It felt as though the ravages of years of war had led the population to abandon rage for smiles. India and Vietnam are, after all, cousins under the skin in at least one important way. For perspective, in countries that do not actively prevent the birth of female babies, the SRB hovers between 106 to 108. In turn, these measures have made women and families more indifferent to the sex of their children. Alaka M. Basu, a professor in the department of development sociology at Cornell University, is Senior Fellow, United Nations Foundation

Source: The Hindu March 29, 2018 00:22 UTC