Fair-skinned, intelligent? Now, you can customise your unborn babies

Forget Vastu Shastra for taking possession of a new house or matching the stars before deciding a wedding date, the Rashtriya Seva Sangh (RSS) in India has a similar project that promises fair, tall, and intelligent “customised babies” by intercourse at a time decided by planetary configurations, according to a report by The Indian Express.
The project, reportedly run by the health wing of the RSS Arogya Bharti, prescribes “three months of ‘shuddhikaran (purification) for parents, intercourse at a time decided by planetary configurations, complete abstinence after the baby is conceived, and procedural dietary regulations.”
The Arogya Bharti says it is targeting presence in every state by 2020, prescribing “this is what is needed for a woman to deliver an ‘uttam santati’ – a perfect ‘customised child’.”
According to the report, the project was started in Gujarat over 10 years ago and was brought to the national level by 2015.
Claiming that the procedure to get an “uttam santati” or customised child is a part of the Hindu shastras, Dr Hitesh Jani, national convener, Arogya Bharati, was quoted in The Indian Express, saying, “The parents may have lower IQ, with a poor educational background, but their baby can be extremely bright. If the proper procedure is followed, babies of dark-skinned parents with lesser height can have fair complexion and grow taller.”
Dr Karishma Mohandas Narwani, national convener of the project, said, “Our main objective is to make a samarth Bharat (strong India) through uttam santani. Our target is to have thousands of such babies by 2020.”
So far, according to the project, 450 such ‘customised babies’ have been delivered and the target is to have a Garbh Vigyan Anusandhan Kendra, a facilitation centre, in every state.
The administrators of the project say the idea came from Germany, which the report says, claimed, had “resurrected itself by having such signature children through Ayurvedic practices within two decades after World War II”.