Hum 2 hamare 23 - and we talk of betterlife to kids !!

As per a news item in TOI, A 40-year-old woman in Mewat district of Haryana gave birth to her 23rd child on Sunday. The baby was born to Bismillah (40) and Mohammad Ishaq (50) at the nearby Al-Afia Government Hospital in the district. The couple were married in 1976 and since then, Bismillah has given birth to 23 children, the latest addition being a female child who was born on Sunday and named Shabira.t The man, the machine and the family that does not believe in family planning.

God’s gifts

Speaking to MiD DAY, a happy and delighted father, Mohammad Ishaq said, “Yeh though sab Allah ki den hai, agar hamara chaubiswa baccha agle sal hua though woh bhi hum Allah ki den samjhenge. (All this is Allah’s gift. If we get a 24th child next year, we will welcome it too)”

Too many to recall

However, when MiD DAY asked him the names of his children, Ishaq had to take help from his son and neighbors.

“I find it very difficult to remember their names as they all look the same,” he said.

Ishaq, builds thatched roofs in nearby villages and ferries goods for shops in the vicinity for a living.

Hoping for support

Bismillah the mother of 23 children, hopes that her children will take care of her. “I feed my children chicken, mutton and chivda, with my daughters helping me in the cooking,” she says.

It is good for Indian society that there are not many such couples. They should be asked to how they are going to raise these 23 kids and those who are likely to come in future, and ensure that their children do not become laibility on the society.

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