Daughters Don't End Legacies, They Redefine Them

We recently got a new driver—a sprightly young lad, or so he seemed, until he casually mentioned he had five children. Five? In this economy? On his salary? And then the punchline landed: "The fifth one's a boy, madam." Ah, of course. The great Indian lottery—keep spinning till you hit the jackpot with a Y chromosome.

- NAMRATA KOHLI

This is not just rural India's story. It plays out in educated, urban, upper-middle-class families too. The ultrasound may be banned—but the sulk in the room is palpable. Where daughters are celebrated on Instagram reels, but the unspoken family gossip spreads, "Next time, hopefully a boy."

When my second child was born and it was a girl, someone said, "Chalo...you already have a boy," as if she came as a consolation prize. But she wasn't a compromise—she was a dream. The medal. The miracle. And that's why we named her Mannat.

Despite economic progress and legal reforms, the son-preference syndrome persists in many families. "Keep Trying Till It's a Boy"—is a painful truth which is still very much a part of India's social fabric—even in 2025. Some families continue having children until they get a boy, even if it means having four or five daughters along the way. The girl child becomes collateral damage in the quest for a male heir. The logic? "Who will carry the family name? Who will light the funeral pyre? Who will take care of us in old age?"