‘Worshipped As Goddesses But…’: Karnataka Social Activists Celebrate Granddaughter’s Birth Like A Festival

The family said their message was rooted in emotion and urgency: if society truly wants balance, dignity, and a better future, girls must not merely be accepted but equally valued

Social activist Sambhaji Thorwat (L) and his wife Suman Thorwat from Karnataka’s Barwad village celebrated the birth of their granddaughter like a festival – transforming the baby’s homecoming into a symbolic procession complete with rangoli, traditional instruments, firecrackers, and sweets. (Image: News18)

In a society where the birth of a boy and a girl is often differently treated by families, the Thorwats in Karnataka’s Barwad village chose to turn that thinking on its head.

The Thorwat family made the birth of a girl child a celebration for the entire village, with drumbeats echoing in the streets, flower petals raining from above, fireworks lighting the sky, and jalebis being distributed to an astonished crowd.

Social activist Sambhaji Thorwat and his wife Suman Thorwat did something rare: they celebrated the birth of their granddaughter like a village festival. What unfolded in Barwad was not merely a family celebration, it was a social statement.

Vaibhavi, the daughter of Sambhaji and Suman Thorwat, and her husband Vicky Subhash Kamble were blessed with a girl. Instead of treating it as a private family moment, the Thorwat family transformed the child’s homecoming into a symbolic procession from the Lakshmi temple in Barwad Ganganagar to their residence – complete with rangoli, traditional instruments, firecrackers, and sweets.

For many villagers who gathered, the assumption was a default setting: such a grand welcome could only be for the birth of a boy. That assumption revealed the social reality the Thorwats were trying to confront.

When people realised the celebration was for their granddaughter, surprise spread across the village – a first-of-its-kind moment in the area. At that moment, the procession became larger than a child’s birth and turned into a direct challenge to generations of social conditioning that have placed sons above daughters.

Across many parts of India, preference for male children continues to shape family decisions, social status, and even birth rates. Female foeticide, gender discrimination, and unequal opportunities remain painful reminders that for many, the girl child is still not fully embraced.

By taking their celebration to the streets, the Thorwat family publicly rejected that prejudice. Suman described the newborn as “Mahalakshmi” entering their home – not a burden, not a compromise, but prosperity.

The family said their message was rooted in both emotion and urgency: if society truly wants balance, dignity, and a better future, girls must not merely be accepted but equally valued.

Their words carried weight. At a time when declining female birth ratios have sparked concern, the family pointed out that girls are the foundation of society and deserve education, respect, and opportunity – not discrimination before birth. Sambhaji said they had asked society a difficult question.

“If daughters are worshipped as goddesses, why are they so often denied celebration as children?”

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