This refers to your editorial “Empowering the illegitimate” (8 April 2011). I strongly object to the indiscriminate number of times the adjective “illegitimate” has been used in the article for children born out of wedlock. Merely praising the country’s highest judiciary for delivering a “progressive” verdict is not enough, we need to change our mindset towards children born to unmarried couples and come up with a more suitable term than “illegitimate”.
Also, there are a few questions that we need to address. First, the procedure of DNA testing is cumbersome. And men may not always comply with the request of a DNA test. What does a child do in such a case?
Second, such a law can be misused by people. Publicity-seeking individuals might try and make false claims on celebrities. This is indeed a landmark judgment, but we need to be clearer in our definitions. As for the use of the term “illegitimate” is concerned, perhaps it would be more suitable to call children born out of wedlock “parent-deprived wards”.
Raghu Seshadri, Chennai
