In India, over five lakh girl children get bumped off even before they are born! Imagine what has nation lost in the last twenty years of technology facilitation!! That is the statistic given by a ‘proactive ex-chief of health services’ of the state of Haryana. He narrated how he had to face-off threats from MPs and many power-mongers, when he set out to set things right in the ‘notorious state of Haryana’, as he confessed. Straight and honest talk from Haryanvi himself, I must say.

A young lady, did a three minute presentation on how ‘the govt’ turns a blind eye to the scores of clinics that are into prenatal sex identification for abortion. She shared that her in-laws were after her to abort the twin-girls in the womb after one such exercise, and how she fought tooth and nail to see the pregnancy through, even at the cost of losing the family support! She then went on to investigate the corrupt practices of the ‘sex-identifying clinics and doctors’. She filed an RTI to know the real data, that showed an alarming truth of how government permits the clinics to be open in the name of ‘social service’, even though supreme court had passed stringent punishment for violation of even not keeping records of the processes done in there. Most of the clinics do not keep any records, that in itself calls for punishment. More over, when they are caught for the act of ‘terminating’ they are let off without any stringent action against the clinics or doctors…

That is precisely where the Health Chief from Haryana, stood out when he shared his mission to curtail the practise. And he showed the data of how the numbers moved in the upward direction in the ensuing four years of his action…

It was a very thought-provoking evening at Stein Audi, where I ventured to see a dance presentation by Shovana Narayan, ‘Ladli’….

But I came out of the Audi more enlightened, with a resolve to do something towards the cause, “Let us save our Ladlis”!!

with love,
Sreeni