In a country where raising children often follows rigid traditions, Bengaluru-based social entrepreneur Ajit Sivaram has stirred powerful conversations with a viral LinkedIn post that reframes fatherhood—not as duty, but as defiance.
Sivaram, co-founder of U&I, an NGO focused on educating underprivileged children, made waves by writing:
“Raising daughters in India is a revolution disguised as parenthood.”
The line has resonated far and wide, tapping into a shared emotion among fathers, mothers, and changemakers across borders.
A father’s quiet resistance
Each morning, as his daughters step out in school uniforms, Sivaram sees more than routine—he sees resilience. In a world that questions their confidence and constrains their joy, he finds his biggest lessons not in MBA classrooms but at home.
“This is the real leadership training,” he reflects.
Shattering gendered expectations
Sivaram calls out subtle sexism—the uncle disappointed by no male heir, the ballet-science bias, the bedtime patriarchy lectures sparked by a child’s innocent questions. These moments, he says, aren’t rare—they’re everyday battles.
When playgrounds teach power
His daughters’ experiences—being ignored until a boy repeats their idea, being excluded from games—offer insights into deeper power structures. These personal moments fuel his professional transformation too. Sivaram has become alert to workplace dynamics—interrupted women, invisible labor, stolen credit—and now steps up, not as a rescuer, but an active ally.
Empathy over programs
Rejecting superficial solutions, Sivaram writes:
“Corporate India doesn’t need another women’s leadership program. It needs men who have seen the world through their daughters’ eyes.”
His words echo a demand for perspective over performance, compassion over compliance.
The revolution is personal
The post ends on a tender note. His daughters ask about his day—not to hear what he did, but to feel if he made the world slightly better for them. Some days he can say yes. Most days, he tries. Because love, in Sivaram’s eyes, is leadership that dares to disrupt.
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