In UP, decline in child sex ratio among Sikhs a cause of concern

CHILD SEX RATIO IS DEFINED AS POPULATION OF FEMALES PER 1000 BOYS

LUCKNOW: The child sex ratio (CSR) among the Sikh community, which showed an impressive rise at national level (from 786 in 2001 to 828 girls in 2011), dipped drastically in Uttar Pradesh (from 831 to 802 girls per 1000 boys).

Though CSR declined in almost all religious communities except Jain community, but the steep fall among Sikh community was noticed by experts during the presentation of CSR by religious communities on Thursday in the state capital.

The CSR at national level among Hindus came down from 925 in 2001 to 913 in 2011 while in UP it came down from 911 to 895. Among Christians it came down from 964 to 958 at national level while in UP it came down from 936 to 918. Particularly among Sikhs where it rose from 786 to 828 at national level, in UP it came down from 831 to 802.

Giving presentation on the CSR, Dr Neelam Singh, chief of NGO Vatsalya said that this was an indication that PC-PNDT Act is not being strictly implemented in the state and further added, “We need to increase focus on this.”

A peculiar observation was on the relation of ultrasound machines and CSR. Dr Singh presented a table showing CSR from the SC families. “In districts where ultrasound machines are more, the CSR is poor among SC families. Meerut (320 machines-CSR 837, Gaziabad (3300 machines – CSR 853), GB Nagar (201 machines – CSR 866) are just examples of the same,” she said.

For mer bureaucrat and an expert in the field Satish Agnihotri described how marketing strategies of ultrasound machine owners was making way for sex-selective abortions in rural areas.