(<>_<>) Buried Alive(<>_<>)
Sunita Aralikar at the spot where her father tried to bury her alive
Buried as a baby, she fights for girls
Vijay Singh TNN
Mumbai: Sunita Aralikar, 53, will never forget the name of the village in Latur where she was buried alive by her illiterate father when she was just 16 days old. Fortunately, her maternal grandfather pulled her out of the tiny grave just in time. Today, Sunita is an author and a wellknown social activist in Latur, passionately fighting against evils such as female infanticide to which she nearly fell victim.
"My mother died 15 days after I was born. And on the 16th day, my father took me near a pond in Tupadi village (Nilanga taluka of Latur) and buried me alive. He did not want me," the activist told TOI.
Sunita, who learnt the truth when she was nine, said it was her grandfather, Kundalikrao Mane, who got wind of the burial and stealthily followed her father to Tupadi. "Latur then was a very backward place and I was born in a poor dalit home. Those were dark ages, but my grandfather decided to educate me on his own," she said.
Sunita recently documented her incredible journey in her Marathi autobiography 'Hirkanicha Birhad' (The House of Hirkani). Hirkani was a milk-seller during Shivaji's regime who gained fame for scaling the mountain slope of Raigad Fort one night to return home to her crying child.
After her matriculation, Sunita married social worker Dilip Aralikar. She is now president of Mahila Congress in Latur. Latur activist was jailed during Emergency
Mumbai: A woman who was nearly buried alive by her father 53 years ago is now at the forefront of the campaign against female infanticide in Maharashtra's Latur. No wonder, Sunita Aralikar is her children's pride. "I am proud of my mother. After surviving the attempted infanticide, she now helps others fight social injustices like dowry, eveteasing and casteism," said Jamir Aralikar, the younger of Sunita's two sons and a paediatrician at Sir J J Hospital in Mumbai.
In 1975, during the Emergency, she and her husband were jailed for their "anti-establishment" stance. "Both my sons were less than three years old and so they too were in jail. I learned how to write a diary in prison after observing other female political prisoners. That's when I realized the power of the pen," she said.
Two years ago, Sunita met a Pune-based publisher, Rajan Khan, who encouraged her to write her autobiography. "If my story can motivate others, I'd be very pleased," said Sunita.
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