His search leads him to Tiruchi and Pudukottai, where some clues are emerging.
His search leads him to Tiruchi and Pudukottai, where some clues are emerging.
A US citizen of Indian origin, 32-year-old Thomas Kumar Johnson, who was given up for adoption at the age of two through a social welfare organization in Tiruchi, took it upon himself to be reunited with his biological mother. Life’s mission has been made.
Such is his obsession with meeting a woman identified only as ‘Mary’ in his adoption documents (his father ‘Susai’ the other man is mentioned), that he traveled to Chicago last year to begin the search. Quit his job as a change policy specialist. In earnest and now in Tiruchi.
“I just want my mother to know that I am alive and well. And I want to know if my mother is okay; Whether I have a brother or a sister, maybe some more information about my father. Emotionally, it will help me feel like a more complete person if I know where I come from and who my parents are,” Mr. Kumar said. Hindu, His birth name is recorded as ‘Sampat Kumar’.
Mr. Kumar lived in Yellow Springs, Ohio with his American family from the age of two. “I grew up in a Caucasian family in the Ohio countryside, and I was the only Indian I knew, probably until I was about 19. I had no access to Indian culture or language,” he said. said. His American mother worked as a scientist and academic, while his father, who died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in 2005, was a software engineer.
Mr. Kumar says his American family has been supportive of his decision to trace his roots. “My father actually bought me and my sister (biological daughter) tickets to travel to India in 2004, because he felt it was important for me to see my country and find my relatives. He knew he was going to die soon, so he wanted to make sure I did, but I didn’t really do anything about it until I went to college,” Mr. Kumar said.
They began their search in 2018, but were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, he is back in India to look for his mother for the third time. Mr. Kumar recognized that meeting his biological parents would not be easy. “If my mom doesn’t want to see me, that’s her right, and I’ll accept her decision. It will make me sad, but it’s still a part of the process,” he said of his biological father. Doesn’t know much and hopes that his birth mother will one day introduce him.
He arrived in Delhi last week after research showed that he may have been adopted from a home or hospital there. But after those theories failed, he shifted his search to Tiruchi and Pudukottai, where some clues are emerging. “If there is any news or development, I plan to stay in India for the next six weeks,” said Mr. Kumar, who is staying at a hotel in Tiruchi.
He is being assisted by Anjali Pawar of the Pune-based organization Against Child Trafficking (ACT), which claims to have helped 72 people meet their biological parents in India. “Although most adoptions are considered legal in India, we do not know how the child first arrived at the institution. In Mr. Kumar’s case, we are looking for his mother, and we thought we had a potential candidate. Found it, but DNA tests did not prove it. We hope to get more clues in the coming weeks.”
Mr. Kumar said that he would eventually return to the US. “I just want to see my mother and establish rapport with her and other relatives. I may not be able to permanently shift to India and I will not be able to relocate to any part of the country.” Doesn’t want to bother his biological mother in any way.