In another case, a woman killed her sixth child, a daughter. Her fourth child, a girl, had been killed earlier. "She asphyxiated the newborn byswaddling it in a wet cloth and later buried it in her house. She then placed a grinding-stone on that spot so no one would dig the body up. But the guilt is killing her now. Whenever she hears a baby cry or a lullaby sung, she bursts into tears." Yet another gory tale from a local woman who has pledged to fight this "disease."

"As many as 3,000 cases of female infanticide occur in Tamil Nadu every year, but there is no evidence. Getting data for female foeticide is even tougher," says Sheela Rani Chunkath, joint director, Health, Tamil Nadu. "MTP (medical termination of pregnancy) is legal in India and there is no knowing if it is opted for after an ultrasound test to reveal the sex of the foetus," she adds.

That a girl's life comes cheap is evident from the ease with which it is snuffed out. The cold-blooded task could be carried out by a member of the family (at times, the mother, owing to immense social pressure) or a professional killer. It could be a sweeper who'd willingly do away with the childfor a measly Rs 25. The job is accomplished by poisoning the baby with the latex of the calitropis plant, holding her so close to a table fan that she cannot breath, wrapping her tight in wet cloth to asphyxiate her, or feeding her paddy grain soaked in milk or boiling hot, spiced chicken soup. Or there's the simplest option starvation.

"Dharampuri, Salem and Madurai districts are the main problem areas where female infanticide seems to be on the rise," says Chunkath. "In Dharampuri alone, 1,300-odd girl children are killed every year. And in this district, Penngram block tops the list, with 250 such cases every year."

"The availability of sex determination techniques like amniocentesis and ultrasound have legitimised infanticide in the rural belts," says Dr Sabu M. George, a researcher who, for the past 15 years, has been working on issues particularly concerning the girl child. "Their justification is that while these techniques offer city-dwellers with a choice to get rid of the female foetus, forthem, infanticide is the only option."

"This problem is widely prevalent in the Kallar community which dominates the Usilampatti region of Tamil Nadu," adds M. Jeeva, director, Society for Integrated Rural Development (SIRD). "There was a time when this community valued its women. Men had to pay a bride price," adds Gandhimathi, a lawyer and member of the SIRD research team.

"But things started to change in the fifties as the Green Revolution gained momentum. Economic prosperity hit the Kallar. The role of men became more important. Women were marginalised. The tradition of brde price gave way to the dowry system. The process of Sankritisation (the influence of other communities) further worked against the `she' of humankind. And an intense anti-girl attitude evolved," explains Gandhimathi. By 1971, the sex ratio had started to decline in Madurai. Female foeticide added to the problem as selective abortions became more frequent.

"Selective abortion is a crime," says Dr. (Capt.) N. Ramasubbu, director,Medical and Rural Health Services, Tamil Nadu. "The Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1994, prohibits it." The Act provides for the use of prenatal diagnostic techniques for "detecting genetic or metabolic disorders or chromosomal abnormalities or certain congenital malformations or sex-linked disorders, or for the prevention of the misuse of such techniques for the purpose of prenatal sex determination leading to female foeticide, and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto."

Says Dr. Ramasubbu: "There was a case of female foeticide in Dharampuri, where a private doctor referred a case to another private doctor to determine the sex of the foetus. It was female, so an attempt was made to abort it. This resulted in the death of the mother. A criminal case has been registered against both the doctors involved and investigations are on."

As a preventive step, the government asked those engaged in genetic counselling to register themselves. "So far 531applications have been received and are being processed," says Dr. Ramasubbu, the appropriate authority with which the centres have to register themselves. "But we cannot forcibly take action without evidence. Now, we have one village health nurse (VHN) covering a population of 5,000 (the figure is 3,000 for hilly areas). Attempts have been made to compulsorily register all pregnancies and follow them up," adds the director.

"It's not that simple," says Ossie Fernandez, director, Human Rights Foundation. "We'll have to build a campaign, make a noise, change the mindset and, most important, involve medical practitioners."

The writer travelled as a guest of UNICEF