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Asia Pacific Journal of Research Vol: I. Issue XXXI, September 2015ISSN: 2320-5504, E-ISSN-2347-4793

SPATIAL PATTERNS OF LITERACY IN RAJASTHAN, 2011: A GEOGRAPHICAL PERSPECTIVE

Prem Chand

Indian Council of Social Science Research Fellow

Department of Geography, Panjab University

Chandigarh

ABSTRACT

Among the various qualitative attributes of population, literacy holds an important place as it is a reliable index of the socio-economic development of an area. The present paper is an attempt to analyse the trends in literacy rate, spatial patterns, rural- urban and male-female differences in literacy in Rajasthan. The trends in literacy are indicative of the pace at which the life and economy of a particular society is being transformed. Rajasthan is predominantly a rural state with 75.12 percent of its population residing in rural and backward areas where education continues to have little economic and social relevance. Female literacy is also low in urban areas as compared to male literacy because the cities and towns have a large number of male immigrants who are educated; towns and cities attract large number of male students. The male-female literacy difference is witness to be highly variable throughout the State. The study of the difference of male–female literacy rate clearly indicate that Rajasthan has the highest gap (27.07 percent) between male and female literacy rate among all state and union territories in India, it also tries to investigate the possible cause such high-level gap of between two sexes and to suggest some measure to minimize the gap.

Key words: Literacy rate, Trends, Spatial pattern, Rural-Urban, Male-Female, Rajasthan.

IntroductionLiteracy is a sensitive indicator of socio, economic and cultural advancement of an area. It develops the personality and rationality of individuals, qualifies them to fulfil certain economic, political and cultural functions (Naik, 1975, pp 88) and therefore play an active part in the socio-economic transformations of a society. A greater degree of its diffusion in recent years has been helpful in raising the standard of living and the social status of the poor masses. Although literacy and education by themselves do not generate socio-economic advancement, the lack of these can certainly be a barrier in development process (Gosal. 1979). Spatial patterns of literacy influence other attributes as population in a society such as fertility, mortality, occupation, migration, etc. which are important components of demographic transition taking place in a society. Changes in literacy rates are indicative of the processes of social advancement and economic transformation, the area is experiencing. Literacy transition can provide the required impetus to these processes of social economic in a developing society (Smita, 1992).

According to the census of India, “A Person aged seven years and above who can both read and write with understanding in any language has been taken as literate”. It is not necessary for a person to have any formal education or passes any minimum educational standard for being treated as literate. People who are blind, but could read in Braille are treated literates.

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Asia Pacific Journal of Research Vol: I. Issue XXXI, September 2015ISSN: 2320-5504, E-ISSN-2347-4793As the population of India increased with the passage of time, the number of literates and illiterates also increased. But the census of India, 2011 has its own significance, when the total number of illiterates came down from 46.79 crores in 2001 to 44.72 crores in 2011. Figure 1: shows the literacy rate of India since 1951. It is worth mentioning here that the literacy rates presented in this table for 1951, 1961, 1971, and the 1981 census is related to the population aged five years and above while those for the 1991, 2001 and 2011 is related to population aged seven years and above. The literacy rate for the country as a whole in 2011, works out to be 72.98 percent of the population aged seven and above. The corresponding figures for males and females are 80.88 per cent and 64.63 per cent respectively. Thus, above three fourth of the male and over half of the female population aged seven years and above are literate in India at present.

Fig.1

The male-female difference in literacy rate is an important indicator for literacy. It increased from 18.33 percent in 1951 to 26.62 percent in 1981 but declined thereafter. It decreased from 24.84 percent in 1991 to 16.25 percent to 2011. (Fig. 2)

Fig. 2

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Table:1

Source: Primary Census Abstract Total Table For India 2011, Computed by the Author


INDIA : Literacy Rate, 2011 Sr. No. State/UT Total Male Female

1 KERALA 94.00 96.11 92.072 MIZORAM 91.33 93.35 89.273 GOA 88.70 92.65 84.664 TRIPURA 87.22 91.53 82.735 HIMACHAL PRADESH 82.80 89.53 75.936 MAHARASHTRA 82.34 88.38 75.877 SIKKIM 81.42 86.55 75.618 TAMIL NADU 80.09 86.77 73.449 NAGALAND 79.55 82.75 76.11

10 UTTARAKHAND 78.82 87.40 70.0111 GUJARAT 78.03 85.75 69.6812 MANIPUR 76.94 83.58 70.2613 WEST BENGAL 76.26 81.69 70.5414 PUNJAB 75.84 80.44 70.7315 HARYANA 75.55 84.06 65.9416 KARNATAKA 75.36 82.47 68.0817 MEGHALAYA 74.43 75.95 72.8918 ODISHA 72.87 81.59 64.0119 ASSAM 72.19 77.85 66.2720 CHHATTISGARH 70.28 80.27 60.2421 MADHYA PRADESH 69.32 78.73 59.2422 UTTAR PRADESH 67.68 77.28 57.1823 JAMMU & KASHMIR 67.16 76.75 56.4324 ANDHRA PRADESH 67.02 74.88 59.1525 JHARKHAND 66.41 76.84 55.4226 RAJASTHAN 66.11 79.19 52.1227 ARUNACHAL PRADESH 65.38 72.55 57.7028 BIHAR 61.80 71.20 51.50

Union Territories1 LAKSHADWEEP 91.85 95.56 87.952 DAMAN & DIU 87.10 91.54 79.553 ANDAMAN & NICOBAR

ISLANDS86.63 90.27 82.43

4 NCT OF DELHI 86.21 90.94 80.765 CHANDIGARH 86.05 89.99 81.196 PUDUCHERRY 85.85 91.26 80.677 DADRA & NAGAR HAVELI 76.24 85.17 64.32

India 72.98 80.88 64.63



Objectives, Data Source and MethodologyThe main objectives of the study are:

To describe, analyze and interpret the spatial patterns of literacy of Rajasthan. To examine the rural- urban and male-female differences in literacy of Rajasthan.

To achieve the above stated objectives the Tehsil has been considered to the most appropriate unit of study, for which data are available. This study primarily based on secondary source of data, which obtained in the form of Primary Census Abstract Total for Rajasthan, 2011 from census of India. The quantitative techniques have been used in the present study to understand the patterns of literacy. For this purpose, the census data has been tabulated, calculated to derive representative figures, averages and percentages. Tehsil-wise spatial patterns of literacy rates have been depicted on maps by using the choropleth technique with the help of Arc GIS 9.3 software. The main focus of the study is in the explanations regarding the patterns that emerged from the maps. The literacy rate has been computed by using the following formula:

Litracy in RajasthanAccording to the census of 2011, Rajasthan state is inhabited by 68548437 persons comprising of 35550997 males and 32997440 females. The literate part of this population consists of 38275282 persons giving an overall literacy rate of 66.11 percent, which is lower than the national average of 72.98 percent. Table 1: indicates that Rajasthan occupies the 26th position among the 28 states of the Indian union. The state is particularly lagging behind regarding to female literacy. The total literate population of Rajasthan is 66.11 per cent and out of this male literacy rate in the 79.19 percent and female literacy is 52.12 percent. The urban literacy is 79.68 per cent and rural literacy is 61.44 per cent of the total literate persons(Table 2) .

Table: 2

Source: Primary Census Abstract Total Table For Rajasthan

2011, Computed by the Author


Rajasthan : Literacy Rate, 2011

Sr. No. District Total Male Female Rural Urban1 Kota 76.56 86.31 65.87 68.57 81.712 Jaipur 75.51 86.05 64.02 67.62 82.473 Jhunjhunun 74.13 86.90 60.95 73.42 76.534 Sikar 71.91 85.11 58.23 70.84 75.365 Alwar 70.72 83.75 56.25 67.85 83.396 Bharatpur 70.11 84.10 54.24 67.85 78.997 Ganganagar 69.64 78.50 59.70 66.17 78.748 Ajmer 69.33 82.44 55.68 59.13 83.889 Dhaulpur 69.08 81.22 54.67 68.10 72.72

10 Dausa 68.16 82.98 51.93 66.33 80.6811 Hanumangarh 67.13 77.41 55.84 65.06 75.4512 Churu 66.75 78.78 54.04 64.40 72.6113 Baran 66.66 80.35 51.96 63.62 77.9714 Karauli 66.22 81.41 48.61 65.05 72.7715 Jodhpur 65.94 78.95 51.83 58.48 79.3816 Sawai Madhopur 65.39 81.51 47.51 61.92 78.9717 Bikaner 65.13 75.90 53.23 58.14 77.9818 Rajsamand 63.14 78.42 47.95 59.46 81.8819 Nagaur 62.80 77.17 47.82 60.91 70.6420 Pali 62.39 76.81 48.01 58.40 75.8421 Udaipur 61.82 74.74 48.45 54.93 87.5222 Chittaurgarh 61.71 76.61 46.53 56.84 82.7523 Tonk 61.58 77.12 45.45 58.01 73.8424 Bundi 61.52 75.44 46.55 57.30 77.9025 Jhalawar 61.50 75.75 46.53 57.63 81.0926 Bhilwara 61.37 75.27 47.21 56.00 80.7027 Dungarpur 59.46 72.88 46.16 57.64 84.3828 Jaisalmer 57.22 72.04 39.71 53.80 78.0229 Barmer 56.53 70.86 40.63 54.79 78.2230 Banswara 56.33 69.48 43.06 53.96 85.2031 Pratapgarh 55.97 69.50 42.35 53.20 84.7832 Sirohi 55.25 69.98 39.73 48.95 78.7033 Jalor 54.86 70.67 38.47 53.34 71.08

RAJASTHAN 66.11 79.19 52.12 61.44 79.68



Trends in Literacy RatesThe literacy rate in the Rajasthan from 1901 to 2011 can be divided into two phases, i.e. pre- Independence phase and post Independence. In the first phase, the literacy rate was showing low and fluctuating trend, while in the post Independence it started to increase gradually. The Fig. 3 shows a perceptible growth in literacy rate that in 1901 it was about 4 per cent which doubled by 1951 (8.02 per cent). During 1961- 2011 decade recorded a remarkable progress in literacy rate little bit more than four time. This considerable growth has been probably resulting of post- Independence government policy of the state. All this shows the low level of literacy in the state. The low literacy in Rajasthan may be attributed to the following facts:

1. More than two-third of the whole area of the state was under feudal estates where educational facilities were lacking because the provision of such facilities were never considered as the duty of the administration in the past.

2. Rajasthan is predominantly a rural state with 75.12 percent of its population residing in rural and backward areas where education continues to have little economic and social relevance.

3. The appalling poverty prevailing in the countryside makes it difficult for parents to spend an even small amount of money on the schooling of their children. Moreover the main activities of the people, like livestock raising, mining and agriculture, etc. literacy has little functional value.

Fig. 3

4. In the past, the people, particularly Rajputs and Muslims have been known for their strong prejudices against female education. Many of these prejudices still prevailing strongly, especially in the rural areas.

Spatial Patterns of LiteracyThe average literacy rate of 66.11 percent contains within itself wide regional disparities in literacy from one part of the state to another. According to the 2011 census, more than 61 per cent Tehsil (148) of the state are still struggling hard to catch up with the state average. The Tehsil of Jaipur with 82.69 percent literacy has the distinction of being the most literate Tehsil of the state. At the other end of the scale, Kotra Tehsil of Udaipur district with only 26.58 per cent literacy rate is the least literate Tehsil.Figure 4 shows that north eastern part of the state where the literacy rates are high, stands out in marked contrast to central and north-western part where the low literacy rate found. High literacy rates are characteristic of areas with a high degree of exposure to external influence, i.e. the northeastern part of Rajasthan, which bounded by the states Punjab, and Haryana and these have higher literacy than Rajasthan. In these areas, there are high degree of urbanization and high standard of living.. If the state divided vertically into, two halves most of the Tehsil with very low and low literacy rates are in the western part of the state and those with very high and high rates in the eastern part.Taking states average (66.11 per cent) as a base, Rajasthan has been divided into four categories as; very high (75 percent and above) high (65 to 75 percent), moderate (55 to 65 per cent), low (below 55 per cent). For discussion purposes, the upper two designated as high literacy areas in a relative sense, third one as moderate literacy area and the bottom one treated as low literacy areas. Thus, following three types of areas classified on the map:

A) Areas of high literacy with more than 65 per cent literacy.B) Areas of moderate literacy with 55 to 65 per cent literacy, and




C) Areas of low literacy with less than 55 per cent literacy.A) Areas of high literacy-

Out of total 244 Tehsil, 103 Tehsil have more than 65 percent literacy. Of these, 15 Tehsil displayed a literacy rate more than 75 percent and remaining 88 Tehsil displayed a literacy rate between 65 to 75 percent. The Tehsil with very high literacy rate are widely scattered in parts of Ganganagar, Bikaner Tehsil of Bikaner district, Jodhpur Tehsil of Jodhpur, Ajmer, Jhunjhunun, Alwar, Jaipur, Udaipur, Sikar, Bharatpur, Churu, Karauli, Kota, Baran, Hanumangarh, Dausa, Jhalawar, Bhilwara, Rajsmanad, Bundi, Chittaurgarh and Nagaur Districts.

B) Areas of moderate literacy-Areas belonging to this category have a literacy rate of 55 to 65 percent, which is generally below the state average of 66.11 percent. In all, 108 Tehsil are included in this category. They have occupied central and mainly southwestern compact zones of the state. In these areas, moderate rates of literacy are associated with agriculture in the context of feudal landlords. The western border region also constitutes the large belt of moderate literacy. It includes the Tehsils Khajuawala (64.48 percent), Jaisalmer (59.88per cent), Kolayat (56.59 per cent) and Pokaran (55.68 per cent). In all these Tehsil, the tradition of the army service region has contributed to the spread of education. Above all the presence of defence forces in border areas too has made its own contributions. With few exceptions, the moderate literacy is the characteristic of the areas with:

i) A sizeable proportion of population with a background of service in defence forces.ii) Average proportion of non-agricultural workers.iii) Increasing degree of commercialization due to tourism

C) Areas of low literacy-This category includes areas having less than 55 percent literacy rate, covering 33 tehsils. Kotra Tehsil of Udaipur district with a literacy rate of 26.58 percent is the Tehsil with lowest literacy rate in Rajasthan. With few exceptions, the low literacy is the characteristic of the areas with low proportion of urban population.A strong prejudice against female literacy, general poverty necessitates participation of every family member in the economic development, poor resource potential of the region in both agricultural an non agricultural sector, restricting the scope of development activities. Physiographic handicaps in the form of arid and semi-arid climate, rugged terrain, deep underground water table and poor quality of subsoil water and limited development of irrigational facilities all have contributed to the region’s economic backwardness. Extremely low status granted to women in Rajput society of Rajasthan has hampered the region’s social progress.




Fig. 4

Rural – Urban Differences in LiteracyFig.5. and 6. Reveals the Contrast in literacy pattern, is easily observable between rural and urban populations in Rajasthan. There are wide gap between the literacy rates of rural – urban populations, which are 61.44 percent and 79.68 percent respectively. The difference between the two is 18.24 percent. The gap between rural – urban literacy rates is not so much high and conspicuous everywhere, at some places the gap is negligible. The literacy ratio of rural to urban population is 1:1.29 for Rajasthan. The literacy difference varies from Tehsil to Tehsil. In urban areas, Girwa Tehsil of Udaipur has the highest literacy rate with 89.37 percent and contrary to this Hindoli Tehsil of Bundi district has the lowest literacy rate with 22.36 per cent. This range clearly indicates the variation in urban literacy rate among the Tehsil in Rajasthan. On the other hand, in rural areas, Behror Tehsil of Alwar has the highest rural literacy rate with 79.12 percent and Kotra Tehsil of Udaipur has the lowest rural literacy rate with 26.58 percent. Here the range of variation in the rural literacy rate is 52.54 percent, which is much lower than the range of urban literacy.

Fig. 5 Fig. 6 The difference in literacy of the males and females is also pronounced in Rajasthan. Literacy in Rajasthan or for that matter in all parts of India has meant only male literacy (Table 2).The female literacy rate in Rajasthan is extremely low, only 52.12 percent in comparison to the male literacy rate which is 79.19 percent. The Male – female difference in literacy is higher in the case of rural population and urban population that is 30.37 per cent and 13.96 respectively. The male – female differences in literacy rate both in rural and urban areas are associated with the following factors:

a) The economic condition of the people is a major factor and it has a direct impact on female education. The economic condition of the people in rural areas is worse.

b) People are able to make just a bare living. They are able to send only the male children to school.c) In Rajasthan, there is a male dominated society where a son considered a bread earner and a daughter to be a liability. This

feeling is still very strong in rural areas.d) Low literacy among females is due to a long, continuous prejudice against the education of woman. This prejudice against

female education is getting somewhat weakened in urban areas.




e) The early marriages are still more popular in rural areas are compared to urban.f) Female literacy is also low in urban areas as compared to male literacy because the cities and towns have a large number of

male immigrants who are educated and towns and cities attract large number of male students.ConclusionStudy on literacy and a cursory glance of the discussed factors from this paper clearly suggest the geographical analysis of state the Rajasthan. In Rajasthan, the literacy rate is even less than the national average. Rajasthan’s literacy rate is 66.11 percent and it is 6.87 percent less than the national average (72.98 percent). On the other hand, Rajasthan was under the influence of Rajput princes, which led to its division into smaller princely states, had to suffer the regional politics, skirmishes and battles and ultimately had to face regional backwardness in the field of education. Literacy more or less depends upon the composition of the population. Rajasthan has a more orthodox population (Hindus and Muslims) which believed in its conventional methods, which gave a great set, back to education. On the other hand, Rajasthan confined by the Thar Desert in its west and its proximity without neighbouring country Pakistan, with whom our relations are bitter since independence; Rajasthan has to suffer a lot in terms of its interaction with the outer world due to heavy deployment of an army on the border on both sides. Besides this, another aspect revealed from the study related to the conspicuous difference in the male – female literacy ratio in the state Rajasthan. The study of the difference of male – female literacy rate clearly indicate that Rajasthan has the highest gap (27.07 percent) between male and female literacy rate among all state and union territories in India. The factor responsible for this gap is mainly owing to the degree of woman emancipation discussed such as: Firstly, in Rajasthan woman have very less social liberty and living with a degraded status. Veil system and social insecurity further add to their suffering. Therefore, due to lack of emancipation they have very less opportunity to make them aware. Male dominant society can be easily comprehended that in Rajasthan, this gave birth to the biasness between males and females. Patriarchy is very common in India, but in Rajasthan, it plays an important role in degrading the status of woman. People have narrow views concerning about woman education due to lack of awareness, their adamant behaviour and their tendency to adhere to their conventional custom rites and rituals. Secondly, dowry system and early marriage also have a crucial role in wider this gap of male –female literacy. As it is commonly believed in Rajasthan that more educated the girl is more dowry will be required. The study of rural – urban literacy rate following the same footsteps as have trodden by the other demographic characteristics in this state, i.e. the gap between rural – urban literacy in Rajasthan is more conspicuous with 18.24 percent. Rajasthan’s rural – urban difference in literacy rate is slightly low 6.33 percent and 4.43 percent respectively than the national average. This literacy rate deviation in Rajasthan affected by the economic conditions of the people. In rural areas, agriculture is not too much flourished that it can prosper the rural people. Industrialization and other factors are feeble in rural areas, whereas in urban areas the economical conditions of people are comparatively better and have more means of communication and awareness due to fast spreading information and technology, whereas rural area is less interacted with these means of communication. Besides this, dispersed housing pattern, hamlets and small villages also provide hindrance in the path of literacy, whereas cities are more compacted and faster communication.

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