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Invitations For Front Row Seats At Republic Day Events In Haryana Sent To The Girl Child

Invitations For Front Row Seats At Republic Day Events In Haryana Sent To The Girl Child
In this photograph taken on March 25, 2015, the daughter of Indian nomadic shepherds Mansa, 8, holds her favourite sheep Bhuri at her familiy's camp in Sikri in Faridabad some 50 kms from New Delhi. The shepherds trek long distances in search of pasture for their 2,500 sheep which they make a living from by selling the male lambs and their wool. While the men graze and milk the sheep, the familiy's women cook, fetch water and churn butter, and move from camp to camp year-round, stopping for baths and laundry only when they find accessible water, and eventually make their way home to the western state of Rajasthan. The family earns approximately 250,000 rupees ($4,032) every six months. AFP PHOTO/MONEY SHARMA (Photo credit should read MONEY SHARMA/AFP/Getty Images)
MONEY SHARMA via Getty Images
In this photograph taken on March 25, 2015, the daughter of Indian nomadic shepherds Mansa, 8, holds her favourite sheep Bhuri at her familiy's camp in Sikri in Faridabad some 50 kms from New Delhi. The shepherds trek long distances in search of pasture for their 2,500 sheep which they make a living from by selling the male lambs and their wool. While the men graze and milk the sheep, the familiy's women cook, fetch water and churn butter, and move from camp to camp year-round, stopping for baths and laundry only when they find accessible water, and eventually make their way home to the western state of Rajasthan. The family earns approximately 250,000 rupees ($4,032) every six months. AFP PHOTO/MONEY SHARMA (Photo credit should read MONEY SHARMA/AFP/Getty Images)

NEW DELHI -- This Republic Day, Haryana is celebrating girls and their families at local events across the state.

To reinforce the value of having a girl child, the state government has sent out invitations for front row seats at Republic Day events to over two lakh families - addressed to the girl child - The Indian Express reported on Sunday.

Local schools helped identify families with girls, who were born between January and December, last year.

“We wanted to make the parents feel that it was because of their daughters that they were receiving respect. We want the perception about the girl child to change," an official told the newspaper.

Despite various efforts and schemes by successive governments, the sex ratio continues to fall.

The child sex ratio for the whole country now stands at 918, dipping further from 927 in 2001, and reaching the lowest level since 1961. In Haryana, the child sex ratio is 834, according to the 2011 census.

Not only is Haryana's Department of Education sending out invitations to families for local events in their villages, the flag-hoisting on Republic Day will also be done by the village's most educated girl, IE reported.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.