Editor,
Many girls have been killed either in the womb (foeticide) or in the cradle (infanticide) in our country. That reduces the number of females to 940 against 1000 males (2011 census). Can we find out the number of murdered girls? We see that for every 1000 males, there are 1026 females in the USA; 1031 in Brazil; 1037 in the UK, 1038 in Germany, 1056 in France; 1011 in Australia; 1054 in Japan, 1003 in Indonesia and 1032 in Sri Lanka. It is the same story even in our state, Kerala (1084) and union territory, Puducherry (1038).
So, we can say that India’s sex ratio would have been at least 1000:1000 if girls are not getting killed at the dawn of their life. As experts say, “In India, sex ratio is skewed in favour of males and has continued to rise and expand in various forms.” Thus, at least 60 girls (1000 – 940) have gone missing for every 1940 (940 + 1000) Indians. If we divide our country’s total population of 1,21,01,93,422 (as per 2011 census) by 1,940 then we will get a quotient of 6,23,811. Now, by multiplying this figure with 60, we can get the approximate figure of dead little girls which is staggering 3,74,28,660!
This reminds us of the second stanza of the famous Pete Seegar song, ~ “Where have all the young girls gone, long time passing?” Yes, the answer is that more than three and half crore little girls have “gone to graveyards, everyone”. Surprisingly, this anti-Vietnam War protest song, ~ “Where have all the flowers gone, long time passing?” is very relevant in the context of female foeticide and infanticide. But the comparison should stop there. While 3 million people (mostly males) were killed in Vietnam, here approximately 37 million girl children were nipped in the bud.
Child sex ratio (0-6 years) in our country portrays a more alarming picture. It has come down from 945 females for thousand male children in 1991 to 927 in 2001 and slipped further downward to 914 in 2011 census. This ratio clearly indicates what is in store for us in the near future. If some drastic measures are not taken to effectively arrest the practice of killing girl children then Mother India will become a motherless country.
Apart from legal recourse, prejudices against women need to be wiped out. Female foeticide has a deep root in our prejudices against women. According to Hindu myth, a deceased person’s soul is liberated only when the son performs the last rites. Unfortunately, this myth has influenced the minds of most Indian couples. The desire to have a male child, to obtain a ticket to heaven, is still prevalent in India. This search results in a high birth rate as well as in annihilation of girl children. The latter becomes popular since rearing a child exerts monetary and time pressure on most parents.
Moreover, parents fear the birth of a female child as she might cost them a fortune in the form of dowry to find a suitable boy for her. Indian couples march a step ahead of the family planning schemes by planning not only the size of their family but also the sex of its members. But the adverse sex ratio towards women will enhance all sorts of conjugal and social unrest in our country. Will monogamy be replaced by polyandry in our country in the near future? Can a one – winged country survive? The questions end where the anti-Vietnam War song ends, ~ “Oh, when will they ever learn? When will they ever learn?”
Yours etc.,
Sujit De,
Kolkata
Culture and Religion
Editor,
Apropos the letter written by Mr. B K. Dey Sawian on the subject of “Culture and Religion”, the whole debate on whether Christians should participate in the religious activities of the followers of the indigenous religion like the Shad Suk Mynsiem, the pilgrimage to U Lum Sohpetbneng et al has been summed up in a very lucid and precise manner. I would like to point out that the majority of Christians are not interested in taking part in the religious activities of the followers of Ka Niam Tynrai as our faith is deep rooted enough to not waver in the midst of social pressure. However, as in any community , there exist a few peculiar people who are really “neither here nor there”.
These are the people who should seriously take some time off and reflect on what really constitutes their belief system. I am in total agreement with Mr. B K. Dey Sawian’ views that the Christians who wish to “embrace the traditional beliefs should renounce the story of Genesis and Adam and Eve, as set out in the Holy Bible” as it seems that they are very confused about their own Christian beliefs. Such Christians are a classic example of people “who wish to eat their cake and have it too”. They have a very shaky foundation as regards their professed faith. As a devout Christian myself, I can feel only a sense of sympathy for such Christians as they are ignorant of what the Bible teaches us. I can only advise my Christian brothers and sisters to read the Bible regularly and conscientiously and pray that God enlightens them on the right path that they should follow.
I beseech them to not turn their backs on their faith and their God as being a Christian is not only a name tag that we acquire but Christianity is a way of life. There are countless heroes of our faith talked about in the Bible like Daniel , Paul etc. who had clung to their faith without any compromise . Read about them and get to know them better through the Word of God. I feel that this issue is really testing every Christian on the things that really matter to him. We should be like salt for all mankind (Matthew 5: 13) . As Christians , let us live peacefully with our fellowmen and not be a cause of conflict whereby our actions and our deeds become the subject of contempt and derision for people of other faiths .
Yours etc..
K. Lyngdoh, Via emai