When life is nipped in the bud
This 'n' that
By Renee Ranchan

FEMALE infanticide? Yes we all know that it still takes place. And yes, we all know there are no records or statistics to prove that baby girls on birth are muffled to death or put in an earthen urn before they let out their first cry, their first breath. Reason? Death by this ‘method’ can be declared a stillbirth.

However despite the occasional infanticide that take place in villages, it would be safe to say that this practice is more or less out. It has been replaced with a far more ‘clean and clinical technique’.

Female foeticide, surely you have heard of that? And we all know that sex-determination tests for the sole purpose of aborting a female foetus was banned over five years ago so how is it then that the conduction of sex-determination tests and the abortions leading from them have become a booming business for some! What else would you call it? All you need is some basic knowledge of sonography, some money to get your hands on an ultra-sound machine and a cubby-hole to operate from. So what if the tests have to be conducted clandestinely? At least, the end purpose is ensured. If it is detected that one is carrying a boy then there is an early start to the rejoicing, and in case one is told it is a girl then steps are taken so that ‘evil can be nipped in the bud’. And another thing which may come as a shock to you is that this practice is more prevalent in the Green Revolution states (yes, that is what the so-called prosperous states are called). I stumbled upon this information in a newspaper one Sunday morning, a little over a month ago. Here are some figures from that article:Boys outnumber girls in Punjab. Both in villages as well in towns. 885 females per 1000 males in Punjab. Whereas the census of 1991 showed an all-India sex ratio of 929 females per 1000 males. And that is not it: Chandigarh the same city that boasts of the maximum number of Honda Citys has a sex ratio of 793 females to 1000 males! I guess we do not have to go too far to understand the reasons for crimes against women.... Amritsar does not do much better either: for every 1000 males there are 881 females.And in Bathinda and Faridkot you can add three more females to the Amritsar figure. Appalling, because these figures are not the outcome of nature but because of ‘banned’ sex-determination tests.

But why do we have such a lopsided sex ratio in an economically strong and prosperous state of Punjab, where even rural homes have colour TVs with cable connections? And where kids can with elan shake a leg to the latest pop number and tell you with experience about the world that lies beyond the village boundaries. Where Maruti cars are the only means of travel. So what if they have to be parked next to buffaloes? The situation is more dismal in the adjoining state of Haryana. The 1991 sex ratio in Haryana: 874 females per 1000 males. And four of India’s districts that have the most unfavourable sex ratio belong to Haryana — Jind, Hisar, Kaithal and Kurukshetra.

And now for some scenes from Punjab before we pull out some cases from neighbouring Haryana.

Case 1: Rano should be in her mid-thirties through her face chronicles years beyond her actual age. Rano has had, by her own admission, ‘five clean-outs’ before it was discovered that she was carrying the desired son. But she says she ‘had been fortunate!’ Number one, because she lived in a village near Chandigarh and so commuting for ‘scanning tests and simultaneous abortions’ did not pose any logistic and economic problems. And number two, it was a case of ‘all’s well that end well’. In the end, despite having suffered severe health setbacks, she had produced a son, the bearer of the family’s name. As a foot note Rano fatalistically adds, "had my five daughters been alive today, what would have been their plight anyway"?

Case 2: Fourteen-year-old Rajdeep is busy eating his lunch. "A growing boy needs a healthy, wholesome diet", informs his beaming mother. The next second her face crinkles in irritation. Why could not her eight-year-old daughter make chappatis at the same pace at which her daahling beta was consuming them? The girl rolls out the dough at a quicker pace, burning her fingers in the process. The mother ignores the child’s wince and instructs her to slap more ghee on the chappati. When the son has had his fill, the girl is told to make her own rotis sans any ghee. And is even asked to go easy on the subzi-daal. When you question the mother about her preferential (read step-motherly) treatment, she looks at you incredulously and answers your questions with a question, "Isn’t that but natural?"

Before we make one more stop, the article that I had mentioned speaks of a government doctor who sums up the situation in the following words, "women are very clear they want a son. The urban family may test for a son after the first child, while the rural one may do it after the birth of two daughters". Sad scenario, and that’s a mild way of putting it.

Case 3: Sarbavati, who has three daughters of marriageable age remains constantly worried. How will she manage to provide a near-decent dowry for the trio? She earns some money as a seamstress but all of it goes into running the kitchen. Her relationship with her husband is strained. It is only because he is a good and decent man that he has not left her and married a woman who would have born him sons — she is often told. And what on earth made her think he would sacrifice his daily quota of whisky to save for her daughters? Sarbavati has even toyed with the idea of doing away with herself and her cursed daughters.

And now some snap shots from Haryana.

Case 1: Kamala is a tall and attractive girl of 16. This year she had managed to pass her matriculation. She is also well-versed in running the household. "When she cleared her matric exam, her father asked her what she wanted as way of inaam", explains her mother. "And Kamala asked for a sewing machine". The mother’s pride is evident. "She has stitched all the window curtains", says the lady pointing at the nearest lace one. The lady’s face clouds when she tells you that if her daughter is not married off soon, she would be an old maid! At 16? The reason for Kamala not getting a groom? She had four younger sisters, no brother. And there was the belief that a girl without a single brother was not considered auspicious, for that she may have inherited her ‘mother’s genes’ and thus never bear a son.

One more case before I put my pen away. Leelavati tells you how happy she is with the country’s progress. "India, was in no way less technologically advanced than Amreeka, no?" She gloats. Her face is veiled. Her notion of progress? Now there are ‘mobile doctors’ who reach remote villages in the state with hi-tech equipment. It does not take nine-months or the dicey predictions of a godman to tell you whether you are pregnant with a boy or girl. Bless these mobile doctors... some even travel with abortion facilities so the ‘situation’ can be taken care of.