096. Will new software prevent girl child foeticide and dowry and take away their tuition fees? P S Remesh Chandran

096

Will new software prevent girl child foeticide and dowry and take away their tuition fees?

P S Remesh Chandran

Editor, Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum
 Article Title Image By Artsy Bee. Graphics: Adobe SP.

The instant a female child is born in India the first thought that comes to the mind of her parents is the huge dowry that has to be found someday for her marriage. Even though India has been ascending to her higher world status and economic importance, no political parties including the Communist Parties of India have taken a bold stand against the Dowry System. It is a curse in the Hindu religion as well as in Christianity and Islam, causing a national shame just above the level of corruption among the highest authorities. In the highest-literate state in India-Kerala- the highest crime the government engages thousands of officers in full duty to hunt down which is motorcyclists riding bikes without helmets! Not even one single case has been registered for demanding dowry, unless specifically complained by a bride’s relatives. Ministers of State and fleets of Indian Administrative Service and Indian Police Service officers who are supposed to be on the lookout for dowry crimes regularly attend marriages where huge dowries are paid. Even a look at the tonnes of gold and diamond ornaments worn by the bride, the groom and their relatives would have convinced any one of them how much dowry would have been paid in those marriages. But they simply eat those delicacies served there and return to their offices in those official cars which they brought to those venues of marriages unauthorized. Not a single person in authority has ever returned from a marriage to his office and started an ‘Arising File’ and written a Note, stating that ‘he has attended a marriage and he suspects that a huge dowry must have been paid which should be investigated’. Without such loyal and trustworthy officers and watchful state ministers, what use is there in passing laws against dowry? When the Government of India announced free education to all girl students in the country, the largest and the oldest girls’ school in Trivandrum, named after a Holy Angel, situated just two furlongs away from the seat of Government in the Secretariate, won’t allow any fee concession at all to girl students. No good in passing laws for girls without there being a Government whose officers will smell out dowry and report, and will not shy away from closing down schools which will not waive the tuition fees of girls. Dismiss one or two of such officers and state ministers; once terrorized, they will begin to reflect original Government policies on girls. 

Wherever news regarding health activities in a state in India is reported in newspapers, there will be mention of a district collector, participating, presiding or inaugurating. It seems these Indian Administrative Service personnel are not interested in running their important offices and are jealous of MBBS doctors and grieve in their hearts for not selecting a doctor’s profession which has no retirement. Unlike the IAS officers, a doctor is a doctor to the end of his life. Therefore everywhere health services’ activity is going on, the district collector makes his appearance, invited or not, and makes a speech, relevant or not. They like to impose their administrative power elsewhere because no one in their offices would obey them. In many states, doctors in government hospitals are bypassed by district collectors in decision making. Many state governments, to please politicians who have no other job, constituted hospital development committees with the respective district collector as the chairman and these ignorant and poor-educated politicians as members. They meet in committees in the hospital office, drink tea and munch cashew nut, discuss things which ought to have been discussed by qualified doctors alone, take decisions which the health authorities alone should have taken, and part to meet again soon. In these meetings, instead of development, the administrative problems only are discussed, including who should work where, etc. After two or three meetings, it begins to function as an administrative committee. In many districts, the district health administration have begun to be forced to report disciplinary action on their staff to the district collector for proposing what punishment is to be given! No one now knows where the head and tail are. Of all the dozens of departments in a state, doctors alone are not allowed to rule their department. What will happen if a district collector is posted as superintendent of a district hospital and the superintendent posted as the district collector? What again will happen if deciding what actions to be taken in the district revenue administration are left to a similar revenue development administrative committee? Each and everyone in government service have his portfolio and limit of authority. Everywhere in India, district collectorates are in administrative paralysis. Thousand of petitions reach these offices each weak from aggrieved citizens, but no district collectors are there to look into these grievances. They are busy, ruling the offices of other departments where they have no role, a self-assumed position. A few years back, if someone submitted a complaint to a district collector, action was sudden. Now action is never. They never even read these complaints. It is said in the Times news from Trichy that to prevent female foeticide, uploaded data from ultra scan centres would be monitored by authorities. Which authority, the health service personnel or this district collector? 

[In response to news articles ‘Girl child neglected’ on 20 April 2011 and ‘New software to prevent female foeticide’ on 05 June 2012]