‘Infants exploited in reality show’

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights and the Women and Child Development ministry (WCD) has asked NDTV Imagine to stop the telecast of reality show, Pati, Patni Aur Woh.

The commission (NCPCR) and the ministry felt the show was ‘violating the norms of child rights by exploiting children’. The show, inspired by Baby Borrowers is about parenting: five couples have to look after babies who are not theirs.

Sandhya Bajaj, a member of the commission, said infants shown in the programme were not the biological children of the participants. So, they cannot be given to other people for 24 hours, Bajaj said.

The parents of the children watch the proceedings through CCTVs. “Even though the parents of the children watch what is happening, the makers cannot separate them from their biological parents,” minister Krishna Tirath of WCD said. “The makers cannot exploit and harass children just for the sake of making a serial.”

Bajaj said the commission had got complaints from lawyers, parents, and doctors when they were about to take a suo motu action against the channel. “These children cannot speak. The promos show them crying, which indicates they are protesting. But
no one is listening. Also, the programme doesn’t convey any social message.”

Various NGOs too have highlighted the health hazards to newborns and toddlers in the programme. “Separating babies from their parents for a long time can lead to distress and anxiety among children,” Uday Foundation for Congenital Defects and Rare Blood Groups, an NGO in Delhi, said in its complaint. “After prolonged separation, a child can have a feeling of distrust for his/her primary caregiver. It can damage a child’s sense of safety.”

The commission has written to the Information and Broadcasting minister Ambika Soni to take action against the channel.

The channel, however, is ready to take the legal route if necessary. “I have checked with the BBC — the producers of the show. They too haven’t received any letter. I don’t know how such a notice can be issued without any intimation,” Shailaja Kejriwal, senior vice president of NDTV Imagine, said. “We are not going to take the show off air.

There’s no question of that. We have a written consent from the parents. There is a nursewho lives nearby, and there are doctors and ambulances on stand-by.”

The channel heads will meet on Friday to discuss the matter, another official said.