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Two-child norm suits our culture

Single children (“Going solo” by Seema Goswami, Saturday Extra, April 25) get the maximum from parents but in return they give minimum to them because of job compulsions and relentless pursuit of wealth.

A complete family is a family comprising parents, a son and a daughter. Girl child is destined to leave her parents on marriage to become member of another family. The onus of caring for the aged parents and propagation of family lies with the son who is legally and morally bound to do so.

Baring infertility and gynaecological compulsions of having a single child, the two-child option is better suited to our family culture. It gives an affectionate and healthy environment to children.

Two siblings can share a deep bond with each other. Despite their routine innocent squabbles they come closer and learn to adapt and solve problems easily and all this pays in later life.

The one-child norm which mostly tilts in favour of having a male child has become the main reason for skewed sex ratio and female foetocide. A Punjabi saying Kalla raahi, rukh vee na hove (Even the pedestrian, tree be not alone) substantiates the two-child norm.

Dr SOSHIL RATTAN, Amritsar

If this trend finds acceptability among masses, relations like chacha, mama, bua mausi, etc will become a thing of the past. A single child will suffer in adverse circumstances in life in comparison to a person with siblings.

The centuries old tradition of maintaining the family tree through generation in the bahi khatas of Hardwar’s pandas will also end for such families.

ANUP K. GAKKHAR, Hardwar

Channel for the aged

In this age of nuclear families no one has time to provide quality time and company to the elderly (“Channel for the aged”, Spectrum, May 3). There is no one to take them to the doctor now and then for petty ailments.

The old people consider themselves to be a burden on their families and remain frustrated most of the time. True, music today is very loud and fast movies and TV shows are full of violence. The elderly can’t remain stuck to an Astha or Sanskaar the whole day. Reading all the time, too, is not a good option.

So, the need arises for a channel that takes up health issues, legal matters besides providing entertainment to the aged. In the West, the lives of old people are just the same as those of the young. They have their exclusive clubs and organisations. Maybe, a channel for the elderly will give them comfort and they won’t have to get nostalgic to get a few moments of joy.

VANDANA SHARMA, Shimla

Khap panchayats should fight social evils
IN the name of Justice” (Spectrum, April 26) is a wake-up call to the state, social workers, scholars and the elite to review khap panchayats. Endogamy and exogamy (that is, marriage within the caste and outside the gotra) have been in practice since ages.
Thus, the purity of blood is maintained through marriage, but in spite of this there have been a large number of mixed marriages, too. The system cannot be done away with in the name of modernity or human development, because, sufficient time is required to transform the caste councils. In fact, education has changed the mindset of the urban population in general and rural youth in particular towards the selection of a life partener.
But the rural society believes in the purity of blood as it is regarded sacred. Members of the rural society are very particular about strict adherence to marriage norms and respect for social values.
These caste councils can play a vital role in eradicating social evils, such as, domestic violence, foeticide, dowry deaths, bride burning, drug addiction etc. We have independent courts to look into all sorts of crimes and there are elected village panchayats too at the lowest rung of the hierarchy.
It is not the duty of the caste councils to pass judgments in such cases. The right to award punishment ought to be left to the judiciary and these caste councils should work for the betterment of their respective castes.
R.S. TAGGER, Gurdaspur