When Norway's Ambassador to the United States, Wegger Christian Strømmen, met with a Hindu organisation in Washington on January 25, he intended to explain the workings of the Norwegian Child Welfare Services (CWS) system in the context of the CWS removing two Indian children from their parents, Anurup and Sagarika Bhattacharya, and taking them into its care.
However, he was in for a surprise. A few days ahead of their meeting with the Ambassador the Hindu America Foundation (HAF) launched an online petition with the title... “Ambassador Wegger Chr. Strømmen: Reunite Indian Family in Norway: Feeding Children by Hand is Not Abuse,” apparently linking the Ambassador to remarks on a sub judice case in Norway.
While the removal of three-year old Abhigyan and one-year old Aishwarya from their parents raised a stormy debate in India on the merits of the CWS' actions, Mr. Strømmen told The Hindu of the HAF's petition, “I think what they did is that they attributed to me [certain points] on the merits of the case itself, which is not the case at all... That is not the truth.”
Media reports have suggested that the Bhattacharya children were placed in the CWS' care for reasons relating to how they were fed and their sleeping conditions and home. However in remarks sent to The Hindu by the Norwegian Embassy here, officials denied the charge.
They said that while the specific reasons for the children's removal from their parents were confidential, “What we can say is that the decision had nothing to do with the children being fed by hand or sleeping in the same bed as the parents. There must, therefore, be compelling grounds for placing a child in care outside the home. Deviation from usual norms does not constitute sufficient grounds for placing a child in care.”
Regarding the controversy surrounding the HAF petition, the Ambassador clarified that he was indeed interested in understanding the HAF's view on the case after a decision was made on the case “that everyone agreed with,” and had said to the HAF that he would be willing to engage in a discussion with them at that point.
Yet, Mr. Strømmen emphasised that he would be drawn into commenting on the case itself, saying “I have been a magistrate myself, in the 1980s... Having been a magistrate, I have all the respect for the judiciary. Although I could easily say something about that it would be wrong because [the case] is in the hands of the [courts].”
The story has been amended for clarity.
Keywords: Norwegian laws, Indian culture, child protection laws, Hindu America Foundation, child care, India-Norway ties, parenting norms, Bhattacharya couple,
V Suresh, The reasons for removing the children have been published by a Norwegian journalist in the Indian media. The family have released the case papers, and there is nothing to suggest that the children were victims of neglect. In a democratic country you do not take decisions involving private lives of citizens in secrecy, and if this is the way Norway goes about its business, then Norway isn't democratic in any meaningful sense of the word- whatever Transparency International may want to publish. What we have witnessed IS legalized kidnapping, and I am very glad that the GOI has made that clear to that insignificant, self-righteous country.
@VSuresh: Good advise, avoid commenting on people and talk about the merits of the case. I offer it back to you. I have followed a few of your comments on The Hindu and I can say: please avoid logical fallacies. Some fallacies that you fall prey to are: ad hominem and red herring. I don't see a connection between 'Indian middle class's insensitivity to child abuse closer home' and 'a foreign State's usurping of Indian children's custody because of its perceived self-importance'. Now coming back to - why middle class did not comment on Falak case? 1) Child neglect happens every day in India - Falak's case disappoints but does not surprise anyone. 2) Indian State has limited outreach so it can't possibly control every single case. 3) People are more likely to speak up for other people when they share socio-economic characteristics. Now if the debate is about the Norway case, learning about Indian middle class's callousness does not contribue to the debate in anyway. Its a red herring.
Whilst it is is heartening to see these enormous outpourings of sympathy in the
Bhattacharya case, I nonetheless wonder why Indian middle classes turn a blind
eye to the horrendous problems closer to home. How many of The Hindu's readers
bothered to comment or blog about the harrowing Baby Falak case? As a former
member of the middle class tribe, I plead guilty...I did not. But surely, many of the
upright readers who live in India express such outrage at the Norwegian CWS must
have felt a similar outrage when a battered Baby Falak was dumped in AIIMS in
Delhi. Am I wrong here?
This debate will be more productive when the discussions don't de-generate into
CWS or Norway bashing to the accompaniment of shrill and jingoistic claims about
the superiority of child rearing practices or culture - Indian or Norwegian.
Mr. Venkat This is not an abduction ! The children have been placed in foster care, pending a court appeal. The parents have met the kids too. Due process is being followed in compliance with Norwegian laws. Norwegian courts,public bodies don't take their orders from CNN, NDTV or even the Norwegian media and Norwegian politicians. Nor do they accept bribes. I know that the virtually negligent levels of corruption in Norway may come as a surprise to you. Indeed, the Norwegian public sector is ranked as being the 6th cleanest in the world by Transparency International in its Corruption Perceptions Index. I am not taking a stance on this case per se as the facts are not known. That does not mean that the CWS is not infallible. It may get it wrong at times. But then, there is a due process for correcting any such mistake and it is being followed. I don't think that the course of the law can be altered or accelerated by screaming abduction or other forms of media/political pressure.
Dear Mr. V. Suresh,
You seem to have the best qualifications to intervene, having personal
knowledge of the system and being an Indian.
Grateful if you could act as a bridge.
Regards
It is strange that no reasons are given. Any civilised society would give reason for any action especially taking away children is bigger punishment for both the parents and the children. I had a agood opinion about European countries but this particular incident has shattered my opinion and they are very insensitive to the feelings and love between parents-children.
Our Indian Government is spineless headed by a useless prime miniter, who may be good person but he is utterly ineffective. We don't require such Prime Minister. It is better to have Hitler as prime Minister than Man Mohan Singh.
Mr V Suresh since you worked with the CWS in Norway there can be no
better person other than you who can throw some light on the secrecy
that the CWS is maintaining on the subject pertaining to the reasons
for the Bhattacharya kids to be put in foster care. Another thing
which I thought you need to know that the Norwegian government has
legally kidnapped the kids from their parents. Ms Gita is very right
otherwise why would not they send the kids alongwith the uncle to
India immediately & why are they spending so much of money on alien
kids. Later on they will be fully justified in deporting the parents
also to India for not conforming to the country's laws.
Mr Suresh: If someone takes the children away by force and then holds
them without giving reasons and providing proof about the same, then its
kidnapping. If they are civil servants then its state sponsored
kidnapping. Period. I can make claims about anyone if i do not need to
produce proof.
Wait till this abduction flashes in CNN America, very next day they will release the kids.
Ms. Gita: Your remark that the CWS kidnapped the kids is a preposterous claim.
There are more than 7000+ persons of Indian origin and much larger numbers of
Pakistanis, Sri Lankans and other South Asians living in Norway. Most of them
retain South Asian norms for raising kids and while variances between their child
rearing practices and Norwegian ones do exist they are seldom cause for CWS
interventions. However, in some cases some practices violate Norwegian & W.
European laws. Examples include corporal punishment, female genital mutilation,
selective abortion etc. etc. where the CWS intervenes.>Nobody knows the true facts of the Bhattacharya case and my comment here is not about this specific case. I have nonetheless worked as a civil servant in the Norwegian Welfare sector and I strongly doubt that the CWS would resort to such a drastic measure merely on the basis of trivial differences in child rearing. In any case, the children have been placed in foster care, not kidnapped.
Norwegian Child Welfare Services (CWS)has to COOK UP such cases to
keep their job alive. They cant take panga with European kids so 3rd
world is a soft target. These children are Indian Nationals and
President of India is required to protect them. The least we can do
is to bring them home immediately. Why are children made the victims?
At least they have done nothing wrong. Don't harm them. Enough now,
SEND THEM HOME.
There is something truly Kafkan about this whole process. The parents are accused and punished, by having their children abducted, for a crime that the authoreties refuse to disclose.
Is modern day Norway the place Kafka dreamt of in his epic nightmare, The Process?
Why there should be secrecy about the reasons for the kidnapping of the children, if they are genuine? In any civilised country, charges against a person is made known before taking action. Only reason I can imagine for this secrecy is to protect their kidnapping industry. If the reasons are made public, then all the parents may take care in future to avoid making those mistakes. In that case where will they find children to kidnap and support the families of the foster parents?
It is customary in these cases to accuse the parents of emotional abuse of their
children. This is characterised by a lack of consideration for the children, lack of
love and affection. However, what are the proofs for this accusation? The Norwegian
Children Welfare Services have only come up with hand-feeding, co-sleeping and
"wrong" breast-feeding. Contrary to what the Norwegian ambassador is implying,
there are no deep, dark secrets in this case. The parents have not been accused of
physically molesting their children nor have they been accused of sexual abusing
the children. So what are the reasons the CWS have confiscated the children?
Obviously, this is a difficult question for the CWS to answer because there is none.
India should recall the Ambassador to protest against the treatment meted out to the Indians. In any case, the Ambassador Mr. R.K. Tyagi has been found wanting in his job as has been reported quoting MEA sources and Minister Krishna had to intervene and instruct him to take up the case strongly and Secretary Ganapathi had to be rushed to Oslo as the Ambassador was found ineffective in dealing with the situation. It could work both ways. A new Ambassador can also be posted there using the opportunity.
What else can the Norwegian Ambassador be expected to spout? He is
hardly likely to admit that the two little Indian children were
virtually kidnapped by the NCWS. The Indian government ought to adopt a much sterner stance with Norway to ensure the immediate release of these children to the custody of their parents or at least to their biological relatives. Norway could easily deport the children to India as soon as their visa expires this week. It would be a face saving way for them to release the children, and a Godsend for the hapless parents.Indians ought to think twice about emigrating to countries where one cannot even raise ones own children in our own way.
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