Question

Sex ratio in India is low
Reason: Indian society has been unfavourable to females.
A) Both assertion and reason are correct, and reason is the correct explanation for assertion
B) Both assertion and reason are correct, but reason is not the correct explanation for assertion
C) Assertion is correct, reason is incorrect
D) Both assertion and reason are incorrect

Answer 1

Hint: Sex ratio is simply defined as the number of females per 1000 males of the population. Sex ratio is an indicator of cultural and social imbalances in the population. The higher the sex ration, the better the indication.

Complete Answer:
- In India, there are several reasons for an unfavourable sex ratio. Traditionally, there has been a bias for male children for centuries, and despite education and social information, this bias continues to hold a strong place in many levels of society. This has several effects.
- First, female foeticide and infanticide mean that many girls are killed in the womb or immediately after birth. Secondly, preferential treatment of male children results in a higher mortality rate of young girls as compared to boys.
- If the girls do make it to adulthood, again death during childbirth as well as dowry related killings are a major factor in decreasing the sex ratio. Again, unfavourable treatment of widows plays a role in decreasing the sex ratio.
- Based on these facts, both assertion and reason are correct, and reason is the correct explanation.

Therefore is Option A the correct answer.

Note: An unfavourable sex ratio further puts the health of women and society in a catch 22. Fewer females means that male domination continues, women’s health continues to suffer, female literacy remains low, and so on. Even environmentally a low sex ratio has a negative impact as females are seen to be have a closer connection with nature and more likely to be environmentally conscious.