Anaath: No stigma in the word, doesn’t need a change says Bombay HC

Mumbai, Sep 15: There is no social stigma attached to the word 'anaath', or orphan, and there is no need to change it at all, the Bombay High Court said on Thursday while dismissing a public interest litigation (PIL).

A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Madhav Jamdar was hearing the plea filed by a non-profit, Swanath Foundation, seeking for the word 'anaath' to be changed to 'swanath'.

The plea said children who have lost their parents already face a vulnerable situation and the word 'anaath' reflects as a needy, helpless and deprived child. The word 'swanath' would mean a self-reliant and confident child, news agency PTI reported.

The court, however, said this was not a case where the court ought to intervene, a PTI report said.

"Sometimes we, too, have to draw a Lakshman Rekha and not intervene in every matter," Chief Justice Datta said.

"The word anaath is in use since ages. We do not agree with the petitioner that the word anaath that is used to refer to those children who have lost their parents attaches any social stigma. There is no need for a change at all," the court said and dismissed the petition.

The court said the petitioner wants the word to be changed to "swanath", which is the name of the non-profit.

"What is the social stigma in the word anaath? The English word is orphan and across many languages like Hindi, Marathi and Bengali the synonym is anaath. Who is the petitioner to now say change the word? What does he know about linguistics?" the court asked.

The petitioner's lawyer Uday Warunjikar said a better word should be used while referring to such children, which the court refused.