With accusations against Norwegian child protection services in the case of a five-year-old boy being separated from his parents going viral, it is necessary to examine whether the agency was justified in its action instead of heaping insults on it. (“Groundswell of ire against Norway move”, Dec.29).
The justification often given by Indian and Indian-origin parents in foreign countries for physical or emotional abuse of children is that it is the Indian way of disciplining children. If so, then it is implied that hitting a child or verbally abusing it is part of our national culture and an act that must therefore be justified and promoted. Even if one were to accept child abuse as integral to our culture, if it is prohibited under the law of the land, parents have no right to continue such practices.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s statement that she does not think foster parents can look after a child better merely because they would not know his dietary habits is pointless. The real question here is what defines a parent’s right to their child and whether relationship of blood is enough to justify all acts taken by a parent with respect to their child’s welfare.
Remus Noronha,
Nellikode, Kozhikode, Kerala
India should not interfere in the internal affairs of Norway in the matter of getting back the child to its natural parents. Norway has its own child welfare rights and action would have been taken according to the law of the land. Assaulting a child physically is not an Indian way of bringing up the child and we should not defend those actions. Norway has stringent child welfare rights according to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and India should bring in some of those reforms to make proper laws to protect child freedom.
Indian children are often exposed to violence in homes as well as in schools. Physically assaulting a child is not uncommon in Indian schools and child welfare authorities turn a blind eye to these incidents due to weak laws. Most Indian parents try to impose a code of strict discipline on their children and create stress in their sensitive minds. In the process, they think that anything extreme is acceptable.
Balaji Akiri,
Hyderabad
