Jaipur • New Delhi • Bengaluru • Guwahati • Kolkata
This book covers the underexplored subject of 'fathering' in
India. It delves into the shared aspirations of men in India to nurture their
children in sensitively attuned ways within the culturally prescriptive context
that governs men's roles as providers and caregivers. This work is based on
over two decades of intensive research in India on how different groups
construct and experience fatherhood and fathering under changing circumstances.
It unmasks the heterogeneity that exists within fathering in India through
conversations with fathers across diverse contextsin privileged economic
situations and those in difficult home and family circumstances, having
children with disability, single-parent fathers and fathers in the military. A
separate section discusses fathering daughters and shared parenting. Images and
role models in fathering are brought alive through analysis of Hindi films, the
media, children's literature and classical literature. The conceptual analysis
moves beyond the power and control dimensions commonly used to describe Indian
men and fathers, to highlight their resilience, adaptability, positive
involvement and developmental trajectories. This volume is for scholars,
researchers and practitioners in developmental psychology, human development
and family science, sociology, early childhood education and psychiatry,
pediatrics, community medicine and allied fields.
Part
I Concepts and Perspectives
1 Setting the Scene: The Need
for Focus on Fathers and Fathering
Rajalakshmi Sriram
2 A Global Perspective on Fathering
Rajalakshmi Sriram
3 Men as Fathers: An Indian
Perspective
Rajalakshmi Sriram
Part
II Fathering in Urban Middle Class: Emerging Realities
4 Nature and Extent
of a Father’s Involvement: Research Evidence from Western India
Rajalakshmi Sriram, Antra Verma,
Shaffaq Mattu, Gurpreet Sandhu, and Amrita Singh
5 Flavours of Fathering in the
Indian Capital: Insights from a Qualitative Study
Nimisha Kumar
6 Project ‘Fathering’: First-Time Fathers Talk
About Parenting in a Global Economy
Rajalakshmi Sriram
7 Children’s Narratives
on the Father-Child Relation
Harpreet Kaur Jass
8 Fathering Amidst the Call of Duty:
Children’s Experiences in Military Families
Rajalakshmi Sriram and Rituparna
Sarkar
9 My Child Transformed Me: Reflections
of Involved Fathers
Arshdeep Kaur
Part
III Fathering: Reflections in Indian Media
10 Dads in Ads: Representation
of Fathers in Hindi TV Commercials
Jayana Padalia and Rajalakshmi Sriram
11 Pitaji, Papa and Paa: Reflections
of Fathering in Hindi Movies
Manjari Shah, Dharti Takwani, Pooja
Sharma, and Rajalakshmi Sriram
12 Mirroring Fathers for Children:
A Content Analysis of English and Marathi Picture Stories
Prachee Joeg, Sneha Joshi, and Rajalakshmi
Sriram Part IV Fathering: Viewed from a Gender Lens
13 Are Fathers Gender Equal? Experiences
of Educated Daughters
Ruchi Singh, Tarjeet Kaur Ahluwalia,
and Rajalakshmi Sriram
14 You Showed Me the Ways
of the World: Daughters’ Essays on Their Fathers
Prachee Joeg and Rajalakshmi Sriram
15 Sharing in Caring: Equations Between
the Father and Mother
Rajalakshmi Sriram Part V Fathering in
Special Circumstances
16 Fathers and Child Education
in Tribal Odisha: Reflections of Commitment Amidst Constraints
Vini Gupta, Anubha Rajesh, Shefali
Pai-Samant, and Pallavi Gupta
17 Fathers’ Involvement with Young Children
in Rural Orissa: As Mothers See It
Rekha Sharma Sen and Zubair Meenai
18 Hope and Commitment: Challenges
of Fathering Sick Children
Rajalakshmi Sriram
19 Trials and Triumphs of Parenting:
Practitioners Look at the Experience of Fathers in Raising
Children with Special Needs
Sudipta Roy, Prachee Joeg, and Shruti
Bhargava
20 ‘New Age Fathering’ and Trysts
with Faith
Harpreet Kaur Jass
21 The Three ‘C’s of Single Fathering:
Commitment, Constraints and Challenges
Rajalakshmi Sriram
22 Summing
Up the Evidence: Final Reflections
Rajalakshmi Sriram
Rajalakshmi
Sriram, Ph.D is former Professor, and Head of the Department of Human
Development and Family Studies, Maharaja Sayajirao University, a well-known
center for advanced studies in Baroda, India.
In her tenure as Professor Emeritus, she continues to exercise the
academic rigor and professionalism that has been the hallmark of her career.
Dr. Sriram has played an active role in advancing cultural perspectives through
her commitment to both fundamental and applied research, that has led to the
enriching of the discipline, as well as quality of life for people and
families. She has published widely, and has been an integral part of course
design committees, as well as advisory, advocacy and editorial panels on
gender, family, parenting and early childhood at regional, national and
international levels.
Significantly, she has recently published a two-volume resource
book titled “Engaging in Social Interventions”
one volume each for learners and mentors. She continues to work as a
consultant in the field, and volunteers her time to 'Service Space', a global
endeavor connecting the transformation of the inner self with enabling
transformative social change.
