Beti padhao, dowry badhao?

Singh's daughter's generation could look forward to better livelihoods than those of their fathers

The other day, when Ram Kumar Singh came to say goodbye before leaving for his village, I asked why he was going at this time. He wanted to cast his vote, he said. “And I also have to check out a prospective groom for my daughter,” he added. I was immediately interested, having had many conversations with him about his eldest girl. Straitened financial circumstances might have forced him to seek employment in Delhi, but every time he spoke it was evident that Singh’s heart was with his daughter, a final year student in Allahabad University. “She’s not keen on