A shameful incident that has sullied India’s image globally

A 20-day-old baby in Uttar Pradesh in India survives a tryst with death but plunges the whole nation in grief and shame

Shahajahanpur in U.P has attracted global scorn as a newborn baby girl is retrieved from a pit — alive and crying in pain.

The incident highlights the continuing discrimination against daughters in Indian society.

The story of rescue of a 20-day-old female baby by a shepherd has grabbed media headlines in India and abroad. The baby is undergoing intensive treatment in a government hospital where a team of doctors are leaving no stones unturned to bring the embattled baby back from the brink of death.

According to the doctors, the baby’s body had been scarred by umpteen insect bites and possible attacks by larger animals. Mud had covered her entire body, even blocking her mouth and nostrils. She was struggling to inhale as the pathways to her lungs were blocked to let in fresh air with oxygen.

After some strenuous efforts, the team of doctors saw some minor improvement but the infection resulting from the exposure to raw soil has made the doctors’ task onerous. The doctors face a Himalayan task.

The parents of the baby, apparently the perpetrators of the crime, are at large. The police are hot on their trails. Very soon, they will be brought to book.

Will this chilling incident move the people to shed their preference for sons at the cost of daughters? The answer is obviously ‘No’.

This despicable discrimination against female children has plagued Indian society for ages. Such a regressive social practice has caused the premature death of millions of girl children in the past few centuries. Some female babies die when they are still in their mothers’ wombs. Others die after being born. Rules banning gender disclosure of unborn babies by medical personnel are quite strict, but some clinics do it with impunity, thanks to pervasive atmosphere of corruption all over the country, especially in the northern states. As a result, Indian society has to contend with an adverse gender ratio.

It’s time for activists and NGOs to introspect and hit upon effective ways to banish this deeply ingrained socio-cultural perception against daughters to an end. Prime Minister Modi has tirelessly campaigned for equal treatment of girls’ vis-a-vis boys. His inspirational slogan ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ should drive the administrative authorities and social activists to root out the underlying reasons that make parents perceive their daughters to be burdens on the family.

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