Relevance of Fathers Day

Fathers day comes after the Mothers Day.It does not mean that Mothers day assumes more relevance and significance than the Fathers Day.It is true that a child by virtue of his/her filial bond has more affinity with his/her mother.But a father is not lagging behind.It is the father who by virtue of his paternity provides an identity and social recognition to the child. If a child cannot identify his father, the child becomes illegitimate and the society has no hesitation in calling the child a bastard.On the other hand, if a child cannot say who his mother is or the child has lost its mother, it becomes an orphan and there is no any social stigma attached to it.On the other hand, if a child cannot trace its paternity, a social stigma is attached with a child such as 'illegitimate' or 'bastard'. Hence, in a way, fatherhood has more relevance and significance than the motherhood. A father is equally important in rearing the child, by way of educating, coaching, guiding, providing monetary assistance and thereby making the child a more responsible person, self-reliant and finally making him/her a free bird.While a mother may be more loving and affectionate, it is the father who has the added responsibility of loving and caring.There is a saying:'A child's education ends when a father is no more.' In Hindu law, a father is saddled with more legal duties and responsibilities.A mother is the natural guardian of the child up to 5 years old.Then father becomes the natural guardian of the child, until it becomes major at the age of 18. Besides, Hindu law has evolved a special coparcenary system in which the father is the kartha or head of the family, whose primary duty is to manage the immovable properties of the coparcenary ancestral joint family, in which only male members have rights to own and possess immovable properties of the joint family.However,in the modern India, various states have opposed the exclusion of females in the joint family system.Now states like Tamil Nadu have included females also in the joint family system by which they too can have their legitimate share in the ancestral properties. Another significant difference between the motherhood and the fatherhood is,a mother by virtue of her filial relationship is more close with a child;in particular as a girl child grows she mingles freely with her mother, openly discusses her personal and physical problems with her mother than with her father.As a girl child grows and attains puberty, the relationship between a father and his daughter becomes more formal and a distance is being maintained.But a father's responsibilities markedly increase in educating and finding a suitable employment for the child and above all it is the father who has to find a suitable alliance for his son or daughter and help them to get married. Thus a father is not just a name lender for the child.His duties are varied and multifarious in upbringing a child.Hence, let us hail our fathers as our real heroes because their achievements are by no means inferior to our mothers!