Terror gateway Kupwara has the highest child ratio

The frontier district of Kupwara, nicknamed the gateway of terror, has the highest child population ratio in the country. As per the provisional finding of the Census 2011, 22.5% of people of this district are six years old or less, against the national average of 13.1%.

The figures have come as a surprise as thousands of people have fallen victim to guns and bombs in the last two decades of violence.

“In some situations particular factors play a role due to which equations changes. The unusual proportion of the child ratio could be because of the high mortality rate of younger and elder age groups,” Bashir Ahmad Dabla, professor of Sociology at University of Kashmir, said.

As per experts, militancy could be one reason for higher mortality rates among youth as majority of the people who died in the valley were youth. 

Legislators in the district have blamed poverty and ignorance for the high child ratio. “Kupwara has 41% population of below poverty families. Their meagre resources coupled with ignorance and lack of awareness about the benefits of small family might have played a role in the increase in child ratio,” Chaudhary Mohammad Ramzan, former minister and National Conference MLA from Handwara constituency of Kupwara, said.

However, BJP refuses to believe the Census findings. “Everyone knows that Kupwara was the route for militants to infiltrate and exfiltrate. When there is so much strife and disturbance in the surroundings, how can there be a baby boom? We feel the figures are either factitious or have been cooked-up,” said Chaman Lal Gupta, leader of BJP legislature party.