Spatial Analysis of Gender disparity in Literacy level among Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe Populations – A Block Level Analysis of Jalpaiguri District, West Bengal, India

Literacy is an essential indicator of the socio-cultural development of any region, and the gap between male and female literacy predominantly affects the literacy rate. Gender disparity in literacy affects all aspects of the lives of women. Scheduled caste and scheduled tribe peoples are always far behind in all social development. The present paper aims to study the gender disparity in literacy among scheduled caste and scheduled tribe populations in the Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal. This article is based on the secondary data collected from the District Census Hand Book (2011) of Jalpaiguri district and the State Statistical Handbook. The literacy rate has been computed for the population above six years. The Sopher's Disparity index modified by Kundu and Rao has been employed to measure male-female disparity among SC and ST populations in literacy.