Religion is the opium of the people, wrote Karl Marx. In a country where a major section of the population swear by their religion, Indian footballer and Kerala Blasters striker C.K. Vineeth chose to ignore the 'high' of a religious identity in the case of his newborn child.
Vineeth, who hails from Kannur in Kerala, and his wife Saranya were blessed with a son recently. He had announced the arrival of his “little game changer” on Twitter and Instagram on February 24, a day after the baby was born in his hometown.
But what really caught the attention of his fans and the general public were two pictures that emerged on social media—one of Vineeth filling up his son's birth certificate, and the other showing 'NIL' written against 'Family religion'.
(Left) Vineeth fills the form; 'NIL' written for family's religion
The 29-year-old is of the opinion that his son should be free to choose his own religion, if at all he wishes to have one. The wonderful gesture has won the hearts of his fans, who lauded him for not forcing the religion of his birth on his child.
The Kerala Blasters forward is gearing up for the Super Cup, the qualification round for which has already begun. The Kerala outfit will take on I-League team NEROCA FC on April 6. The Blasters finished sixth in the Indian Super League, ruling them out for a place in the semifinals of the league, but it gave them a direct entry to the round of 16 of the Super Cup.