Cradle Babies - A Ray Of Hope
Author: LawSphereX
Category: General Law
Published:
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CRADLE BABIES - A RAY OF HOPE
Saurabh Kumar, Assistant Professor, Acropolis Institute of Law, Indore Shrinkhla Chaurasia, Assistant Professor, Acropolis Institute of Law, Indore
ABSTRACT
Child abandonment and female infanticide had been a critical issue in the country especially of new born female babies. India has been successful in curtailing immoral practice by enacting Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act 1994 which prohibits sex determination and to an extent curtailed abortion but as a result children are being abandoned at isolated places such as forests, ditches, junks pits etc which further raises safety concerns for the babies. To tackle such a menace Jayalalithaa government first launched the cradle baby scheme in Tamil Nadu which turned out to be a boon for the state by showing effective results. At present the scheme is operative in more than 10 districts of Tamil Nadu.
5928 children have been handed over at the cardle baby reception centres till March 2023 (Male – 1346, Female - 4582) Following the footsteps other states too implemented it in their respective districts and saw remarkable results. But with wide scale implementation came some backlashes for the scheme which require permanent solutions so that the project helps in eradicating female infanticides and child abandonment.
Introduction
Since the independence of the country, government had been making several attempts to eliminate sex discrimination. Discrimination against girl child has been an alarming problem which needs enduring solutions. In an attempt to eradicate the evil practice, the then chief minister of Tamil Nadu Jayaram Jayalalithaa launched the Cradle Baby Scheme in 1992 with the objective to put an end to female infanticide. Under the scheme the parent of new born girl child could silently and secretly place the child in cradles located in primary healthcare centres, orphanages, NGOs and other government allocated centres. Although the scheme was initially launched as a short term measure, it turned out to be an awakening move for the nation. The scheme was firstly implemented in the three districts of Tamil Nadu namely - Salem, Dindigul and Madurai.
1 But with the change of government in 1996 the scheme was prorogued. In 2001 after regaining power AIADMK (All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) reintroduced the scheme while extending it to Theni and Dharmapuri districts. 2 At present the scheme is operative in more than 10 districts of Tamil Nadu. 5928 children have been handed over at the reception centres till March 2023 (Male – 1346, Female - 4582). 3 Following the footsteps of cradle scheme launched in Tamil Nadu in 1992, 11 states at 265 locations had set up cradle reception centres for safe desertion of babies. The states that have taken up the initiative are Assam, Gujarat, Odisha, Punjab, Delhi, Karnataka, West Bengal, Manipur and Meghalaya.
4 Under Mission Vatsalya Scheme the government aimed at setting up Cradle Baby Reception Centres at Specialized Adoption Agencies whose ultimate objective was giving proper care to abandoned babies until their adoption. These centres had been linked to cradle points at Primary Healthcare Centres, Hospitals, Nursing Homes and other elected places to receive the deserted babies. Once the babies are received at cradle reception centres arrangements are made for providing food and proper medical treatment as per the advice of the Medical officer and then information of the child’s arrival is given to Child Welfare Committee and after registering child’s birth with competent authority arrangements are made
1 Priya T, “ROLE OF CRADLE BABY SCHEME IN CURTAILING FEMALE INFANTICIDE IN
TAMILNADU” (2016) 1 International Journal of Interdisciplinary Research in Arts and Humanities 201 2 “Daughter Elimination: Cradle Baby Scheme in Tamil Nadu” Economic and Political Weekly (June 5, 2010) accessed May 19, 2024 3 “POLICY NOTE 2023-2024” 1 accessed May 20, 2024 4 “Several States Have Set up Cradle Baby Reception Centres to Enable Safe Abandonment of Babies: Smt Maneka Sanjay Gandhi” (pib. gov. in) accessed May 20, 2024 to place the baby with credible family through adoption. The District Child Protection Officer shall be responsible for ensuring the implementation of cradle baby scheme. 5 Daughter Abandonment The gap visible in figure. 1 below between the child sex ratio and sex ratio is an issue to ponder upon because though sex ratio has improved but the drop in the child sex ratio is a matter of great concern.
Daughter discrimination begins in the mother’s womb because of rapid advancement in technology and techniques, sex determination had become an easy task and also bribing someone with few thousands makes the task even easier. Despite being a heinous crime this practice is widespread in almost every nook and corner of the country but the so called patriarchal society tends to ignore the law. Traditionally only male could inherit the property and birth of female child had always raised serious concerns. It is the patriarchal structure that places higher value on males viewing them as the heir who will carry forward the legacy of their family while in contrast viewing female as one belonging to their husband’s family where they would be married. It is further reinforced by traditional norms that allow son to perform religious and funerals rites.
Economic factors such as dowry contribute significantly in male preference. Though India had implemented Dowry Prohibition Act but still this practice remains prevalent in many parts of the country reinforcing the notion of females as financial burden and male as assets. These factors not only diminish the status of women but also instigate evil practices as female infanticides and abandonment. Also gender based crimes or sexual offences against female instill fear in parents to give birth a female child. In 2017 according to an article published by ‘The Hindu’ newspaper cases of infant’s abandonment and illegal adoption especially of female child had been on continuous rise. Even the data by NCRB given below in table 1 suggest that Andhra Pradesh had been among the top states quite a multiple times in cases of infanticides.
To curb such a menace the Project Director of Women’s Department and Child Welfare (WD&CW) of Krishna District of Amravati region had came up with the idea of “Cradle Baby Scheme” at hospitals, bus depot and railway stations. Not only Andhra Pradesh But several other states like Haryana, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra had witnessed the cases of infanticides while being in the list of top two states in the past five years. And to a surprise Tamil Nadu followed by Maharashtra where the scheme first sparked off continues to be in the list of top states with incidences of infanticides. But the data in particular 5“ImplementationGuidelines”23 accessed May 22, 2024 suggests that districts or cities where the scheme was implemented had seen significant improvement in lowering the cases of infanticides.
Even though the country had been successful in curtailing such evil practice by enacting the Pre- Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act 1994 which prohibits sex determination and abortion but as a result of it new born female babies are dumped in the isolated areas, ditches, junk pits or in the forests which further raised safety concerns for the babies. In almost all parts of the country the girl child is considered a financial burden due to the patriarchal mindset.
Child Sex Ratio (0-6 Years) India, 1961-211 Sex Ratio India, 1961-211 Source: Census of India Fig 1: Child Sex Ratio and Sex Ratio6 Table – 1 Number of infanticides cases recorded in India from 2018 to 2022 according to NCRB Andhra Pradesh – 10 Chhattisgarh – 10 Tamil Nadu – 17 Andhra Pradesh - 11 Tamil Nadu – 17 Andhra Pradesh - 10 Maharashtra – 25 Madhya Pradesh - 11 Source: National Crime Records Bureau Efficiency of the Scheme The number of babies being handed over to the cradle baby scheme provides us an insight of the contribution made by the scheme in curbing the incidence of infanticide. Figure. 2 clearly indicates that cradle baby scheme had accounted for significant increase in the sex ratio. Though other factors implemented at the same time had contributed significantly in curtailing infanticide but the cradle baby scheme had also been boon for the society.
Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra which had witnessed the worst sex ratio of 883 girls to 1000 boys came forth to implement the scheme with open arms. The Snehalaya NGO addressing the scheme as the ‘Need of the Hour’ planned to implement it in 2011 in the Shrigonda municipal council of Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra, in almost 80 villages at 110 locations. 7 The director of the NGO looked upon the scheme as a measure which would at least let the girl child live even if the families were not able to accept them. Even Rajasthan had set up 67 cradles throughout the state under Ashray Palna Yojna project in 2015. 8 In 2015 budget the then Chief Minister of Rajasthan Vasundhara Raje implemented the scheme as Rajasthan had witnessed a huge dip in the sex ratio in 2011 census which was 833 girls per 1000 male as compared to 909 females per 1000 male in 2001.
9 And since the inception of the scheme in Rajasthan, within a period of 7 Indo Asian News Service, “NDTV” NDTV (May 24, 2011) accessed May 26, 2024
8 Agrawal S, “Cradles in Rajasthan for India’s Unwanted Babies” Al Jazeera (December 26, 2016)
accessed May 30, 2024 9 Goswami R, “Cradle of Hope: Here’s How Rajasthan Is Saving Its Girl Child” Hindustan Times (February 18, 2017) accessed May 22, 2024 one year the scheme had saved 35 babies out of which 25 are female. 10 The scheme has also kept the identity of the parents undisclosed so that safe abandonment takes place instead of babies being killed in the name of societal pressure, poverty and dowry. Once the child is kept in cradle the bell rings after three minutes giving time to parents to leave without being questioned. 11 Karnataka which had been in top three (2018- 2020) in cases of abandonment as shown in the table 2 below was also greatly influenced by the scheme and putting forth the argument that cradle baby scheme would prevent babies from being dumped in trashcans and drains implemented the scheme in multiple health care centres in the state.
12 As a result of this implementation regions where this scheme was highly concentrated had seen a swift rise in the sex ratio. 13 In past few years even the state of Telangana in Patancheru and Sangareddy district implemented the project for people to drop off their unwanted baby girls. 14 Table – 2 Number of Abandonment cases recorded in last 5 years (2018 - 2022) according to NCRB Year Top 3 States with leading incidences of abandonment Overall abandonment incidences in the year Maharashtra – 201 Madhya Pradesh - 157 Karnataka – 121 Madhya Pradesh - 174 Maharashtra - 143 Gujarat – 108 Source: National Crime Records Bureau Salem Theni Madurai Dindigul Dharamapu ri Fig 2: Child Sex Ratio of Districts where Cradle scheme was initially launched15 Criticism
1. Not being taken up in adoption – The babies received under the scheme were sometimes
not adopted owing to various reasons such as physical disabilities etc. To tackle the problem the government of Tamil Nadu provided grant to four of its listed homes namely - 1. Sri Arunodhayam Trust, Chennai 2. Community Health Education Society (CHES), Thiruvallur 3. Premavasam, Kancheepuram 4. Families for Children, Coimbatore to take care of these children.16
2. Exempt Parents of their responsibilities – Some have criticised the scheme stating that
the project exempts parents of its responsibilities towards daughters and continue to shore up male centric culture.17 Even if the parents are well to do and are financially 15 Ks K and others, “Profile of Babies Admitted in Cradle Baby Scheme and Review of Female Infanticide in Dharmapuri” (2016) 13 Pediatric Oncall 16 “POLICY NOTE 2023-2024” 1 accessed May 20, 2024
17 Economic and Political Weekly Vol XLV No 23
capable to take care of female child is being tempted to use this scheme.18
3. Violation of Article 7 & 9 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
– According to article 7 the child shall have right to be cared by his or her parents and under article 9 parties shall ensure that a child shall not be separated from his or her parents against their will, except the cases where separation is necessary for the best interests of the child. Such determination may be necessary in a particular case such as one involving abuse or neglect of the child by the parents19
4. Dumping at Desolate Places – In an interview to NDTV, director of the Snehalaya’s
NGO stated that the families to avoid being detected dump the new born babies in a desolate place.20 This in turn makes it difficult for volunteers, Child welfare Committee officials to quickly detect the babies and reach out to them.
5. In an interview to ‘The News Minute’ Mary Paul executive director of Vathsalya
Charitable Trust, Bangalore stated that the lost birth history of the child is one of the biggest issues of the scheme once the child is placed in the cradle. 21 Recommendations The above table 1 represents continuous growth in the infanticide incidences which is a clear indication of the lack of awareness among the people regarding the cradle baby scheme and projects started by different states in the past two decades. Spreading awareness in every nook and corner of the country is the need of hour especially in the cities and towns which are more prone to infanticides and child abandonment. And even if the parents are abandoning the child quickly reaching out to the babies is of utmost requirement. Widespread implementation of the scheme i. e. implementing of the scheme even in the remotest areas should be the priority of the government.
In the old Indian Penal Code 1860 u/s 317 and in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita
2023 u/s 91 the punishment given is upto 7 years and fine and also the offence is a cognizable
18 TNM, “Cradle Baby Scheme across India
Legitimizing Traditional Discrimination against Girl Child?” The News Minute (July 20, 2014) accessed May 30, 2024 19“Convention on the Rights of the Child” (OHCHR) accessed May 26, 2024
20 Id at 6
21 TNM, “Cradle Baby Scheme across India
Legitimizing Traditional Discrimination against Girl Child?” The News Minute (July 20, 2014) accessed May 30, 2024 one. So under the fear of imprisonment parents opt to secretly commit female infanticide rather than safely abandoning the child. This makes the scenario even more worst and the implementation of the scheme faces a backlash. The punishment for abandonment should strictly be confined to those abandoning the baby just to get rid of it.