I come from a village in Solapur district called Karmala. I had a humble beginning. My father was a ‘coolie’ while my mother toiled at home to take care of us. Due to our village being drought-prone, my father moved to Pune to make ends meet by lifting heavy sacks in the grains market. When I was a child, I was never interested in studies. I wanted to become a wrestler. My mother tried knocking some sense in my head to take my education seriously, but I did not listen. She wanted me to study hard and make something of myself. 

In 1987, my mother decided to send me to Pune to work with my father. I worked with him for two months. I saw him lifting heavy objects in the excruciating heat. It was there I realised that earning a living is not child’s play. Then, I made the decision to leave wrestling and focus solely on studying. My hard work paid off as I passed with flying colours in school. I got admission into a government medical college, where I toiled day and night. I started doing night shifts by assisting doctors in the hospital. Not only did I earn money with this, but I was also able to learn a lot on the job too.

The Harsh Reality Of Gender Discrimination

I moved to Pune and started a small clinic in 2001 as a family physician.  After its success, I went on to start a multi-speciality hospital six years later. We also had facilities to deliver babies as well. There, my eyes opened to the harsh reality of gender discrimination. When a boy came to the world, the family’s joy knew no bounds. They celebrated with everyone around them by distributing sweets around the hospital.  However, there was nothing but silence when a girl was born. Very often, I saw mothers crying in the delivery room. There were no celebrations. In fact, they did not even come to visit the mother on the girl child’s birth. They even bickered about paying the bill as it suddenly became ‘expensive’ for them. 

In our profession, telling the family about their loved one’s death is a daunting task. Here, informing them about a girl’s birth was harder. There was so much negativity around this. Therefore, we decided to not take any fee when the girl was born. We celebrated her birth like a festival and distributed sweets all around. We will cut a cake to welcome the girl into the world. We will not leave any stones unturned. 

Initially, when I started this, I was labelled a ‘mad doc’ because of this. As I was not earning much at that time, my family was not on board with the idea. At that time, my father stood with me. He lauded my initiative and decided to restart his coolie job to give me financial assistance. Today, I have everyone’s love, blessings and support that keeps me going. 

A Social Revolution: Save Girl Child Initiative

It’s been ten years since I started the ‘Save Girl Child’ Initiative. Our movement has spread all across the country. We have 4 lakh doctors working along with us, both from the country and outside. Around 11,000 organisations have tied up with us with 25 lakh volunteers. The support and love we are getting is immense and it has not stopped. 

However, there is still a long way to go. Even today, gender discrimination exists in this country. The crimes against women have not stopped. They still do not get as much importance as a son does. With this movement, I want to change people’s mindset. It all needs to start from home. A family being happy on the birth of a girl child can make a lot of difference to many others. This can inspire them to believe that a daughter is as precious as a son. They deserve love and respect not just in the world, but in their homes as well. 

If you too have an inspiring story to tell the world, send us your story at mystory@thelogicalindian.com