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Return of the Swayamvara

P K Surendran | January 28, 2012 | 0 Comments

This one will gladden the hearts of parents having daughters. The sex ratio in India is increasingly loaded against girls. Female foeticide resulting from the rich’s aversion to part with wealth is said to be the main contributing factor to the dwindling of the female population.

So, how does it constitute glad news? Because, dowry will be a thing of the past as boys scramble for a mate. How could 1,000 boys ask for dowry from 914 girls! Simple, isn’t it?

Agreed, this is a dark way of looking at a social tragedy. But how else would one treat this vile social attitude of Indians to go for boys while it’s proved beyond doubt that in the Nature’s scheme of things, it is the female that is crucial to perpetuating species?

What captured the issue now is the Prime Minister’ concern that was conveyed to the chief minister of Delhi about the falling sex ratio in the national capital. As per Census 2011 data, Delhi’s sex ratio has dropped to 866 girls per 1,000 boys, much below the national average of 914.

I believe the doing away with matriarchal system where wealth remained with the first or the last born daughter is the single most important reason for the current pathetic situation.

Because, from whichever angle you look at it, it’s the wealth first and the wealth last that decides the social mores. Make girls an equal partner in parental wealth, the sex ratio would remain intact.

But, don’t ask why Kerala, the only state with a favourable female sex ratio, (1,084:1,000), remains a Fermat’s Last Theorem (most difficult math problem). None of the above theories fits in. It’s overly patriarchal, and barring Hindus, equal wealth sharing is still a taboo in other faiths. It’s for social scientists to pour over the problem. I haven’t an answer.

But what is proven in the pan-Indian scene is this; it’s the rich, educated urban class that is zealously going in for boys through pre-natal selection even though the law bans it.

“It is a problem of the small town, middle class and the rich. There is nobody who monitors whether they indulge in selective abortions. We have to recognise that safe abortion (due to emergency) is legal in India but not wanton killing,” says Farah Naqvi, National Advisory Council member.

Neela Gangadharan, secretary, Women and Child Welfare says, “This census is a wake-up call for the government. The CSR in India in 2001 for girls versus boys stood at 927:1,000. And, it was 972 in 1901.

In 2011, ratio stands at 914:1,000. The district figures are worse as six districts in Uttar Pradesh had a CSR of less than 800 for girls. Apart from female foeticide, malnutrition is also a major cause,” she observed.

Demographists calculate that we are killing 6 lakh girls every year. The result of a generation (20 years) would be scary. We are doing a great disservice to our sons.

I foresee the following scenario by 2025

A baby girl’s birth is celebrated as it brings governmental gifts of total free education and assured jobs

A hefty dowry from boys on marriage

A return of Swayamvar where girls get umpteen choices from the rich lineup of boys State security for girls to prevent their abduction

Note: At the time of deluge, however, Andhra Pradesh will be saved. Sex ratio in AP has improved at 992 as against 978 in 2001. Bravo, AP!

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