Yes

Bright future

Adopting orphans instead of producing children of one’s own will mean many children will find proper shelter, a loving family, adequate education and all the privileges needed to grow up happily and have a bright future. 
Nilanjan Mukherjee, 
Class XII, Jodhpur Park Boys School, Calcutta

Good for women

Adopting children will be beneficial for women who can choose to work instead of going on maternity leave and facing the troubles and complications of pregnancy. While it would reduce the population, there will be a steady growth in the economy and the standard of living will also improve. 
Piyush Nawalgaria, 
First year, Bhawanipur 
Education Society College, Calcutta

Life expectancy

Adoption would help in increasing the average life expectancy in the country. The power to be able to control the population adds a cherry to the cake. 
Pratham Pratap Bhalotia, 
International School, Guwahati

Best of both worlds

I think adoption is the best thing one can do. Ethically, an orphan or abandoned child gets the love of parents, a stable home and an education. And practically, it reduces the risk of population growth without robbing one of the joy of parenting which people strive to get.
Riya Mandal, 
First Year, National Institute of Rehabilitation Training and Research, Cuttack, Odisha 

Tackle injustice 

Adoption can play a key role in tackling the ever increasing injustices meted out to stranded children. Even one’s own blood can abandon one, so the fear of being abandoned by adopted children seems quite absurd in the 21st century.  
Patrali Pradhan, 
First year, University of 
Calcutta

Right choice

It is selfish to have your own child when there are thousands of orphan or abandoned children in every alley of India. This results in child labour and illiteracy. These children are hungry, without shelter and, most importantly, the attention and love they crave. A biological child gives you nothing extra except a family resemblance. So NextGen Indians should start adopting children instead of having babies.  
Suchismita Chakraborty, 
Second year, New Alipore College, Calcutta

No

Shared DNA

For proper parenting, sharing the child’s DNA is important. The adopted child may at times struggle with identity and self-esteem issues. He or she may have trouble fitting in with the adopted family because of genetic isolation. This may effect the parenting process.
Payal Roy, 
Second year, Shri Shikshayatan College, Calcutta

Manpower

If next generation Indians give up the practice of having their own babies and rely solely on adopting children, it will have serious repercussions. It will lead to a fall in the population and manpower is one of the biggest resources for any country.
Iftekhar Ahmed, 
Harimohan Ghose College, Calcutta

Joy of birth 

The joy of giving birth is nature’s biggest gift to humans. One can never outgrow it. Adoption should be a matter of choice and should not be made a norm. 
Manjusha Jha, 
Final year, Victoria College, Calcutta

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