On Father's Day 2021, June 20, I reproduce my article "Father's Day: Better realise and celebrate fatherhood!" published in MeriNews [1] on June, 2016, which goes as follows.
"Father's Day is a celebration to honour fathers and father-figures and acknowledge their contribution to the family and society. Also, the observance is meant to celebrate fatherhood, male parenting, paternal bonds, and the positive influence of fathers in children's lives.
In India and many other countries it is now celebrated on the third Sunday of June which had started much earlier. This year, the observance falls on June 19 and the card and gift industry is already upbeat in many metro cities for celebration of the day. In the Indian society, a father is seen as the first ideal person for every child and occupies a high and respectable position.
India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had once remarked, "One father is better than hundred teachers". He had rightly essayed the importance of a father in a child's life. With some legal rights to mothers and gender equity projects, the scales have titled towards women. However, today, many men are being denied access to their children. Consequently, men's rights groups take the opportunity on father's Day to highlight the fact that the fatherly love of men is being exploited by women though the Indian legal system favouring women.
With the invasion of western culture, in India, the market forces and retailers have taken over the observance for promoting greeting cards and 'masculine gifts' such as presenting electronics goods, fashionable wears and tools.
However, I feel that for learning fatherhood, a father has to become a senior co-learner with his kids by acquiring listening skills and being patient on everything that he does with and for kids. Moreover, a father's most difficult task is to teach his child right from wrong while preserving the child's self-esteem and the child's respect for you as a parent. Teaching a child right from wrong is one of most difficult tasks of a father."
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