<p>An Indian mom of two has spoken back at critics on the internet after her child wearing a leash on a family vacation to New York City was filmed. Shubhangi Jagota, a Canadian-based Indian woman, posted a video of her 3.5-year-old son running and jumping in Times Square, securely attached to his dad by a child leash.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>She wrote in her caption, “He’s 3.5 and we’re not ashamed to say we put him on a leash. In a city like New York, this was hands-down the best decision for our trip. Our little runner always wants his freedom, and this gave him just that—without giving us a heart attack every 5 minutes. He got to explore without holding hands every second. We got peace of mind knowing he wasn’t getting lost or—let’s be real—stolen. The best part? He thought we were on the leash. He called himself the sheriff and us his captives. Honestly, everyone was winning. We ordered a set of 2 —one 8.2 ft and one 4.92 ft. We used the longer one for NYC and it worked out perfectly.”</p>

<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DLsMN6jsQmA/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DLsMN6jsQmA/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;" target="_blank"> <div style=" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;"><svg width="50px" height="50px" viewBox="0 0 60 60" version="1.1" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g stroke="none" stroke-width="1" fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"><g transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)" fill="#000000"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style=" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"><div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"></div></div></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"></div></div></a><p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DLsMN6jsQmA/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Shubhangi Jagota (@katchmyparty)</a></p></div></blockquote>
<script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>

<p>Jagota said that the leash enabled their energetic toddler to experience the city while remaining close enough to be safe without the hassle of holding hands all the time or worrying about him getting away. "He got to have his hands-free adventure. We got reassurance he wasn't getting lost or—let's be real—kidnapped. The bonus? He thought we were on the leash. He deemed himself the sheriff and us captives. Honestly, everyone won," she continued.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The mother said that she used two varieties of leashes, a shorter one in populated areas and a longer one in open areas, to strike a balance between freedom and safety. The comments on the video were disabled, apparently to avoid any backlash.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Though safety harnesses are common at venues such as theme parks, airports, shopping centers, and festivals, the trend has been widely criticised on social media as "inhumane" or "lazy parenting." Nonetheless, parents of toddlers, particularly those with more than one children, frequently come to the defense of the device as a useful safety tool, especially at non-familiar or busy venues.</p>

Not ashamed Mother justifies why she leashed her toddler son in New York city

An Indian mom of two has spoken back at critics on the internet after her child wearing a leash on a family vacation to New York City was filmed. Shubhangi Jagota, a Canadian-based Indian woman, posted a video of her 3.5-year-old son running and jumping in Times Square, securely attached to his dad by a child leash. She wrote in her caption, “He’s 3.5 and we’re not ashamed to say we put him on a leash. In a city like New York, this was hands-down the best decision for our trip. Our little runner always wants his freedom, and this gave him just that—without giving us a heart attack every 5 minutes. He got to explore without holding hands every second. We got peace of mind knowing he wasn’t getting lost or—let’s be real—stolen. The best part? He thought we were on the leash. He called himself the sheriff and us his captives. Honestly, everyone was winning. We ordered a set of 2 —one 8.2 ft and one 4.92 ft. We used the longer one for NYC and it worked out perfectly.”

<p>Shubhangi Jagota, a Canadian-based Indian woman, posted a video of her 3.5-year-old son running and jumping in Times Square, securely attached to his dad by a child leash</p>

'Not ashamed': Mother justifies why she leashed her toddler son in New York city

<p>By Naziya Alvi Rahman</p>

<p>It&#39;s traumatic for any woman to learn that her husband is gay. And when the husband in question is from Pakistan and the wife from India, it&#39;s a story that goes beyond personal anguish to get enmeshed in the complicated tangle that the two countries are forever caught in.</p>

<p>Ask Salma, whose marriage lasted just a year and who has been fighting a lone battle for her 11-year-old daughter&#39;s nationality. The resident from Mumbra was married to Karachi-based Salman in 2005. She was from a lower-middle-class family who had managed to complete her masters in economics, and he a rich brat who claimed to be an engineer but was actually a school dropout.</p>

<p>&quot;There was no means to cross-check. And we believed them as they were related to us distantly,&quot; says 40-year-old Salma, regretting every day that her daughter was born in Pakistan. &quot;If only if she was not born there... I got her here when she was 2.5 months old and applied for her nationality within the first year of moving back. Eleven years later, she is still a Pakistani.&quot; With that comes worries about her school, college and other admissions.</p>

<p>Salma is not alone. Given the fractious, yet symbiotic, relationship between the two countries and the large number of divided families, there are many such Salmas across India. &quot;In Maharashtra alone, there are hundreds of pending cases,&quot; says an official on the condition of anonymity.</p>

<p>The Home department&#39;s foreign section is flooded with such cases &ndash; Indian women married to Pakistanis, divorced and back in India with &#39;Pakistani&#39; children. Officials who deal with these cases claim that one of every 10 cases that comes for citizenship is of children born of such marriages.</p>

<p>In some cases, like that of 29-year-old Saira, a resident of Sewri Cross Road, divorce resulted in the children being divided. She managed to bring three children back but her eldest, a boy, remained with the father.</p>

<p>&quot;She would come to us every second month to seek a visa to go to Pakistan to meet her eldest son. We understand a mother&#39;s plight but we can&#39;t move her file seeking a Pakistan visa so frequently. We have so many such cases,&quot; says a Home department official.</p>

<p>&quot;I have no means to raise these three kids. It&#39;s not easy for me to leave behind my son. I want to go back and seek alimony from my in-laws. I will fight for my children&#39;s rights,&quot; Saira says determinedly.</p>

<p>Officials believe there are several reasons behind the failure of these marriages. &quot;It&#39;s like any NRI marriage where you only know the truth after you get married,&quot; says an official.</p>

<p>Salma&#39;s is a classic such case. That he was gay was known in Pakistan but she realised it only much later. &quot;He left within two days of our wedding without establishing any physical relations with me&hellip; It was only a month later when I reached Pakistan that I learnt about his sexual preference.&quot;</p>

<p>She says she was tortured by her in-laws and came back to India after three months. Told the full story, her parents supported her decision to stay back but relatives persuaded them to give him one more chance. Her father-in-law himself came over to India with the boy.</p>

<p>&quot;It was during this encounter that I conceived my daughter. We believed that everything would be fine now and I went back to stay with him,&quot; says Salma.</p>

<p>When Salma gave birth to a girl child, the family lost interest in her and she was sent back to India. &quot;Since that day, they have never looked back at me or my daughter. For how many more years will I have to continue to run from pillar to post to get her an Indian nationality?&quot;</p>

<p>Salma, who supports a family of four with the Rs 25,000 she gets as an executive in a private firm, got married again but lost her second husband in a road accident.</p>

<p>Officials claim her case is now in the final stages. But the process can only be completed after she surrenders her daughter&#39;s Pakistani passport to the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi.</p>

<p>She doesn&#39;t have the money to travel to Delhi and stay in a hotel. &quot;The department officials did request them to consider my case as an exemption&hellip; but on December 16, 2016, my file came back with a rejection,&quot; Salma says.</p>

<p>And the wait continues.</p>

<p>(This report first appeared on DNA)</p>


Hundreds of such citizenship cases are pending in India's western state of Maharashtra

By Naziya Alvi Rahman It's traumatic for any woman to learn that her husband is gay. And when the husband in question is from Pakistan and the wife from India, it's a story that goes beyond personal anguish to get enmeshed in the complicated tangle that the two countries are forever caught in. Ask Salma, whose marriage lasted just a year and who has been fighting a lone battle for her 11-year-old daughter's nationality. The resident from Mumbra was married to Karachi-based Salman in 2005. She was from a lower-middle-class family who had managed to complete her masters in economics, and he a rich brat who claimed to be an engineer but was actually a school dropout. "There was no means to cross-check. And we believed them as they were related to us distantly," says 40-year-old Salma, regretting every day that her daughter was born in Pakistan. "If only if she was not born there... I got her here when she was 2.5 months old and applied for her nationality within the first year of moving back. Eleven years later, she is still a Pakistani." With that comes worries about her school, college and other admissions. Salma is not alone. Given the fractious, yet symbiotic, relationship between the two countries and the large number of divided families, there are many such Salmas across India. "In Maharashtra alone, there are hundreds of pending cases," says an official on the condition of anonymity. The Home department's foreign section is flooded with such cases – Indian women married to Pakistanis, divorced and back in India with 'Pakistani' children. Officials who deal with these cases claim that one of every 10 cases that comes for citizenship is of children born of such marriages. In some cases, like that of 29-year-old Saira, a resident of Sewri Cross Road, divorce resulted in the children being divided. She managed to bring three children back but her eldest, a boy, remained with the father. "She would come to us every second month to seek a visa to go to Pakistan to meet her eldest son. We understand a mother's plight but we can't move her file seeking a Pakistan visa so frequently. We have so many such cases," says a Home department official. "I have no means to raise these three kids. It's not easy for me to leave behind my son. I want to go back and seek alimony from my in-laws. I will fight for my children's rights," Saira says determinedly. Officials believe there are several reasons behind the failure of these marriages. "It's like any NRI marriage where you only know the truth after you get married," says an official. Salma's is a classic such case. That he was gay was known in Pakistan but she realised it only much later. "He left within two days of our wedding without establishing any physical relations with me… It was only a month later when I reached Pakistan that I learnt about his sexual preference." She says she was tortured by her in-laws and came back to India after three months. Told the full story, her parents supported her decision to stay back but relatives persuaded them to give him one more chance. Her father-in-law himself came over to India with the boy. "It was during this encounter that I conceived my daughter. We believed that everything would be fine now and I went back to stay with him," says Salma. When Salma gave birth to a girl child, the family lost interest in her and she was sent back to India. "Since that day, they have never looked back at me or my daughter. For how many more years will I have to continue to run from pillar to post to get her an Indian nationality?" Salma, who supports a family of four with the Rs 25,000 she gets as an executive in a private firm, got married again but lost her second husband in a road accident. Officials claim her case is now in the final stages. But the process can only be completed after she surrenders her daughter's Pakistani passport to the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi. She doesn't have the money to travel to Delhi and stay in a hotel. "The department officials did request them to consider my case as an exemption… but on December 16, 2016, my file came back with a rejection," Salma says. And the wait continues. (This report first appeared on DNA)

Citizens of nowhere: Children born to Indian mothers & Pakistani fathers caught in India-Pak tangle

indian-mother

Indian Mother, News on Indian Mother, stories on Indian Mother, articles on Indian Mother, Indian Mother stories at Wion, Indian Mother news, Indian Mother latest news

indian mother

'Not ashamed': Mother justifies why she leashed her toddler son in New York city

Citizens of nowhere: Children born to Indian mothers & Pakistani fathers caught in India-Pak tangle