My website received a lot of appreciation for the creative manner in which our team presented the message of greetings on March 8, International Women’s Day. The usual masthead of the website was replaced with three alternating screens, the first saying “Naari Tum Shraddha Ho” (Woman, you are Devotion); the second saying, “Naari Tum Samskaar Ho” (Woman, you are Culture); and the third saying, “Naari Tum Shakti Ho” (Woman you are Strength). The idea was inspired by the famous lines by renowned Hindi poet Jayashankar Prasad:

Nari! Tum keval shraddha ho,
Vishwas-rajat-nag-pal-tal mein,
Piyush srot si baha karo,
Jeevan ki sundar samtal mein.

(Oh woman! you are devotion personified
Under the silver mountain of faith,
Flow you, like a river of ambrosia
On this beautiful earth.)

“Shraddha”, “samskaar” and “shakti” — these three words capture some of the greatest attributes of women in general, and Indian women in particular. Nevertheless, it pains my heart when I look at the statistics about the development status of women in India.

• Female life expectancy: 64.6 years.
• Infant mortality: 57 per 1000 live births.
• 53% women give birth without the help of skilled health personnel.
• Maternal mortality: 301 (per 100,000 births).
• 100,000 women turned out of their home due to stigma of TB.
• Female literacy: 47.8% (bottom fifth in the world).
• 6 crore undernourished children and 80 lakh suffering from severe malnutrition (more girls than boys among them).

Being welcomed by a Beti Bachao volunteer

What worries me the most is the declining gender ratio in India 1000 (male) to 933 (female). In some states like Punjab and Haryana, the situation is precarious. Nearly two million female foetuses are reportedly aborted every year. We have a stringent law against prenatal sex determination tests. However, law alone is not enough. Last year, when activists of an organisation called “Beti Bachao” called on me, I said, “There is need to launch a sustained nationwide campaign, combining both government and non-government efforts, against evil practices like female foeticide.” Already, the “save the girl child campaign” launched by the BJP Government in Gujarat has addressed the issue of gender imbalance. Previously the gender ratio was 802 girls/ 1000 boys; it has improved up to 894 girls /1000 boys. Similarly, the Kanya Kelavani Abhiyan has successfully reduced the drop out rate among girl students from 41% to 2.5%. If the BJP and NDA are given the mandate in the next parliamentary elections, I shall personally lead the ‘Beti Bachao’ campaign as the head of the government.

Poverty is one of the main reasons for the discrimination against the girl child at home. This has resulted in lower literacy rates and higher dropout rates among girl children. During my travels across the country, I often see young girls, who ought to be learning and playing in school, carrying mounds of firewood on their heads. Clearly, it is the moral duty as well as the democratic responsibility of both Central and State Governments to strive their utmost to remove gender imbalance and promote gender justice in every area of development.

In this context, I must commend a scheme called the “Ladli Laxmi Yojana” started by the BJP Government in Madhya Pradesh in 2006. In a very short time, it has proved to be one of the most successful social welfare schemes in the history of the state, thanks to the political will and sustained personal attention that Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chauhan has brought to bear on its implementation. The principal aim of the “Ladli Laxmi Yojana” is to eliminate school dropout among girl students and to encourage them to study at least upto the pre-college level. Under the scheme, the state government buys savings certificates of Rs. 6,000 each year for five consecutive years for every girl born into a family. The girl gets Rs. 2,000 after she completes the 5th standard, another Rs. 4,000 after she completes the 8th standard, Rs. 7,500 after she completes the 10th standard; Rs. 200 per month in her 11th standard; and a lumpsum amount of Rs. 1,18,000 after she enters the 12th standard or, alternatively, attains the age of 18.

It is my promise that, if elected to form the next government, the NDA will implement the Ladli Laxmi Yojana in every state. It will be our endeavour to make every girl in India a “Lakhpati” by the time she attains maturity and is ready to enter a new phase of her life. As far as the girl child is concerned, her care cannot be the responsibility of her parents alone. It is equally the responsibility of the government.

Why I am a fan of Prasoon Joshi

Prasoon Joshi

Ever since I heard Prasoon Joshi’s lyrics for Aamir Khan’s Taare Zamin Par, I have become a Prasoon fan. In the context of the women’s empowerment campaign current these days, I chanced to see a Prasoon Joshi video clip of a touching song he has written for a Shubha Mudgal album, but which he in this clip had beautifully rendered himself. In this song a girl is pleading with her babul (father) as to what kind of groom she would not like to have and what kind she would prefer. The song opens thus :

Jiya mora ghabraye, babul!
Bin bole raha na jaye

(Papa, I am filled with trepidation; but I cannot but speak out my mind)

The opening stanza says:

Mohe sunar ke ghar na deejiyo
Mohe jewar kabhi na bhaye.

(Do not wed me to a goldsmith; I have never been fond of jewels)

In the same vein she goes on to plead with her babul not to marry her either to a prince or to a trader.

The girl winds up her entreaty with a seemingly quaint request.

Babul meri itni araj sun lijiye
Mohe luhar ke ghar de dijiye
Jo meri janjeerain pighlayen!

(Papa, I urge you to hand me over to an ironsmith who can melt my chains)

The plea may seem queer, but in our male-dominated world, it is very meaningful.

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Watch following videos -

Ladli Laxmi Yojana Video Clip:
ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3gwErPoTRM&NR=1

Prasoon Joshi Video Clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvN6a8ZOlCg