The age-old desire of childless couples to adopt a son under the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act (HAMA) is experiencing a significant shift, with a growing number of adoptions of girls in India over the past two years. Surprisingly, Punjab is at the forefront of this changing trend. Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati presented Union government data to the Supreme Court, highlighting the departure from the long-standing tradition dating back to Vedic times.

The data presented by Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati in the Supreme Court provides a clear indication of a significant departure from the long-standing trend that dates back to the Vedic ages. Despite 10 states failing to provide the requested information regarding adoptions under the HAMA, as instructed by the SC on 20 November 2023, the ASG managed to compile data from 11 states. These states reported a total of 15,486 adoptions from 2021 to 2023.

According to data from the HAMA, adoptive parents chose to adopt 9,474 girls and 6,012 boys. The majority of adopted children were under 6 years old, regardless of gender. CARA’s statistics show that 69.4% of prospective adoptive parents prefer children aged 0 to 2 years, 10.3% prefer children aged 2 to 4 years, and 14.8% prefer children aged 4 to 6 years.

Punjab and Chandigarh are setting an example in India’s progress towards gender equality, particularly evident in adoption statistics. Out of 7,496 adoptions recorded under the HAMA in Punjab, 4,966 were girls and 2,530 were boys. Similarly, in the Union Territory of Chandigarh, out of 167 children adopted, 114 were girls.

In Himachal Pradesh, couples adopted 2,107 children, with 1,278 being girls. Tamil Nadu saw 1,671 adoptions, including 985 girls. Delhi had 1,056 adoptions, with 558 being girls. Uttarakhand had 685 adoptions, including 472 girls. Andhra Pradesh had 1,415 adoptions, with 835 being girls. Odisha had 291 adoptions, including 165 girls. Lastly, U had 66 adoptions, all girls. Telangana’s Hindu couples preferred adopting boys, with a total of 242 adoptions, including 48 girls. In West Bengal, couples went against the trend with 228 adoptions, including 112 girls.

However, the union government, which compiled the data submitted by the states, placed the information with a caveat:

“Unlike some other adoption systems, HAMA does not impose a mandatory registration process, nor is there a centralised authoring overseeing or controlling these adoptions… Since there is no restriction on relations, adoptions amongst known Hindus is a fact and the variability in adherence to legal formalities reflects on the informal nature of HAMA adoption,” the government said.

According to CARA’s report to the court, there were a total of 2,146 children available for adoption as of October 2023. This number stands in contrast to the 30,669 Prospective Adoptive Parents (PAPs) who have registered.