CHANGES IN GENDER DISPARITY IN LITERCAY RATE DURING 1991-2001
SEMINAR ON PROGRESS OF LITERACY IN INDIA: WHAT THE CENSUS 2001 PREVEALS
NIEPA, NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 05, 2002, INDIA
CHANGES IN GENDER DISPARITY IN LITERCAY RATE DURING 1991-2001
By
Dr.P.K.Bhargava
National Institute of Adult Education New Delhi, India
Introduction
Literacy, an important tool for communication, learning, and information, is a virtual precondition for an individual’s evolution and national development. Eradication of illiteracy has been one of the major concerns of the government of India since independence. The need for a literate population and universal education for all children in the age group 6-14 years was recognized as a crucial input for nation building and was given due consideration in the constitution as well as in the successive five year plans. A major number of significant programmes have taken since independence. To achieve a sustainable threshold level of 75% of literacy rates by 2005, the National Literacy Mission (NLM) was launched on 5th May 1988. In spite of the various efforts made by the government of India, female literacy rate had been very low in the past. It needs no reiteration that female literacy is the key to all aspects of development. The narrowing of the gender gap in the literacy rate is the key to a vibrant India.
According to Census of India 2001 provisional population figures, the female literacy rate has increased from 39.29 per cent in 1991 to 54.16 in 2001 (i.e.; by 14.87 percentage points); whereas; in case of males it has increased from 64.13 per cent to 75.85 per cent (i.e.; by 11.69 percentage points) during the same period. It means female literacy in the last 10 years has grown at a faster rate then the male literacy rate. This has resulted narrowing down of the gender gap in literacy rate from 24.84 in 1991 to 21.69 percentage points in 2001. It may be mentioned that improvement in literacy rate from 1991 to 2001 has not been uniform in all the states. There was variation from one state to another and with in a state from one district to another. However, a common feature remained in almost all the districts of the country – the gender disparity in literacy rate has reduced with the increase in literacy rates of both males and females.
Objectives:
There are following objectives of the paper.
- To present state wise scenario of literacy rates and well as in gender gap in literacy rates over 1991-2001
- To present the district wise scenario of gender gap in literacy rates; and
- To estimate state as well as district-wise index of gender disparity in literacy.
The Scenario in the States:
Tables 1 to 3 present state-wise improvements in literacy rates during 1991-2001. It can be seen from the table that in 1991 there were two states namely Rajasthan and Bihar had their literacy rates in the range of 30 to 40 per cent. By 2001 the literacy rate has increased by more than 20 percentage points (from 38.55% to 61.03%) in Rajasthan. It could be considered as a significant achievement. Whereas; in Bihar there was not such improvement. Here literacy rate has increased by less than 20 percentage points (i.e.; from 37.49 % to 47.53 %) during the same period. Similar trend has been observed if we look at the improvement in female literacy rates in these two states. In Rajasthan where female literacy rate was in the range of 20-30 per cent has increased more than 20 percentage points (from 20.44% to 44.34%). In case of Bihar female literacy rate has increased from 21.99% in 1991 to 33.57% i.e.; by 11.58 percentage points. In addition to the state Rajasthan, Chhatisgarh is another state that has recorded an increase of literacy rate from 42.91% to 65.18% in the last ten years. Female literacy rate has increased in this state from 27.52% to 52.40% i.e., by 24.87 percentage points. Madhya Pradesh also recorded an increase of 20.93 percentage points in literacy rates during 1991-2001. In the remaining states improvement in the literacy rates was less than 20 percentage points in the last ten years.
State-wise analysis shows that gender gap in literacy rate was 30 percentage points or more in 5 states namely; Uttaranchal, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhatisgarh in 1991. In 2001, out of above 5 states only Rajasthan had gender gap of 30 percentage points or more in spite of the fact that both male and female literacy rates in Rajasthan were higher than literacy rates of male and female in Bihar. On the other hand there were four states and union territories namely Chandigarh, Mijoram, Meghalaya and Kerala had gender gap in literacy rate less than 10 percentage points in 1991. In 2001 one more i.e., Nagaland added in this category. In almost all the states except in Dadra and Nagar Havali, gender gap in literacy has narrowed down. In fact, in 1991 literacy rate of the Dadra and Nagar Havali was very low (40.71%) and it has increased to 60.03 in 2001. During 1991-2001 the male literacy rate has increased relatively faster than that of female literacy rate. Opposite was true in all other states and union territories (See table 1).
Percentage distribution of population and literates by ranges of literacy rates by states & Union territories is given in table 4. As can be seen from the table that there were 11 states and union territories with a share of 51% of the of the country’s population had literacy rates 50% and below in 1991. As per Census of India 2001 result Bihar is the only state having literacy rate less than 50% with a share of about 8 % of the country’s population. It may also be observed that number of states and union territories having more than 80% literacy rate in 1991 census was only 3 has increased to 9 in 2001. It is significant to note that there were 20 states and union territories in the country where female literacy was 50% or less in 1991 has reduced to six in 2001. In fact, during 1991-2001 there was overall improvement in literacy rates. Relatively higher improvement in case of female literacy rate resulted reduction in the gender gap in literacy rates in almost all the states of the country.
Table – 4
Percent Distribution of Population and Literates by
Literacy Rates : 1991- 2001
| 1991 | 2001 | |||||
| Ranges of literacy rate | States/ Union territories | Population
(Percent) |
Literates
(Percent) |
States / Union territories | Population
(Percent) |
Literates
(Percent) |
| Total | 34 | 100% | 100% | 34 | 100% | 100% |
| 0-40 | 2 | 12.97 | 9.13 | – | – | – |
| 40-50 | 9 | 38.36 | 31.22 | 1 | 8.17 | 5.64 |
| 50-60 | 8 | 21.70 | 23.71 | 3 | 19.13 | 16.05 |
| 60-70 | 6 | 21.90 | 22.28 | 16 | 50.35 | 50.70 |
| 70-80 | 6 | 1.48 | 2.19 | 5 | 17.40 | 20.72 |
| 80+ | 3 | 3.57 | 6.47 | 9 | 4.96 | 6.89 |
| Total | 34 | 100% | 100% | 34 | 100% | 100% |
| Male | ||||||
| 0-40 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 40-50 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 50-60 | 10 | 47.91 | 40.29 | – | – | – |
| 60-70 | 8 | 24.56 | 25.57 | 4 | 11.20 | 8.80 |
| 70-80 | 8 | 22.64 | 26.99 | 15 | 61.88 | 60.16 |
| 80+ | 8 | 4.89 | 7.15 | 15 | 26.92 | 31.04 |
| Female | ||||||
| Total | 34 | 100 | 100 | 34 | 100 | 100 |
| 0-40 | 10 | 50.83 | 33.72 | 2 | 10.77 | 6.62 |
| 40-50 | 10 | 24.54 | 28.64 | 4 | 21.70 | 16.68 |
| 50-60 | 6 | 19.46 | 26.42 | 9 | 34.22 | 34.26 |
| 60-70 | 4 | 1.33 | 2.30 | 10 | 28.24 | 34.30 |
| 70-80 | 3 | 0.16 | 0.31 | 6 | 1.63 | 2.30 |
| 80+ | 1 | 3.68 | 8.61 | 3 | 3.44 | 5.84 |
Distribution Districts By Range Of Literacy:
It can be seen from table 5 that in 1991 there were 62 districts in the country recorded literacy rate of 70 per cent and above with a share of only 11 percent of the country’s population and 18 percent of the literates. In 2001 the corresponding figures for the districts with 70 percent and above literacy rates has increased to 210 which accounts for 38 percent of countries population and 46 percent of the literates in the country. Thus, during the
Table – 5
Distribution of Population and Literates by Range of Literacy Rate of
Districts – India and State / Union Territory : 1991- 2001
| 1991 | 2001 | |||||
| Ranges of literacy rate | No of districts | Population
(Percent) |
Literates
(Percent) |
No of districts | Population
(Percent) |
Literates
(Percent) |
| <10 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10-19.99 | 3 | .31 | 0.10 | – | – | – |
| 20-29.99 | 42 | 6.37 | 3.20 | – | – | – |
| 30-39.99 | 110 | 18.96 | 12.65 | 25 | 4.12 | 2.18 |
| 40-49.99 | 144 | 24.56 | 20.93 | 50 | 8.61 | 5.84 |
| 50-59.99 | 116 | 19.49 | 20.50 | 122 | 21.42 | 17.85 |
| 60-69.99 | 100 | 18.96 | 24.31 | 170 | 28.31 | 28.14 |
| 70-79.99 | 37 | 5.95 | 8.78 | 151 | 26.54 | 31.08 |
| 80-89.99 | 14 | 3.22 | 5.42 | 46 | 9.04 | 12.00 |
| 90+ | 11 | 2.18 | 4.11 | 13 | 1.95 | 2.93 |
| Total | 577 | 100% | 100% | 577 | 100% | 100% |
| Male | ||||||
| <10 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10-19.99 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 20-29.99 | 4 | 0.35 | 0.14 | – | – | – |
| 30-39.99 | 27 | 4.10 | 2.29 | 1 | 0.07 | 0.03 |
| 40-49.99 | 77 | 12.98 | 9.08 | 19 | 2.73 | 1.60 |
| 50-59.99 | 134 | 21.76 | 18.49 | 41 | 6.58 | 4.67 |
| 60-69.99 | 150 | 26.58 | 26.62 | 105 | 17.83 | 15.17 |
| 70-79.99 | 114 | 21.45 | 25.58 | 187 | 33.24 | 32.81 |
| 80-89.99 | 55 | 9.89 | 13.35 | 194 | 34.74 | 39.57 |
| 90+ | 16 | 2.88 | 4.46 | 30 | 4.81 | 6.15 |
| Total | 577 | 100% | 100% | 577 | 100% | 100% |
| Female | ||||||
| <10 | 3 | 0.41 | 0.08 | – | – | – |
| 10-19.99 | 100 | 15.03 | 5.89 | 2 | .24 | 0.08 |
| 20-29.99 | 125 | 23.56 | 14.52 | 40 | 6.19 | 2.75 |
| 30-39.99 | 122 | 18.64 | 16.61 | 76 | 13.20 | 8.29 |
| 40-49.99 | 84 | 15.05 | 17.43 | 124 | 22.36 | 18.19 |
| 50-59.99 | 73 | 15.16 | 21.72 | 136 | 22.03 | 22.45 |
| 60-69.99 | 37 | 5.79 | 9.74 | 117 | 20.25 | 24.78 |
| 70-79.99 | 17 | 3.15 | 6.34 | 59 | 11.43 | 16.24 |
| 80-89.99 | 11 | 2.54 | 5.96 | 16 | 3.38 | 5.57 |
| 90+ | 5 | 0.67 | 1.71 | 7 | 0.92 | 1.66 |
| Total | 577 | 100% | 100% | 577 | 100% | 100% |
last decade a marked improvement in overall literacy was observed in the country. In case of males there were 71 districts in 1991 with a literacy rate of 80 percent and above which accounted for just 13 percent of the total male population and a share of 18 per cent of the total male literates. The corresponding number of districts in 2001has significantly gone up to 224 with a share of 40 percent of the total male population and 46 percent of the total male literates. The number of districts having male literacy rate of below 50 percent was 108 in 1991 census, with a share of 17 percent of the total male population. This number has gone down drastically in 2001 census to 20 accounting for 3 percent of the total male population. In case of females, 143 districts reported literacy rates more than 50 percent and above in 1991 census with a share of only 27 percent of the total female population and 45 percent of female literates. The corresponding number has gone up to 335 accounting for 58 percent of the total female population and 71 percent of the female literates. It is interesting to note that there were 103 districts with a literacy rate below 20 percent in 1991 census and a share of 15 percent of the total female population. This number has reduced to only 2 in 2001 census accounting for negligible 0.2 percent of female population. The overall result indicates a remarkable achievement in the field of female literacy during the decade 1991-2001.
Decadal Increase/ Decrease In Literacy Rate
The Census of India 2001 provisional data on population and literacy rates show that during 1991-2001, out of 577 districts, in 69 districts the decadal increase in overall literacy rates was twenty-percentage point or more. The number of such districts in respect of males was 54, while in case of females this number was120 (see table 6). Table also revealed that increase in literacy rate of 30 percentage points and above during 1991-2001 has taken place among males in 3 districts. These districts were Barmer of Rajasthan, Chitrakut of U P and Kanker of Chattisgarh. The corresponding number of such districts for females was 13. Out of these 13 districts, six are located in Rajasthan (Hanumangarh, Churu, Junjhunu, Karuli, Sikar and Barmer); 3 in Chattisgarh (Raigarh, Rajnadgaon, and Kanker); 3 in M.P. (Datia, Shajapur and Raisen) and one district viz, Chitrakut in U.P. Literacy rate for the total population increased in all the districts except 3; while in cases of males and females the corresponding numbers were 7 and 2, respectively. It has been found that most of the districts where a marginal decrease in literacy rates have been observed during 1991- 2001, already had very high literacy rates.
Table – 6
Distribution of Districts by Decadal Increase / Decrease
in Literacy Rate-India : 1991 – 2001
| 1991 | 2001 | |||||
| Ranges of literacy rate | No of districts | Population
(Percent) |
Literates
(Percent) |
No of districts | Population
(Percent) |
Literates
(Percent) |
| <10 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10-19.99 | 3 | .31 | 0.10 | – | – | – |
| 20-29.99 | 42 | 6.37 | 3.20 | – | – | – |
| 30-39.99 | 110 | 18.96 | 12.65 | 25 | 4.12 | 2.18 |
| 40-49.99 | 144 | 24.56 | 20.93 | 50 | 8.61 | 5.84 |
| 50-59.99 | 116 | 19.49 | 20.50 | 122 | 21.42 | 17.85 |
| 60-69.99 | 100 | 18.96 | 24.31 | 170 | 28.31 | 28.14 |
| 70-79.99 | 37 | 5.95 | 8.78 | 151 | 26.54 | 31.08 |
| 80-89.99 | 14 | 3.22 | 5.42 | 46 | 9.04 | 12.00 |
| 90+ | 11 | 2.18 | 4.11 | 13 | 1.95 | 2.93 |
| Total | 577 | 100% | 100% | 577 | 100% | 100% |
| Male | ||||||
| <10 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10-19.99 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 20-29.99 | 4 | 0.35 | 0.14 | – | – | – |
| 30-39.99 | 27 | 4.10 | 2.29 | 1 | 0.07 | 0.03 |
| 40-49.99 | 77 | 12.98 | 9.08 | 19 | 2.73 | 1.60 |
| 50-59.99 | 134 | 21.76 | 18.49 | 41 | 6.58 | 4.67 |
| 60-69.99 | 150 | 26.58 | 26.62 | 105 | 17.83 | 15.17 |
| 70-79.99 | 114 | 21.45 | 25.58 | 187 | 33.24 | 32.81 |
| 80-89.99 | 55 | 9.89 | 13.35 | 194 | 34.74 | 39.57 |
| 90+ | 16 | 2.88 | 4.46 | 30 | 4.81 | 6.15 |
| Total | 577 | 100% | 100% | 577 | 100% | 100% |
| Female | ||||||
| <10 | 3 | 0.41 | 0.08 | – | – | – |
| 10-19.99 | 100 | 15.03 | 5.89 | 2 | .24 | 0.08 |
| 20-29.99 | 125 | 23.56 | 14.52 | 40 | 6.19 | 2.75 |
| 30-39.99 | 122 | 18.64 | 16.61 | 76 | 13.20 | 8.29 |
| 40-49.99 | 84 | 15.05 | 17.43 | 124 | 22.36 | 18.19 |
| 50-59.99 | 73 | 15.16 | 21.72 | 136 | 22.03 | 22.45 |
| 60-69.99 | 37 | 5.79 | 9.74 | 117 | 20.25 | 24.78 |
| 70-79.99 | 17 | 3.15 | 6.34 | 59 | 11.43 | 16.24 |
| 80-89.99 | 11 | 2.54 | 5.96 | 16 | 3.38 | 5.57 |
| 90+ | 5 | 0.67 | 1.71 | 7 | 0.92 | 1.66 |
| Total | 577 | 100% | 100% | 577 | 100% | 100% |
Male Female Literacy Gap
Distribution of districts by ranges of male-females literacy gap is given in table 7 for the year 1991 and 2001. It can be observed from the table that in 1991, out of 577 districts 409 (71%) had gender gap in literacy rate below 30 percentage points. This figure has increased to 481 in 2001 accounting 83% of the total districts. Table also shows that in 1991 there were 152 districts (26.4% of the total districts) had gender gap in literacy rate less than 20 percentage points. The corresponding figure increased to 219 (i.e.; 38.0% of the total districts) in 2001. This again indicates that female literacy rate has risen considerably during the decade 1991-2001 and gender gap in literacy rate has narrowed down.
Table – 7
Distribution of Districts by Gap in Male – Female
Literacy Rate – India : 1991 and 2001
| Ranges of male-female gap in literacy | Number of districts 1991 | Percentage to total number of districts in 1991 | Number of districts 2001 | Percentage to total number of districts in 2001 |
| Total | 577 | 100.0 | 577 | 100.0 |
| Less than 10.00 | 27 | 4.7 | 45 | 7.8 |
| 10.00-19.99 | 125 | 21.7 | 174 | 30.2 |
| 20.00-29.99 | 257 | 44.5 | 262 | 45.4 |
| 30.00-3999 | 156 | 27.0 | 95 | 16.4 |
| 40.00 and above | 12 | 2.0 | 1 | 0.2 |
Index of Gender Disparity:
Below an attempt has been made to provide estimates of the gender disparity in literacy rates for all the states and districts of some selected states. For the purpose, a simple formula given below has been used:
IDsi = (Lmsi – Lfsi) x (Lc / Lsi)
Where
- IDsi = Index of disparity for the state i
- Lmsi = Male literacy rate of the state i
- Lfsi = Female literacy rate of the state i
- Lc = Literacy rate of the Country
- Lsi = Literacy rate of the state i.
The calculated value of the index not only provides the gender disparity in literacy rate for the concerning state (or district) but also make it possible to compare the disparity across various states and also for a state over a period of time because value of the index is obtained by multiplying the gender gap in literacy rate the state i by the standardized value i.e; the ratio of the literacy rate of the country to literacy rate of the state i.
The values of the index of gender disparity for various states of the country are given in table 8. It can be seen from the table that the value of gender disparity found to be more than 40 in two states namely Rajasthan and Bihar in 1991. In Rajasthan it has reduced from 46.79 in 1991 to 27.48 in 2001. In Bihar it has reduced from 40.92 to 29.38 during the same period. Though, the gender gap in literacy rate is relatively higher in Rajasthan than in Bihar in 2001 but the value of the index of gender disparity is higher (29.38) for Bihar than that (27.48) for the Rajasthan. In fact, proposed index of disparity also take into account of the over all literacy rate of the respective state (or district). In 2001, over all literacy rate of Bihar was very much lower (47.53%) than that (61.03%) for the Rajasthan. Table also shows that, in 1991, 5 states \ UTs (Chandigarh, Mijoram, Meghalya, Kerala and Andman & Nikobar) had values of gender disparity less than 10. In 2001 all have shown decline in the gender disparity. Also, in 2001 Punjab, Delhi, Nagaland, Goa, Lakshadweep and Pondichery added to this category i.e; gender disparity less than 10. State-wise values of the index of disparity indicate that in all the states and UTs gander gap in literacy rate has narrowed down.
Table -8
STATE WISE INDEX OF GENDER DISPARITY
| India/States /Union/territories | Literacy Rate | |||||||
| 1991 | 2001 | |||||||
| Total | Males | Females | Index of Gender disparity | Total | Males | Females | Index of Gender disparity | |
| Jammu & Kashmir | N.A | N.A | N.A | 54.46 | 65.75 | 41.82 | 22.94 | |
| Himachal Pradesh | 63.94 | 75.41 | 52.26 | 18.90 | 77.13 | 86.02 | 68.08 | 12.14 |
| Punjab | 58.51 | 65.66 | 50.41 | 13.61 | 69.95 | 75.63 | 63.55 | 9.02 |
| Chandigarh | 77.81 | 82.04 | 72.34 | 6.51 | 81.76 | 85.65 | 76.65 | 5.75 |
| Uttaranchal | 57.75 | 72.79 | 41.63 | 28.17 | 72.28 | 84.01 | 60.26 | 17.16 |
| Haryana | 55.85 | 69.1 | 40.47 | 26.76 | 68.59 | 79.25 | 56.31 | 17.46 |
| Delhi | 75.29 | 82.01 | 66.99 | 10.42 | 81.82 | 87.37 | 75 | 7.89 |
| Rajashthan | 38.55 | 54.99 | 20.44 | 46.79 | 61.03 | 76.46 | 44.34 | 27.48 |
| Uttar Pradesh | 40.71 | 54.82 | 24.37 | 39.05 | 57.36 | 70.23 | 42.98 | 24.80 |
| Bihar | 37.49 | 51.37 | 21.99 | 40.92 | 47.53 | 60.32 | 33.57 | 29.38 |
| Sikkim | 56.94 | 65.7 | 46.76 | 17.37 | 69.68 | 76.73 | 61.46 | 11.44 |
| Arunachal Pradesh | 41.59 | 51.45 | 29.69 | 27.32 | 54.74 | 64.07 | 44.24 | 18.91 |
| Nagaland | 61.65 | 67.62 | 54.75 | 10.90 | 67.11 | 71.77 | 61.92 | 7.66 |
| Manipur | 59.89 | 71.63 | 47.6 | 20.95 | 68.87 | 77.87 | 59.7 | 13.77 |
| Mizoram | 82.27 | 85.61 | 78.6 | 4.45 | 88.49 | 90.69 | 86.13 | 2.69 |
| Tripura | 60.44 | 70.58 | 49.65 | 18.08 | 73.66 | 81.47 | 65.41 | 11.38 |
| Meghalaya | 49.1 | 53.12 | 44.85 | 8.79 | 63.31 | 66.14 | 60.41 | 4.73 |
| Assam | 52.89 | 61.87 | 43.03 | 18.60 | 64.28 | 71.93 | 56.03 | 12.91 |
| West Bengal | 57.7 | 67.81 | 46.56 | 19.23 | 69.22 | 77.58 | 60.22 | 13.09 |
| Jharkhand | 41.39 | 55.8 | 25.52 | 38.20 | 54.13 | 67.94 | 39.38 | 27.55 |
| Orissa | 49.09 | 63.09 | 34.68 | 30.22 | 63.61 | 75.95 | 50.97 | 20.50 |
| Chhatisgarsh | 42.91 | 58.07 | 27.52 | 37.17 | 65.18 | 77.86 | 52.4 | 20.39 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 44.67 | 58.54 | 29.35 | 34.12 | 64.11 | 76.8 | 50.28 | 21.60 |
| Gujarat | 61.57 | 73.39 | 48.92 | 20.75 | 69.97 | 80.5 | 58.6 | 16.34 |
| Daman & Diu | 71.2 | 82.66 | 59.4 | 17.06 | 81.09 | 88.4 | 70.37 | 11.61 |
| Dadra & Nagar Haveli | 40.71 | 53.56 | 26.98 | 34.09 | 60.03 | 73.32 | 42.99 | 26.38 |
| Maharashtra | 64.87 | 76.56 | 52.32 | 19.51 | 77.27 | 86.27 | 67.51 | 12.68 |
| Andhra Pradesh | 44.09 | 55.13 | 32.72 | 26.54 | 61.11 | 70.85 | 51.17 | 16.81 |
| Karnataka | 56.04 | 67.26 | 44.34 | 21.35 | 67.04 | 76.29 | 57.45 | 14.67 |
| Goa | 75.51 | 83.64 | 67.09 | 11.44 | 82.32 | 88.88 | 75.51 | 8.48 |
| Lakshadweep | 81.78 | 90.18 | 72.89 | 11.04 | 87.52 | 93.15 | 81.56 | 6.91 |
| Kerala | 89.81 | 93.62 | 86.17 | 4.33 | 90.92 | 94.2 | 87.86 | 3.64 |
| Tamil Nadu | 62.66 | 73.75 | 51.33 | 18.68 | 73.47 | 82.33 | 64.55 | 12.64 |
| Pondicherry | 74.74 | 83.68 | 65.63 | 12.61 | 81.49 | 88.89 | 74.13 | 9.46 |
| Andaman & Nicobar Islands | 73.02 | 78.99 | 65.46 | 9.67 | 81.18 | 86.07 | 75.29 | 6.93 |
Tables 9 to12 show calculated values of the index of disparity for the districts of four states namely; Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand and Kerala to see changes in gender disparity over a period of time. It is to mention that due to limitation of the length of the paper it is very difficult to cover all the districts of the country. For the present paper above four states were selected because of two reasons; First, Rajasthan, Bihar and Jharkhand were low literacy performing states and Kerala was one of the best performing states according to Census of India 1991; secondly, during 1991-2001, as per NLM, literacy programme was quite satisfactory in Rajasthan and poor in Bihar and Jharkhand. It can be seen from the table that the values of the index of gender disparity were higher among all the districts of Rajasthan, Bihar and Jharkhand than that of Kerala. Except in Kerala, there are large district-wise variations in the values of index of gender disparity. Gender disparity in literacy rate has narrowed down in all the districts in the last 10 years irrespective of their level of literacy rates in 1991.
The overall analyses indicate that during 1991-2001 there was significant improvement in literacy rate in the country. Relatively higher improvement in case of female literacy rate has resulted reduction in the gender gap in literacy rate in almost all the districts of the country.
References:
Census of India 2001. “Provisional Population Totals, Series 1, Paper
1 of 2001”, Registrar General & Census Commissioner of India.
Census of India 2001. “Provisional Population Totals, Series 1, Paper
1 of 2001 Supplement, District Totals”, Registrar General & Census Commissioner of India.
National Literacy Mission (2001); “Literacy- Empowers the India Women”
(Edited by Sonali Kumar); National Institute of Adult Education, New Delhi
National Literacy Mission (2000); “Education for All – Spotlight on Adult Education (Edited by Sonali Kumar et.al). National Institute of Adult Education, New Delhi.
National Literacy Mission (2001); Literacy – Facts at Glance”. Directorate of Adult Education, Ministry of HRD, Government of India, New Delhi.
TABLE – 1
Literacy Rates and Decadal Difference in
Literacy Rates by Sex : 1991-2001
| India/States /Union/territories | 1991 | 2001 | 1991-2001 | |||||||||
| Total | Males | Females | Gap in Literacy rate | Total | Males | Females | Gap in literacy rate | Total | Males | Females | ||
| Jammu & Kashmir | N.A | N.A | N.A | N.A | 54.46 | 65.75 | 41.82 | 23.93 | – | N.A | N.A | |
| Himachal Pradesh | 63.94 | 75.41 | 52.26 | 23.16 | 77.13 | 86.02 | 68.08 | 17.94 | 13.19 | 10.61 | 15.82 | |
| Punjab | 58.51 | 65.66 | 50.41 | 15.26 | 69.95 | 75.63 | 63.55 | 12.08 | 11.45 | 9.97 | 13.14 | |
| Chandigarh | 77.81 | 82.04 | 72.34 | 9.70 | 81.76 | 85.65 | 76.65 | 9.00 | 3.94 | 3.61 | 4.31 | |
| Uttaranchal | 57.75 | 72.79 | 41.63 | 31.17 | 72.28 | 84.01 | 60.26 | 23.75 | 14.53 | 11.22 | 18.63 | |
| Haryana | 55.85 | 69.10 | 40.47 | 28.62 | 68.59 | 79.25 | 56.31 | 22.94 | 12.74 | 10.16 | 15.84 | |
| Delhi | 75.29 | 82.01 | 66.99 | 15.02 | 81.82 | 87.37 | 75.00 | 12.36 | 6.53 | 5.36 | 8.01 | |
| Rajashthan | 38.55 | 54.99 | 20.44 | 34.55 | 61.03 | 76.46 | 44.34 | 32.12 | 22.48 | 21.47 | 23.90 | |
| Uttar Pradesh | 40.71 | 54.82 | 24.37 | 30.46 | 57.36 | 70.23 | 42.98 | 27.25 | 16.65 | 15.40 | 18.61 | |
| Bihar | 37.49 | 51.37 | 21.99 | 29.38 | 47.53 | 60.32 | 33.57 | 26.75 | 10.04 | 8.95 | 11.58 | |
| Sikkim | 56.94 | 65.70 | 46.76 | 18.94 | 69.68 | 76.73 | 61.46 | 15.27 | 12.73 | 11.03 | 14.70 | |
| Arunachal Pradesh | 41.59 | 51.45 | 29.69 | 21.76 | 54.74 | 64.07 | 44.24 | 19.83 | 13.15 | 12.62 | 14.55 | |
| Nagaland | 61.65 | 67.62 | 54.75 | 12.87 | 67.11 | 71.77 | 61.92 | 9.85 | 5.46 | 4.15 | 7.17 | |
| Manipur | 59.89 | 71.63 | 47.60 | 24.03 | 68.87 | 77.87 | 59.70 | 18.17 | 8.97 | 6.24 | 12.10 | |
| Mizoram | 82.27 | 85.61 | 78.60 | 7.01 | 88.49 | 90.69 | 86.13 | 4.56 | 6.22 | 5.08 | 7.53 | |
| Tripura | 60.44 | 70.58 | 49.65 | 20.93 | 73.66 | 81.47 | 65.41 | 16.06 | 13.22 | 10.89 | 15.77 | |
| Meghalaya | 49.10 | 53.12 | 44.85 | 8.27 | 63.31 | 66.14 | 60.41 | 5.73 | 14.21 | 13.02 | 15.56 | |
| Assam | 52.89 | 61.87 | 43.03 | 18.84 | 64.28 | 71.93 | 56.03 | 15.90 | 11.39 | 10.06 | 13.00 | |
| West Bengal | 57.70 | 67.81 | 46.56 | 21.25 | 69.22 | 77.58 | 60.22 | 17.35 | 11.52 | 9.77 | 13.66 | |
| Jharkhand | 41.39 | 55.80 | 25.52 | 30.28 | 54.13 | 67.94 | 39.38 | 28.57 | 12.74 | 12.14 | 13.86 | |
| Orissa | 49.09 | 63.09 | 34.68 | 28.41 | 63.61 | 75.95 | 50.97 | 24.98 | 14.52 | 12.86 | 16.29 | |
| Chhatisgarsh | 42.91 | 58.07 | 27.52 | 30.54 | 65.18 | 77.86 | 52.40 | 25.46 | 22.27 | 19.79 | 24.87 | |
| Madhya Pradesh | 44.67 | 58.54 | 29.35 | 29.19 | 64.11 | 76.80 | 50.28 | 26.52 | 19.44 | 18.26 | 20.93 | |
| Gujarat | 61.57 | 73.39 | 48.92 | 24.47 | 69.97 | 80.50 | 58.60 | 21.90 | 8.40 | 7.11 | 9.68 | |
| Daman & Diu | 71.20 | 82.66 | 59.40 | 23.26 | 81.09 | 88.40 | 70.37 | 18.03 | 9.89 | 5.73 | 10.97 | |
| Dadra & Nagar Haveli | 40.71 | 53.56 | 26.98 | 29.58 | 60.03 | 73.32 | 42.99 | 30.32 | 19.33 | 19.76 | 16.01 | |
| Maharashtra | 64.87 | 76.56 | 52.32 | 24.24 | 77.27 | 86.27 | 67.51 | 18.75 | 12.39 | 9.71 | 15.20 | |
| Andhra Pradesh | 44.09 | 55.13 | 32.72 | 22.42 | 61.11 | 70.85 | 51.17 | 19.68 | 17.02 | 15.72 | 18.45 | |
| Karnataka | 56.04 | 67.26 | 44.34 | 22.93 | 67.04 | 76.29 | 57.45 | 18.84 | 11.00 | 9.03 | 13.12 | |
| Goa | 75.51 | 83.64 | 67.09 | 16.55 | 82.32 | 88.88 | 75.51 | 13.37 | 6.81 | 5.24 | 8.42 | |
| Lakshadweep | 81.78 | 90.18 | 72.89 | 17.29 | 87.52 | 93.15 | 81.56 | 11.59 | 5.74 | 2.98 | 8.67 | |
| Kerala | 89.81 | 93.62 | 86.17 | 7.45 | 90.92 | 94.20 | 87.86 | 6.34 | 1.11 | 0.58 | 1.69 | |
| Tamil Nadu | 62.66 | 73.75 | 51.33 | 22.42 | 73.47 | 82.33 | 64.55 | 17.78 | 10.81 | 8.58 | 13.22 | |
| Pondicherry | 74.74 | 83.68 | 65.63 | 18.06 | 81.49 | 88.89 | 74.13 | 14.76 | 6.75 | 5.21 | 8.50 | |
| Andaman & Nicobar Islands | 73.02 | 78.99 | 65.46 | 13.53 | 81.18 | 86.07 | 75.29 | 10.78 | 8.16 | 7.08 | 9.83 | |
Table – 9
INDEX OF GENDER DISPARITY – RAJASHTAN
| State / District | Literacy Rate | |||||||
| 1991 | 2001 | |||||||
| Persons | Males | Females | Index of Gender Disparity | Persons | Males | Females | Index of Gender Disparity | |
| Rajasthan | 38.55 | 54.99 | 20.44 | 46.79 | 61.03 | 76.46 | 44.34 | 27.48 |
| Ganganagar | 44.55 | 56.98 | 30.07 | 31.54 | 64.84 | 75.49 | 52.69 | 18.36 |
| Hanumangarh | 38.67 | 53.31 | 22.22 | 41.98 | 65.72 | 77.41 | 52.71 | 19.62 |
| Bikaner | 41.73 | 54.63 | 27.03 | 34.53 | 57.54 | 70.78 | 42.55 | 25.62 |
| Churu | 34.78 | 51.3 | 17.32 | 51.01 | 66.97 | 79.52 | 53.87 | 20.00 |
| Jhunjhunun | 47.6 | 68.32 | 25.54 | 46.92 | 73.61 | 86.61 | 60.1 | 18.80 |
| Alwar | 43.09 | 60.98 | 22.54 | 46.58 | 62.48 | 78.91 | 43.95 | 29.21 |
| Bharatpur | 42.96 | 62.11 | 19.6 | 51.66 | 64.24 | 81.39 | 44.12 | 30.29 |
| Dhaulpur | 35.09 | 50.45 | 15.25 | 52.37 | 60.77 | 75.85 | 42.36 | 28.77 |
| Karauli | 34.73 | 52.69 | 13.01 | 59.65 | 64.59 | 80.93 | 45.44 | 28.69 |
| Sawai Madhopur | 37.04 | 55.15 | 16.07 | 55.09 | 57.34 | 76.75 | 35.44 | 37.61 |
| Dausa | 36.87 | 56.75 | 14.15 | 60.32 | 62.75 | 80.37 | 43.15 | 30.97 |
| Jaipur | 50.38 | 66.77 | 31.84 | 36.20 | 70.63 | 83.58 | 56.18 | 20.25 |
| Sikar | 42.49 | 64.13 | 19.88 | 54.37 | 71.19 | 85.2 | 56.7 | 20.90 |
| Nagaur | 31.8 | 49.35 | 13.29 | 59.20 | 58.26 | 75.33 | 40.45 | 31.26 |
| Jodhpur | 40.69 | 56.74 | 22.58 | 43.83 | 57.38 | 73.86 | 39.18 | 31.56 |
| Jaisalmer | 30.05 | 44.99 | 11.28 | 58.57 | 51.4 | 66.89 | 32.25 | 35.19 |
| Barmer | 22.98 | 36.56 | 7.68 | 65.61 | 59.65 | 73.64 | 43.91 | 26.02 |
| Jalor | 23.76 | 38.97 | 7.75 | 68.60 | 46.51 | 65.1 | 27.53 | 42.17 |
| Sirohi | 31.94 | 46.24 | 16.99 | 47.81 | 54.39 | 70.58 | 37.37 | 31.88 |
| Pali | 35.96 | 54.42 | 16.97 | 54.37 | 54.92 | 73.06 | 36.7 | 34.57 |
| Ajmer | 52.34 | 68.75 | 34.5 | 34.16 | 65.06 | 79.96 | 49.1 | 24.76 |
| Tonk | 33.67 | 50.64 | 15.24 | 54.89 | 52.39 | 71.25 | 32.3 | 38.82 |
| Bundi | 32.75 | 47.4 | 16.13 | 49.85 | 55.8 | 72.17 | 37.76 | 32.20 |
| Bhilwara | 31.65 | 45.95 | 16.5 | 48.58 | 51.09 | 68.12 | 33.47 | 35.41 |
| Rajsamand | 33.09 | 50.66 | 15.54 | 55.41 | 55.82 | 74.05 | 37.89 | 33.82 |
| Udaipur | 34.9 | 48.73 | 20.41 | 42.37 | 59.26 | 74.47 | 43.71 | 27.10 |
| Dungarpur | 30.55 | 45.71 | 15.4 | 51.80 | 48.32 | 66.19 | 31.22 | 37.79 |
| Banswara | 26 | 38.16 | 13.42 | 49.68 | 44.22 | 60.24 | 27.86 | 38.23 |
| Chittaurgarh | 34.28 | 50.55 | 17.15 | 50.87 | 54.37 | 71.82 | 36.45 | 33.96 |
| Kota | 55.24 | 70.66 | 37.56 | 31.28 | 74.45 | 86.25 | 61.25 | 17.53 |
| Baran | 36.57 | 53.76 | 17.22 | 52.17 | 60.37 | 76.86 | 42.18 | 29.99 |
| Jhalawar | 32.94 | 48.22 | 16.18 | 50.78 | 57.98 | 74.29 | 40.39 | 30.53 |
Table – 10
INDEX OF GENDER DISPARITY – BIHAR
| State / District | Literacy Rate | |||||||
| 1991 | 2001 | |||||||
| Persons | Males | Females | Index of Gender Disparity | Persons | Males | Females | Index of Gender Disparity | |
| Bihar | 37.49 | 51.37 | 21.99 | 40.92 | 47.53 | 6032 | 33.57 | 6589.06 |
| Pashchim Champaran | 27.99 | 39.62 | 14.41 | 47.02 | 39.63 | 51.91 | 25.58 | 34.69 |
| Purba Champaran | 27.59 | 39.65 | 13.69 | 49.13 | 38.14 | 50.14 | 24.65 | 34.89 |
| Sheohar | 26.18 | 36.36 | 14.34 | 43.91 | 37.01 | 45.54 | 27.43 | 25.55 |
| Sitamarhi | 28.49 | 39.86 | 15.49 | 44.66 | 39.38 | 51.02 | 26.35 | 32.71 |
| Madhubani | 33.22 | 48.49 | 16.75 | 49.88 | 42.35 | 42.35 | 26.56 | 19.47 |
| Supaul | 28.11 | 40.96 | 13.74 | 50.56 | 37.8 | 37.8 | 21.02 | 23.18 |
| Araria | 26.19 | 36.99 | 14.01 | 45.81 | 34.94 | 46.5 | 22.14 | 36.40 |
| Kishanganj | 22.22 | 33.12 | 10.38 | 53.43 | 31.02 | 42.8 | 18.49 | 40.92 |
| Purnia | 28.52 | 38.92 | 16.8 | 40.49 | 35.51 | 46.16 | 23.72 | 32.99 |
| Katihar | 28.7 | 39.24 | 16.88 | 40.68 | 35.29 | 45.51 | 24.03 | 31.78 |
| Madhepura | 27.72 | 39.31 | 14.41 | 46.90 | 36.19 | 48.87 | 22.31 | 38.32 |
| Saharsa | 29.98 | 42.37 | 15.83 | 46.22 | 39.28 | 52.04 | 25.31 | 35.53 |
| Darbhanga | 34.94 | 48.31 | 20.09 | 42.17 | 44.32 | 57.18 | 30.35 | 31.61 |
| Muzaffarpur | 36.11 | 48.44 | 22.33 | 37.75 | 48.15 | 60.19 | 35.2 | 27.10 |
| Gopalganj | 34.96 | 51.62 | 17.75 | 50.58 | 48.19 | 63.81 | 32.81 | 33.59 |
| Siwan | 39.13 | 57.51 | 21.33 | 48.27 | 52.01 | 67.67 | 37.26 | 30.53 |
| Saran | 41.79 | 60.18 | 22.71 | 46.81 | 52.01 | 67.81 | 35.74 | 32.19 |
| Vaishali | 40.56 | 55.62 | 24.08 | 40.60 | 51.63 | 64 | 38.14 | 26.15 |
| Samastipur | 36.37 | 50.39 | 21.17 | 41.95 | 45.76 | 57.83 | 32.69 | 28.68 |
| Begusarai | 36.88 | 48.66 | 23.52 | 35.59 | 48.55 | 59.71 | 36.21 | 25.27 |
| Khagaria | 32.33 | 42.97 | 19.79 | 37.43 | 41.56 | 52.02 | 29.62 | 28.14 |
| Bhagalpur | 41.84 | 53.41 | 28.11 | 31.57 | 50.28 | 60.11 | 38.83 | 22.10 |
| Banka | 34.55 | 48.17 | 18.99 | 44.10 | 43.4 | 56.28 | 29.1 | 32.70 |
| Munger | 52.25 | 64.95 | 37.07 | 27.86 | 60.11 | 70.68 | 47.97 | 19.73 |
| Lakhisarai | 39.4 | 53.12 | 23.48 | 39.28 | 48.21 | 60.97 | 34.26 | 28.93 |
| Sheikhpura | 40.92 | 55.43 | 24.41 | 39.58 | 49.01 | 62.56 | 34.13 | 30.29 |
| Nalanda | 46.95 | 61.95 | 29.97 | 35.56 | 53.64 | 66.94 | 39.03 | 27.17 |
| Patna | 56.33 | 69.07 | 41.35 | 25.69 | 63.82 | 73.81 | 52.17 | 17.70 |
| Bhojpur | 48.18 | 66.35 | 27.95 | 41.61 | 59.71 | 74.78 | 42.81 | 27.95 |
| Buxar | 45.54 | 62.94 | 25.74 | 42.65 | 57.49 | 72.82 | 40.36 | 29.48 |
| Kaimur(Bhabua) | 39.35 | 55.68 | 20.69 | 46.43 | 55.57 | 70.57 | 38.9 | 29.76 |
| Rohtas | 48.52 | 64.5 | 30.29 | 36.81 | 62.36 | 76.54 | 46.62 | 25.05 |
| Jehanabad | 45.83 | 63.11 | 26.81 | 41.35 | 56.03 | 70.9 | 40.08 | 28.72 |
| Aurangabad | 45.14 | 61.8 | 26.67 | 40.63 | 57.5 | 71.99 | 42.04 | 27.19 |
| Gaya | 40.47 | 5.22 | 24.2 | -24.49 | 51.07 | 63.81 | 37.4 | 27.00 |
| Nawada | 38.96 | 54.85 | 21.82 | 44.26 | 47.36 | 61.22 | 32.64 | 31.51 |
| Jamui | 33.41 | 48.48 | 16.41 | 50.12 | 42.74 | 57.1 | 26.92 | 36.87 |
Table -11
INDEX OF GENDER DISPARITY – JHARKHAND
| State /
District |
Literacy Rate | |||||||
| 1991 | 2001 | |||||||
| Persons | Males | Females | Index of Gender Disparity | Persons | Males | Females | Index of Gender Disparity | |
| Jharkhand | 41.39 | 55.8 | 25.52 | 38.20 | 54.13 | 67.94 | 39.38 | 27.55 |
| Garhwa | 26.06 | 39.03 | 11.85 | 54.45 | 39.39 | 54.69 | 22.91 | 42.12 |
| Palamu | 33.52 | 47.57 | 18.21 | 45.73 | 45.67 | 59.76 | 30.5 | 33.45 |
| Chatra | 27.84 | 40.45 | 14.39 | 48.87 | 43.35 | 55.67 | 30.5 | 30.31 |
| Hazaribagh | 41.21 | 56.54 | 24.13 | 41.06 | 58.05 | 72.16 | 43.15 | 26.09 |
| Kodarma | 38.52 | 58.12 | 18.61 | 53.55 | 52.73 | 71.57 | 34.03 | 37.17 |
| Giridih | 32.24 | 49.81 | 13.91 | 58.14 | 45.16 | 63.07 | 27.05 | 41.64 |
| Deoghar | 37.92 | 54.12 | 19.74 | 47.34 | 50.53 | 66.93 | 32.33 | 35.75 |
| Godda | 34.02 | 48.56 | 18 | 46.90 | 43.73 | 58.07 | 27.98 | 35.92 |
| Sahibganj | 29.37 | 39.51 | 18.27 | 37.76 | 37.91 | 48.33 | 26.78 | 29.68 |
| Pakaur | 23.96 | 33.56 | 13.8 | 43.06 | 30.54 | 40.19 | 20.44 | 33.76 |
| Dumka | 34.02 | 49.29 | 17.91 | 48.16 | 48.31 | 63.28 | 32.68 | 33.07 |
| Dhanbad | 54.24 | 67.82 | 37 | 29.67 | 67.49 | 80.03 | 52.93 | 20.96 |
| Bokaro | 51.14 | 66.48 | 32.85 | 34.33 | 62.98 | 76.99 | 47.17 | 24.72 |
| Ranchi | 51.52 | 65.12 | 36.57 | 28.93 | 65.69 | 77.76 | 52.77 | 19.86 |
| Lohardaga | 40.79 | 54.99 | 26.11 | 36.97 | 53.97 | 67.84 | 39.88 | 27.05 |
| Gumla | 39.67 | 51.7 | 27.48 | 31.88 | 52.35 | 64.14 | 40.56 | 23.52 |
| Pashchimi Singhbhum | 38.92 | 54.75 | 22.44 | 43.34 | 50.7 | 66.23 | 34.81 | 32.36 |
| Purbi Singhbhum | 59.05 | 71.18 | 45.5 | 22.71 | 69.42 | 80.08 | 57.95 | 16.64 |
