ADOPTION IN INDIA
INTRODUCTION
Parenting is an essential aspect of our evolutionary heritage. Maternal nurturing of the young mammal is both instinctual and vital for the young to survive. Humans have a long infancy. This gives both time and scope for the parents to form a loving bond with the child. These mutual relationships of love and affection that develop transcend any biological purpose and constitute the very stuff of our epics and human legends.
Adoption serves the double purpose of giving a child a home and giving the parents a child. It is a wonderful social institution that every civilised society ought to support. Yet, in India, there is frequently a shroud of secrecy around adoptions. Parents of ashamed of letting their relatives and/or acquaintances know of this adoption due to perceived social stigma that would fall upon the child.
This makes no sense, and serves to illustrate how paradoxical our culture is.
There are several tales in Hindu mythology that suggest that the concept of adoption of children has always existed, such as that of Krishna (or Yashoda nandan) and that of Karna in the Mahabharata. The myths of Shakuntala and Andal also assume importance when it comes to the notion of adoption and entitlement. They were both considered Goddess Earth's (Bhumi's) gift to their parents.
There are many legal hindrances to adopting children in India as India does not have a uniform code for adoption. There is a great hindrance to adoption in the multifaith population of India as Non Hindus cannot legally adopt a child. Their personal laws do not permit adoption. They can take the child as their ward under the Guardian and Wards Act, 1890 but this does not confer the same status as biological childre...
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...s discrimination reflected on the great value attached to a son, who would ensure not only the family line, but also fulfil religious obligations. The Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act eliminates this gender bias in the adoption process by providing for the adoption of both sons and daughters. (Venkataraman, 1972: 230)
We can be fairly sure that the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956 is a radical departure from the old Hindu law of adoption and rectifies many of its anomalies, inconsistencies, and shortcomings.
But it has its limitations.
The Act is parent-centred rather than child-centred. It does not allow for the adoption of two children of the same sex, nor does it allow for the adoption of a child of the same sex as the biological child. Under the Act, the adopted child must be a Hindu. Now how does one ascertain the religion of an abandoned child?
The mother-infant bond is the familiarity and attachment a mother forms with her offspring. These helpless babies are reliant on their mother’s nurture for survival. This dependence reaches farther than a physiological need. Infants rely on their mothers for a wide variety of demands. The mother-infant bond is critical to maximizing the fitness of each individual, as well as the growth of the species.
Large numbers of Indian children were being separated from their families and their tribes. These children were unfairly placed into non-Indian homes; through the process of state adoption. Parental rights termination was also taken into effect. Child Welfare Act of 1978 (ICWA) gave tribal courts exclusive jurisdiction over custody proceedings involving and Indian child who lives in a tribes’ reservation. This case involved twin illegitimate babies. The parents of the babies were enrolled members of appellant Tribe. The twins were adopted, and given to a non-Indian family 200 miles away from the reservation. In the court’s findings, the parents had never been physically present; therefore the children were voluntarily surrendered by their parents.
When a couple or individual decides to adopt a child, they know they are going to take on the responsibility of taking care of someone else’s child. Due to the biological parent(s) who can’t take care of that child anymore, because of either drug abuse, alcohol abuse, abuse to the child or if the parent(s) had died and there is no other care for the child. So that’s why this gives other couples who cannot have kids, the opportunity to promise themselves to be a great parent to a child in need. Though there are some bad things about adoption as well. Like adopting a child from another country of another race, because once that child is adopted into an American family, he or she will be cut off from their culture and never know about their history. Everyone should to know about their culture and history.
Adoption is a process where by a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the biological parent or parents. Unlike guardianship or other systems designed for the care of the young, adoption is intended to effect a permanent change in status and as such requires societal recognition, either through legal or religious sanction. Adoption has changed considerably over the centuries with its focus shifting from adult adoption and inheritance issues toward children and family creation; its structure moving from recognition of continuity between the adopted and kin toward allowing relationships of lessened intensity. In modern times, adoption is a primary vehicle serving the needs of homeless, neglected, abused and runaway children (Wikipedia, “Adoption”).
Adoption is in place to balance, to nurture and create a structural environment of safety in which the child can thrive and develop into a productive individual contributing to society. Also, it allows older children to abandon old maladaptive behaviors and make their first steps toward the construction of new behaviors influenced by their new environment. In years past, parents who adopted a child as an infant often debated whether to tell him or her about the adoption. Many children grew up not knowing they were adopted, and the birth mother’s identity was kept secret from those who did know (Ashford, LeCroy and Lortie 249). This paper provides facts on widely acceptance option of open adoption rather than the traditional practice of closed adoption. Adoption separates real biological family members, removing the adopter heritage whether the adoption is open or closed. Open adoption can lead to problems, but there are proven facts that open adoption is the best option for all parties working together in the best interest of the children.
McRoy, R., Grotevant, H., Furuta, A., & Lopez, S. (1990). Adoption Revelation and Communication Issues: Implications for Practice. Families in Society, 71, 550-557.
The topic of child welfare is quite a broad one. There are numerous programs and policies that have been put in place to protect children. One of these policies is that of Adoption. Adoption was put into place to provide alternate care for children who cannot live with their biological families for various reasons. One of the more controversial issues surrounding adoption is that of Transracial adoption. Transracial Adoption is the joining of racially different parents and children (Silverman, 1993).
According to American academy and adolescent psychiatry, about 120,000 children are adopted in the United States alone. That is a lot of children that need to find a new home to stay in. Not only do adoptions affect the child after they are adopted, no matter the age; but adoption also affects the parents giving their child up for adoption. There are many types of adoptions. Along with that, there are many reasons for giving the child up for adoption. There are three main perspectives that I will be talking about. One function would be the structural functionalism. How society cooperates. The second would be the conflict perspective. The third would be symbolic interactionism approach. There are many different aspects of adoption, making it
In the Unites States, the first adoption law was passed in Massachusetts in 1851. This law called the 1851 Adoption of Children Act based adoptions on child welfare rather than on the benefits for adoptive parents. This law ensured judicial discretion of “fit and proper” parents. Another milestone for adoption came in 1868 when the Massachusetts Board of Stat...
...ike. Abandoned children have no background information and it is often impossible to find biological parents. Adopting a transracial child is not for everyone. A lot of patience and love is needed to handle the criticism. There is a high monetary cost, but the reward in the end is priceless. A person must be completely non-bias for the relationship to work in a biracial family. A parent must be able to deal with a sometimes troubled or physically challenged child.
As we studied in class, early Indian culture and society in 300 C.E., the Hindu society was dominated by the caste system, which influenced almost every aspect of life. Each caste had its own particular dharma, carrying with rights, obligations and restrictions. Beyond this was a generalized dharma applicable to all: deference to the Brahmins, devotion to the gods, and reverence for the Ganges and for sacred cattle (Connections, Pg. 58). Procreation too, was considered a sacred duty: large families were seen as blessings from the gods, and any attempt to limit family size was frowned upon (Connections, Pg. 58). Since reproduction was essential to reincarnation, for most people marriage and parenthood were moral obligations.
Adoption has been proven to be a motivator for children countless times. Adoption has miniscule, if any, health impacts on children. A study from Bethany Christian Services shows that health is not an issue. “Most children who are adopted lead healthy, normal lives” (Bethany Christian Services 1). The importance in this statement is the fact that adoption does not affect the health of the adopted child, at least majority of the time. Adoptees make up two percent of the world’s population. Out of that two percent, “5 percent of children are receiving outpatient mental health services, 10 to 15 percent of children are in residential treatment, and 6 to 9 percent of children who have learning disorders in the United States” (Bethany Christian Services 1). Furthermore, adoption shows signs of low self-esteem in the most rarity of cases. The Minnesota/Texas Adoption Research Project conducted studies to display the correlation in openness of adoption. “In the first wave of research when the children were between the ages of 4 and 12 with two thirds between ages 5.5 and 8.5 years the researchers have found there was no relationship found between adoption openness and self-esteem, either positively or negatively. Taking this new found intelligence in consideration, it can be concluded that overall, adoption hinders the health of children only in minority cases, and the...
Parents have the tendency to overlook how lucky they are to have had the ability to create their own children. Many do not recognize what a true blessing it is to have kids, and that others are not fortunate enough to experience that miracle. Ten percent of couples endure infertility (Advantages) so they must consider other options. A very popular choice is adoption. It is not only a good alternative for the couple, but also for the child who needs a loving home.
adoptions and the problems that couples face when choosing to follow this practice. My research
Sagade, Jaya. Child Marriage in India: Socio - Legal and Human Rights Dimensions. Oxford University Press: 2005 edition. Print.