ILLITERATE mean living like Animal,

ILLITERACY  can be defined as the state of mind that is ignorant of all forms of reading and writing and thus makes a person to be classified as an uneducated person.Illiteracy is a global phenomenon.It is closely linked to poverty and exploitation.By the year 2002 AD,there are  nearly one billion illiterates in the world.Nearly 70 percent of the world's illiterate people are to be found in Asia-Pakistan,Bangladesh,China and India.

A close analysis that the area of the world with a concentration of poverty,illiteracy and hunger are those,which for many centuries have undergone slavery and exploitation under the colonial rule.Colonialism and the industrialism revolution in the west meant that Asia,Africa and parts of west Asia and south America had to be robbed of raw materials,wealth and Independence.A large section of population was trained by these so called rich nations to use their hand without much need to use their brains or minds.As a result,those people were denied all form of education-formal or informal and forced to remain illiterate.

Now,there is an increasing concern about the rise in the third World poor.The number of rural poor in developing countries has jumped by 40 percent  over the last twenty years.This is because a size able population in every country has not been properly integrated into country's economic structure.A large section of population in developing country are below the poverty line and are denied the facilities like education and health service.As a result,there is low development in the countries like Bhutan,India,Somalia,Sudan and Mauritania-Nepal being no exception.

In addition to the so called third world countries,today there is growing illiteracy in the developed west too-in industrialized countries like USA ,Canada,Britain and those in west Europe.Africa,West Asia and South America are major pocket of illiteracy.Although poverty and illiteracy are not as pervasive a problem in industrialized nations,illiteracy had its effect on the development in these countries and as a result,there is a decline in their living standards including in the United states.

Therefore spread of literacy and education is the only way to development.A country like Nepal,facing many problem in all fields-financial,social and industrial,cannot afford to leave the larger section of its population illiterate who remain passive participants in the development process.There is no doubt that spread of education alone is the active agent of controlling the major ills that our society is inflicted with.Though there is a steady increase in the number of educated people in India,the number of illiterates is also on an increase due to tremendous increase in our population.The link between literacy,development ans population is irrefutable.