Ironic. Yesterday I wrote an essay about some enlightened parents. Today, I am horrified by some parental behavior.

Shivy is not currently using a last name. He probably did use when when he was a student at Cal Berkeley. But it is common in India for people to use only one name.

Anyway Shivy was born in India but has lived in the US since he was three.Thus he had an Indian passport and a green card. Emphasis on the "had."

Shivy's family has made a habit out of traveling to India to visit with family during the summer. They did so again this year, but had to trick Shivy into joining them. They told him his grandmother was very ill.

What started this whole thing seems to be that Shivy cut his hair. This freaked out his mother and caused a huge argument.

Although Shivy is legally an adult, being 18, Shivy's mother seized his laptop and mobile phone. She forced her way in to Shivy's data and discovered that (a) he identified as transgender and (b) he had a girl friend.

So his parents took him to India, then stripped him of his passport and greencard...and tried to arrange a marriage with a man for him.

Textbook human trafficking.

They took away my mobile phone and laptop even while we were in America, but I still never imagined then that our annual holiday to India in July would have any other motive.

They took him to Agra to "fix" him...to make him "behave like a proper girl."

Time to let Shivy speak for himself:

Shivy managed to get the password to his grandparent's internet account and was able to connect with friends back in the US, who connected him with a support group in the NGO area called Nazariya.

Shivy ran away, escaping his captors and Nazariya members helped him find shelter in Delhi. They also arranged legal counsel for him.

Shivy petitioned the high court for protection, which the Delhi High Court granted.

The Delhi High Court termed the alleged harassment as nothing short of “bigotry” and said that India was a land of tolerance.

Shivy has asked the High Court to help him get his passport and Green card back so he can return to the US and continue his studies in neurobiology at the University of California.

Meanwhile Shivy's father has filed a claim in Agra that Shivy was kidnapped by Nazariya and has been seen traveling with Uttar Pradesh police as they harrass NGO members in their search for Shivy.

The Delhi High Court has asked his parents and state police to respond to the allegations.

Reports are that Shivy's mother has already fled India and returned to the US with Shivy's brothers...and perhaps his indenification documents.