New Delhi:Â The child sex ratio in India has dropped to 914 females against 1000 males, the lowest since Independence in 1947.Â
The provisional 2011 Census report released clearly stated that despite slew of laws to prevent female feticide and schemes to encourage families to have a girl child, the sex ratio has declined from 927 females against 1000 males in 2001 to 914.
Describing it as a matter of great concern by Census Commissioner of India C Chandramauli, emphasized on the rapidly worsening gender imbalance in the nation. However, there has been an increasing trend in the child sex ratio in states like Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Mizoram.Even today the states of South India have the best sex ratio. Kerala with 1086 females per 1000 males,with Daman and Diu having the lowest sex ratio of 618.The total male population in India in 2011 is 623.7 million and total female population is 586.5 million.
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The decade old false belief of the Indian society, aided by cheap ultrasound tests that assist in sex-selective abortions and female infanticide, have led to this grave scenario. The declining sex ratio has had unique impact on the marriage scenario especially in villages and rural areas. The situation has also led to another reversal in custom, with some women and their parents asking for a lot of money from men to allow men to marry them, an inversion of the usual dowry system that has been prevailing in India for long.
