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Seminar on progress of literacy in india: what the Census 2001 preveals

NIEPA, New Delhi, October 05, 2002

INDIA’S LITERACY PANORAMA

(Mahendra K. Premi#)

Growth in Literacy

            With almost two-thirds of India’s population aged 7 years of age and above now literate, India has made very significant progress in this direction.  An important finding of the 2001 census count is that more than half of the females are now literate and male-female differential has narrowed down to 21.7 percent from 24.8 percent in 1991.  The other important finding of the 2001 census is that, in the country, the absolute number of illiterates in population aged 7 + has declined for the first time by almost 32 million (21.4 million among males and 10.5 million among females).  The earlier data from 1961 to 1991 indicated that the absolute number of illiterates was increasing from one decade to another.  There are, however, states – Bihar, Manipur and Nagaland – and the union territories of Delhi and Chandigarh - where the number of illiterates has increased further during the 1990s.

This paper discusses the literacy level and its growth pattern at the state and district level.  The male-female differentials in literacy rates are examined in some details.  The status of the top 20 districts in terms of literacy rates in 1991 census is considered as of 2001 census as to how many have maintained their position and how many have slid down and the factors accounting for the same. Similarly, the position of those 20 districts that had the lowest literacy rates in 1991 is examined in the 2001 census particularly looking at their present position.  Considering the decline in the number of illiterates in the country for the first time, the paper examines the nature of changes that have taken place as also the distribution of the districts where the number of illiterates has still increased.  Their statewise distribution and the factors responsible for a slow growth in literacy therein would be considered. 

 

Trends in Literacy Rates

            It may be noted at the outset that, prior to the 1991 census, the Indian census was excluding only children aged 0-4 years in counting the literate population.  The literacy rates were computed by taking the total population in the denominator.  On the eve of the 1991 census it was decided that all children in the 0-6 age group will be treated as illiterate by definition and literacy rates would be computed for population aged 7 years and above.  In comparison to such (net) literacy rates, those computed by taking the total population in the denominator are called “crude literacy rates.”  As it is not feasible to work out net literacy rates right from 1901 onward, Table 1 gives crude literacy rates for India for the past one century, from 1901 to 2001.

Table 1: Crude literacy rates by sex, India, 1901-2001

 

Census year

Crude literacy rates

Decadal change (in percentage points)

Persons

Males

Females

Persons

Males

Females

1901

5.4

9.8

0.6

--

--

--

1911

5.9

10.6

1.0

0.5

0.8

0.4

1921

7.2

12.2

1.8

1.3

1.6

0.8

1931

9.5

15.6

2.9

2.3

3.4

1.1

1941

16.1

24.9

7.3

6.6

9.3

4.4

1951

16.7

25.0

7.9

0.6

0.1

0.6

1961

24.0

34.4

13.0

7.3

9.4

5.1

1971

29.4

39.4

18.7

5.4

5.0

5.7

1981

36.2

45.9

24.8

6.8

6.5

6.1

1991

42.8

52.7

32.2

6.6

7.8

7.4

2001

55.3

64.1

45.8

12.5

11.4

13.6

Source: RGCCI 2001: (2001a: 114)

Note:  1.    Figures from 1901 to 1941 are for undivided India.

2.       Figures for 1981 exclude Assam and those for 1991 exclude Jammu and Kashmir as no census could be conducted in Assam in 1981 and in Jammu and Kashmir in 1991.

    3.   Figures for 2001 exclude the entire Kachchh district; Morvi, Maliya-Miyana and Wankaner         talukas of Rajkot district; Jodiya taluka of Jamnagar district of Gujarat state, and entire Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh where 2001 census enumeration could not be held due to natural calamities.

 

The crude literacy rates in various censuses from 1901 onward show an increase for both males and females.  The rates were very low till 1931 but there was a sudden jump in 1941, from 9.5 percent to 16.1 percent.  It, however, remained almost stationary at 16.7 percent in 1951.  This may be due to the fact that earlier figures were for undivided India and, secondly, after the partition of the country into India and Pakistan in 1947, almost eight million people came to the Indian Union from newly created Pakistan, and around six to seven million Muslims went from India (Premi 1995: 628).   It is almost impossible to assign reasons for the observed figures.

There has been a monotonous increase of 5 to 8 percent in the literacy rates after 1951, it becoming 12.5 percent in the 1991-2001 decade.  Thus the literacy rate has become more than three times during the past half-a-century.

It is noteworthy that, in recent years, the increase in female literacy rate has been higher than in male literacy rate narrowing the male-female gap particularly during the 1980s and 1990s.  This can be explained partly by the general expansion of education, partly by the present policies of positive intervention followed in favour of girls and by implementation of programmes like DPEP, literacy promotion programmes through NLM and Adult Literacy Programme etc.

Net Literacy Rates

            Literacy rates for the population aged 7 years and above presented in Table 2 indicate a very significant increase for both males and females particularly during the 1990s.  As of 2001 census, almost two-thirds of India’s population is now literate, the male literacy rate has risen to three-fourths while females literacy rate at 54.2 percent indicates that more than half the female population in the country is now literate, that is, has the ability to read and write with understanding.  An important finding of Table 2 is the reduction of gap in male and female literacy rates from 26.6 percent in 1981 to 21.7 percent in 2001.

 

Table 2: Literacy Rates by sex, India, 1981-2001

 

Year

Literacy rate

Male –female

Person

Male

Female

Gap

1981

43.6

56.4

29.8

26.6

1991

52.2

64.1

39.3

24.8

2001

65.4

75.8

54.2

21.6

 

        Source: RGCCI 2001 (2001a: 115)

        Note:

1         Figures for 1981 exclude Assam and those for 1991 exclude Jammu and Kashmir as no census could be conducted in Assam in 1981 and in Jammu and Kashmir in 1991.

 

2     Figures for 2001 do not include the entire Kachchh district; Morvi, Maliya-Miyana and     Wankaner talukas of Rajkot district;  Jodiya taluka of Jamnagar district of Gujarat state, and entire Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh where 2001 census enumeration could not be held due to natural calamities.

 

Literacy Rates by Zones and States

The national level literacy rate for persons aged 7 years above conceals more than what it reveals as there are great statewide disparities. For example, Kerala with literacy rate of 90.9 percent has secured first rank closely followed by Mizoram.  Among the other six states/UTs with more than 80 percent literacy rate, the five are union territories and Goa is the only state in this category.

Improvement in Literacy Rates

            At the national level the literacy rate in population 7+ improved from 52.2 percent in 1991 to 65.5 percent in 2001, an improvement of 13.3 percentage points during the decade.  It is only Kerala and Goa in the south, Mizoram in the northeast, Himachal Pradesh in the north and Maharashtra in the west zone that recorded literacy rates of more than 75 percent in 2001.  All the UTs except Dadra and Nagar Haveli have also recorded literacy rate of more than 80 percent (Table 3).  In 1991, among the major states (with population above 10 million), Tamil Nadu secured second rank in literacy rate, while it has slipped to the third rank now.

Table 3: Percentage of Literates to Population age 7 Years and above by

Zones and States, 1991 and 2001

 

Zone/State and Union Territory

1991

2001

Gains in literacy rates           (LR 2001-LR 1991)

 

P

M

F

  P

M

F

P

M

F

  INDIA

52.2

64.1

39.3

65.2

75.6

54.0

13.0

11.5

14.7

NORTH ZONE

51.2 

63.8

36.9 

66.5 

77.6 

54.1 

15.3

13.8

17.2

Haryana

55.9

96.1

40.5

68.6

79.3

56.3

12.7

10.2

15.8

Himachal Pradesh

63.9

75.4

52.1

77.1

86.0

68.1

13.2

10.6

16.0

Jammu & Kashmir

51.5

63.3

38.8

65.4

75.9

54.2

13.9

12.6

15.4

Punjab

58.5

65.7

50.4

70.0

75.6

63.6

11.5

9.9

13.2

Rajasthan

38.6

55.0

20.4

61.0

76.5

44.3

22.4

21.5

23.9

Chandigarh (UT)

77.8

82.0

72.3

81.8

85.7

76.7

4.0

3.7

4.4