Truth Will Prevail -- Female Infanticide in India

Just watched Aamir Khan’s much awaited Satyamev Jayate (Truth will Prevail) --Video is below --. I’ve been a fan of his work (not just his acting) but his philanthropy for awhile now and am immensely impressed. This man has influence and never abuses it. His efforts are placed in his work. His movies always have beautiful messages while being commercially accessible to the laymen (Watch: 3 Idiots or Taare Zameen Par)

I must mention something that this reminds me of. I’m not really religious but I have read parts of the Gita and I subscribe to its philosophies. If you are looking towards self-improvement, give it a shot. It is, as many say Hinduism is, a way of life. It says that we should do our karma (work/duty) and not think about results as they will come. It’s taking the Secret’s idea a step further, instead of just thinking about your dreams and desires, take action upon them and the rest will follow. Aamir Khan seems to (from what the public can see) follow this principle. He put his heart and soul into his movies and philanthropic ambitions.

Anyways, back to the show. I shall the list the reasons why I loved his depiction of female foeticide. This is an extremely sensitive topic and while most people vaguely know of its existence, very few are aware of the facts. I have done a project on it, when I was 16 but have given it little thought since.

• The show’s format is neither talkshow, nor documentary, nor preachy. It’s simply a man talking to a studio audience with the help of experts in the field who help to spread the knowledge about the issue being tackled.

• Well researched case studies with people from every angle to support the victims such as: 
• Journalists who underwent a sting operation to hospitals around the country to uncover the truth 7 years ago, found over 100 offending doctors, all of whom are still practicing.
• Aam janta (mango people/laymen) who are asked where female infanticide is taking place. All answers were along the lines of illiterate, uneducated, lower-class people living in villages. Surprisingly, this is not true.
• Doctor who explains the cause of rise of female infanticide, discussing the technological advances from 1970s and a Government ploy to decrease population in a misled manner that spiralled out of control.
• Lawyer who discusses the Judge’s reaction to a mother-in-law who terminated her daughter-in-law’s pregnancy and trust me, it’s shocking. I shudder just thinking about who is running the judiciary system!
• Social worker discusses the results of this discrimination in the last 40-or-so years with a huge difference in the number of boys and girls.
• No dramatic music while the camera shows the people in the audience or even Aamir tearing up. No distracting camera work. The entire focus is on the content and the message of the show.
• Aamir Khan is not pointing blame or encouraging punishment (while it is one of his goals to circumvent courtroom politics and speed up the hearings of the doctors who were caught by the journalists). He is not asking for justice in the form of revenge but justice in the form of prevention or change.
• However, his main goal is asking the viewers across India to look within ourselves and change our thinking. With a change in thought, comes a change in feeling, leading to a change in attitude, which becomes a change in action, with which comes a change in behaviour, which causes change in habit which causes change in society.

I’m more than willing to help this endeavour. Not only is it educating the public but it is bringing awareness to an issue that is usually taboo because it deals with the cultural attitudes towards female children. The main attitude that needs changing here is that: Boys will be independent breadwinners while girls are dependent.

If you don’t have the time to watch an hour long show or you don’t understand Hindi and don't like reading English subs: This Summary is ‘ok’, definitely doesn’t have the whole story but captures the plot essence.

HomePage: http://www.satyamevjayate.in/issue01/