Jolt to Haryana

IT’s a disturbing reality check for Haryana, the state that was handpicked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to launch the flagship ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ scheme nearly a decade ago. It has recorded an 11-point dip in the sex ratio at birth (SRB) during a 10-month period (January to October) this year as compared to 2023. The state, plagued by gender imbalance for long, faces the grim prospect of witnessing its lowest SRB in eight years unless the authorities reverse this worrisome trend by the year-end. And that is a very daunting task.

Haryana’s sex ratio at birth did rise from 876 in 2015, the year the ‘Beti Bachao’ programme was rolled out, to a record high of 923 in 2019, but it has been dropping in recent years. This decline indicates gaps in the implementation of the government scheme whose larger objective is to bring about a behavioural change in society regarding the birth and rights of the girl child. The scourge of female foeticide is far from being eliminated. The alarming drop this year in the number of FIRs registered against those involved in gender determination tests is a sad commentary on the performance of the law enforcement and health agencies.

It is evident that Haryana cannot afford to take its foot off the pedal when it comes to taking action against the offenders. Another big challenge is to change the deep-rooted patriarchal mindset through sensitisation, public awareness and community mobilisation. The skewed gender ratio is an embarrassment for a state whose sportswomen — primarily wrestlers, shooters and boxers — have won laurels in the international arena. The double-engine government, which began its third successive term last month, owes it to the people of the state to facilitate a turnaround. Haryana should lead the way in celebrating the girl child rather than remaining a perennial laggard.