1961 census and has touched nadir
now.
The state-wise analysis shows
a large discrepancy in trends.
According to the Census 2011,
child sex ratios in eight states
and one Union Territory are
less than 900. These are Delhi,
Haryana, Punjab, Jammu and
Kashmir, Chandigarh, Maharashtra,
Rajasthan, Lakshadweep and
Uttarakhand. And ratios in two
states and one Union TerritoryMeghalaya, Chhattisgarh and
Andaman and Nicobar Islands- are
above 970. In case of urban areas,
the ratio is less than 900 in 13
states- Haryana, Punjab, Gujarat,
Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand,
Chandigarh, Delhi, Rajasthan,
Himachal Pradesh, Dadra and Nagar
Haveli, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra
and Madhya Pradesh. And it is
above 970 in only Mizoram and
Nagaland. However, in most states
both rural and urban areas have
seen lower child sex ratios in 2011.
Though, overall, the urban child sex
ratio at 902 is worse than the rural
ratio of 919, the latter has witnessed
the ratio decline by 15 points
over the last decade compared
to the fall of four points in urban
areas. While only Punjab, Haryana,
Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil
Nadu, Mizoram and Andaman and
Nicobar Islands have recorded an
increasing trend in juvenile sex
ratio, the remaining 27 states and
Union territories showed declining
trend.
However, among these 27 states
and Union territories, Lakshadweep,
Pondicherry, Assam, Karnataka,
Kerala and Nagaland present a
mixed picture with only urban
areas showing an improvement.
On the other hand, in Daman and
Diu and Arunachal Pradesh, only
rural areas have seen a rise in the
child sex ratios. The precipitous
decline in the rural child sex ratio
over the last decade was recorded
in Lakshadweep-a fall of 111
YOJANA March 2012
points. This followed by Jammu
and Kashmir where the ratio fell by
97 points. Dadra and Nagar Haveli,
Delhi, Nagaland and Maharashtra
registered a fall in the rural child
sex ratio by more than 35 points. A
positive glint came from Punjab,
which has seen the highest rise in
the rural child sex ratio by 44 points.
However, despite this jump, Punjab
has the third lowest rural child sex
ratio. In a normal society where
discrimination against women does
not exist, the juvenile sex ratio is
expected to be higher than the sex
ratio at birth as female babies have
better