ANINDA GHOSE

BETI   BADHAO  BETI  PADHAO

A video clip is doing rounds  in  the  fb ,whatsapp  & other media  --- of a  western clad girl  getting teased … ( contrary to  the earlier video of  not getting noticed)  , touched , disturbed  or  impacted in different cities, across busy streets &  teasers  coming back at intervals…. Protesters  almost nil.  Across age groups  people were  watching ,  but  avoiding  protests from safe  distance…. Of late  another stout girl comes  up ,  decently dressed , &  pounce  upon the  miscreants &  save this  girl scantily clad.

In the world of net , India is still  hovering on  n around   Love Zihaad  to  ghar wapasi, Sadvis  that preach for Indian ladies  breeding 4  raamjado  sons each….A  tiny light  emerges from the boxing star sisters –the Haryana duo becoming  mouthpieces n ambassadors  of  Indian steel giant.   Recall  of the old golden Tata Steel days  harboring Bachendri, Bula, Soma…?

In   2015  too, across the globe,  global business leaders do  not want  to  dole  out the position of  sublime  importance to  the  fairer  sex…. Nor in Oscar  or  in box office or in Filmfare,   awards  are doled out to women-directed  & women –centric movies,,, so few , but not so precious.

Political  reasons un-debated,  Lila Samson & Sujatha Singh both  have to hand out the batton to  stronger male contenders , nay, counterparts. We  fail to get  in the play n film  arena a plethora of  lady architects. 

And when  Bengalees  pride in their so-called century old renaissance theory  of  eliticism n aristocratic progressivism  , they  can  take  a look  at the  18^th rank in woman per man ratio, way below  Kerala , TN, AP, Karnataka ---  the  rich  quadrangle of  Sothern India ,  a  desperately  growing Chhattisgarh,  92% literate Mizoram ,  even the poorer  & more non descript  Lakshadweep, Odisha, & Assam.

Why?   A Bengal   reeled  under  Bengalee Bhadralok  CPIM  CM  Jyoti Basu / Budhadev Bhattacharjee has  got  a lady CM at last , who  is  ruling with iron fist  stronger than Dalit  Maya Memsaab ,  but unlike the iron lady of South  Ms Jayalalitha ,  her state  is still reeling  for a  space of oxygen in  women’s  equality.   Jaya amma’s  state  is  standing far above  the rest of the  lady ruled  states ,  especially Bihar under Ravdih Devi made just a mockery  of social engg. Because Mamta  is  more bent upon her political survival with the aids from  repressive mollahs within & out of WB.

Just  1 Arundhati Bhattacharjee, 1 Sikha Sharma , 1 Naina Lal Kidwai , 1 Chanda  Kochhar, 1  Chitra Ramkrishna , 1 Kiran Mazumdar Shaw,1 Sulajja Motwani  are  not sufficient.   The ascent  to  board power  / board seat  as a compulsion  in Companies Act 2013   is yet to be tested as  to the   real induction of independent talents.   For decades ,  the  better halves of   Birlas, Ambanis , Jindals , Wadias, Reddys &  Godrejs  have  ornamented the ceremonial  posts   the way Sheikh Hassina or Begum Khaleda  Zia has  got the  heiring to the throne .  What is vastly needed is the spooling  of  a pool  of talents, so sharp , so independent, so  unique …..   How many Aparna Sens  are there in our skies?   We  have gracious  Nandita Dases  judging  Cannes winning on the spree  of Firaq,  or  Mother –daughter duos of Padmasees, Prabhakars &  Sarabhais, but  often over a  shorter horizon.   We  could  better  want  a  more lasting deal….. 

Newer & newer breeds  of   girls  are coming up in acting  in new genre of films  , trying to do some meaningful roles  but fading off soon.  Very few Kangana Ranawats  can stay put;  across Tollygonge, Bollywood, Tollywood, Sandalwood n Mollywood  so many fading sudden-stars  go down to casting couch  &  deplete to male-centric  exhibitionist roles……. 

In fact, at   left-centric  elite  level  also, there  is   a  starking need to redraw a much  impetus-yielding  role  of   ladies, coming up as Erin Brukoviches & not just Helan Kellars  / Mother Terressas.   Right of the center,  theatre to film to literature ---the  genius  need  a  very definitive   role,   more than  that of  a  mother India    or  an NGO  runner  lady-corporate, or  a  maa-bahu-beti  poltical jargon, or  a  caring wife to  an aspiring  honcho.  2015 demands  not the  pretty Chineese  girls   preyed by ugly Billionaires,  but  the strong leaders,  who, even from the confines of slave  trade can  establish Durbar samiti  &  Usha Coop Bank as  heroic efforts,   who—after  completing engg  from  premiers like IITs  or  MBA from IIMs ,  do not go for   corporate  jobs but  go in for start ups  , with  male / female  partners , mostly of the same breed  n genre.   It  is the growing craving for   either Ms Sangeeta  Jindal or  Ananya Birla  to carve a niche  for themselves, much distant from  the limelight of their husbands / dads , be it Art of Microfinance, but  which grows off own caliber n own perseverance n dedicated  love for the subject  independent in thought process  from what has  bred them , in the big houses…..

Narendra  Modiji  has brought in  several  novel schemes &  implemented several UPA schemes with twisted  dimensions. Unfortunately  this Man ki baat  of his  is  not yet so preached n proclaimed, nor so widely publicized .  Nor  the  I Tax benefit  given to the related scheme is at all enthusiastic.   Forget exceptions… promoters to CEOs  to  technocrats to Bureaucrats all   swirl in the  cobwebs of   dowries  &  women-bashing as  a favorite sadism in some form or other ,  n  saddest part is that  the  top echelons that mahadalit / ST  rise in political hierarchy in  states  like Bihar n Jharkhand---  they feel their birth rights to enjoy  bed warmth of    married  govt servants , &  their off springs   misuse power the  way any Brahmin  / Thakur / Rajput / Bhumihar  power-center’s  son / son in law do that  with the full knowledge of injustice meted  out to their  wives  at homes (  treated worse than their Keeps  at brothels / rented flats).

Beti Padhao  is essentially  a message on women’s lib….  A jibe at  girls  declining to  sit in  marriages  at 14—16,   for them to become  self –helped through rooftop / other marginal garden farming   ( Bengal leads the way) , a  soch to become equal / better  than  the life’s  companion for the girl. Wherein meaningful working / livelihood is not an  avoidable option  but  a way of life, a  way  to stay n think independent.  Beti  padhao is a message for  hundreds  of  students, lecturers ,  officers  &  managers n beyond   belonging to fairer sex , being taken  for a ride  by the stronger sex  to  thrash to bed  in return for  some  deserving  results , eg  PhDs, Scholarships etc etc.    Beti padhao is  also about   the freedom & liberation of a  girl from the subjugation of repeated sexual assaults  in the hands of  a male / female relative/  neighbor /  close friend /  other  offenders  coming from  lower, similar  or  older age group / generation.   Because   education is all about this liberation , across religious  strata, across  social milieu, across  all social  heterogenic of  demography. 

Come this spring, this 8^th  March  should  be a soul search  engine for  all  girls----  to  think liberal &  grow up, break the jinx &   lead the way  rationally….  Not to be  tortured  without gain by  any atrocious monster in family / vicinity / friendship, nor  for gain  of any sort whatsoever , unless  that  stake her claim in a society better than an  upscale giglo.   Let the  year   of 2015  be  not just  a  celebration  of  some   girls bashing  women-baiters n women –teasers,  but  a  holistic  society  of   girls to  old ladies  singing  liberation , emancipation &  BDSM   only  for   own pleasure . 

Dubai  is  a  city  much liberated &  safe for  girls  than Delhi, where  , irrespective  of skirt length , a girl   is preyed , especially if she is from NE. Chennai is a  conservative city  but fascinatingly  indulging in sadistic  torture of  liberating womenfolk. Mumbai , Kolkata &  Bangalore are marginally safer  , but   as  states,  progressive WB shares  dias with equally progressive Kerala &  much – matrimonial  Assam. Andhra stands equal as also  backward  Rajasthan , but Odissa  falls back like so very repressive J&K.  Despite all  military oppressions, Manipur  stands  tallest in India.    

Beti  badhao is  an awareness  to move away  from  khaap bondage.  Even Manipur , known for  its  lesser  tolerance of women’s repressions, is  way behind  WB  in  female feticide. J&K  to , UK, UP, Bihar , Tribal JH , southwards  up to  Goa  fall  in this trap of  such paternal malice . Beti badhao starts from Beti  bachao &  the hymn is to discover the  asset in a  girl  instead of a liability . And  that is possible only  when the European Renaissance  experience gets  imbibed into  the  souls of  the  manubaadis &  Mussalmans alike , who  both  want  the  girls to be dictated  by purdah rules .

 Rank according to 2011 census[edit]

This is a list of the States and Union territories of India ranked in order of sex ratio for the years 2001 and 2011. Here, sex ratio is expressed as the number of women per thousand men in a given population at a given time. Data are per the Census of India 2001[2] and provisional census totals for 2011[3][4] results. As of 2011, Kerala has the highest sex ratio while Haryana has the lowest sex ratio among states and Daman & Diu has the lowest among all states and territories.

Rank	State	Sex Ratio 2011	Sex Ratio 2001	Sex Ratio Change 2001 to 2011
1	Kerala	1,084	1,058	+26
2	Puducherry (2011) Pondicherry (2001)	1,038	1,001	(not meaningful)
3	Tamil Nadu	995	986	+9
4	Andhra Pradesh	992	978	+14
5	Chhattisgarh	991	990	+1
6	Manipur	987	978	+9
7	Meghalaya	986	975	+11
8	Odisha (2011) Orissa (2001)	978	972	+6
9	Mizoram	975	938	+37
10	Himachal Pradesh	974	970	+4
11	Karnataka	968	964	+4
12	Goa	968	960	+8
13	Uttarakhand (2011) Uttaranchal (2001)	963	964	-1
14	Tripura	961	950	+11
15	Assam	954	932	+22
16	Lakshadweep	946	947	-1
17	Jharkhand	947	941	+6
18	West Bengal	947	934	+13
19	Nagaland	931	909	+22
20	Madhya Pradesh	930	920	+10
21	Rajasthan	926	922	+4
22	Maharashtra	925	922	+3
23	Arunachal Pradesh	920	901	+19
24	Gujarat	918	921	-3
25	Bihar	916	921	-5
26	Uttar Pradesh	908	898	+10
27	Punjab	893	874	+19
28	Sikkim	889	875	+14
29	Jammu & Kashmir	883	900	-17
30	Andaman & Nicobar Islands	878	846	+32
31	Haryana	877	861	+16
32	Delhi	866	821	+45
33	Chandigarh	818	773	+45
34	Dadra & Nagar Haveli	775	811	-36
35	Daman & Diu	618	709	-91
*	Total average	943	933	+10

Names of all union territories are italicized.

Rank according to SRS Statistical Report 2012[edit]

This is a list of the States and Union territories of India ranked in order of average sex ratio at birth for the three years 2010, 2011, and 2012, expressed as the number of women per thousand men.^[1]

Rank	State	Women per 1000 men - 2012
1	Kerala	1084
2	Chhattisgarh	979
3	Karnataka	950
4	Odisha	948
5	West Bengal	944
6	Himachal Pradesh	939
7	Tamil Nadu	928
8	Assam	922
9	Madhya Pradesh	921
10	Andhra Pradesh	914
11	Jharkhand	918
12	Gujarat	909
12	Bihar	909
13	Maharashtra	896
14	Jammu and Kashmir	895
15	Rajasthan	893
16	Delhi	884
17	Uttar Pradesh	874
18	Punjab	863
19	Haryana	857
*	Total average	908

State / UT	Boys (0-1 age) 2011 Census[31]	Girls (0-1 age) 2011 Census[31]	Sex ratio (Boys per 100 girls)
India	10,633,298	9,677,936	109.9
JAMMU & KASHMIR	154,761	120,551	128.4
HARYANA	254,326	212,408	119.7
PUNJAB	226,929	193,021	117.6
UTTARAKHAND	92,117	80,649	114.2
DELHI	135,801	118,896	114.2
MAHARASHTRA	946,095	829,465	114.1
LAKSHADWEEP	593	522	114.0
RAJASTHAN	722,108	635,198	113.7
GUJARAT	510,124	450,743	113.2
UTTAR PRADESH	1,844,947	1,655,612	111.4
CHANDIGARH	8,283	7,449	111.2
DAMAN & DIU	1,675	1,508	111.1
BIHAR	1,057,050	957,907	110.3
HIMACHAL PRADESH	53,261	48,574	109.6
MADHYA PRADESH	733,148	677,139	108.3
GOA	9,868	9,171	107.6
JHARKHAND	323,923	301,266	107.5
MANIPUR	22,852	21,326	107.2
ANDHRA PRADESH	626,538	588,309	106.5
TAMIL NADU	518,251	486,720	106.5
ODISHA	345,960	324,949	106.5
DADRA & NAGAR HAVELI	3,181	3,013	105.6
WEST BENGAL	658,033	624,760	105.0
KARNATAKA	478,346	455,299	105.1
ASSAM	280,888	267,962	104.8
NAGALAND	17,103	16,361	104.5
SIKKIM	3,905	3,744	104.3
CHHATTISGARH	253,745	244,497	103.8
TRIPURA	28,650	27,625	103.7
MEGHALAYA	41,353	39,940	103.5
ARUNACHAL PRADESH	11,799	11,430	103.2
ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLANDS	2,727	2,651	102.9
KERALA	243,852	238,489	102.2
PUDUCHERRY	9,089	8,900	102.1
MIZORAM	12,017	11,882	101.1

[ANINDA GHOSE]