The last thing I would do is to pretend I know, understand, or grasp the culture of India.

But I don't need to have more than a passing knowledge to take some hope away from a speech delivered yesterday by the nation's Prime Minister, denouncing the widespread practice of sex-selection abortion as a "national shame."

In his first speech addressing the epidemic of what some dub gendercide, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh warned of the "alarming" decline in the number of girls. According to census figures, in 1981 there were 962 girls for every 1,000 boys. By 2001 the number had dropped to 927. And because of the widespread use of ultrasounds in recent years, matters have gotten only worse in a society that still strongly favors boys.

In an inaugural speech delivered at a national conference dedicated to 'saving the girl child," Singh said, "No nation, no society, no community can hold its head high and claim to be part of the civilized world if it condones the practice of discriminating against one half of humanity represented by women," according to the New York Times. Singh described female feticide as "inhuman, uncivilized and reprehensible" at a conference which brought together, doctors, politicians, and advocates.

The law forbids doctors from revealing the baby's sex to the parents, but it is widely ignored and infractions are rarely prosecuted. Singh called for a crackdown on such physicians. "The patriarchal mindset and preference for male children is compounded by unethical conduct on the part of some medical practitioners, assisted by unscrupulous parents, who illegally offer sex-determination services."

According to the Times, while the practice of sex-selection abortions is most prevalent in more affluent parts of the country, "special ultrasound clinics have opened even in the most impoverished parts of the country, where other health care facilities remain rudimentary."

The magnitude of the tragedy made possible by inexpensive ultrasound equipment is staggering.

In 2006 the famed British medical journal, The Lancet, estimated "that as many as 10 million female fetuses had been aborted in India over the previous 20 years by families trying to secure male heirs." In India's wealthier regions, a lingering preference for sons and the kind of wealth which makes it easy to afford ultrasounds has particularly skewed the sex ratio.

The Times quotes a recent UNICEF report which concluded, that unless "urgent action" was taken to reverse this trend, "the social repercussions for future generations could be devastating."

You can read the Times article in its entirety at www.nytimes.com/2008/04/29/world/asia/29india.html?_r=1&oref=slogin