The Civil Status Office or the ministry concerned seems to have blundered in the designing of the birth certificate form actually being used to register births, for more than five years already.

The first information, which is conspicuously presented to you on a birth certificate is the Civil Status Officer?s name. Then follow the particulars relating to the new-born baby whose birth is declared thereon. Today?s child grows up to become ?the father or mother of tomorrow?. Yet, for reasons which you ignore, the officer?s name is given more importance than the focal person who is relegated to the second place. The result is that everywhere, starting from the child?s first religious ceremony to admission in an educational institution, up to his/her application or interview for a job, the civil status officer?s name comes first. Is it to receive the latter?s blessing in all the child?s undertaking or enterprise in his/her life?

There is also the problem concerning the handwriting on the birth certificate. Not all persons have a good-looking or legible handwriting. So, there are birth certificates, which are not only unpleasant to look at but they are also illegible. This gives rise to names being misspelled or wrongly pronounced ? a life-long matter. The classical feature of ancient times with regards to handwriting in a Civil Status Office or a Notary?s office was the use of calligraphy. But that much is not being asked for these days of computer-generated documents. It would suffice if the Civil Status Office pays attention to handwriting in the selection of candidates who apply to work in civil status offices.

It is imperative that the actual birth certificate, which is an emanation of the birth register, be revised and modified accordingly. By the way, what about death certificates? Does the officer?s name here also comes first? If so, it must be again, to receive the death registering officer?s blessing.

Raj MANU