Situating Adoption and Foster Care Practices in Indian Family Formation

Child rearing practices in India have been guided by various traditions prevalent since ancient times. Establishing parenthood through adoption, kinship care, sponsorship or fostering has been integral to the India's cultural and social milieu. However, the colonial encounter with practices of fostering, parenting, adopting, family in different religious communities transformed the legality, customs and practices of child rearing and child welfare in India. The recognition of the pre-modern traditions like Kaflah, Kinship care as alternatives to Western notions of adoption in United Convention on Rights of Child demonstrates the discursive shift from Western ideas of parenthood, childhood, family to plurality of family structures and traditions prevalent in South Asian countries like India.