I was once a slave holder myself but Ba proved an unwilling slave and thus opened my eyes to my mission. Her task was finished. Now I am in search of a woman who would realize her mission. Are you that woman, will you be one?”Gandhi wanted to remove the fetter of women by giving good education and here in Sikkim it seems Chamling also looking for the women who no longer want to sit back meekly but want to struggle for their right. It is, however, a matter of concern that even in the 21st century women are treated as a sort of thing. The concept that Tulsi Das, a renowned Hindu writer, has written in Ramayana that “Dhol,Gadha aur Nari, Tajen Key Bhari” is still relevant and prevalent today. According to an article in Time magazine, deaths in India related to dowry demands have increased 15 fold since the mid-1980s from 400 a year to around 5,800 a year by the middle of the 1990s. In 1995, the national Crime Bureau of the Government of India reported about 6,000 dowry deaths every year. Recently a program of Directorate of Statistic and survey, Government of India, was held in Gangtok. One of the speakers Dr. Gopal Lama, South district medical officer, said with the increase of educational status the higher educated mothers are mostly adopting the practice of sex selection for the birth of sons and due to this the sex ratio is decreasing day by day in India. He also mentioned that the sex ratio in villages is not so low compared to towns as less educated or uneducated mothers do not have the know-how of such practices and because of this the sex ratio has not slowed down.  Another important point is, this superstition and wrong conception is from time immemorial so this conservative culture and mode of thinking cannot be suddenly uprooted from the society. Gradually, it can be checked by generating awareness. More importantly, the government should always come to the forefront to discourage such sex discrimination practices.Charity begins at home, if anybody is in favor of equal status for girls and boys, they also should give equal rights to both daughters and sons. Property right is an important right for women by which they can stand on their own feet and can be self sustained. It is also suggested that for the encouragement of adoption of daughters there is a need to introduce scholarship and different government schemes of higher education for the girls students. Thus at the same time women would be aware of their rights and on the other hand they will also be self sustained. The Pawan Chamling government had given 40% reservation to women in panchayat election and 30% for job reservation. Now it is another bold step of Mr. Chamling because the Hindu Women’s Right to Property Act, 1937 introduced by Dr. B.R.Ambedkar, does not cover Sikkim as it has maximum population of tribal. But now the new act will certainly cover the state.North Eastern states, so to say, have no  such prejudice on women as in tribal communities men and women are equally treated by the society. So, the new act would be another step for the community to facilitate the women and empowered them.

D.B.Rai