Identify the factors that can be held responsible for the decline in the child sex ratio:
(A) Severe neglect of girl babies in infancy, leading to high death rates
(B) Regional disparity
(C) Sex specific abortions
(D) Economic inequality (impoverishment)
(E) Female infanticide
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → (A), (C), (E) only
(A) Severe neglect of girl babies in infancy, leading to high death rates Correct. Girl babies who are neglected in infancy, in food and in care, die at higher rates, and so fewer girls are counted in the 0-6 age group.
(B) Regional disparity Incorrect. The regional pattern is the evidence that points to the real causes, not a cause itself. The lowest child sex ratios are found in the most prosperous regions, such as Maharashtra, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi.
(C) Sex specific abortions Correct. Sex-specific abortions prevent girl babies from being born. The sonogram, developed to find genetic disorders in the foetus, is misused to identify and abort female foetuses.
(D) Economic inequality (impoverishment) Incorrect. The problem of selective abortions is not due to poverty or ignorance or lack of resources. Prosperous families that want only one or two children may also wish to choose the sex of the child, and ultrasound technology makes this possible.
(E) Female infanticide Correct. Female infanticide, the killing of girl babies due to religious or cultural beliefs, has been known to exist in many regions.
NCERT (2025-26): “2.4 The Declining Sex-ratio in India … Several factors may be held responsible for the decline in the child sex ratio, including severe neglect of girl babies in infancy, leading to higher death rates; sex-specific abortions that prevent girl babies from being born; and female infanticide (or the killing of girl babies due to religious or cultural beliefs). Each of these reasons point to a serious social problem, and there is some evidence that all of these have been at work in India. Practices of female infanticide have been known to exist in many regions, while increasing importance is being attached to modern medical techniques by which the sex of the baby can be determined in the very early stages of pregnancy. The availability of the sonogram (an x-ray like diagnostic device based on ultra-sound technology), originally developed to identify genetic or other disorders in the foetus, are misused to identify and selectively abort female foetuses. The regional pattern of low child sex ratios seems to support this argument. It is striking that the lowest child sex ratios are found in the most prosperous regions of India. According to the Economic Survey for a recent year, Maharashtra, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi are having high per capita income and the child sex ratio of these states is still low. So the problem of selective abortions is not due to poverty or ignorance or lack of resources.” |