The New Nation - Internet Edition

The Indian Prime Minister Dr. Monmohan Singh has severely criticised the brute mentality of the caste dominated Hindu male community of the rich Indian States of Rajastan, Delhi, Hariyana, Punjab and Gujrat for their unkind behaviour to the female child. Dr. Singh expressed his mind while addressing a seminar on "Save the female child" in Delhi early this week.

By religious dogma the Hindu community is a male dominated social system. The women ¾ young or adult ¾ under Hindu social structure are subjected to unequal treatment or discriminations over the ages. The scenario has not changed much even in the modern educated westernised rich Hindu families. In most families the female children are subjected to cruelty even before their birth ¾ right inside the wombs of the expecting mothers. In the dogmatic Hindu houses of Rajastan, Punjab, Gujrat and Delhi the birth of female child is often the most unwelcome phenomenon.

This has become more crude in the recent years. With the advancement of medical science the sex of the coming child could easily be determined at the foetal state. This test has proved to be a havoc for most 'would be mothers' in the Hindu families of Northwest Indian States. On determination of the sex of the baby in the womb the pregnancy is terminated if it is a female foetus. What an act of inhumanity!

This practice of female foetus termination has reached such a scale in those Indian States that there has occurred an alarming unequal sex ratio in population composition of those States.

Data indicate that Punjab has only 798 female against each 1000 male. This figure is 868 and 883 in Delhi and Gujrat respectively for per thousand males. Demographists opined that this would pave the way for female related crimes in those States in near future and also exert negative influence on population growth rate in those States. The sociologists are also afraid of the future social malfunctioning.

Dr. Sigh has urged upon the Indian Hindus in general, particularly of the Hindi belt, to be more kind to the female child. He also made a general call to all to come forward to 'save the female child' in India.

Here in Bangladesh, we should also come up more generously to be more affectionate to our children ¾ male or female.

Abu Musa Miah

Lalbagh, Dhaka.