COIMBATORE: Data on religious affiliation of Indians as per Census 2011 show that women outnumber men among Muslims and Christians in Tamil Nadu, while the men’s count is on the higher side among Hindus. At the national level, among Christians, there are more women than men.
Of the 7.21 crore population in Tamil Nadu, men accounted for 3.61 crore and women 3.6 crore (49.91%). Among the 6.32 crore Hindus in the State, there are 3.17 crore men and 3.14 crore (49.81%) women.
Of the 42.29 lakh Muslims in the State, 21.30 lakh (50.37%) were women and 20.99 lakh men. Among the 44.18 lakh Christians, 22.47 lakh (50.85%) were women and 21.71 lakh men.In the case of Sikh, Buddhist and Jain communities in Tamil Nadu, the population of men outnumbered the number of women.
Of the 1.89 lakh people in Tamil Nadu who opted not to mention their religion, around one lakh were women and around 89,000 men. At the national level, men outnumber women among Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains. Christians, however, are an exception. Of the 2.78 crore Christians in the country, 1.41 crore were women and 1.38 crore men.
Commenting on the higher sex ratio among Muslims and Christians in Tamil Nadu, S Anandhi, Associate Professor, Madras Institute of Development Studies, said, “It is very likely that these communities do not follow certain customs that create an adverse sex ratio. For the sex ratio to go up, it is quite clear that there should be no female infanticide. The overall interest of a community in the well-being of women could be another reason.”
“Sex selection of children does not prevail in the Christian community. Also, the church is against abortion. That could be a reason for the higher sex ratio in the community,” said Bernard D Sami of Loyola College.
“Generally, the sex ratio in Tamil Nadu is higher than the national average. This is the case in all southern states,” he added.