Kerala adoption row ends on a happy note, but not before proving the struggle a woman has to go through for choosing her life partner 

However,  Anupama has promised to continue her protests against the guilty officials of the KSCCW and the CWC
Happy reunion... (Photo I Vincent Pulickal, Express)
Happy reunion... (Photo I Vincent Pulickal, Express)

CHENNAI: When a family court in Vanchiyoor on Wednesday restored their child to Anupama S Chandran (22) and her husband Ajith Kumar (34), it marked the end of a long struggle for the couple.

Unfortunately for the young couple, who were activists of the Students Federation of India (SFI) and the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), students and youth wings of the ruling CPI (M), the adversaries in the struggle turned out to be Anupama's father PS Jayachandran, who is the CPI (M) area committee member of Peroorkada, the clout he was able to wield, and the government machinery.

At the end of a long legal process, when Anupama and Ajith got back their child, the mouthpiece of the ruling CPI (M), Deshabhimani unfairly claimed credit with a story titled: The child with Anupama following generous intervention by the government (a coarse translation)

However,  Anupama has promised to continue her protests against the guilty officials of the Kerala State Council for Child Welfare (KSCCW), which gave her child to a couple belonging to Andhra Pradesh, and the Child Welfare Committee (CWC).

The adoption row, according to Anupama's own words is that she gave birth to a baby boy on October 19 and the child was taken away from her by her father three days later. She filed a police complaint against her parents and siblings but she found that prompt action was not forthcoming.

Anupama claimed that the KSCCW had handed over her child to a couple in Andhra Pradesh without conducting any procedures. She alleged that the license awarded by the State Adoption Regulatory Authority had expired for the government-supported body.

The couple had to undergo a DNA test at the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB) to prove that they were the biological parents of the child in Andhra Pradesh.

Anupama and Ajith were made to run from pillar to post for possession of their own child by her parents just because they were opposed to her relationship with a Dalit Christian youth and other such reasons. This case proves that even in the so-called 'progressive' Kerala, a woman is denied the right to choose her life partner.

In her complaint lodged with the police on April 19, 2021, Anupama says that after her father took away her child, her relatives had promised her that the baby would be brought back once Anupama’s sister got married. However, even after the marriage, the baby was not brought back. Following this, Anupama left her home in April and started living with Ajith. Later, they got married officially. Ajith married Anupama after his divorce from his first wife.  

Following protests by Anupama and her husband, police registered a case against her parents last month. Early this month, Anupama's parents and four others were granted anticipatory bail in the case by a court in Thiruvananthapuram.

Now, the young couple is elated after getting back their child. Their several months of struggle have ended for now. But the onus is on the LDF government in power to tell who is responsible for all the troubles faced by the couple.

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