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Parents take son to court - 6th June 2022

A couple are starting legal proceedings against their only son and his wife for not bearing them a grandchild after 6 years of marriage. This unusual lawsuit's attracting widespread media attention in India.

Sadhana Prasad, 57, and her husband Sanjeev, 61, complain that they've used up all their savings raising their son, having to foot the bills for his pilot's training, and his wedding and honeymoon. Now, it's payback time – either the son and daughter-in-law produce a grandchild within a year, or they'll need to repay a grand total of 50 million rupees, worth $650,000.

While their son and daughter-in-law haven't yet commented, it's apparent that relations between the two generations are strained. Sadhana Prasad disclosed that her son and daughter-in-law's refusal to have children has caused them "mental cruelty", due to the way society has reacted.

Her husband lamented simply, "We are very unhappy." He added, "We are retired. We want to be grandparents. We are even willing to look after their children. Grandchildren bring joy into people's lives, but we are being deprived of it."

While taking your children to court over such a matter is probably a first, it's partly understandable since, as social anthropology Professor Vasavi puts it, "In India, marriages are between families and not just a couple." Everyone's involved in raising children, from parents-in-law, to near and distant relatives, and the wider community.

There is, in Vasavi's words, "cultural logic" to the Prasads' drastic steps, and how "they feel they have the right to a grandchild". "Once married, you are expected to reproduce for the family, the caste and the community," she explains.

Having spent so much money on their son's upbringing, the parents conclude they're owed a grandchild in return. Whether the courts share the same perspective is about to be revealed.