NAGAUR, Rajasthan — A heartbreaking video of a newborn baby left lying in the dirt at a garbage dump in India has grasped the attention of a filmmaking couple, and the two are now seeking to adopt the infant as their own daughter.
Vinod Kapri and his wife Sakshi Joshi saw the footage earlier this month on Twitter and were moved to action. The video showed a newborn baby lying in the dirt crying. The post has generated over 3 million views as of press time.
“[I] can’t bear to hear this child’s cries anymore,” Kapri wrote in re-sharing the video. “Does anyone have any information? We would like to make her a part of our lives.”
Joshi also shared her husband’s tweet.
According to CNN, others began to chime in with tips and it was soon discovered that the baby was in Rajasthan. Kapri then asked his friend, Rahul Choudhry, to help him locate the child. He learned that she had been admitted to Jawaharlal Nehru Government Hospital in Nagaur.
Choudhry sent the couple video footage of the infant in the hospital.
“She is safe now and recovering. Please keep praying for her,” Kapri tweeted. “Thanks a million to the doctors of JLN Hospital, Nagaur, Rajasthan. We are checking [the] adoption process. Thanks to all of you for being part of this special journey.”
The couple phoned the hospital, speaking to the doctors about her condition and the desire to make the child their own. As they were invited to come see the baby, they made the eight-hour trip to Nagaur and decided to name the little girl Pihu after one of the films Joshi directed.
A video shared to Twitter shows Kapri holding the baby as his wife looks on.
On Father’s Day, Joshi tweeted, “The whole Kapri family is dying to have her in the family. We will try our best to adopt her as per rules and guidelines. Thanks a lot for all your love and support. #HappyFathersDay.”
Followers have applauded the couple for stepping up to take care of the abandoned baby. Some have noted that such situations happen far too often in India.
“We always read about newly born girls being abandoned. This is how they look when the monsters who gave them birth so carelessly throw them away as if they were garbage,” one commenter lamented.
“A lot needs to be done in the backward areas like Rajasthan where still the male child is preferred over the girl,” another stated. “The educated locals and especially the teachers should play the role of educating the people.”
According to a report from Thought Co., an estimated 2 million baby girls combined are either aborted, killed upon birth or abandoned in China and India each year. The reason?
In India, “[a]ccording to Hindu tradition, women are lower incarnations than men of the same caste. A woman cannot obtain release (moksha) from the cycle of death and rebirth. On a more practical day-to-day level, women traditionally could not inherit property or carry on the family name,” the outlet reports.
“Sons were expected to take care of their elderly parents in return for inheriting the family farm or shop. Daughters drained the family of resources because they had to have an expensive dowry to get married; a son, of course, would bring dowry wealth into the family,” it explains.
“As a result of these beliefs, parents had a strong preference for sons. A baby girl was seen as a ‘robber,’ who would cost the family money to raise, and who then would take her dowry and go to a new family when she got married.”
According to the site “Unwanted: The Ongoing War Against Daughters in India,” second-born daughters are more commonly killed or abandoned as families can only afford one dowry.
“The number of missing girls has increased between [the] 2001 and 2011 census, becoming a substantial problem in northwestern India,” the outlet states.
Psalm 113:7 says, “He raiseth up the poor out of the dust and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill.” Psalm 107:41 also glories, “[H]e setteth the poor on high from affliction and maketh him families like a flock.”
ये चीख़ अब और नहीं सुनी जा सकती। कोई जानकारी हो तो बताइए।हम इस बच्ची को अपने जीवन का हिस्सा बनाना चाहेंगे। @sakshijoshii pic.twitter.com/KQokFKJf8P
— Vinod Kapri (@vinodkapri) June 14, 2019
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