The Journey Of A Mother: The Diplomatic War Between India and Norway by Sagarika Chakraborty

Paperback: Every word of this story is a drop of my tears. - Sagarika Chakraborty

The Journey of a Mother: The Diplomatic War Between India and Norway (2022) is a harrowing narrative of a real-life heroine's experiences pertaining to unlawful practices in relation to the notorious and controversial Norway’s child welfare agency, Barnevernet, in 2011. 

Sagarika's book charts her extraordinary journey through an emotionally challenging marriage, settling in a new country and ultimately, having her children taken away without her knowledge or consent by a foreign government, and the long fight to get her children back against all odds. Her valiant struggle transformed her from a bewildered, terrified and traumatised young mother to a strong independent woman taking on the system with the unstinting support of her wonderful parents, Shikha and Monotosh Chakraborty. The dramatic unravelling case was famously dubbed the “Bhattacharya’s Child Custody Row”. 

At the end of 2021, there were over 9,900 children taken away from their parents into foster care in Norway, of which 37% were from immigrant families. While children must certainly have protection where there is clear evidence of sexual abuse and violence, activists in Norway and other European countries have flagged the utterly arbitrary and even racist approach of these agencies.

‘Mrs. Chatterjee vs Norway’, a movie chronicling the author's story for global audiences, is now showing on Netflix. 

About the author: Sagarika Chakraborty (1982) was born and raised in Kolkata, India. In 2007, she migrated to Norway with her husband, Anurup Bhattacharya, where they lived with their two children. After the Calcutta High Court gave her interim custody of the children in 2013, she successfully completed a degree in computer engineering and business management. Since then, she has been working in different multinational software companies to provide for herself and her children. Sagarika not only had to fight an entire system for her rights, but it inevitably created frictions in her relationship with her husband Anurup Bhattacharya and the two are currently separated. Sagarika is an example for every suffering maternal heart who has become a victim of conspiracy and the often cruel ways of the child protection services (CPS) in Western countries against families of immigrants from third-world countries.