Underlying Reasons

Parents have a traditional preference for a son instead of a daughter, because

• The son will continue the lineage or heredity of the family
• He will be a bread-winner for the family
• He will guard and protect the family
• He will support his parents when they are old and weak
• He is required for the performance of the last rites when his parents are laid to rest after death
• He does not need to be looked after and protected from people with malicious motives as in the case of a daughter

The parents do not want a daughter because

• A daughter will have to be protected all the time and cannot be left alone, even when she is at home.
• If anything untoward happens to the daughter, the family is disgraced, even though the fault may not be of the girl or her family.
• A huge amount will have to be paid as dowry to get her married off to a decent family.
• The daughter will not be a support in old age for the parents as she will be married off into another family, which need not be near and, even if it is near, the girl may not be allowed by the family of her husband to come and look after her own parents.

Besides, the industry of ‘criminal sex recognition and selective foeticide’ is calculated to be a booming industry with a turnover of Rupees 13888 million. The stakeholders of this heartless industry, including doctors who are concerned only with money-making, will do all in their power to further their prospects and enhance their profits. All opposition to their nefarious activities will be muffled with the support of corrupt officials and politicians.