'Regressive': DK Shivakumar slams Karnataka health min for remark on 'modern' Indian woman

Bashing Karnataka Health minister Dr. K Sudhakar's controversial remark on Indian women, Congress state chief DK Shivakumar on Monday, slammed BJP's regressive mentality. He claimed that while BJP was tooting its own horn for women empowerment, its actual mindset was displayed by its minister. Sudhakar - a Congress-turned-BJP minister blamed modernity in Indian women as the reason for increase in stress.

DKS slams Sudhakar's statement on women

Karnataka min: 'Women prefer to be single'

On Sunday, Sudhakar claimed that modernity in Indian society was leading to increased competition among people resulting in stress. Speaking at NIMHANS, Bengaluru on World Mental Health Day, Sudhakar lamented that Indians had moved from following their religious beliefs and living in large families to nuclear families - leading to paradigm shift in thinking. Furthermore, he also rued the fact that modern Indian women preferred to be single and married women preferred surrogacy.

"Earlier, we lived in large families unitedly. We followed our religious beliefs. But in the last 2-3 decades, we started competing with each other, leading to stress. As Indians, we need to preach to the world how to handle stress because Yoga, meditation and pranayama are wonderful tools to deal with stress," he said. 

He added, "Unfortunately, today we are going in a western way. We don't want our parents to live with us. A lot of modern women in India want to stay single. Even if they get married, don't want to give birth, they want surrogacy. There is a paradigm shift in our thinking, it's not good". Sudhakar is one of the six ministers who had secured an injunction against 68 media houses from airing any CD or other material that is likely to defame them in connection to the Jarkiholi sex scandal.

Backing Sudhakar's statement, BJP General Secretary CT Ravi said, "Every woman is not like that. It is happening because of western influence and micro families. We must think on his statement gravely. Our nation is not like America or England.  We are with nature, society and family".

Karnataka's mental health issues

Recently, the state govt constituted the Karnataka Mental Health Authority to collate and publish a list of clinical psychologists, mental health nurses and psychiatric social workers registered to work as mental health professionals. The registry will ensure timely and efficient delivery of mental healthcare services to citizens in the state. This move was prompted by mental health issued being reported widely during the COVID crisis. As per National Mental Health Survey 2016, 56 million Indians suffer from depression, and 38 million suffer from some anxiety disorder.