Frontier India Current Affairs

Written on June 25, 2008 – 8:48 am | by FICA |

Are India’s female fetuses and babies vanishing at an alarming rate? Ten years after a law was passed in India, banning doctors from discussing the gender of a fetus with the parents following an ultrasound test, some Indian doctors not only continue to break that law, but even perform abortions if the parents decide to get rid of a female fetus.

Now, Indian-American author Shobhan Bantwal takes us into a world where the corrupt and covert practice of gender-selective abortion still thrives, in her second novel, The Forbidden Daughter, scheduled for release by Kensington Publishing on August 26, 2008.

The Forbidden Daughter tells the story of Isha Tilak, a young mother who refuses to abort her second child, another girl, despite her in-laws’ dictate to have the abortion. When her husband becomes the victim of a mysterious murder, she is convinced that her rebellious decision has something to do with it. When Isha leaves her in-laws to raise her daughters on her own, she is faced with the most dangerous battle of her life.

“Shobhan Bantwal’s novel takes readers into a world that is exotic yet completely accessible . . . makes a compelling and memorable story,” says Mary Jo Putney, New York Times bestselling author, To quote Bantwal about what inspired the book, “After being raised with love and care in India, midst a family of five girls, it was difficult for me to comprehend that female children are disdained in my country of birth, so much so that female fetuses are aborted without regard for the law, moral values, or even the delicate balance of nature. I felt compelled to write an interesting tale about what could happen if an idealistic woman refused to abort a female child. But I also wanted the story to be one of hope and triumph and the resilience of the human spirit.” However, Bantwal maintains that gender-based abortion is not the norm. “The instances are quite rare when juxtaposed against India’s vast population, but the fact remains that female-fetus abortions continue to occur.”

Bantwal weaves the universal themes of motherhood, love, morality, and courage into a story set against a dramatic and rare backdrop. It brings to light the contradictions of a culture that is both modern and quaintly archaic, a society where women can aspire to the highest elected office and yet be plagued by the dark shadow of female fetus abortion, infanticide, and dowry abuse.

Her first novel, The Dowry Bride, dealt with the hot-button topic of dowry-related deaths in India. The book garnered praise from reviewers and has been picked up by various book clubs across the U.S. and Canada. Dorothy Garlock, New York Times bestselling author, says about the book, “Remarkable . . . imaginative, packed with detail. Adroitly depicting passion, brutality, cultures in conflict . . . This novel is as engrossing as it is unusual.”