Parenting, both as a responsibility and duty, as prescribed in the land’s ancient texts, may have got morphed into an activity marked by the return-on-investment (ROI) principle in our days. Until not-too-long ago, certainly in rural parts, not begetting children in numbers as-near-as a dozen earned poor socio-economic-rating to the chief wage-earner and also his spouse(s). The scenario of multi-children families witnessed one of limited-number-kids per family following the land’s family planning programme launched in early 1950s by the Government of India. While the programme is credited with incalculable economic benefit to the nation as a whole, the families that fell in line, again in rural parts in particular, owe gratitude in no small measure for bailing them out of deep trouble.

Attributing divinity to one’s mother, father and teacher, in that order, has acquired sentimental status in present times, more than living as per the prescription. The relationship has mostly gravitated to the B2B (business-to-business) orientation, valid until the receiving party (children) realises that the relationship has turned burdensome as it were.

Mothers wailing about their prodigal offspring and fathers deserting their dependants don’t augur well for the society in particular and the nation in general. Although many Acts have been promulgated and rules framed mirroring a pro-parent policy, they can at best be perceived as a help in leveraging harmonious and stable families, rendered complex wherever property, both movable and immovable kind, is involved. Financial planners are hinting to parents to be wary of their offsprings cock-eyed on cash and land that are for grabs.

As parents reach senior-citizen-status, their children, heading to become parents themselves, owe not only a debt of gratitude but also are obliged to take on their role-reversing act of caring for their aged parents. In this context, the just published ruling of a High Court that parents can evict abusive children has come like a whiff of fresh air in parent-children relationship. The ruling awaits formalising as a national policy.