She gave birth, died. Delhi walked by

kds1980 · #1 (**permalink**) 29-Aug-2010, 13:44 PM

She gave birth, died. Delhi walked by...

Nivedita Khandekar, Hindustan Times

A baby, which was delivered by a destitute, is seen in Shankar market in Connaught Place, New...

For days, she lay in a pool of dirty rainwater, dogs lurking nearby, flies swarming her nine-month pregnant body. With just a filthy red chunni to cover her, she easily passed off as a bundle of rags dumped on a busy street. And it was a busy street — in Shankar Market, Connaught Place, at the feet of thousands who walked past going to work, going shopping, returning home. When the woman gave birth on July 26, it was on that dirty roadside. The newborn lay with her dazed mother, wailing. It was the crying that alerted a food-stall owner, who went to Ritu Arthur Frederick, who has a garment shop in the market.

Frederick was shocked to see dogs circling the day-old infant.

"The dogs looked like they would pounce on the infant."

"The mother told me she had given birth on her own, even pulling the child forcefully to cut the umbilical cord."
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/india/32045-she-gave-birth-died-delhi-walked.html

Fredrick took the baby under her care, helped by a woman vendor. The mother was so filthy Fredrick refused to let her breastfeed. The destitute refused to clean up, even turning down medical help. Four days later, she died, telling Fredrick to care for her baby.

But for Fredrick and the baby she named Karishma (miracle), their troubles weren't over. When the police were called to remove the body, Fredrick told them about the baby. The officers took Karishma to a foster home in Gole Market.

Fredrick is not willing to give up caring. Being single, she is apprehensive she might not get custody. So, she's convinced her brother and sister-in-law to adopt Karishma. But, she complains, the orphanage authorities aren't being cooperative.

In callous Delhi, she — and Karishma — will probably need another miracle.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/She-gave-birth-died-as-Delhi-walked-by/Article1-593243.aspx

kds1980 · #2 (**permalink**) 29-Aug-2010, 13:47 PM

These are the 21st century people of India's one of the most hi if city Delhi Who don't even care to help a dying woman.Yet when they are in trouble they prefer to curse politicians.

Mai Harinder Kaur · #3 (**permalink**) 29-Aug-2010, 15:50 PM

Reading the article, it says the mother turned down aid when it was offered and before hearing the baby cry, no one realised she was there.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=32045

I cannot imagine simply calling a person a destitute, not even giving her the dignity of being a destitute woman, her whole identity just being very poor.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=32045

Don't we in North America do much the same, although on a different scale, when we walk by the homeless without seeing them, just ignoring them as if they didn't exist? Would it hurt us to say a quick, "Hello" as we pass or even just give a smile? It easy to criticise India; there is much to criticise there and I do it often. However, I think we also need to think of ourselves and how we act.

And now the baby is caught up in the mess. I wonder what will happen to her? I wonder if we'll ever find out. I also wonder how many more like her there are in the streets India.

kds1980 · #4 (**permalink**) 29-Aug-2010, 18:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mai Harinder Kaur

Reading the article, it says the mother turned down aid when it was offered and before hearing the baby cry, no one realised she was there.

I cannot imagine simply calling a person a destitute, not even giving her the dignity of being a destitute woman, her whole identity just being very poor.

Don't we in North America do much the same, although on a different scale, when we walk by the homeless without seeing them, just ignoring them as if they didn't exist? Would it hurt us to say a quick, "Hello" as we pass or even just give a smile? It easy to criticise India; there is much to criticise there and I do it often. However, I think we also need to think of ourselves and how we act.

And now the baby is caught up in the mess. I wonder what will happen to her? I wonder if we'll ever find out. I also wonder how many more like her there are in the streets India.

Those who know Delhi know that The place where she delivered the is very crowded.How is it possible that no one saw her.Why no one called the police? Anyway Delhi is very famous for this selfish attitude.People don't care about Each other

Anyway The child is very lucky as media has given her enough publicity.The shop owner now wanted to adopt her but orphanage is not handing her the child as they have a waiting list of couples who wants to adopt the child and I am sure there are many more who wants to adopt her now

BhagatSingh · #5 (**permalink**) 30-Aug-2010, 04:32 AM

Quote:

With just a filthy red chunni to cover her, she easily passed off as a bundle of rags dumped on a busy street. And it was a busy street — in Shankar Market, Connaught Place, at the feet of thousands who walked past going to work

The phenomenon is known as Diffusion of Responsibility. The more people the more well... everyone saw her, its just that they thought someone else will help... when they saw that no one was helping then they thought that she didn't need help. Over a certain number of people the responsibility just disappears. You can't really blame the people involved but you can educate them about it. In a situation recognize the phenomenon, step out of auto-pilot mode, say to yourself "A person is lying over there and it is solely my responsibility to see if they need help" and then go help them.

Understand that this is not because people are selfish or uninterested or evil or Satan-incarnate... it happens to anyone who is not familiar with the phenomenon; whoever fails to recognize it! The key to tackling Diffusion of Responsibility is simply to recognize where it is occuring.

For example, next time you are walking on the sidewalk in let's say downtown Toronto, a crowded place, and see that a bike has fell off the road side rack. Recognize that many people are going to walk by and that diffusion of responsibility is inevitable. No one is going to pick up the bike. Be the hero and pick it up yourself.

Wikipedia entry:

Quote:

Diffusion of responsibility is a social phenomenon which tends to occur in groups of people above a certain critical size when responsibility is not explicitly assigned. This phenomenon rarely ever occurs in small groups. In tests, groups of three or fewer, everyone in the group took action as opposed to groups of over ten where in almost every test, no one took action. This mindset can be seen in the phrase "No one raindrop thinks it caused the flood". Knowing this, it is always important to respond to emergencies such as a car accident in the light of the mindset, "Well there's so many people driving past this, surely someone has called 911."

Diffusion of responsibility can manifest itself:

in a group of people who, through action or inaction, allow events to occur which they would never allow if they were alone. Examples include groupthink and the bystander effect.
in a group of people working on a task that loses motivation because people feel less responsible and hide their lack of effort in the group (social loafing).
in hierarchical organizations, such as when underlings claim that they were just following orders and supervisors claim that they were just issuing directives and not doing the deeds.

Contents

kds1980 · #6 (**permalink**) 03-Sep-2010, 00:44 AM

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Baby-r...e1-594960.aspx

Taking note of a Hindustan Times report of a destitute woman who died after childbirth on the city's streets, the Delhi High court on Wednesday reunited the baby with the woman who had taken care of her

before the police took her to an orphanage. Granting visitation rights to Rita Arthur
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=32045
Fredrick, a shop
owner at Shankar Market in central Delhi, where the baby was born, the court said such an incident was unacceptable when the government had several schemes for the welfare of women and children.

"It is painful to see children taking their first breath on a roadside," said high court chief justice Deepak Mishra.

Karishma was born on July 26. Her mother died on July 31.

Najmi Waziri, counsel for the Delhi government, said the mother had, before dying, given her consent to Fredrick to look after the child.

Also taking note of an incident in Noida where a woman gave birth in a car after being turned away by the district hospital, the court directed the government to file a counter-affidavit within four weeks to explore ways to curb such practices in government hospitals.