Nanhi Chhaan at Kangra

Sanjeev Suri

TWO members of an NGO visited our college as they sponsored us to organise a function on a socially relevant topic. The Principal called me to chalk out the details. Immediately the concept of Nanhi Chhaan crossed my mind, for two reasons: it originated in my home state, Punjab; and the concept had three dimensions, encompassing ‘save girl child’, protection of environment and secularism. 

The next morning, the students assembled in the adjacent municipal grounds. Some 15-20 pilgrims from Bihar, on way to Bajreshwari Devi temple, stopped beside us, perhaps out of curiosity. 

It dawned upon them that the function was about saving the girl child when they heard me speak that ‘economic backwardness, illiteracy, and poverty are the main causes for the skewed sex-ratio and the suffering of girls’. ‘Sorry, we don’t agree to your observation,’ interjected an elderly woman among the pilgrims. ‘We belong to poor, illiterate families, but we love our daughters. We worship them and honour them. No ceremony is complete without their presence in our homes. It is not the poor, but the rich and educated families who indulge in foeticide and are responsible for their plight. Only they have an access to sex-determination tests. The prosperous people need your address the most.’ Her passionate indictment of my views silenced me.

Also, they rejected my views on secularism. ‘Don’t say poor people are instigated by politicians. To say that the poor are the cause of spreading this communalism is like abusing them for their poverty,’ said another pilgrim. ‘We are busy earning our livelihood. The goons of politicians generate this venom of communalism. It may be any party, all have their goons. Moreover, such issues are overblown by the media. We find more hate in newspapers and on television than in actuality.’

My lecture was badly bruised by their contradictions, making my students pity me. Factually, they may not be correct, but their views were illuminating. The issues sensitised them, so much so, that they expressed their desire to join our rally before paying obeisance at the temple. Their presence imparted a different colour. The local residents were surprised to see the pilgrims in the rally, and they too joined us, making our endeavour a great success. 

Before parting with them I shared with them the following incident: Recently for the inauguration of a branch of a local bank, a Cabinet minister was invited. Everyone was surprised when, bypassing official formalities, he pushed himself into the background and thrust the scissors into the hands of a poor school-going girl sitting in the audience for the ceremonial cutting of the ribbon. The bank officials too reciprocated to his gesture by adopting the girl and opening the maiden bank account in her name.

‘Oh! That’s great. We will take this incident as a keepsake from this holy town of Kangra,’ concluded a middle-aged pilgrim, beaming with a smile.