Buy ten women for the price of a buffalo

The statement of Punjab Health minister Laxmikant Chawla that a woman could be bought for less than a price of buffalo and that a woman can be 'purchased' for Rs 3,000 while a buffalo is sold for Rs 30,000 describes the State of affairs in this country.

Chawla wasn't making a casual comment. He was speaking at seminar 'Doctors for daughters' organised by Punjab chapter of IMC. Health Secretary Tilak Raj said that the female foeticide has reached such alarming level that brothers are sharing a woman as common wife.

But a good initiative now. The Gurudwaras in Punjab are going to have cradles at their door all over Punjab. Anybody who doesn't want to raise a daughter can leave the child after birth and the Gurdwara will take care of the kid.

It is a commendable step. Balwant Garg has reported in Times of India that Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) has announced that it will henceforth mother the abandoned girls. Punjab has a sex ratio of 793 females for every 1000 males and if the trends continue, the State is going to suffer terribly.

It will cause a demographic imbalance that will be impossible to correct. It is a national crisis. Though the problem is most acute in Punjab and Haryana. The temptation for 'son' and the belief that he carried forward the family lineage, is a reflection of our collective hypocrisy and the ills of our society.