Gudia146;s baby boy

Gudiya, the wife of Kargil PoW Sapper Mohammed Arif, who recently made headlines when the fate of her then unborn child was decided on a tel...

Gudiya, the wife of Kargil PoW Sapper Mohammed Arif, who recently made headlines when the fate of her then unborn child was decided on a televised 8216;8216;panchayat8217;8217;, gave birth to a baby boy at 5 am at her maternal parents8217; home in Kalonda village yesterday.

The baby8217;s father and Gudia8217;s second husband, Taufiq, who lives in Pataudi, has not been informed yet. First husband Arif has allowed her to keep the baby for the time being, but made it clear the baby will not inherit his name.

Gudia8217;s father Imamuddin says, 8216;8216;The baby will stay with Gudia for some time. After that, if Taufiq wants he can keep him. Otherwise, we will look after the baby here in Kalonda.8217;8217;

The storm created by the televised 8216;8216;panchayat8217;8217; fresh in their minds, Gudia8217;s family is trying to keep everything away from the media glare. Gudia has been whisked away to her uncle8217;s home in Aligarh. After the drama over Arif8217;s return from Pakistan as a PoW, Gudia8217;s dilemma over her unborn child and her return to her first husband were enacted live on television, the sapper was reportedly hauled up by the Army.

8216;8216;We do not want to talk to the media anymore,8217;8217; says Imamuddin. The Mundaliwale have warned them against talking to the press, says a family member.

Gudia8217;s younger sister Chidiya says, 8216;8216;My sister normally does not speak up. But one thing she made very clear yesterday, when the baby was born, was that she would keep the baby.8217;8217; Mother of a six-month-old baby herself, Chidiya says: 8216;8216;Both of us were together for the last one month and we had lots to tell each other. Both of us were married on the same day, on February 24, 1999.8217;8217;

Even though her father may think otherwise, Chidiya says her sister is adamant that she will keep the baby.

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When reminded of the decree by the religious heads, that the first husband was not required to keep the second husband8217;s child, Gudia8217;s grandmother chips in: 8216;8216;How can a little baby stay without its mother?8217;8217;

Imamudin says that Arif has made it clear that if Gudia wants to keep the child, he will bring him up but will not let him inherit his name nor his property.

While Gudia8217;s family here is still celebrating the birth of the child with endless rounds of sweets, there are no such celebrations in Arif8217;s home in Mundali.

Gudia8217;s family is now waiting for Arif to visit them on Id before he reports back to duty on November 16.