It promised ‘Garbha Sanskar’ or guidance on having ‘good’ children

The Calcutta High Court on Friday questioned the scientific basis of the workshop on “Garbha Sanskar” or ‘traditional parental guidance for having good children’, organised by Arogya Bharathi, the health wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Hearing a PIL challenging the workshop organised by Arogya Bharati Calcutta High Court has asked if the organisers could provide any evidence to back their claim that the ‘Garbha Sanskar’ was based on substantive “scientific knowledge.”

Arogya Bharati had announced that it was organising a two-day workshop on “Garbha Sanskar” and “Dampati Samikshan” (traditional parental guidance for good children and counselling of couples) in the south Kolkata office of the RSS beginning on Saturday.

‘No evidence’

“However, the Arogya Bharati counsel could not provide any evidence in support of their claim,” said Nasib Khan, the law officer of West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights (WBCPCR), the organisation that filed the PIL

Mr. Khan claimed that the Arogya Bharati representatives “backtracked” from their earlier statement that counselling will be provided to couples on the ways of bearing an “ideal child.”

“They said only a lecture will be delivered at the workshop by a professor from a university in Gujarat, who is an expert on ayurveda,” Mr. Khan said.