Today is world Brahmin’s day, so I thought of writing about this recent development in the sperm industry. There were many reports in the media that the Brahmin sperms are in great demand. In India, couples looking out for sperm to insist on both good looks and intelligence. Brahmins are considered to be people with high wisdom and acumen.
People believe that the Brahmin means “wisdom, the wise, people you go to for counsel, tribal elders. So, they are respected, not only for their wisdom but also for their counsel, their knowledge and for their services to the community. Another thing is that they are always near God and rituals. People touch their feet after any ritual; rather no ceremony is conducted without the presence of a Brahmin priest.
The cast-based requests are on the rise in the recent past, not only the cast but religion too. A Muslim couple looks for a Muslim donor; they believe that the child will have inherency to their faith. Whereas prosperous Dalit couple stress on their kind of sperm, they fear child with complex issues if the same cast sperms are not received. Christians are even more reluctant to receive other religious sperms.
The IVF was never caste or religion-based but it turns out that they are actually compelled to keep data on the religion of sperm donors by the Indian Council of Medical Research. So, one may not be able to choose Brahmin sperm as such, but they can be sure to choose Hindu, Muslim, Christian or Sikh or any other religion. Biologically speaking, sperm is a sperm before anyone was born, they knew no name, no religion, no race and definitely no caste, once a child takes birth, he is showered with name, religion and later once he is fully grown, with the profession.
Everyone wants their child to be intelligent by birth; I am not saying those who are not Brahmins are not intelligent. Somewhere they want something better to be delivered. No matter how educated or liberated you are, varna vyavastha can never be wiped out from your brains. Brahmins are considered to be the Intellectual class (teachers and priests). Kshatriya: Ruling class (Warriors and Rulers). Vaishya: Business class (entrepreneurs and merchants) and Sudra: Working class (employees, labourers, farm workers etc).
Brahmins have their superior position in society and their higher knowledge stems from birth. This makes them naturally, intrinsically superior to all other humans. Nothing can challenge or alter this fact. No one becomes a Brahmin but is born so. If you follow ancient history Brahmans were considered as a teacher or priest. In a meaningful way, they were a powerhouse of knowledge about Vedas. They have enlightened the world with their knowledge in a positive way. Then gradually this hierarchy of society on the cast (verna) became rigid.
While I was doing my research, I spoke to many doctors about the demand for Brahman sperms, they said most of the Indian couples visiting us are of different nature. There is an inadequacy or inferiority complex in some couples that they want greater sperm than the Verna (cast) they belong to. Above all the upper caste or Brahmin couples emphasise Brahmin sperms only. In most cases, they bring their donors along. Many couples these days seek sperm donations from known people, there is no hesitation or apprehensions.
Sperm donation is the provision (or ‘donation’) by a man, (known as a ‘sperm donor’), of his sperm, with the intention that it be used to impregnate a woman who is not his sexual partner. While the sperm donor is the natural or biological father of every child produced as a result of his donations, he is generally not intended to be the legal or de jure father. Depending on the jurisdiction and its laws, he may or may not later be eligible to seek parental rights or be held responsible for parental obligations.
All those couples are told by the doctors for “a young, healthy and fertile physical match”. Yet they insist on more information. They want to match the primary characteristics such as height, skin and colour with their husband. Mostly, they want someone who is taller and a shade fairer than their husband, who points out that this may be a “very entrepreneurial” approach. The community prefers a fair-skinned donor, adding that couples want them to find the closest skin, hair and eye colour match.
While in a majority of cases, it is the gynaecologists who contact sperm banks and request semen samples based on the client’s height, skin and hair colour preferences, some high-flying couples, especially NRIs, visit the sperm bank personally in their extreme anxiety. They first conceive the child in their brain and find a match to it in real life. Some even say that the child should be good at acting, studies or in skills.
Above all the European countries are getting inclined towards Hinduism, you will see many following Krishna and other deities. They follow Vedas and chant mantras, their belief in Hinduism is Brahmanism. That is the reason, most of the foreign origin people come to India for sperms, they look for Brahmin sperms.
The fantasies and demands are limitless, everyone has their priorities. Some unprofessional IVF centres even show the pictures of donors so that the mother can make a choice about the looks of her child. Ethics are violated because it is just business and wants these days.
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