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Salem child takes mother's name for initial

By Our Staff Reporter

SALEM MAY 2. Four-year-old Nithish Raj from Samudhram in Salem district is the first child in the State, after the Chief Minister decided to end gender bias, to take the first letter of his mother's name as initial.

The change was officially recorded yesterday when his parents submitted an application seeking admission for their ward to LKG at the AGN Matric School at Konkanapuram. The boy's name was put in the first column followed by his mother's name and then his father's. The authorities admitted him without hesitation.

This change is seen by women activists as the beginning of a `silent social reformation', ushered in by the Chief Minister's recent announcement in the Assembly that a child could take the first letter of his or her mother's name as initial.The announcement encouraged S.T Saravanan and Vimala Devi to give their child the initial `V'. Talking to The Hindu, Mr.Saravanan, said the decision was taken after a detailed discussion. A district panchayat council member for ward 11 and active AIADMK member, he denied that the preference for the mother's name was made for gaining publicity. "The announcement by the Chief Minister is lofty and should not be degraded.'' He drew attention to the old Tamil saying, `Matha, pitha, guru deivam' (Mother, father and teacher are Gods). "Mother has been placed first in order of respect. Only we have failed to understand it."

Saravanan, whose name takes the first letters of his village and father's name as initials, is "aware of the clause in the Government Order, permitting a child to take the names of both parents as initials. The Collector, J.Radhakrishnan, congratulated the couple on their decision.

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