A fertility medicine from the stables of Baba Ramdev is the latest media infatuation. The name, Divya Putrajeevak Beej is misleading people into making purchases with the hope of getting a son.
While Ramdev has made other ridiculous claims like curing cancer, HIV, and even homosexuality, Divya Putrajeevak Beej could be a riveting case study in the field of marketing – it has a compelling brand name (Putrajeevak); and a sasta price of just Rs. 35.
For the haters, here’s a simple law of economics – there is a huge demand for sex-selective medicines and Baba Ramdev is not the only supplier.
This, even as the authenticity of these medicines remains disputable – they are created on the myth that the sex of the foetus is determined six weeks after fertilization (contrary to the established fact that sex of the foetus is fixed at the time of fertilization).
But why should we bother? The undertone of this article seems countrified; and the protagonists appear largely ignorant. Does it merit a conversation, then, against the backdrop of a chic cafe in Hauz Khas Village, or an upscale eatery in Bandra?
Unlikely Culprits
Data from the Lok Sabha website shows that in 2001, Hauz Khas had 882 females per thousand males, which spiralled downward to 762 four years down.
In Defence Colony, the sex ratio at birth tumbled from 891 to 805 per 1000 males.
Colaba, one of Mumbai’s poshest colonies, had 860 females per 1000 males in 2003.
Clearly, the longing for a male heir cloys into the hearts (and pockets) of South Delhi’s and South Mumbai’s most educated and liberal.
Educated Parents Guilty of Sex Selection Too
Contrary to popular perception, educated parents, too, are biased against the girl child, and in disturbingly large numbers. Graduate parents had a dismal sex ratio at birth of 813, while in the case of post graduate parents, it was an abominable 769, as per the United Nations Population Fund, India.
Ironically the best Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) of 933 was in cases where both parents were educated only up to middle school or less.
Another Daughter Hoping to Be Born
Families may be accepting of the first child being a girl, but not the second. And certainly not the third – the conception mostly being a desperate shot at getting a raja beta.
The results of the Special Fertility and Mortality survey show that the sex ratio at birth for the first child is 871 girls born for every 1000 boys.
But it falls to 759 for the second child.
And dips even lower to 718 for the third child.
Which means that the chances of a family to have a second or third girl child are remarkably slim, regardless of the mother’s education or religious affiliation of the family.
Arithmetic data supports what we long knew sociologically. Female deselection happens everywhere – in tony South Delhi, in starry South Mumbai, in rural Punjab, and in Khapland Haryana. Because for suckers for the salvation of the soul, a son lighting the pyre and performing funeral rites makes for an easy shortcut .
Right! If you can believe that the son guarantees salvation, or that gender develops six weeks down the pregnancy, then the marketing hype of a churan that can magically change the chromosome from X to Y, is an easy one to fall for.
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