DNA Edit: PM’s drive pays off

Haryana, notorious for foeticide and female infanticide, is showing a healthy regard for the girl child. Sex ratio at birth in the state in 2017 registered remarkable improvement – the best in 16 years – with 914 girls against 1000 boys. The steep decline in the state’s female population – evident during the 2011 Census, when sex ratio in the age group of 0-6 had come down to 834 – had set alarm bells ringing.

The 2001 Census had thrown up more depressing results at 819 per 1000 boys. However, the last three years witnessed a steady rise in sex ratio at birth, with the numbers increasing from 876 in 2015 to 900 in 2016. The state government has attributed this success to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign, which he had launched from Panipat, Haryana, on January 22, 2015. Panipat in 2011 had a child sex ratio of 837, far below the national average of 919, which, in turn, was less than the 2001 national average of 927. It’s heartening to know that the worst districts in Haryana in terms of sex ratio – Mohindergarh, Rewari, Sonipat and Jhajjar – have bounced back, and how!

Traditionally, the eastern, north-eastern and southern states of India have fared much better than northern and central states in preserving the girl child. But, now with Haryana trying to change the narrative, it should serve as an inspiration to Punjab, Uttaranchal, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh to up the ante. The problem is though state governments have long declared sex determination to be a criminal offence, attracting fine and jail terms, clinics continue to operate clandestinely due to demands from a section of people.