Census 2001: The Human Rights Dimension CHAPTER 2 2.1 In February 2001 the country undertook and completed the Census of India 2001, the last such census having been conducted in 1991. The Provisional Population Results, released on 26 March 2001, are of immense interest, not least to those concerned with the state of human rights in the country. 2.2 Census 2001 confirms the persistence of patterns of discrimination against women and the girl child, both within the family and beyond, limiting their access to education, nutrition, health care and other essential rights. 2.3 It will be recalled that the Annual Report of the Commission for the year 19992000 had dwelt at some length on the unyielding character of such discrimination, despite the vision of the Constitution which, under Article 14, expressly proclaimed equality before the law and, under Article 15, unequivocally prohibited discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. 2.4 Based on a careful analysis of available data on female to male sex ratios, maternal mortality rates, life expectancy at birth, and crimes against women, the Commission had concluded in its preceding Report that 'discrimination against women andgirls is still a pervasive phenomenon, even though the Constitution set itself against discrimination based on sex and enjoined the State to act against such discrimination.'The Commission also observed that a further dimension was added to the multiple discrimination faced by women and girls when discrimination based on caste was added to the other acts that were violative of their rights. The Commission therefore proceeded to make a number of recommendations to deal with the NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION