“We don’t care what gender it is. We just want a grandchild.” Sanjeev and Sadhana Prasad, aged 61 and 57, from the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand think it’s enough. Their son has been married to their daughter-in-law for six years, but there is still no question of a posterity. While that is the least he can do for them, they think. Because they put all their savings into his upbringing, paid for his expensive pilot training in the US, sheltered him when he couldn’t find work back in India and then financed his luxurious wedding.
That’s why they went to court. They demand 650,000 dollars – 624,000 euros – in damages if a grandchild is not born within a year. The charge is “mental harassment.” “Not until we have a grandchild to spend time with will our pain be bearable,” they say. The parents’ lawyer talks about “mental horror.” “Being a grandparent is every parent’s dream. They have been waiting for that for years.”
Their son and his wife have not yet responded. The case will be heard on May 17.