Just a cursory look at the human civilisation, and it appears in bold relief that family is the foundational institution.
The significance of family to human survival goes without saying, no matter what the proponents of the individual freedom say.
In fact in the times of pandemic all of us could understand the importance of family. The way people thrown into isolation suffered during COVID pandemic, made it clear that human beings are meant to live together.
And this togetherness of humans begins with the instItution of family, and is sustained through this institution. It is this institution that has carried the human civilisation this far.
As humans we are born dependent creatures, and we cannot survive unless parents take care of us. Not just our beginning, our end years also require a family support. When we are old, we need our young ones to be around and take care of us.
However, the transition of family from joint to nuclear proved a big leap in our era.
And it came with a mixed bag – good as well as bad. In any case the shift form joint family system to nuclear family system, given the patterns of economy and work, is not going to reverse.
What is, nevertheless, problematic is the disintegration of family at the nuclear level. We have many families where individuals are working at different places and we need servants to take care of our babies. This is a huge crisis and its impacts will come to hit us in near future more severely.
The bonding between parents and children is getting adversely affected. This is bound to create a tension in a family. Similarly, when children grow, move out for studies or employment, it leaves parents in isolation.
This is leading to the breakdown of family. We need to think, and think urgently, that how can we save our society from the adverse effects of these changes at the level of family. It is here that we need new ideas, and new initiatives.