China - Missing Women

1. In China the growing difference between the genders is giving signals of alarm to Government authorities. According to the latest census figures, 119 boys are born for every 100 girls. This striking difference is expected to shoot up by the year 2020 with almost 40 million unsettled bachelors. This distribution of the social ecology would create havoc in the future. The social leaders are trying to pressurize the masses into producing more females. The Government has embarked on policies extending innumerable incentives to the families bearing girls. Monetary support, free education, guaranteed employment is being gifted to parents who gift the country with a girl child. The Government is trying to persuade people to suppress their personal preferences and regulate their community behavior according to the new blueprint to stimulate the girl ratio. [A■] Sometimes the Government tries to woo them and sometimes it uses stem policies to force them into it
2. Consequent to the population explosion, the Government introduced, in the 80’s, one child policy in China. Any additional pregnancy had to be terminated. This was aimed to put a check on the teeming millions. The policy had no relation to extermination of girl child in the womb. But the policymakers had no idea about its long term impact. People, with a patriarchic mindset, came up with their preference for a single male child. The idea of a happy family became ‘parents with a single male child’.
3. The Chinese culture has always promoted sons over daughters because the society has been dominated by males. In villages, where hard work is needed to sustain the agriculture, a boy is always preferable due to his superior physical strength compared to that of a girl. [B■] In such

circumstances, looking forward to a male baby seems justified. If people have to limit their families, it is obvious they would prefer a boy over a girl child. This problem has been accentuated by the use of ultrasound scanning which helps determine the sex of the fetus. This technology has played a crucial role in creating gender imbalance.

4. Sociologists consider this imbalance as the aftermath of Government’s poorly thought and short- sighted policy. The Government's intentions notwithstanding, China came to develop a markedly lopsided sex ratio. Nobel Laureate Hayek feels that when Government tries to dominate the social system by making people forcibly inculcate a certain habit, such a condition is bound to happen. People try to find ways which not only fulfill their preferences but also satisfy the law makers. The Government damaged the dynamics of a healthy society and was now bearing the brunt of its past deeds.
5. Hayek argues that by no means should a centralized bureaucracy be allowed to design preferences for hundreds of thousands of people, without even consulting them. In such a system, with the passage of time, unforeseen consequences spring up. Government can bind people to its chosen course for a time but the impositions cannot limit their options for long. [C■] The quarter century that has passed since commencement of the effort to redesign the Chinese family is leaving behind its own trail.
6. The Government needs to be careful now. It has to invent new remedies to address this problem. It needs to redesign the social fabric so that programs like ‘Care for Girls’ get support of the masses, who seem to have little faith in the system. They view the new program for the girl child in the same resigned manner as the program that was forced on them in the past. Some women social workers are of the view that the fall of sex ratio has been an advantage for the women of China, as their social value has increased. [D■] The Government policy has in a way helped uplift the status of females. The real fear now is that China will soon be faced with hordes of bachelors at war with their brethren over finding their brides. The “surplus sons” of China need to stop interfering with the social system.

Question 284: The word "havoc" in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to

A. ordinary problem                B. great destruction and trouble

C. serious dispute                   D. an infectious disease

Question 285: What is the main thrust of paragraph 1?

1. Government is providing incentives to girls.

2. Government is trying to decipher implications of the census records.
3. Government is devising polices to undermine the position of boys in the society.
4. Government is extending incentives to encourage parents with single girls

Question 286: What is the "blueprint" as discussed in paragraph 1?

1. It is a list of rules for the Chinese people to follow to maintain population control.
2. It is a rough plan for regulating community behavior.
3. It is the Government’s plan containing details of regulations and incentives to improve the girl child ratio.
4. It is a printed guide for conduct rules governing sex ratio.

Question 287: The word “teeming” in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to

A. overflowing            B. female population  C. couples       D. general population

Question 288: What was the vision behind the government's policy discussed in paragraph 2?

1. The vision about China with women at top positions in the government
2. The vision for China to control its burgeoning population in near future
3. The vision about a female dominated society
4. The vision that Chinese young men and women would find life partners among themselves

Question 289: The word "inculcate" as used in paragraph 4 means

1. calculate the pros and cons
2. forting somebody to do one's bidding
3. get into the habit of
4. impressing upon the mind by persistent urging

Question 290: How has "One Child Policy" supposedly improved the value of females? (Refer paragraph 6)

1. Due to scarcity of girl child, there is a perceived sense of "value".
2. Government has worked hard to promote the policy.
3. Low female ratio has helped the cause of health of the girl child.
4. Females are able to get good education as family expenditure is limited.

Question 291: Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence can be added to the passage:

“Another reason is that daughters have to leave their parents after marriage to enrich their husband's family.”

Where would the sentence best fit? [A■]            [B■]     [C■]    [D■]

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