Northeast states ahead in literacy

AGARTALA, April 1 (UNI): The backward most Northeastern states are lagging far behind in many aspects from the rest of the country, but the eight sister states are far ahead of their big brothers in literacy race. According to provisional report of census 2001, on an average 68.76 percent of the total of 3,90,35,582 people of the eight Northeastern states, including Sikkim are literate. The rate is 3.38 percent more than, the national literacy rate of 65.38 percent. The hill state of Mizoram, which remained in the second position of literacy race in the country after Kerala, is at the head among the eight Northeastern states with 88.49 percent, followed by Tripura (73.66), Sikkim (69.68), Manipur (68.87) Nagaland (67.11), Assam (64.28), Meghalaya (63.31) and Arunachal Pradesh (54.74). The total population of the eight Northeastern states had been shown at 3,90,35,582, including 1,88,72,830 females in the provisional population total of 2001 as against 3,19,53,771, including 1,53,50,1 15 females in 1991. The "incredible lowest ever" population growth rate of 15.74 percent in Tripura during 1991-2001 as against 34.30 percent during the previous decade of 1981-1991 sparked off widespread reaction in the state. Among the eight North, Eastern states, Nagaland is on the top of the percentage of decadal growth rate of population with 64.41 percent, followed by Manipur (30.02), Mizoram (29.18), Meghalaya (29.94), Arunachal Pradesh (26.21), Assam (18.85) and Sikkim with 32.98 percent.