India has the distinction of being the first country in the developing world to initiate a family planning programme-it later came to be called the Family Welfare Programme (FWP)-with a view to bring down the country's fertility level and contain population growth.
NUPTIALITY plays a significant role in determining the level of fertility and growth rate in a population. The experience of several less developed countries where population growth rates have recently lowered has well demonstrated this effect.
We use data from the 1981 and 1991 censuses of India to examine (a) sex ratios among infants aged under 2, (b) child mortality (q5) by sex, and (c) estimated period sex ratios at birth (SRB) calculated by reverse survival methods, to see whether bias against female children pers
In many developing countries, women's activities, traditionally confined to the household, have changed over time.
Numerous studies have found that most Indian couples have a strong preference for sons over daughters. In an effort to have sons, many couples continue to have children after achieving their desired family size. This practice may have retarded India's fertility decline.
While it has become common to infer the social status of women from their demographic characteristics, it is not easy to read demographic progress in terms of declines in mortality, and fertility to make unambiguous judgments about trends in women's social standing.