Bhopal: My husband is suffering from a paralytic condition. We prayed for a son but I gave birth to a fifth girl in a row. We named her Anchahee, so that next time we get lucky and have a boy. Kanti Bai, mother of college going Anchahee.
As a child, I didn’t find any fault with my name. But I learned about its significance when people started making fun of me. I feel ashamed now. I wanted to change my name when I submitted the Class 10 examination form, but the school authorities refused to allow that college-going Anchahee Mandsaur What’s in a name?
Well, a lot, and who knows it better than a girl named ‘Anchahee’ (unwanted) by her parents since they wanted a son. As a child, the girl was oblivious to the real meaning of her name, but now, as a grown-up pursuing her graduation, she faces the ignominy of people ridiculing her over it.
Two instances of parents naming their daughters as ‘Anchahee’ have come to light in Madhya Pradesh. Both the families are based in Billaud village, about 35 km from the Mandsaur district headquarters.
The name appears on the birth certificate, school records and also on the Aadhaar card. One of them is a student of first year BSc, while the other is in Class VI. Kanti Bai, the mother of the college-going Anchahee, said, “My husband is suffering from a paralytic condition.
We prayed for a son but I gave birth to a fifth girl in a row. We named her Anchahee, so that next time we get lucky and have a boy.” However, her next child too was a girl, after which she and her husband opted for family planning, the woman said. Meanwhile, the girl, who is pursuing her graduation course, said she feels ashamed of her name and wants to change it. “As a child, I didn’t find any fault with my name.
But I learnt about its significance when people started making fun of me. I feel ashamed now. I wanted to change my name when I submitted the Class 10 examination form, but the school authorities refused to allow that,” she said. “I am trying to get my name changed now,” she said.
The girl also says that her parents no more regret not having a son. “My parents do not express any regret for not having a son. They want to see the sons in us now,” she said. Kanti Bai claimed that another girl living in her neighbourhood has the same name.
She said the younger Anchahee, studying in Class 6, is the third girl child of her parents, and the story behind her name is also similar. The other girl’s family could not be contacted for comments. Notably, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had launched the ‘Ladli Laxmi Yojana’ in 2007 with an aim to bring about a change in people’s attitude towards the girl child.
Several states have launched similar schemes. Interestingly, a similar incident had been reported from Maharashtra earlier. A few years ago, the administration in western Maharashtra’s Satara district had found that parents yearning to have a son named their daughters as ‘Nakushi’, which translates as unwanted. Following this, the state government undertook a drive to give new and dignified names to such girls.
