Adoption: the Indian experience
Kausalya Santhanam
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Gives a clear picture of the scenario of adoption in the Indian context and touches on the lacunae in the field
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ADOPTION IN INDIA - Policies and Experiences: Vinita Bhargava; Sage Publications India Pvt. Ltd., B-42, Panchsheel Enclave, New Delhi-110017. Rs. 350.
This is a book that aims to bring to the subject, the perspective of an adoptive parent, a researcher and one who has been officially connected with the process of adoption for many years. And it does not disappoint.
Well researched and comprehensive, it gives a clear picture of the scenario of adoption in the Indian context and touches on the lacunae in the field. Vinita Bhargava, steers clear of the emotive in the book.
The author, who is head of the Department of Child Development at Lady Irwin College, University of Delhi, has been an executive member of the Coordinating Voluntary Adoption Resource Agency, New Delhi (CVARA). She has made use of ethnographic methods for research.
The last resort
The work is divided into two sections. In the first half, she deals with macro-level issues and in the second, focusses on the individual experiences of parents and the way in which adopted children view themselves and the world around them.
The paucity of expertise rooted in Indian paradigms of family life leaves many parents very lonely in the task of bringing up an adopted child, says Bhargava and goes on to trace the attitudes and the causes that make Indians go in for adoption. She points out how though the practice is quite embedded in the Indian tradition, it is still the last resort of childless couples.
The average age of both parents when they adopt is 40. Indian epics celebrate the concept of adoption — Krishna and Karna, Sakunthala, Andal and Sita were foster children. Yet, a cloak of secrecy surrounds the practice. There are very few records and many adoptive couples are unwilling to share their thoughts and experiences.
Gender bias
That is where Bhargava has scored — in getting people to talk in a country where there is great pressure on women to bear a child and the issue of adoption has not just familial but religious and social connotations as well. The best parts of the book are the personal narratives that shed light on the subject.
Interestingly she finds that couples who have had less conventional marriages are more willing to talk than those who had gone in for traditional (arranged) marriages. Prejudices regarding caste, religion and class come into play in the subject of adoption.
Aspiring parents who wish to adopt from outside the extended family generally not only prefer a healthy child but are also influenced in their choice by the colour of the skin and the features.
Though there is now an increasing demand for girls, there is still a strong gender bias — of the total number of boys "legally free for adoption in the country during 2001-2004, 79 per cent were adopted in the country while only 51 per cent of the legally free girls found homes in the country."
Also, agencies are biased in favour of families which are well off. She gives a brief account of the rules and procedures regarding adoption in the country where there is no uniform code for it. Non-Hindus cannot legally adopt a child.
The subject of inter-country adoption has always raised a great deal of debate — in terms of ethical issues as well as the child's ability to adapt.
She feels the CVARA needs to be more proactive in increasing in-country adoption. Social advertising must be taken up to promote the concept in small towns and rural areas.
Demographic profile
The author gives the break up of figures in numerous states obtained from the demographic profile of adoptions compiled by the Indian Council for Child Welfare (ICCW), Tamil Nadu.
It is interesting to learn that the South and the West do better than the North. Delhi led with 2,421 out of a total of 2,464 adoptions between 1994 and 1998 in the North. A state like the Punjab with its high rates of literacy and per capita income surprisingly lags way behind.
Adoption in India is generally parent centric rather than child centric. Counselling for parents too is minimal. There is need for more parent support groups and adoptee networks. She also covers the topic of disclosure — when and how should a child be told that he/she is adopted and what are the reactions in individual cases? What emerges is the author as a researcher rather than as a parent — the emotional value addition of a parent's experience is not in evidence.
This is a useful book for all those interested in this sensitive subject with descriptions of laws and guidelines being included. "There is no question that children fare better in homes than institutions," says the author. But the number of children adopted legally in 2004 by Indians within the country which has a population of more than a billion was just 1,707! The figures speak for themselves.
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