SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, January 2012 (KGO): There is outrage in the Bay Area Hindu community after an Indian couple living in Norway had their children taken away over what appears to be a cultural misunderstanding. The parents say it’s because they were feeding their kids with their hands. The Bhattacharya family moved from Calcutta to Norway several years ago after the children’s father took a position there as geologist for Halliburton.
Anurup and Sugareeka Bhattacharya are making a global plea for help. They spoke of their ordeal on India-based NDTV. The two are living in Norway and eight months ago, the country’s child protective services put their two small children in foster care. “We have lots of emotional attachment with our kids. And it’s really, very, very difficult for us… for us to survive and still stand on our own feet,” said the parents.
“The reasons given by the Norwegian Child Protective Services have been that one, the couple was feeding their children with their hands and number two is that the children were sleeping with the parents in the bed. Both of which are common practices not only in Indian culture, but I think are found in Western societies as well,” said Samir Kalra of the Hindu American Foundation.
The Bhattacharya’s pain is felt here in the Bay Area. Now, the Hindu American Foundation is taking action. The group launched an online petition to put pressure on the Norwegian government to return the children to their parents. “We’ve had 444 signatures,” said Kalra.