Imagine this:
One state. One particular district in that state. 132 villages in that district alone. 216 children born in those 132 villages in the past 3 months.
And not a single one of them is female.
Sounds strange, right?
With the number of ‘missing girls,’ and ‘infantile deaths’ growing in certain Indian states, it is shocking to know that the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand- a state known for its natural beauty, hill stations and is popularly called thr Dev Bhoomi or Land Of Gods- has not had a single girl child born there in the past 3 months.
Lower Sex Ratio Than Haryana
The sex ratio of the state has plummeted as a result, ranking it even lower than Haryana, which previously had the lowest female to male ratio in the country.
In the 2011 census, Uttarakhand reported an average sex ratio of 963 females per 1000 males, but Uttarkashi’s sex ratio has plummeted to only 820 females per 1000 males, and only 786 girl children for every 1000 boys.
Female Foeticide And Infanticide Are Rampant
Logically speaking, it is not possible for over 150 villages to go for a quarter of a year without the birth of a single girl child. It is clear that female foeticide and infanticide are rampant in Uttarkashi, making it a common practice for girls to be killed even before they see the world.
The Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign seems to be only for namesake in these areas, where patriarchy is so deeply entrenched in the minds of the citizens that so many of them opt to kill their girl children.
Jeopardising Their Own Future
What many people don’t understand is that these states will soon face the opposite problem that certain Scandinavian countries are facing- while those countries have too many women and not enough men, Uttarkashi will face a problem in about 20 years of too many men and hardly any women of the same age, which will take a great hit on the birth rates of the area.
Children cannot be born from men alone, and in this desperate quest for a male child, Uttarkashi is forgetting that they are jeopardising their own future, and creating a situation where men will not be able to find women of the same age in their district.
Read More: Watch: The Truth Behind Manual Scavenging
Mouthing Slogans Not Enough
Gangotri MLA Gopal Rawat has ordered an inquiry into the matter, but unless active steps like taking away the medical licenses of doctors who sanction these heinous practices are taken, the same activities will continue.
I believe that mouthing slogans and holding ‘educational’ rallies will only take you so far- hard steps need to be implemented practically in order to put a stop to such crimes.
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: News Bytes, Census 2011, Yahoo News + more
Find the author @samyukthanair_
More Recommendations:
