Cases like Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway brings out struggles of Indian parents abroad

Newly released film, Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway starring Rani Mukerjee is about an Indian mother in a legal battle for custody of her child.

The film is based-on true story of Anurup and Sagarika Bhattacharya whose children were taken away by the child welfare authority of Norway.

Avigyan, Sagarika’s son, displayed signs of autism, whereas the Norway child welfare admitted that it was a case of bad parenting.

In 2011 Avigyan was taken away from his parents and after a stiff row between India and Norway, the parents got his custody in 2011.

There are more cases like this, for example, Bhavesh and Dhara Shah’s children were taken away by German child welfare services in Berlin.

This was after the Grandmother has smacked the child and berlin authorities took it as ‘sexual assault’.

Another Indian parent child was confiscated in the US by Jew Jersey child welfare services in 2019.

The reason was the same, ‘child abuse’.

Legalities are embroiled in language barriers, cultural differences and religious beliefs.

Formal rules in child rearing are different in India and other countries.