We never got a reply from the Australian High Commission and the case remains unresolved months later.
Jantar Mantar
New Delhi
31 August 2023
To,
His Excellency
Philip Green
High Commissioner of Australia to India
Australian Embassy
New Delhi
RE: PERSECUTION OF INDIAN MOTHER PRIYADARSHINI PATIL BY AUSTRALIAN CHILD SERVICES
Excellency,
On August 26th, 2023, the nation was shocked to learn of Priyadarshini Patil of Dharwad, an Indian-origin mother in Australia who took her life after persecution by Australian Child Welfare Services.
In her suicide note she stated that her family was victimised by Australian child welfare services – called the Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ). Parental Rights of Priyadarshini and her husband, the children’s father, were suspended simply because they had insisted on a second medical opinion when their son deteriorated sharply under treatment at a public children’s hospital in Sydney. DCJ has been given all parental rights regarding the children’s health and education. They also stopped the children from travelling to India.
The parents were not happy with the public hospital and asked for a transfer, on their own insurance, to a private hospital, but this was refused and a child protection case started. The Patil’s second child was involved though she had nothing to do with what had transpired over her elder brother between her parents and the Sydney hospital.
Six social workers were sent to the family home who gave the parents a good report but they were removed from the case, and a new case worker appointed simply to escalate matters.
This is not the first time we are seeing public hospitals in rich G20 countries target parents for disagreeing with the treatment being given to their children. Child protection cases are slapped on parents to intimidate them into aquiesing with the hospital. In fact, it is the parents who are being stopped from protecting their children. Cultural prejudice is used by social workers and courts to paint the family in a bad light.
Another pattern that we are seeing here is of the child developing health problems because of being bullied at school. The Patil’s unfortunate son was badly bullied at school and his parents were bullied by your public healthcare and child protection system. Now a young life has been lost.
Priyadarshini was a bright young woman who had done a Masters in Computer. Application. She had a science background and was asking legitimate questions about her son’s illness and treatment.
Australia has signed a Mobility and Migration Partnership Agreement with India to encourage skilled workers to seek jobs in Australia. However, you need to provide a more secure and welcoming environment to their families. We are seeing too many of our compatriots, especially those moving to Australia and other rich G20 countries for jobs in the IT industry, being victimised by their child protection systems.
The family in India had begged for the children to be returned here, but this was refused. When Priyadarshini and her husband asked permission to bring the children to India for holidays earlier this year, the DCJ went to court and had lookout notices issued at the Australian airports against the family. The trip had to be cancelled. On top of their worries for the children, The parents were then harassed for months by DCJ over trips to India. Priyadarshini was forced to sign undertakings to have the airport watch orders lifted and no time was left by July 2023 to have a proper holiday back home.
This seems to have been the immediate cause of Priyadarshini sliding into the final period of despair and hopelessness. She realised that DCJ would not allow her family life to continue as normal. She realised and their hostile presence would forever plague them. This is how child services whittle down the confidence and self-respect of parents trapped by them.
The children were not even allowed to attend their mother’s funeral. They can hardly believe what has happened. They are still being held hostage by the DCJ. They must be allowed forthwith to come to India to attend their mother’s last rites and mourn her with their grandparents and aunts.
We hereby express our anguish at this incident and request you to issue a statement of comfort and solidarity for Priyadarshini and her loved ones. We urge you to initiate an inquiry into the case and to forthwith allow the Patil children to come to India.
We hope that you will respond sensitively and compassionately to this case in the spirit of your Mobility and Migration Partnership Agreement with India and of the open-hearted slogan of the G20 Summit “Vasudhaiva Kutumbhakam” – “The World is One Family”.
We hope that while you are being feasted and feted here at the G20 Summit, you will remember the Indian members of your family who are consumed with grief at the death of a lovely young mother, wife, daughter and sister.
Signatories included Dr John Dayal, Mrs Brinda Karat, Avnish Jain, Suranya Aiyar and the All India Democratic Women’s Association.
The case was widely reported in the Indian press.
This is an online petition that Priyadarshini Patil had posted about her case.
