http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Sex-ratio-dips-Jains-Sikhs-buck-trend/articleshow/50387641.cms
Sex ratio dips, Jains & Sikhs buck trend Subodh Varma | TNN | Dec 31, 2015, 02.07 AM IST Two religious communities of India, Sikhs and Jains, have turned the corner on child sex ratio while all others showed further dips, as did the national average, according to fresh Census 2011 data released on Wednesday. Child sex ratio is the number of girls aged 0-6 years for every 1,000 boys in the same age group. It is a crucial measure for India where preference for sons and the desire for smaller families has driven down the number of girls - and women - to unnaturally low levels in the past several decades. The child sex ratio for the whole country now stands at 918, dipping further from 927 in 2001, and reaching the lowest level since 1961. ***Among Hindus, who make up nearly 80% of India's population, the child sex ratio declined from 925 in 2001 to 913 in the latest Census data. This is the biggest decline — of 12 points — among all religious communities and a chilling reminder for the continuing need for much more robust action to save the girl child.*** [Emphasis added.] [Box] The Christian and Muslim communities too showed declines though not as much as among Hindus. The child sex ratio among Christians declined from 964 to 958 while among Muslims it declined from 950 to 943. The turnaround among Sikhs and Jains is a silver lining in this rather bleak scenario because these communities had the worst sex ratios despite being generally better off and better educated. It reflects a growing consciousness about the issue created in part by considerable public campaigns in Punjab where most Sikhs live. However, the ratio is still dangerously low in both communities. ***As reported by TOI earlier, Christians have the best population sex ratio, with 1,023 females for every 1,000 males, way ahead of all other communities and the national average of 943. Hindus and Sikhs have the worst sex ratios, at 939 and 903 respectively. At 951, Muslims have a better sex ratio than Hindus and Sikhs but lagging behind Buddhists (965) and Jains (951).*** [Emphasis added.] -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
