Mother was urged to kill me: Indian minister
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NEW DELHI: India’s education minister revealed on Friday that her mother was urged to kill her at birth, highlighting the deadly preference for boys that has left the country with a population crisis.
Like many other Indian girls, Smriti Irani said she was seen as a burden when she was born.
“I am sharing it for the first time that when I was born, someone hinted to my mother that ‘beti to bojh hoti hai’ (a daughter is a burden),” she said in comments reported by the Press Trust of India (PTI). “And therefore, she should kill me. ”
Sex-selective abortion, infanticide and the death of girls through neglect have left India with a huge and alarming gender imbalance.
Census data indicates that in 2011 there were just 914 girls aged under six for every 1,000 boys — far behind the global benchmark of 952.
Smriti Irani told students in Bhopal that she was only alive because her mother had not listened to the advice.
“My mother was brave and she did not do that, because of which today I am standing in front of you,” she told them. She added that she was highlighting her own story as India’s new government plans renewed efforts to tackle the issue.
Published in Dawn, June 28th, 2014
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Comments (32) Closed
Jun 28, 2014 02:01pm
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Jun 28, 2014 02:08pm
Sex-selective abortion, infanticide and the death of girls through neglect have left India with a huge and alarming gender imbalance.
Census data indicates that in 2011 there were just 914 girls aged under six for every 1,000 boys
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Jun 28, 2014 02:22pm
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Jun 28, 2014 02:43pm
What a deceiving headline! Where has she ever quoted that she was urged to kill?
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Jun 28, 2014 03:03pm
@ravi read again !
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Jun 28, 2014 04:02pm
This trend should br eliminated from the society. It is recommended that the Indian government should do whatever it can to stop this infanticide.
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Jun 28, 2014 04:15pm
Now this lady is in a position to educate others who think like her mother good luck to you.
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Jun 28, 2014 05:17pm
I think more people like Smriti Irani should come out and talk about their personal experience on these scrouges like female infanticide, sexual harassment, dowry harassment, violence against women and children.
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Jun 28, 2014 05:27pm
@Harmony
Delhi being the capital has one of the worst statistics on female infanticide and states like Punjab, harayana and Maharashtra being the most urbanized of the Indian states have worst statistics on male female ratio. Both rural and urban India ate equally bad at this.
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Jun 28, 2014 07:00pm
This model turned Tv actress entered in the dirty mud of Politics in 2003. Smriti Irani threatened to "Fast unto Death" until then Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi resigned, blaming him for BJP's electoral losses. She became Minister of Human Resource Development by winning 2014 elections under BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) flag.
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Jun 28, 2014 07:33pm
Smriti Irani is just diverting sympathy by making such statement, as there is still row over her nomination for the position of HRD minister, by falsifying her education credentials.
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Jun 28, 2014 07:41pm
she is a good dramatist....as everybody knows...!!!
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Jun 28, 2014 07:45pm
@Sunil - Even if she is "diverting sympathy", are denying that such things go on?
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Jun 28, 2014 08:54pm
Strenght in religion and its belief is what prevents these things. When there is no proper religion then these kind of things abound. Islam came and stopped similar practices in Arabia.
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Jun 28, 2014 09:55pm
When that revelation is made by none other than Ms. Smriti Irani, the honorable minster in-charge of the "Human Resources Development", I have no doubt about the integrity of her statement. She always tells the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Her two previous affidavits claiming her educational qualifications while filing nomination in elections vouch for it.
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Jun 28, 2014 11:06pm
Abortions based solely on the sex of the baby is extremely wrong.
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Jun 29, 2014 12:43am
The scourge of dowry expectation, demand and acceptance is the root cause of the problem of girl infanticide. In a country where killing is abhorred in general, infanticide of girls is permitted, encouraged, accepted. The country would do much better if court marriages are encouraged and those who want to engage in ceremonial celebrations of marriage are asked to report publicly the source of their income, amount of expenditure incurred, and also a heavy tax is levied on all expenditures, dowries given and received. Infanticide takes out many potentially productive lives and makes the country weaker. In order to become a strong country, Indian leaders must lead and take strong measures to end this inhumanity. It is a moral duty of every human being to raise their voice against it.
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Jun 29, 2014 01:54am
Next Ms Irani will claim that her SAMAJ had put pressure on her mother to alter her curriculum vitae . To be an education minister of a country like India good looks are not enough -- some hard earned educational degrees are needed as well.
Ms Irani should be a minister social affairs NOT education.
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Jun 29, 2014 03:06am
@NASAH (USA)
So, a defense minister s/b a soldier; agriculture minister a farmer; home minister a house-wife, & tourist minister a travel agent!
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Jun 29, 2014 07:18am
@Osama Mir so, what is your point?
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Jun 29, 2014 08:20am
@Priyakant You are right -- for education ministry no education should be required.
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Jun 29, 2014 11:04am
@zak If you had proper education, you would have commented differently.
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Jun 29, 2014 12:42pm
@arun kyun k saas bhi kabhi bahu thy
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Jun 29, 2014 03:31pm
I can only see one thing in her picture that her weight gain is faster than the rate of population growth in Indian & Pakistan. She used to be less fat. From Saas bhi kabhi bahu thi, she should now start Fat bhi kabhi thin thi.
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Jun 29, 2014 03:49pm
@Sunil
Um! BJP politicians are smarter and have a stronger moral standards, do you think?
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Jun 29, 2014 09:08pm
@zak I am surprised at how some people bring religion into everything, even the most absurd things! Cant you keep religion for private consumption? I have no words to explain my angst at such people for whom religion is a different tool. hence a short message- but I hope the feeling is expressed.
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Jun 30, 2014 01:47am
I do not think it is right for a minister in the indian government to say this aloud. There are taboos and customs in every country
and most of them are absolute in present times, China forcefully conducted abortions in order to contain population.
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Jun 30, 2014 04:48am
She was brave enough to bring up the issue in the public. I admire her courage. Female Feticide and Infanticide has touched every family of India, it deingrates females and relegates them to 2nd class citizens. No one in India ever had the moral courage to talk about it. I admire her courage and that is where it ends.
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Jun 30, 2014 07:08am
Her frankness must be admired.The message she is conveying is that a girl-child is as useful to the household as much as the male child.This is the UNIVERSAL TRUTH of the 21st century,that society must bring up the girl-child the same way as the male child.One can become Smriti Irani,one can become Benazir and Malala,one can become Begum Shaikh Hasina,or Hillary or Margaret Thatcher.
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Jun 30, 2014 08:47pm
Not much has changed since on both sides of border.The educated, civilised & urban folks should understand this.....
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Jul 01, 2014 07:22am
Dear readers Indira Gandahi was not had any kind of certificate of education but only certificate that she was a daughter of Jawairi lal Nehru. But being daugher of big father she became PM of Hindustan. And all had to regard her.
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Jul 01, 2014 12:47pm
this is her qualification and her justification to be the minister of higher education.
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