Karnataka minister defends remark on 'modern women', says based on survey

Bengaluru: After raking up controversy with his remarks on "modern Indian women", Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar on Monday (October 11) defended his statement and said it was "based on a survey and a small part of speech was taken out of context".

The minister clarified his statement that "a lot of modern women in India want to stay single; even if they get married, they don't want to give birth; they want surrogacy" did not intend to infringe upon or thrust anything on women or single them out.

Maintaining that his observations were based on research findings, Sudhakar said that he is the proud father of a daughter.

Sudhakar had made the remarks while addressing a World Mental Health Day event at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) here.

The minister added that through his address at NIMHANS, he had intended to send across a message on how our Indian family value system can address the mental health issues which we are facing today.

"It is unfortunate that a small part of my address was taken out of context, thus missing out on the larger point I was trying to make," he said.

The minister said that it is widely established through research and studies that in a situation where mental health resources are scarce, families form a valuable support system, which could be helpful in managing various stressful situations.

He defended that his statement about the younger generation shying away from marriage and reproduction is also based on a survey. As per Sudhakar, the findings of the YouGov-Mint-CPR Millennial survey shows that among millennials, 19 per cent aren't interested in either children or marriage.

Another 8 per cent want children but are not interested in marriage. Among post-millennials (or Gen Z adults), 23 per cent aren't interested in either children or marriage.

"As in the case of millennials, 8 per cent want children but are not interested in marriage. There are very little gender-wise differences in these trends. It is applicable to both boys and girls," he said.

"The only point I was trying to convey was that our youth can find solutions and solace to mental health issues like anxiety, depression and stress in our traditional family system and its values, which offer a wonderful support system. I would like to clarify that I had no intention to single out women," he said.

Sudhakar's statement had drawn flak from woman activists and progressive organisations, which said it did not suit the dignity of his position, as he is no one to question women on whether they want to have children.