Adoptions over the years 1973–2002 of the Cantons of Zurich and Thurgau: Children from India

Background information

In 2021, the governments of the Cantons of Zurich and Thurgau decided to subject the adoption practice in their cantons over the period 1973–2002 to scientific examination. The aim of the research is to clarify the circumstances under which international and national adoptions took place and to what extent there were any irregularities.

Objectives

The project sheds light on adoptions from India which, along with Sri Lanka, was the most important country of origin of children adopted by families in the Cantons of Zurich and Thurgau. We examined the legal context and supervisory practice of the cantons and explored the extent to which domestic adoptions were “replaced” during the period covered by the investigation by adoptions of foreign children, and also why this occurred. Special attention was paid to the so-called “adoption triangle” by taking on board, for the first time, the perspective of biological mothers in the country of origin, India, and of adoptive parents in Switzerland.

Procedure

The research in India focused on the state of Maharashtra and there on the capital Mumbai (formerly Bombay) as this city was an important hub for international adoption intermediaries. In Switzerland, comprehensive source studies were carried out in the relevant archives. It was possible to consult numerous individual dossiers of children adopted from India for the first time. This was supplemented by biographical, narrative discussions with adopted people and adoptive parents in Switzerland, ethnographic research in India as well as interviews with experts in both countries in the fields of law, medicine and social work. The aim was to help improve the level of knowledge, which is still insufficient in many cantons and concerning many countries of origin. The context of adoptions in many countries of origin is also often poorly understood.

Results

The results of the research project provide an insight into a previously under-explored chapter of international adoption as a form of foreign placement. Between 1979 and 2002, 2,278 children from India were adopted in Switzerland. Of these, 256 children came to the Canton of Zurich and 30 children to the Canton of Thurgau. Intermediation occurred mainly via placement centres in India that had links with the Roman Catholic Church.

The results show a complex network shaped by the unfulfilled desire of couples to have a child, financial interests, questionable legal practices, a lack of child protection and failures by the authorities. The stigma of childless marriage in Switzerland and the stigma of unmarried motherhood in India created a dynamic of demand and supply, which was also permeated by financial interests. The Swiss authorities were aware of, and were complicit in, numerous cases involving the problematic or even unlawful intermediation of adoptions from India. Our research findings raise the question of the legal validity of adoption decisions made under these conditions. Finally, child removal and abduction cannot be ruled out where children were given up for adoption without evidence of their origin.

Inadequate supervision

The supervision of intermediary agencies was insufficient. The Canton of Thurgau complied with its duty of supervision in the form of the association Adoption International, which was founded in Kreuzlingen in 1980. During the course of the first internal disputes within the association in 1982, the supervisory authority called for accountability. Shortly afterwards, Adoption International relocated to the Canton of Bern. The Youth Welfare Office of the Canton of Zurich did not comply with its supervisory obligation: it allowed Christina Inderbitzin to act for years (from 1978 until early 1984) as an intermediary for the adoption of Indian children in Switzerland. It was also aware of the trailblazing judgement of the Supreme Court in Bombay (now Mumbai), which did not portray her cooperation partner in India in a good light. Nevertheless, in 1984 the Youth Welfare Office issued a licence to Christina Inderbitzin to act as an intermediary with India. A total of 15 Swiss intermediary offices were active in India, some of which operated for years without approval. The Swiss authorities were confronted with numerous instances of maladministration.

The situation in India

From the 1960s onwards, international adoption established itself as a specific form of foreign placement in India. Children’s homes and women’s shelters took in children from private individuals, the police or hospitals and handed them over to Swiss adoption intermediaries or private individuals. For them, adoption became a lucrative source of income: financial agreements were concluded between Swiss intermediary agencies and Indian institutions. The former provided support contributions, and the latter secured children in return.

Abuse and scandals in the 1980s led to critical discussions of international adoption in India, as well as the imposition of restrictions and new standards. Nevertheless, Indian institutions (adoption intermediaries, lawyers and courts) had a significant impact, which was apparent, for example, in how they dealt with stories of children’s origins as well as information concerning the biological parents. The child’s origin was described in the documents that came to Switzerland only in vague terms or using stock phrases such as “mother unknown”. The mothers’ declarations of consent were not passed on to Switzerland in any of the cases studied.

Biological mothers: unknown and invisible

Biological mothers disappeared not only from the documents but also from social perception: actors within the Indian adoption system remained largely silent, and continue to be silent, regarding the perspective of biological mothers who were separated from their children. They relate this silence to the mothers themselves by arguing that silence protects them from social stigma in their everyday life.

In order to understand this argument, it is necessary to consider the reasons for separation. They varied in nature. The main reason is the social stigma associated with single mothers. In addition, however, poverty, illness or the female gender of the child were also significant. Women became single mothers because they had been involved in socially unaccepted romantic relationships which, for example, ran contrary to religious dogma or caste membership rules. Other reasons included broken marital promises, rape and difficulty in accessing abortions.

Although there were some institutions where single mothers could receive help, it involved separation from their children. The most common path towards social rehabilitation following the separation from their children was an arranged marriage. After being separated from their mothers, life for the children in India began in one or more institutions. When an intermediary introduced them to a foreign couple interested in adopting them, they often felt completely disoriented.

Adoptive parents and adopted children: challenges

Couples in Zurich and Thurgau adopted children primarily due to childlessness, to perceptions of what constituted an ideal family or for humanitarian reasons. India was (usually) not a criterion in terms of country of origin. Adoptive families received little support from health and education institutions and were largely concerned with attachment issues and experiences of racism. If their children became interested in their origins, they usually only had incomplete or incoherent information. Whenever they embarked as adults on the journey to finding out more about their biological parents (and indeed, if they do so today), many attempts also failed (and still today fail) due to the information monopoly of intermediation offices and the sealed archives of the Indian courts. In addition, there is a legal and moral question as to whether the child’s right to obtain information about their origin is more important than the right, or presumed desire, of mothers to anonymity.

Recommendations (selection)

• The legality of adoption decisions that were made without obtaining prior declarations of renunciation of parental rights from the Indian parents should be thoroughly reviewed. This must not entail any disadvantages for adopted persons. If so requested by adopted persons, an institutionalised, interdisciplinary task force should review documents and support the search for the person’s origins. Switzerland should clarify with India how affected persons can gain access to Indian judicial records in order to exercise their right to information about their origins.
• Swiss adoption intermediaries should be required by the authorities to disclose their sources of funding, together with their affiliated aid agencies and foundations. Supervisory authorities should comply with their duty to secure the records of intermediaries when they cease operating.
• Switzerland should only allow child adoptions from countries that have ratified the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and that can demonstrate that women can enforce their reproductive rights and have freedom of choice.
• A national research programme (NRP) should carry out an in-depth, country-specific review of international adoptions. Current reproductive practices such as surrogacy and other forms of family planning should also be examined, along with the related trans-generational consequences.