Daughters are angels sent from heaven

By Sanjeeb Kumar Sahoo

From time immemorial, daughters are treated as God’s messengers sent from heaven to earth to bring happiness to families. When a girl is born in an Indian family, many people celebrate by giving out sweets and telling everyone that they have been blessed with God Laxmi.

Before explaining why I chose the headline “Hum Bharat Ki Beti Hain” (“We are daughters of India”) for the cover story, I would like to tell you about the women who have immensely contributed in politics, policymaking, and decision-making. These three categories of daughters form the country’s backbone, and they have all played important roles in the country’s rise.

Many people may have questions after reading this cover story, as to why I chose three segments rather than all of them. To be honest, it was not possible to cover all of them because it would take years to complete the edition. But I can assure you that from time to time, I will share a positive tale of a daughter’s accomplishment that will inspire young daughters.

From amongst distinguished accomplished women, I have covered about 1000 daughters in this edition of National Political Mirror (NPM) with less than 100 words bio of them. I knew it wasn’t enough to describe them, but I had a reason for that because if I do a one-page profile of each woman, it would be more than 1000 pages, which was not possible for me to do in one go.

After short profiles of women, NPM has in this issue covered the Women’s Reservation Bill that was recently passed by both Houses of the Parliament. We covered all the details of the story, except for the speeches that women gave during debates in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha because they would have, again, taken up too many pages. However, I can assure you that NPM will occasionally feature the tale of female MPs who are genuinely making a positive impact on society.

In India, the origins of National Daughters’ Day can be traced back to 2007, when this day was first celebrated in the country. The National Daughters Day is observed annually on the fourth Sunday of September to serve as a reminder about the precious ‘daughter’ in each home. Today, when daughters have broken all shackles and proven their worth in every field – whether it is bureaucracy or the legal system, medicine or science, astronomy or sports, drama or politics, it is high-time that they receive their due respect and rights. This day is celebrated with the intention of empowering girls, fostering their talents, and raising awareness to end violence against them and educate them at a higher level.

There are universally acknowledged sayings that state something like this: ‘If you educate a woman, you educate a family; if you educate a girl, you educate the future; if you respect a female, you respect a god; if you support a girl’s talent, you promote God’s noble thinking, and if you stand by your daughter, God will always stand by you.’ So, we should encourage daughters in nation-building.

NPM always wished to write about women who are doing exceedingly well and serving the people and the nation in a mostly ‘patriarchal’ setup. I am of the view that the mainstream media does not pay enough attention to talented women even if they contribute immensely to society.

I conceived the cover story idea about ‘women power’ from a beautiful, endearing, and extraordinary woman, who is serving the needy people. I believe she has the ability to become a great leader because I have seen in her so much talent, and I am certain she will.

Note: On September 24, 2023, this piece was originally printed in a weekly magazine of National Political Mirror.