K’TAKA MINISTER DEFENDS HIMSELF, SAYS STATEMENT ON WOMEN TAKEN OUT OF CONTEXT

BENGALURU: Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar on Monday said his statement on modern women unwilling to marry and bear children at an event in NIMHANS was taken out of context and that he had no intention of singling out women and it was based on a survey, which cited statistics on what the younger generation felt about it.

During the World Mental Health Day at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurological Sciences (NIMHANS) on Sunday, Sudhakar had said, “Today, I am sorry to say this, lots of modern women in India want to stay single. Even if they get married, they don’t want to give birth. They want surrogacy. So there is a paradigm shift in our thinking, which is not good.” Issuing a clarification on Monday, Sudhakar said, “It is unfortunate that a small part of my address out of the nineteen and a half minutes long speech during the World Mental Health Day programme at NIMHANS on Sunday is taken out of context and thereby losing out on the larger point I was trying to make at the prestigious National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences.” He said that being a father of a daughter and medical doctor by training, he understood the sensitivities around women and also the mental health issues.

Sudhakar said that it is widely established through research and studies that in a situation where the mental health resource is a scarcity, families form a valuable support system, which could be helpful in management of various stressful situations. Indian society is collectivistic and promotes social cohesion and interdependence.

The traditional Indian joint family, which follows the same principles of collectivism, has proved itself to be an excellent resource for the care of the mentally ill, he said.

“Unlike western society, which puts the impetus on ‘individualism’, the Indian society is ‘collectivistic’ in that it promotes interdependence and co-operation,” the minister said.