So I was thinking about the title for this article about India. I looked for inspiration in our newspapers, magazines and various articles on the web and I found several. There was that ever useful title “India shining” courtesy BJP. Then there were “India next Superpower”, “India the nuclear power”, “Biggest democracy”, “Fastest growing economy”. But none of these enlightening topics were fit for this little article. So I tittled it “India No More”. I will explain……..
Imagine this, 10 million people were killed in 20 years, which are about 500,000 people dead in one single year!! To give you a better perspective that would be 1388 people a day, and about 57 every hour!! This sounds like some African tragedy, doesn’t it? It is not. So is it some kind of nuclear war scenario? Nope, not even that. Now comes an interesting part, not one of perpetrators of this crime has ever been charged. Conviction is a far fetched theory in this crime. But the question remains, how come relatives of these people have not spoken yet, have not complained or questioned the authorities.
I wish I had an answer. This answer is probably being sought by not just you and me, but also by those 10 million Indian girls who were put to rest before even they were born and that too by their own parents and doctors. I am talking about the GROWING problem of female infanticide. And No, it is not a by product of poverty, illiteracy, or population. At least that’s what my research shows. Here’s how –
1) Female Infanticide more prevalent (by sex ratio stats) in Delhi, Major Cities of Punjab, Jaipur, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, South India. – All affluent and educated societies.
2) High sex determination costs and abortion costs act as barriers in lower classes. Although, these societies have their own methods for this abhorrent act. I will spare you the details; they are gruesome by most Hollywood scary movie standards.
3) And WAIT! NRIs too! Britain reported 1500 missing girl children in last 5 years, all in the Indian community. They all took a trip to India during their pregnancies.
4) Yup us Canadians are not behind!, Last week’s death of an 18 month old girl opened the can of worms here. Here’s an excerpt from an article in Globe and Mail. “While a clinic called Koala Labs in Blaine, Wash., caters to South Asian couples making the trip from British Columbia for ultrasounds that detect gender early enough to permit an abortion”. http://www.theglobeandmail
Trust me, NRIs are not POOR! So it could not be only poverty.
Anyways, I will let you do your own research and I will move on. So I will quote Gandhi here, a cliché, “Hate the crime, not the criminal”. But then to find the real reason for a crime we have to find the criminal. We can pardon him/her later, but at least find the criminal.
So is it those parents who did it under societal pressure, lack of courage, financial strain or scare of dowry etc etc? Or the doctors who did it for greed? Or Me? No it cant be me, I am not even married!!
Marriage! Jumping to this topic, the growing wedding business in India! So my mama’s chacha’s aunty’s wedding was a very lavish one! They gave the groom’s family 2 cars and the groom got tons of nice clothes, a house in the nicest location and a car. No the groom wasn’t a beggar earlier, neither was he homeless before marriage, he is from a “Respectable” family.
Excuse my digression, its criminal catching time again, doesn’t that last wedding scenario remind us of most of the Indian weddings. Exchanging gifts is a good thing, but really should it be a status symbol? Or the once in a lifetime source of livelihood for the groom? Is this fun event the reason for the gruesome act that is going almost unnoticed? Is this the criminal? Wasn’t exchanging gifts the token of love and appreciation and not, “I Kicked Your Ass in the wedding game”. Dowry has its ugly history, bride burning being the most recent reminder in the 90s. But it still continues to be popular in Indian weddings. HOW?
So we come down to what can be done? And that is where I stop blabbering. You tell me! My own research in what can be done about female infanticide returned almost no satisfactory/pragmatic response and that prompted me to write this long stuff. So what do you think can be done on the ground level, as NRIs, as Canadians?
Seriously, because we can grow at 20% and have the best software industry and the biggest of cars and the wealthiest of citizens, and feel all proud about these, but the fact remains that a Nation without Women will be a Nation no more. Let the message spread.
Ankur
