‘International Women’s Day March 8’
For the Indian woman who has mostly remained an invisible non-entity as far as biological lineage and social identity of their offspring is concerned, this is certainly a giant step. It also reinforces the movement by the women of the world to stand tall as equal partners in a much fuller sense.
The wheels of justice grind slowly in India, sometimes beyond lifetimes. But Suvam Sinha has just proved that if you keep pounding away at the system, you could be a winner in the end.
The 23-year old studying linguistics and working in Adelaide, Australia, has been able to get his E-Pan Card on Feb 11, 2022, after a long battle of seven years. The status of his mother’s guardianship as a single parent has finally been recognised as legally valid.
This is certainly a huge moral victory for young Suvam to be able to officially declare his parental background / lineage in favour of his mother, Smriti Sinha.
However, the implications of this are far more significant as it sets in motion the process to demolish over time, the existing and singularly male-biased locus standi that recognises a person’s legal / social identity only through the father. This then now put mothers on an equal footing as legal guardians.
Born in Kolkata, Suvam is the offspring of a mixed marriage. His father is a citizen of Nepal, while his mother, Smriti, is from Bhagalpur in Bihar, India. The couple separated when their son was 2 years. His father went back to Nepal. And since then, Suvam was brought up solely by his mother. At present she works in Kathmandu (Nepal) as the Country Manager of a pharmaceutical company.
For the Indian woman who has mostly remained an invisible non-entity as far as biological lineage and social identity of their offspring is concerned, this is certainly a giant step forward. It also reinforces the movement by the women of the world to stand tall as equal partners in a much fuller sense.
The archaic injustice behind this ‘absolute or sole paternal authority’ first struck Suvam as odd when he sought a school leaving certificate, after finishing his High School. He was upset when he saw that the document mentioned his father’s name as legal guardian.
He found this totally unacceptable, telling the school authorities “I hardly know who my father is. He left me and my mother when I was 2. Since then my mother is the only parent I have known; she has brought me up single-handedly. I would therefore request you to put down her name as my legal guardian / parent.
While the school authorities relented eventually, the struggle ahead would prove to be long and hard for both young Suvam.
Battling against the juggernaut of governmental machinery, a labyrinthine maze of rule, red tape, and protocol, was a near impossible Herculean task. There were still many more legal documents like passport, Adhar Card and E-Pan Card to be obtained.
But both Suvam and his mother were not prepared to give up without a fight. Among other things they also petitioned the late External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Maneka Gandhi, a former Union Minister for Women and Child Development.
Finally on February 11, 2022 a jubiliant received his Pan Card, with only his mother’s name on it. The efforts of the mother and son duo, had paid off.
It is most certain that along with Suvam, many other offsprings of single mothers have reason to cheer, hope and celebrate. And for the women of the world, it is a time to exult as well.
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