The story of national shame continues for the second decade in a row for Haryana. Provisional census figures for 2011 show the districts of Jhajjar and Mahendergarh have the lowest child sex ratio in the country. There are 18.02 lakh boys under the age of 6 in Haryana; the number of girls in the same age group is 14.95 lakh. Though the overall child sex ratio has shown an improvement from 819 in 2001 to 830 in 2011,the gains in some districts are offset by a sharp slide in others. The Census numbers show a noticeable correlation between literacy levels and child sex ratio in the districts. The ratio has been found to be the highest in districts which have the lowest literacy levels,especially among women. Overall,sex ratio in Haryanas literate population is as low as 692,even though it has shown an improvement from 617 in 2001. Mewat,among the most backward regions of the state,has registered an overall literacy of 56.1 per cent,with only 37.6 per cent literate women. But it has the best child sex ratio at 903,the only district above the 900 mark. Next best is Palwal with a child sex ratio of 862,where the literacy rate 70.3 per cent,with 56.4 per cent for women is third worst in the state. The next best sex ratio is at Sirsa 852 where literacy is among the lowest in Haryana. Though sporadic data from other parts of the country have over the years pointed to the trend of educated classes indulging more in female foeticide,this is probably the first time that a clear correlation has been visible. It is a correlation which is too obvious to ignore. There is a distinct inverse relationship of sex ratio with literacy, said Neerja Sekhar,director,Census operations,Haryana. Literacy rate is in per cent,so we have converted it into per 1,000 to bring it on the same scale as sex ratio,and then juxtaposed the figures. It is an interesting correlation,but we dont have other supplementary data yet, Sekhar added. Jhajjar and Mahendergarh,where the child sex ratio has dipped the most in the past decade,have shown a substantial increase in literacy,especially among women. In 2001,literate women in Mahendergarh were about 54 per cent of the total literate population,and the sex ratio was 818. In 2011,the percentage of literate women has gone up to over 65 per cent and the sex ratio has come down to 778 from 818,a dip of 40 points. Similarly,in Jhajjar,literacy among women has gone up from 59 per cent to 71 per cent and the sex ratio has dipped from 801 to 774. Rewari too has shown a decline in sex ratio from 811 in 2001 to 784 in 2011. Bhiwani and Faridabad have shown a decline in the sex ratio since 2001. Chief Secretary Urvashi Gulati said that although the reversal of the sex ratio trend in Census 2011 brings a ray of hope,a lot of work remains to be done. The state government was committed to safeguarding the interest of the girl child and provide her equal opportunity to realise her full potential in life,Gulati said. Mass social awakening was needed to change mindsets,she added.
