Parents learn about the gender of their unborn child through ultrasound or sonography. But there is a place in Jharkhand in India where it is determined without the help of any technology whatsoever.
The Kukra village in Lohardaga district in Jharkhand is famous for a hill that tells expecting parents whether their child will be a girl or a boy.
According to locals, a moon-like shape is built on the hill. Pregnant women throw stones at this shape from a certain distance. If the stone hits the moon-like shape in the middle then the child will be a boy and if it misses, then the newborn will be a girl.
The locals here proudly claim that they learn about an unborn child’s gender without spending a single rupee. Apparently, the custom has been in practice since the days of the Nagavanshi kings.
According to Indian laws however the practice of determining the gender of a child before birth is illegal as it leads to female foeticide.
Female foeticide is one such grave social problem arising out of the so-called ‘traditional thoughts’ of our society.
Female foeticide has a serious impact in the overall growth and development of the country.
India’s skewed sex ratio, which is the result of female foeticide, has other negative and grave consequences on the society.
PNN/Agencies
