Why—Female Infanticide/
Female Foeticide
Dr. Saroj Dutta
Kalindi College
H
uman-beings along with flora and fauna formed a
part of the nature which, in turn, created male and
female gender to keep on regenerating and replenishing loss of almost all the flora, fauna and human life that
occurs because of the inevitable decay due to time, place
and natural phenomenon. As and till the time this process
followed its natural course, man remained a part of the
nature.
Things were viewed in one perspective only. This must
have been the necessity of those times about which we
cannot even imagine. Harsh climatic condition, hard physical requirements for subsistence of life must have led to
the male child preference. However, the ratio between men
and women never seem to have gone to such proportions
to give an idea that population growth had gone negative.
There are evidences of continuous expansion and growth
of human habitation in newer areas. The growth and development of so many great civilizations is a testimony to this.
Nevertheless, the circumstances and situations prevailing
at that time must have forced the people so as to adopt this
inhuman practice of female infanticide. This human
behaviour seems to have been a worldwide phenomenon
as have been reported by many anthropologists rather than
thinking that it is exclusively Indian characteristic.
the entire group and the social, political and economic
evolution of man started.
To reign in the unwieldy man certain social economic and
political rules and regulations were formed. In this process,
the male because of his inherent providing capacity and
females feeding capacity and caring gained acceptance.
This, in its turn, gave rise to a paternalistic society where
the male started getting preference over females. Indian
literature is replete with references to people and kings
praying god to bless them with sons. This may have been
the requirement and necessity of those times. The same
literature do not, however, advocate killing of the girl child.
The Smriti literature includes girl child or a daughter as the
legal heir