BOOK REVIEW
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| Analysing Aspects of Demographic Trends in India | to combinations of literacy and per capita income. For example, fertility among Muslim illiterates below the poverty line should be compared to Hindus with the |
| same characteristics. This is because, by | |
| the author’s own admission, literacy and | |
| Siddhartha Mitra | per capita income are powerful determi |
T
The objective behind this book was to communicate the nuances of Indian demogra phics to the general reader. Given Premi’s minimal use of technicalities, he has been fairly successful in making the discussions comprehensible to the g eneral reader.
Capturing Various Aspects
The book gives a fairly lucid yet comprehensive account of the various sources of demographic data – the population census, sample surveys and registration records pertaining to births and deaths. The size of Indian population and its high density, its regional spread and growth over time, etc, are all well captured by the narrative. There is in-depth coverage of the various determinants of population change – fertility, mortality and migration – with attention to how these characteristics have varied over regions and time. The phenomena of urbanisation and a ssociated secular trends are also c aptured accurately.
India’s Changing Population Profile by Mahendra K Premi (New Delhi: National Book Trust), 2009; pp 244, Rs 65.
In general, the book does a good job in communicating certain stylised facts about the Indian economy: the period of low and uncertain population growth till 1921 characterised by high birth rates and equally high death rates, followed by an acceleration of growth thereafter (because of a dip in mortality), and finally, in the 1980s a dip in the birth rate in some states bringing about a fall in the growth rate. It also discusses the adverse sex ratio in many Indian states because of female foeticide, the changing age structure of the Indian population marked by a decrease in the dependency rate, the rising share of megapolises (cities with populations exceeding five million) in India’s fast growing urban population, etc.
There are a few blemishes though. The discussion on religion-specific fertility rates shows that the Muslim fertility rate is higher than those for other religious groups. While as a statistical fact this might be correct, it has to be seen in the context of the Muslim literacy rate as well as the per capita income being lower than the corresponding Indian averages.
In other words, there is a case for disaggregation of each religious segment of the population into sub-segments corres ponding
december 12, 2009
nants of the fertility rate. If adjustments are made for these factors, then inter-religious differences would probably lose their significance.
No Dividend
A few comments about style and orientation would also be in order. While the text is written in an easy and friendly manner, the content could have been made more appealing to the general reader by connecting demographic realities to the concerns of the common man – economic growth, food security, poverty, traffic congestion, pollution, etc. An important opportunity is missed out in the discussion of the window of demographic opportunity currently available to the Indian populace.
The reader should note that this window is available because the high birth rates of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s and the simultaneous decline in infant mortality were followed by a period of low birth rates. As a result, the working age group or the potentially productive segment has seen an increase in its share in the Indian population. This could be a boon if the observed increase can be productively employed or a bane if it is not. Premi’s book misses out on these nuances as it restricts itself mostly to demographic details and does not concern itself with economic implications.
To conclude, Premi can be faulted slightly for an “academician’s approach” to the study
vol xliv no 50
EPW
BOOK REVIEW
of Indian population because of painstaking attention to definition and detail, facets which are not of great relevance for the general reader towards whom this book is targeted. As mentioned, he makes up for it through his ability for non-technical exposition of technicalities but fails to point out
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Asian Development Bank and International Food Policy Research Institute (2009): High Value Crops and Marketing: Strategic Options for Development in Uttarakhand (New Delhi: Academic Foundation); pp 132, Rs 795.
Asseri, Awadh Ali S (2009): Combating Terrorism: Saudi Arabia’s Role in the War on Terror (New Delhi: Oxford University Press); pp xiii + 196, Rs 450.
Ayres, Alyssa and C Raja Mohan, ed. (2009): Power Re alignments in Asia: China, India, and the United States (New Delhi: Sage Publications); pp xiv + 344, Rs 750.
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Cheran, R, ed. (2009): Pathways of Dissent: Tamil Nationalism in Sri Lanka (New Delhi: Sage Publications); pp xlvii + 284, Rs 795.
Chopra, Kanchan and Vikram Dayal, ed. (2009):
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Choudhary, Rohit (2009): Policing: Reinvention Strategies in a Marketing Framework (New Delhi: Sage Publications); pp xx + 306, Rs 395.
Da Costa, Dia (2009): Development Dramas: Reimagining Rural Political Action in Eastern India (New Delhi: Routledge); pp xii + 302, Rs 695.
Dash, Santosh (2009): English Education and the Question of Indian Nationalism: A Perspective on the Vernacular (Delhi: Aakar Books); pp 175, Rs 375.
Dorn, James A and Barun S Mitra, ed. (2009): Peter Bauer and the Economics of Prosperity (New Delhi: Academic Foundation); pp 190, Rs 595.
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Economic & Political Weekly december 12, 2009
EPWthe relevance of discussed issues for the common man. Nevertheless, this book is a “must read” for the general reader interested in India’s demographic problems and a valuable asset for those academically inclined or even pursuing specialised courses in demography. Hopefully, this book
Books Received
Gupte, Pranay (2009): Mother India: A Political Biography of Indira Gandhi (New Delhi: Penguin Books, Viking); pp xii + 597, Rs 599.
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Hasan, Mushirul, ed. (2009): Exploring the West: Three Travel Narratives (New Delhi: Oxford University Press); pp 116 + 346 + 260, Rs 795.
Hudson, D Dennis (2009): Krishna’s Mandala Bhagavata Religion and Beyond (New Delhi: Oxford University Press); pp xxxvi + 298, Rs 725.
Jalais, Annu (2009): Forest of Tigers: People, Politics & Environment in the Sundarbans (New Delhi: Routledge); pp xvi + 245, price not indicated.
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Jones, Margaret (2009): The Hospital System and Health Care: Sri Lanka, 1815-1960 (Hyderabad: Orient Blackswan); pp xiv + 452, price not indicated.
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Meijer Roel, ed. (2009): Global Salafism: Islam’s New Religious Movement (New Delhi: Foundation Books); pp xx + 463, Rs 795.
Mohamed Ali, A P (2009): A Clarion Call by an IPS Officer (Delhi: Kalpaz Publications); pp 278, Rs 690.
Mohan, N Shantha, Sailen Routray and N Sashikumar, ed. (2009): River Water Sharing: Transboundary Conflict and Cooperation in India (New Delhi: Routledge); pp xi + 192, Rs 595.
Mukherjee, Rudrangshu, ed. (2009): Indian Persuasions: 50 Years of Seminar – Selected Writings (New Delhi: Roli Books – Lotus Collection); pp xii + 532, Rs 695.
Nandi, Ramendra Nath (2009): Ideology and Environment: Situating the Origin of Vedic Culture (Delhi: Aakar Books); pp 260, Rs 495.
Narayanan, N C, ed. (2008): State, Natural Resource Conflicts and Challenges to Governance: Where Do We Go from Here? (New Delhi: Academic Foundation); pp 256, Rs 795.
vol xliv no 50
will lead to detailed and careful analyses of the socio-economic implications of India’s demography.
Siddhartha Mitra (sm2@cuts.org) is with the CUTS Centre for International Trade, E conomics and Environment, Jaipur.
Nayak, P, ed. (2009): Growth and Human Development in North-East India (New Delhi: Oxford University Press); pp xxxii + 348, Rs 750.
Nayar, Pramod K (2009): Packaging Life: Cultures of the Everyday (New Delhi: Sage Publications); pp xxv + 218, Rs 595.
Newman, Edward , Ramesh Thakur and John Tirman, ed. (2009): Multilateralism under Challenge? Power, International Order, and Structural Change (New Delhi: Academic Foundation); pp xii + 563, Rs 1,195.
Pascual, Unai, Amita Shah and Jayanta Bandyopadhyay (2009): Water, Agriculture, and Sustainable Well-being (New Delhi: Oxford University Press); pp xiv + 301, Rs 750.
Planning Commission (2009): Haryana Development Report (New Delhi: Academic Foundation); pp 312, Rs 895.
Price, Lisa S (2009): Feminist Frameworks: Building Theory on Violence against Women (Delhi: Aakar Books); pp 127, Rs 325.
Rajagopal, Arvind, ed. (2009): The Indian Public Sphere: Readings in Media History (New Delhi: Oxford University Press); pp xx + 338, Rs 750.
Rajan, Ramkishen S (2009): Monetary, Investment, and Trade Issues in India (New Delhi: Oxford University Press); pp xvi + 239, Rs 650.
Scott, James C (2009): The Art of Not Being Governed: An Anarchist History of Upland Southeast Asia (New Haven and London: Yale University Press); pp xviii + 442, £ 20.
Singh, N K (2009): Not by Reason Alone: The Politics of Change (New Delhi: Penguin/Viking); pp xxiv + 261, Rs 499.
Singh, Randhir (2009): Contemporary Ecological Crisis: A Marxist View (Delhi: Aakar Books); pp 159, Rs 325.
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