towards population stabilization. Since 1991, a
National Population Policy (NPP) exists and its implementation
takes place through the Priority Program of Action and Investments.
Policies in Mali took recommendations from ICPD and have focused
on improving the health of women and children. However, it has
been unsuccessful in achieving its targets in population and
development. There is lack of integration of policies into other areas
and lack of political commitment. Following numerous interventions
in outreach and advocacy, a law (No. 02-044) on Reproductive
Health and an Action Plan to ensure Secure Contraception were
adopted respectively in 2002 by the National Assembly and the
Government of Mali. The country, already in a conflict setting, is
facing a number of challenges including low contraceptive
prevalence rate, high TFR, high maternal and infant mortality rates.
The major factors are governance issues, internal conflict, poverty,
low economic growth and national development. The Government of
Mali seems to have realized the urgency to act! It has developed a
National Development Strategy Cadre Stratgique pour la 8
229

Croissance et la Rduction de la Pauvret (CSCRP) that aims at
accelerating growth, reducing poverty and improving the well-being
of the population. However, the CSCRP strategy is being executed
under weak technical capacity of national structures in charge of the
formulation and implementation. A strong commitment to achieving
development goals such as the MDGs and ICPD as well as focus on
underlying social development determinants such as health,
economy, education, equity, women empowerment, conducting
needs assessments and recoding regular demographic information
are some of the possibilities to stabilize its population.
Nigeria
The current TFR of Nigeria is 5.7 Nigeria has one of the fastest
growing populations in the world at an annual growth of 3.2 per cent.
Its the most populated nation in Africa and one of the ten most
populous countries in the world. Nigeria has experienced rapid
population growth over the years. The population growth rate over
the years has not been stable, varying from 6.04 per cent in 1963 to
4.82 per cent in 1973, further declining to 2.82 per cent in 1991 and
then rising to 3.18 per cent in 2006. This growth rate raises concern
on the possibility of achieving the fertility replacement level of the
targeted 2 per cent or lower by 2015. Population growth rate is
determined by three main factors: fertility, mortality and migration. Of
all the three factors, fertility and mortality trends have resulted in a
very high rate of population growth. Nigeria has a youthful
population with 44 per cent of the population in the reproductive age
bracket. A National Policy on Population for Sustainable
Development has been developed which is aligned with the ICPD
230

principles. However, the authors report that to meet population
stabilization and development objectives, there needs to be much
focus on the economy and the provision of social services. The
major challenges are management of decentralized powers,
including the customary laws as well as deep-rooted social and
gender inequalities, low private sector involvement and high cost of
services that present obstacles to expanding access to
contraceptive services.
Senegal
The TFR in Senegal is 4.8. Senegal was the first French-speaking
sub-Sahara African country to initiate a population policy. The
population growth rate of Senegal is 2.52.7. The country, through
its Policy initiative and implementation programs, focused on the
maternal and child health. It is the first country in Africa that offered
free antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) and thereby placing clients on
antiretroviral therapy (ART). However, the author reports that the
efforts of the state are subject to numerous challenges in terms of
availability of trained and skilled human resources. One of the major
constraints in promoting family planning is deep-rooted gender
inequalities. Less than 50 per cent of the population in Senegal is
literate and only 1 in 5 women are literate. Girls often have less
chance of accessing school education due to socio-cultural reasons.
Despite the countries progress to stabilize HIV epidemic, especially
amongst the drivers of the epidemic (sex workers and men who
have sex with men) in the last ten years, the author 9
231

reports that modern contraceptive prevalence is still low while the
unmet need remains high (32%). This is because of low male
involvement in the family planning process. However, progress is
under way. The country, with its focus on health, is expanding family
planning through social marketing and increased availability of
midwives. The health centers now provide long term family planning
methods (intra-uterine devices and implants. Support is being
gained from opinion and religious leaders such as Imams and
Ulemas to focus on provision of comprehensive and integrated
family planning and reproductive health services. Senegal has a
youthful population structure with a higher female proportion
compared to males, which could result in high level of fertility. The
demographic transition and dividends provide a window of
opportunity to consolidate the gains from the existing population and
RH programs to strengthen policies and service delivery of a muti-
sectoral integrated HIV/AIDS/RH/FP program.
Uganda
Uganda has a TFR of 6.7 followed by Mali (6.6), of the nine
countries reported in the book. After decades of instability and civil
conflict, Uganda has enjoyed relative stability, sustained economic
growth, and great improvements in health over the last 20 years.
Notable among these have been decreases in infant and child
mortality, increased life expectancy, and great strides to reduce the
prevalence and spread of HIV/AIDS. The primary driver of the high
population growth rate is the persistently high fertility rate. Censuses
in the past three decades estimate that fertility levels have remained
fairly constant. The key determinants contributing towards this
232

demographic transition are gender inequalities, a pro-natalist culture
that places high value on children (for security to continue the family
lineage and to contribute economically to the parents during their old
age), and sex preference by some families but also due to
insufficient access to family planning services and poverty. The
sexual and reproductive behavior of adolescents and young people
(that lack accurate information, life skills youth friendly service and
faced with a host of vulnerabilities), compounded by a very high
unmet need for family planning at 41 per cent, are some of the
additional determinants of high fertility.
Despite Ugandas efforts towards increasing the amount of
resources for health interventions, funding for reproductive health
services and the health sector in general remains inadequate. The
author expresses concerns that with this pace, it is unlikely that the
country will achieve the MDGs relating to maternal health and the
population will continue growing at alarming rates. Therefore, lifting
girls and womens agenda, focusing on both their equity and
equality, provision of education and health services as well as
economic opportunities could provide an opportunity to shift the
current TFR rate towards a more progressive society. The country
has significant population and development policy and strategic
documents that provide opportunities for key partners (government,
NGO, civil society organizations) to strategically plan and deliver
family planning services. 10
233

Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe has the lowest TFR of 3.3 amongst all the sub-Saharan
countries reported in the book. The population of Zimbabwe has
grown more than tenfold since 1901. The first doubling of the 1901
population occurred in 1931 (within 30 years). A steep rise in the
population was observed between 1969 and 1992. This was largely
due to the attainment of Independence in April 1980 from Britain,
which saw an influx of people into the country. A decline then was
noticed in population between 1997 and 2002. This demographic
change is attributed to brain drain and mass departure of people
from the country to seek greener pastures due to prevailing
economic hardships. Further decline in population growth was then
observed between 1992 and 2002 to 1.1 per cent. This change can
be explained due to many factors, including HIV/AIDS related
mortality, success of the family planning programme, improvements
in female education, decline in fertility, and additional population
groups who migrated to different countries. Zimbabwe has the
highest Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR) in Sub-Saharan
Africa. CPR has increased significantly from 35 per cent in 1984 to
65 per cent in 2009. The author suggests that increase in
contractive knowledge (99% universal) does not proportionately lead
to an increase in the CPR. Other factors such as social and Gender
Based Violence (GBV), economic (cost of services), religious and
cultural factors may be some of the inhibitors to accessing services.
Another challenge that remains for the country is the age structure.
The age group 1564 constituted about 53 per cent of the
population between 1982 and 2002 and is critical for economic
development. While it is a challenge, the author sees it is a
234

generation for change opportunity where differences can be made
before young people reach the reproductive age group. The other
issues that remain to strengthen the population stabilization agenda
are maintaining the economic recovery momentum, improving
access to comprehensive RH Services, constitutional amendments,
research and advocacy to promote gender equality and equity,
addressing negative socio-cultural beliefs and practices and
mechanisms for timely and accurate data for monitoring
implementation of the ICPD-Plan of Action and MDGs.
Critical aspects of Population Transition
While the authors do make the link between demographic transition
and TFR, they recognize that fertility and mortality decline (life
expectancy) are the two key features of demographic transition
(UNFPA, 2012b). The chapters present mixed trends in all countries
associated with natural disasters, conflict/post-conflict situations,
prevalence of communicable diseases and illnesses such as malaria
and HIV/AIDS. While the crude death rate, infant, child and under-
five mortality rates have declined significantly in these countries in
the past two decades, birth rate has either remained constant,
slightly increased or decreased. Other factors contributing to the
TFR are lower mortality rates, longer life expectancy and large youth
populations in the nine countries affecting the age and sex
structures. The population in these countries predominantly remains
youthful. This situation is the direct consequence of high fertility and
declining mortality of past years. This population and demographic
change is also associated to poor living conditions 11
235

and uneven distribution of the population due to internal (rural to
urban) and external migration, social and economic conditions and
lack of resources. These countries have the potential for further high
population growth despite the decline in fertility. Authors consider
these to be the major indicators that affect the birth and death rate of
the countries presented and discussed as follows.
Birth Rate amongst Adolescent and Teenage Women
The comparative birth rate analysis chart that follows demonstrates
that Mali has the highest number of birth rates among teenage
women aged 1519 years. Teenage pregnancy, which has negative
repercussions, has been associated with increase in infant and
maternal mortality rate due to a range of social and economic
factors. For instance, in Ghana in 2009, one in ten teenagers has
already had a child and 3 per cent are pregnant with their first child.
It is reported by author from Ghana that 15 per cent of all maternal
deaths in Ghana are adolescents. They attribute this trend to social
and demographic factors that precipitate challenges to address
reproductive health needs of the young. There is also an increase in
age at first sex whereby women may have little control over their
sexuality in casual or steady heterosexual encounters (Mahendru,
2010).
Economic Indicators
Birth rates have also been linked to the TFR. Therefore, the editor
felt it necessary to make conceptual linkages between the
countriess Gross Domestic Product (GDP) when establishing an
overall argument around the fertility rise and decline. The World
Bank data reports that Ghana has the highest GDP growth in
236

comparison to all the other countries in this book. The data for India
is still missing on the World Bank database. However, the authors
provide a fiscal year picture of Bihar. They indicate that Bihars per
capita income is less than 40 per cent of the national average and
the rural poverty ratio is as high as 43.1 per cent compared to a
national average of 27.1 per cent. Bihar is one of the worst states
with negative social and economic indicators presenting challenges
to deal with population health and development issues in India.
Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR)
Contraceptive prevalence rate is the proportion of women of
reproductive age who are using (or whose partner is using) a
contraceptive method at a given point in time (WHO, 2006). It is
one of the crucial indicators that measure the status of health,
population and women in any given society. It also serves to
measure the level of access to reproductive health services that are
essential for meeting many of the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs), especially child mortality, maternal health, HIV/AIDS, and
gender related goals.
There are some other conceptual issues associated to CPR
for instance even when couples do not want larger families; CPR is
decreasing in some countries. What are the reasons for that and
what should be done to tackle it? The authors of individual chapters
in this book demonstrate that high fertility is not just because
families want larger families but due to barriers (social-cultural,
access, choice) to informed and voluntary family planning use to
plan for when to have children and the desired family size.
237

According to Graph 1.5, Mali has the lowest CPR (6.9%) in
comparison to all the other eight countries. This seems to imply that
increasing CPR is not the only factor that leads to low TFR since
Uganda that has the highest TFR does not have the lowest CPR.
References
Chaurasia Alok Ranjan, Gulati SC (2008) India: The State of
Population 2007. National Population Commission and Oxford
University Press, New Delhi,
Government of India (2000) National Population Policy 2000.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, New Delhi.
Government of India (2005) National Rural Health Mission. Ministry
of Health and Family Welfare, New Delhi.
Government of India (2006) Census of India 2001. Population
Projections for India and States
United Nations (2009). World Population Prospects: The 2008
Revision. United Nations Population Division, Department of
Economic and Social Affairs.
United States Bureau of the Census, International Data Base.
Available at http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idb/
United States Central Intelligence Agency (2010). The World
Factbook. Available at https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-
world-factbook/index.html
Weil, David (2007). "Accounting for the Effect of Health on Economic
Growth." Quarterly Journal of Economics 122(3): 1265-1306.
WHO (2010). WHO and UNICEF estimates of national
immunization coverage, 2 July 2010. World Health Organization,
Geneva.
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