• SANTOSH
• NEHA

Literacy implies the ability to read and write as well as understand. But practically it involves a broader aspect. Literacy is the sole input for human resource development. It also helps in overcoming the hurdles of life. Education is one of the foremost necessities for all round development of human being. It ensures long and prosperous living. Literacy feeds in being educated. For a country or state a better literacy rate helps to improve the performance in the context of a number of socio-economic indicators. A better literacy facilitates low infant mortality, low maternal mortality, low rates of fertility, better life expectation, better human capital formation, better standard of living etc. Historically there exist wide gap in literacy rate and educational attainment between the male and female. The male always being dominating tend to overshadow their counterparts in the society. As a result women become the deprived section of the society in almost each and every component of socio-economic development. Increase in literacy facilitates increasing knowledge which ultimately enlightens the numerous paths of human life. Right of being literate is fundamental for all. But women are always lagging behind the men. In a developing third world country like India this problems is even more acute. Hence this paper attempts to identify the regional variation in disparity in literacy among male and female of India over the last five decades. For this purpose the modified Disparity Index as put forward by Kundu and Rao (1986) is followed. The study indicates that, since independence though the overall literacy rate has improved by many folds, still considerable gap exist in the extent of literacy between men and women. There are a general tendency among the states and union territories of improvement in the context of minimizing gender gap in literacy. The states like Punjab and Kerala at the same time union territory like Andaman and Nicobar Islands traditionally performed well, having low rate of gender disparity in literacy. But the states like Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Bihar historically performed poorly. This study also identifies the impact of increasing literacy upon the declining gender inequality in literacy.

Education, Gender gap in literacy, Knowledge, Literacy, Women.

"A Comparative Study on differentiation in Gender Literacy in India", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 2, page no.744-754, February-2019, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1902D07.pdf

"A Comparative Study on differentiation in Gender Literacy in India", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 2, page no. pp744-754, February-2019, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1902D07.pdf