Twitter’s Agrawal and cricketer Virat Kohli might be happy changing nappies, but in India paternity leave is still controversial

The tech titan and sporting hero were praised for taking time off for daddy duties, but society and the law make it easy for fathers to be uninvolved in child-rearing

Private sector firms are under no obligation to provide any paternity leave. And when men do take time off, there’s a suspicion their real motivation is to watch TV and skive

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Parag Agrawal and his wife, Vineeta. Photo: Instagram

Published: 5:16pm, 23 Feb 2022Updated: 2:42pm, 24 Feb 2022

When Mumbai-based engineer Shailesh Tomar, 32, became a father for the first time recently, he opted to work from home and help with childcare so his wife could return to work within three months after having their son.

But some relatives judged him for his choice to adopt the “hybrid work” model.

“They said you’re putting your wife’s career ahead of your own? You’ll repent it later. Women shouldn’t be given so much freedom that their husbands sit at home managing kids while they are at work.”

But for Tomar and his wife, who works as an event manager, the decision makes sense.

“She brings home a fatter pay packet, so we both decided that she’ll work full time,” he said.

India’s polarised views on fathers who want to play a bigger role in child-rearing came to light this month when Twitter’s Indian-American CEO Parag Agrawal announced that he would take “a few weeks” off following the birth of his second child.

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