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ToggleWhat is the sex ratio?
The sex ratio is the ratio of males to females in a population. India has 924 females per 1000 males. The different Indian states have different sex ratios. According to the 2011 census, the number of females per 1000 males in Haryana stands at 879. For Punjab, it stands 895 females for 1000 males. If we compare the sex ratio figure of Punjab and Haryana with overall India, they are very poor.
The question is raised, why is this so? There are many reasons for the low sex ratio of Punjab and Haryana than the average sex ratio of India. These reasons may include patriarchical attitudes, dowry, female infanticide and so on. But one interesting finding is that the sex ratio of Punjab and Haryana was better before the start of the Green Revolution.
The Green Revolution started in 1967. The sex ratio of Punjab and Haryana, where the Green Revolution happened, was better before the 1960s. So, what happened in Green Revolution which attributed to a sharp decline in the sex ratio in Punjab and Haryana.
The Green Revolution is known for the use of high-yield seeds, chemical fertilisers and mechanisation of agriculture. The mechanisation of agriculture means the use of tractors, threshers, harvesters etc in agricultural activities. Because of the use of tractors, threshers and harvesters, we use the word Tractor Economy for Punjab and Haryana.
Before the Green Revolution, women were playing a very productive role in agricultural activities. They engage in sowing, watering, threshing, and cutting of agriculture activities. Now because of the mechanisation of agriculture, the work performed by women is now performed by machines. This has reduced the value of women as economic assets in agriculture work. Before the Green Revolution, women of Punjab and Haryana were treated as economic assets for the family. The mechanisation of agriculture has reduced the value of women as economic assets. As the value of economic assets declined, more and more female infanticide tended to occur. This led to a sharp decline in the sex ratio of both states.
To conclude, the tractor economy diminishes the economic value of a woman for a family. That led to a low sex ratio in both Punjab and Haryana.
