Today being the Father’s Day is imperative that we not only show the formality by wishing “Happy Father’s Day, Dad” or offering gift or rose flower but also promise ourselves to own up to the responsibility of the care, concern and respect for fathers in real sense as they fathers deserve by virtue of their wisdom, their contribution to family and society at large and for their guiding spirit in times of conflict in the family.
Now-a-days, the sense of respect for fathers has been destroyed by materialism. In the age of consumerism, abusing fathers is a bit like AIDS in India. We can find some kind of abuse or the other, usually from family members, especially bahu-beta (daughter in law and son). We see daily many cases of trust being broken. Normally it is the fathers who suffer in silence. The lady is brave and should not take pity on the son and daughter in law as leopard never changes spot. Evidence is clear as ill-treatment of the fathers is reported frequently.
There are instances of brutally, with children turning against fathers to levels that they get violent and kill. Among the common causes is property. The increasing number of old-age homes across the country is testimony to the growing instances of parents being not just ill-treated but also thrown out of homes once they have lost their utility value. The abuse and ill-treatment of fathers is on rise; this has serious individual and societal costs.
A Helpage India survey report shows that elders are being treated badly not just in the public but also often at homes. More than 50 per cent of the elders surveyed believe that their lot is discriminated in society and 44 per cent say they have been ill-treated, they speak from experience. These are average figures at best; in many cities of the country the numbers are higher. In Bengalaru, for instance, 70 per cent of elders have reported ill-treatment in public places. If these statistics are depressing enough, there’s worse to follow. Close to 65 per cent of elders believe that it’s easy to people to get away by being abusive to elders; the figure is over 90 per cent in Bhubaneswar and 85 per cent in Guwahati, while Delhi returns a heartening low at 16 per cent.
Whatever the reasons may be the abuse of fathers in family shows the depths that family in general has sunk to. We have to show honour to father and take care of their bell-being not only on a special day i.e. Father’s Day but on general days also so that they will not feel isolated from the family.
Prof Mithilesh Kumar Sinha
Nagaland University, Lumami
