Residual Illiteracy and Uneven Development - I

Literacy campaigns in India have found resistance from two regions - the urban areas of relatively high literacy and the rural areas within underdeveloped regions. This study analyses data to understand residual illiteracy in the context of uneven development. It is published in three parts. The first part analyses the distribution of literacy across states and union territories of India and also across districts, and studies Maharashtra and Goa in depth. The second part studies literacy in the context of sociodemographic, health, socio-economic and educational characteristics. The last part reviews the trends in literacy compaigns - their successes, problems and strategies, and presents theoretical generalisations relevant to basic educational interventions in the context of uneven development.