copy Right
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 |
|
Delhi (UT) |
75.3 |
82.0 |
67.0 |
81.8 |
87.4 |
75.0 |
6.5 |
5.4 |
8.0 |
|
EAST ZONE
|
47.6 |
60.1 |
33.9 |
59.0 |
70.1 |
47.0 |
11.4 |
10.0 |
13.1 |
|
Bihar |
37.5 |
51.4 |
22.0 |
47.5 |
60.3 |
33.6 |
10.0 |
8.9 |
11.6 |
|
Sikkim |
56.9 |
65.7 |
46.8 |
69.7 |
76.7 |
61.5 |
12.8 |
11.0 |
14.7 |
|
West Bengal |
57.7 |
67.8 |
46.6 |
69.2 |
77.6 |
60.2 |
11.5 |
9.8 |
13.6 |
|
Orissa |
49.1 |
63.1 |
34.7 |
63.6 |
76.0 |
51.0 |
14.5 |
12.9 |
16.3 |
|
A & N Islands (UT)
|
73.0 |
79.0 |
65.5 |
81.2 |
86.1 |
75.3 |
8.2 |
7.1 |
9.8 |
|
NORTH EAST
|
54.5 |
63.2 |
44.1 |
65.8 |
73.0 |
58.0 |
11.3 |
9.8 |
13.9 |
|
Assam |
52.9 |
61.9 |
43.0 |
64.3 |
71.9 |
56.0 |
11.4 |
10.0 |
13.0 |
|
Arunachal Pradesh*
|
41.6 |
51.5 |
29.7 |
54.7 |
64.1 |
44.2 |
13.1 |
12.6 |
14.5 |
|
Manipur |
59.9 |
71.6 |
47.6 |
68.9 |
77.9 |
59.7 |
9.0 |
6.3 |
12.1 |
|
Meghalaya |
49.1 |
53.1 |
44.9 |
63.3 |
66.1 |
60.4 |
14.2 |
13.0 |
15.5 |
|
Mizoram |
82.3 |
85.6 |
78.6 |
88.5 |
90.7 |
86.1 |
6.2 |
5.1 |
7.5 |
|
Nagaland |
61.7 |
67.6 |
54.8 |
67.1 |
71.8 |
61.9 |
5.4 |
4.2 |
7.1 |
|
Tripura |
60.4 |
70.6 |
49.7 |
73.7 |
81.5 |
65.4 |
13.3 |
10.9 |
15.7 |
|
CENTRAL ZONE
|
42.4 |
56.6 |
26.5 |
60.1 |
72.8 |
46.2 |
17.7 |
16.2 |
19.7 |
|
Madhya Pradesh |
44.7 |
58.5 |
29.4 |
64.1 |
76.8 |
50.3 |
19.4 |
18.3 |
20.9 |
|
Uttar Pradesh |
40.7 |
54.8 |
24.4 |
57.4 |
70.2 |
43.0 |
16.7 |
15.4 |
18.6 |
|
WEST ZONE
|
63.6 |
75.4 |
51.0 |
73.5 |
82.9 |
63.4 |
9.9 |
7.5 |
12.4 |
|
Gujarat |
61.3 |
73.1 |
48.6 |
70.0 |
80.5 |
58.6 |
8.7 |
7.4 |
10.0 |
|
Maharashtra |
64.9 |
76.6 |
52.3 |
77.3 |
86.3 |
67.5 |
12.4 |
9.7 |
15.2 |
|
D & N Haveli (UT) |
40.7 |
53.6 |
27.0 |
60.0 |
73.3 |
43.0 |
19.3 |
19.7 |
16.0 |
|
Daman & Diu (UT) |
71.2 |
82.7 |
59.4 |
81.1 |
88.4 |
70.4 |
9.9 |
5.7 |
11.0 |
|
SOUTHERN ZONE
|
59.3 |
69.1 |
49.2 |
70.4 |
78.7 |
62.0 |
11.1 |
9.6 |
12.8 |
|
Andhra Pradesh |
44.1 |
55.1 |
32.7 |
61.1 |
70.9 |
51.2 |
17.0 |
15.8 |
18.5 |
|
Goa |
75.5 |
83.6 |
67.1 |
82.3 |
88.9 |
75.5 |
6.8 |
5.3 |
8.4 |
|
Karnataka |
56.0 |
67.3 |
44.3 |
67.0 |
76.3 |
57.5 |
11.0 |
9.0 |
13.2 |
|
Kerala |
89.8 |
93.6 |
86.2 |
90.9 |
94.2 |
87.9 |
1.1 |
0.6 |
1.7 |
|
Tamil Nadu |
62.7 |
73.8 |
51.3 |
73.5 |
82.3 |
64.6 |
10.8 |
8.5 |
13.3 |
|
Lakshadweep (UT) |
81.8 |
90.2 |
72.9 |
87.5 |
93.2 |
81.6 |
5.7 |
3.0 |
8.7 |
|
Pondicherry (UT) |
74.7 |
83.7 |
65.6 |
81.5 |
88.9 |
74.1 |
6.8 |
5.2 |
8.5 |
Source: RGCCI 2001
(2001a: 123-27)
At the zonal level, in 2001 it is the west
zone that has reported the highest literacy rates well above the south
zone. This is because both Gujarat and
Maharashtra have registered literacy rates higher than Andhra Pradesh and
Karnataka that fall in the south zone.
Although central zone is constituted by erstwhile Madhya Pradesh and
Uttar Pradesh, both regarded as low literacy states, it is the east zone that
is marked by lowest literacy rate primarily because of very low literacy rate
in Bihar and Orissa (Table 3).
As regards the gains in literacy rates
between 1991 and 2001, all the states and union territories without exception
have registered positive increase. Rajasthan recorded a maximum increase of
22.5 percent followed by Chhatisgarh (22.3 percent), Madhya Pradesh (19.4
percent), Andhra Pradesh (17 percent) and Uttar Pradesh (16.6 percent) (Table
3). Thus, among the so called BIMARU states,
Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh including Chhatisgarh, and Uttar Pradesh have made
significant progress in their literacy drives. Detailed literacy rates by age
groups would indicate whether the increment in literacy rates is largely
contributed by the adult males and females or by the children in the school
going age. The first factor would mean
that efforts of the National Literacy Mission (NLM) and Adult Literacy Mission
(ALM) and other related programmes have succeeded while the second may suggest
success of the DPEP and other projects like Lok Jumbish in
Rajasthan have helped in reduction in school dropouts. Both these aspects are meaningful from
societal perspective and need more detailed examination.
Among the states and union territories that had literacy rates
below 50 percent in 1991, Bihar at 47.5 percent is the only state falling in
this category in 2001 as well. Further,
it has recorded the minimum increase of just 10 percent during 1991-2001.
Regression analysis conducted with
literacy rate (y) as the dependent variable and population growth rate during
1991-2001 decade (x1) and urbanisation rate in 2001 (x2) as
explanatory variables indicate that growth rate has no correlation with
literacy rate. Urbanisation rate,
however, has strong correlation with literacy rate and is highly significant. The regression equation in this case works
out as
y = 63.167 – 0.139x1 + 0.333x2
Male-Female Difference in Literacy Rate
It is heartening to note that, at
the national level, male-female difference in literacy rate has declined from
24.8 percent in 1991 to 21.7 percent in 2001 due to faster increase in female
literacy rate than male literacy rate during the 1990s. Consequently, the male-female gap in
literacy rate declined in all the states and union territories except Dadra
& Nagar Haveli during this period.
An examination of the decadal difference in
literacy rates by gender for 1991 and 2001, however, indicates that out of 13
states and UTs where the literacy rates are below the national average of 65.4
percent, nine occupy the first nine positions in male-female gap. These states are Rajasthan (a gap of 32.1
percentage points), Jharkhand (28.6 percent), Uttar Pradesh (27.2 percent),
Bihar (26.7 percent), Madhya Pradesh (26.5 percent), Chhatisgarh (25.5
percent), Orissa (25 percent), Jammu and Kashmir (23.9 percent) and the UT of
Dadra and Nagar Haveli (30.3 percent).
Their ranking in terms of the gap in male-female literacy rate has
remained almost the same between 1991 and 2001 (Table 4). In contrast, male-female gap in literacy
rate in 2001 is less than ten percent only in the states of Kerala, Meghalaya,
Mizoram, Nagaland and the union territory of Chandigarh. These are the states
where females have high status in their respective societies.
Looking at the data in Table 4, one may
conclude that the states where the overall literacy rate is low, they continue
to have large gap in male female literacy rates even after substantial
improvement in female literacy. It also
seems that low urbanisation and low density of population also influence the
gap in male-female literacy rates. One
may also say that status of women continues to remain low in those states.
Table
4: Literacy rates by sex and their decadal differences between
1991
and 2001, India and States/Union Territories
|
India/State/Union
Territory/zone |
1991
|
Gap
in M-F literacy
rate
|
2001
|
Gap
in literacy
Rate
|
Decadal
difference in literacy rates |
|
Males
|
Females
|
Males
|
Females
|
Males
|
Females
|
|
(1)
|
(2)
|
(3)
|
(4)
|
(5)
|
(6)
|
(7)
|
(8)
|
(9)
|
|
INDIA
|
64.1
|
39.3
|
24.8
|
76.0
|
54.3
|
21.7
|
11.8
|
15.0
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
North zone
|
63.8
|
36.9
|
26.9
|
77.6
|
54.1
|
23.5
|
13.8
|
17.2
|
|
Jammu & Kashmir
|
N.A.
|
N.A.
|
N.A.
|
65.8
|
41.8
|
23.9
|
N.A.
|
N.A.
|
|
Himachal Pradesh
|
75.4
|
52.3
|
23.2
|
86.0
|
68.1
|
17.9
|
10.6
|
15.8
|
|
Punjab
|
65.7
|
50.4
|
15.3
|
75.6
|
63.6
|
12.0
|
10.0
|
13.1
|
|
Chandigarh*
|
82.0
|
72.3
|
9.7
|
85.6
|
76.6
|
9.0
|
3.6
|
4.3
|
|
Haryana
|
69.1
|
40.5
|
28.6
|
79.2
|
56.3
|
22.9
|
10.2
|
15.8
|
|
Delhi*
|
82.0
|
67.0
|
15.0
|
87.4
|
75.0
|
12.4
|
5.4
|
8.0
|
|
Rajasthan
|
55.0
|
20.4
|
34.6
|
76.5
|
44.3
|
32.1
|
21.5
|
23.9
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Central zone
|
56.6
|
26.5
|
30.1
|
72.8
|
46.2
|
26.6
|
16.2
|
19.7
|
|
Chhatisgarh
|
58.1
|
27.5
|
30.5
|
77.9
|
52.4
|
25.5
|
19.8
|
24.9
|
|
Madhya Pradesh
|
58.5
|
29.4
|
29.2
|
76.8
|
50.3
|
26.5
|
18.3
|
20.9
|
|
Uttar Pradesh
|
54.8
|
24.4
|
30.5
|
70.2
|
43.0
|
27.2
|
15.4
|
18.6
|
|
Uttaranchal
|
72.8
|
41.6
|
31.2
|
84.0
|
60.3
|
23.7
|
11.2
|
18.6
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
East zone
|
60.1
|
33.9
|
26.2
|
70.1
|
47.0
|
13.1
|
10.0
|
13.1
|
|
Bihar
|
51.4
|
22.0
|
29.4
|
60.3
|
33.6
|
26.7
|
9.0
|
11.6
|
|
Jharkhand
|
55.8
|
25.5
|
30.3
|
67.9
|
39.4
|
28.6
|
12.1
|
13.9
|
|
Orissa
|
63.1
|
34.7
|
28.4
|
76.0
|
51.0
|
25.0
|
12.9
|
16.3
|
|
Sikkim
|
65.7
|
46.8
|
18.9
|
76.7
|
61.5
|
15.2
|
11.0
|
14.7
|
|
West Bengal
|
67.8
|
46.6
|
21.2
|
77.6
|
60.2
|
17.4
|
9.8
|
13.7
|
|
A. & N, Islands
|
79.0
|
65.5
|
13.5
|
86.1
|
75.3
|
10.8
|
7.1
|
9.8
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
North-Eastern
zone |
63.2
|
44.1
|
19.1
|
73.0
|
58.0
|
15.0
|
9.8
|
13.9
|
|
Arunachal Pradesh
|
51.4
|
29.7
|
21.7
|
64.1
|
44.2
|
19.9
|
12.6
|
14.5
|
|
Assam
|
61.9
|
43.0
|
18.9
|
71.9
|
56.0
|
15.9
|
10.1
|
13.0
|
|
Manipur
|
71.6
|
47.6
|
24.0
|
77.9
|
59.7
|
18.2
|
6.2
|
12.1
|
|
Meghalaya
|
53.1
|
44.8
|
8.3
|
66.1
|
60.4
|
5.7
|
13.0
|
15.6
|
|
Mizoram
|
85.6
|
78.6
|
7.0
|
90.7
|
86.1
|
4.6
|
5.1
|
7.5
|
|
Nagaland
|
67.6
|
54.8
|
12.8
|
71.8
|
61.9
|
9.9
|
4.2
|
7.2
|
|
Tripura
|
70.6
|
49.6
|
21.0
|
81.5
|
65.4
|
16.1
|
10.8
|
15.8
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
West zone
|
75.4
|
51.0
|
24.4
|
82.9
|
63.4
|
19.5
|
7.5
|
12.4
|
|
Gujarat
|
73.4
|
48.9
|
24.5
|
80.5
|
58.6
|
21.9
|
7.1
|
9.7
|
|
Maharashtra
|
76.6
|
52.3
|
24.3
|
86.3
|
67.5
|
18.8
|
9.7
|
15.2
|
|
D
& N Haveli* |
53.6
|
27.0
|
26.6
|
73.3
|
43.0
|
30.3
|
19.8
|
16.0
|
|
Daman & Diu*
|
82.7
|
59.4
|
23.3
|
88.4
|
70.4
|
18.0
|
5.7
|
11.0
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
South zone
|
69.1
|
49.2
|
19.9
|
78.7
|
62.0
|
16.7
|
9.6
|
12.8
|
|
Andhra Pradesh
|
55.1
|
32.7
|
22.4
|
70.8
|
51.2
|
19.6
|
15.7
|
18.4
|
|
Goa
|
83.6
|
67.1
|
16.5
|
88.9
|
75.5
|
13.4
|
5.2
|
8.4
|
|
Karnataka
|
67.3
|
44.3
|
23.0
|
76.3
|
57.4
|
18.9
|
9.0
|
13.1
|
|
Kerala
|
93.6
|
86.2
|
7.4
|
94.2
|
87.9
|
6.3
|
0.6
|
1.7
|
|
Tamil Nadu
|
73.8
|
51.3
|
22.5
|
82.3
|
64.6
|
17.7
|
8.6
|
13.2
|
|
Lakshadweep*
|
90.2
|
72.9
|
17.3
|
93.2
|
81.6
|
11.6
|
3.0
|
8.7
|
|
Pondicherry*
|
83.7
|
65.6
|