Another quick chart showing that not only does correlation not always imply cause, but often even that third factor that built the relationship can be hard to figure out.
Using just the numbers of the 15 most populous states of India on the wikipedia page, the below chart tries to plot a relationship between a big problem of India’s past (illiteracy) against a likely catastrophe for Asia’s future (the shortage of girls).
Thousands of words could easily be written about this topic. On one hand, it might be easy to assume that places where female infanticide is greatest are also the most backward and likely to be the poorest and least literate. Another factor, more stereotypical than statistical, could be that places with the highest literacy are most likely to have male doctors and engineers leaving to work in Dubai and Singapore, leaving their home states with relatively more women.