Bhubaneswar: In yet another telling tale, a penury-stricken mother in Sundergarh district of India's eastern tribal-dominated Orissa state sold a six-day old infant for a few dollars. Twenty-eight year old Sabita Munda, who already has a three-year old child to look after, took the painful step after her husband died. Munda sold her child to a local contractor who did not have a child even after 18 years of marriage, for a meagre 600 rupees ($14) due to extreme poverty. Mohan Lal Seth, the man who bought the child, however, denied he bought the child, saying he has only adopted the child and that the money he gave to Munda was for her treatment. "I gave 600 rupees to the mother of the child. The mother was sick and the money was used in her medicines. I now look after the child since it was six-day old," he said.

      The wailing mother justified her act saying she could not afford to bring up two children. "I gave away the child for adoption. Whom should I look after, either this one or the little one, so I gave to him." Munda said she thought the new-born baby would be fed better at someone else's place rather than starve to death. Authorities have refused to act, saying they would verify the facts about the deal. "There are very few people who are aware of the adoption procedures. And it is not right to say that Sabita Munda or the family which adopted the child belong to the class of people who are poor and ignorant. But we shall take the necessary steps after investigating the whole matter," said SK Bisht, the district collector.

     Most people in India, especially tribals, are ignorant of the tough adoption procedures. Several people across the tribal dominated state Orissa are still living below the poverty line, surviving at less than a dollar a day. Orissa, which is one of the most poorest and backward states, was rocked two years ago when parents of a two-year-old girl sold her to a Delhi-based journalist. India’s Supreme Court, in recent years, has held that it is the duty of each province to ensure that no person dies of starvation while the state-run granaries are overflowing. Chief Secretaries of states would be held responsible, the court added, to drive home the point.
April 1, 2005