Child Rights in India: Challenges and Social Action

258 Pages·2015·3.55 MB·English

by  Geeta Chopra (auth.)

Geeta Chopra
Child
Rights in
India
Challenges and Social Action
Child Rights in India
Geeta Chopra
Child Rights in India
Challenges and Social Action
123
Geeta Chopra
Department ofHuman Development
andChildhoodStudies,
Institute of HomeEconomics
University of Delhi
NewDelhi
India
ISBN978-81-322-2445-7 ISBN978-81-322-2446-4 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-81-322-2446-4
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Wherever there is a Human Being, I see
God—given rights inherent in that human
being, whatever may be the sex
or complexion.
William Llyod Garrison
Dedicated to
My heart and my soul, my lovely children,
Arushi and Parth
And
My dear husband Sanjay for his quiet
support!!
Foreword
Havingdescendedonearth,eachchildisimbuedwithtremendouspotentialcapable
of doing wonders. However, there has been a tradition of sorts of ignoring the
voices and wants of children with the result that they did not grow and develop
well. Their aspirations and likings were usually sidelined even in matters directly
concerning them. It was only after the issue of Child Rights emerged as a vital
instrumentality for their development that countries framed pro-child policies,
legislations and regulatory mechanisms. In this context the initiative of UNCRC
seeking to guarantee the health, well-being and safety of children has been an
important milestone for securing for children what is rightfully their due.
The UNCRC recognises that certain rights are essential to the proper development
of a child and therefore non-negotiable. Child rights are important not for children
alone, but for the society and nation at large. With this conviction, it is incumbent
on all concerned to make adequate investments in young people for their proper
grooming and facilitating development of their abilities. Equally important is
ensuring a healthy childhood to them. Studies have shown that rights-based edu-
cation is an effective tool for promoting good citizenship and the concepts of
respect and responsibility.
MoststudiesoutliningtheactualstatusofchildrightsinIndiahavebeenscanty
and not suitably comprehensive so that different government schemes and pro-
grammes like Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), Integrated Child
Development Services, National Rural Health Mission, Rajiv Gandhi Creche
Scheme, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Right to Education and more recently, Beti
Bachao Beti Padhao Abhiyan have not been able to adequately address the issue.
We are yet to fully understand that knowing our rights empowers us, boosts our
self-esteem and we are less likely to infringe on others’ rights.
IhaveknownDr.Geeta,theauthorofthispublicationforover15years,whohas
beenworkinginthefieldofpreventionandearlydetectionofchildhooddisabilities
amongst resource-crunched communities. Based on her studies, the educational
materials she brought out on infant and child survival and development of young
childrenintheformofsetsofbooks,postersandscreeningschedulefordisabilities,
haveevenusedbyNIPCCD,presumablybyotherchilddevelopmentorganisations
ix
x Foreword
as well. The present book on Child Rights presents yet another facet of her pro-
fessional commitment as an academician, researcher and a teacher.
Thisbookisadetailed,comprehensiveandin-depthaccountofchildreninIndia,
their rights and the challenges in achieving them. The range of issues covered is
extensive and the information disseminated very interesting and detailed. Her way
ofwritingiswellarticulated andholistic.Inmyview,thisbookfulfilsthevacuum
in the existing treatise on child rights in India.
I congratulate Dr. Geeta for this much needed endeavour and believe that she
shall continue her efforts for the benefit of child development students, policy
makers, legislatures and field functionaries.
Dr. Dinesh Paul
Director
National Institute of Public
Cooperation and Child Development
New Delhi
Preface
Thegenesisofthebookliesinthedayswhenmydeardaughterleftforpursuingher
management degree from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad in 2010.
Iwasdistraughtwithouther.ThatiswhenIfirststartedwritingthisbook,primarily
to fill up my time and to divert my attention away from missing her. In the early
daysofthisbook,itresembledmorelikeareportandwasprimarilyacollectionof
relevantmaterialfromtheInternet.Yet,itdidactasaresourcetosomeextentinmy
classroom teaching. Reading new things on the net and putting them as a com-
pendium was not such a bad activity after all!
By 2012, Delhi University had started working on the semester mode and most
of the courses had been overhauled. The subject that I had been teaching for 20
years witha welfare approach, was now called ‘Child Rights’.It hadan altogether
newperspectiveandmeantthatthematerialthatIhadcollectedneededtobeturned
around. In 2013 somewhere in October, I picked up the chapters again and started
torelook.ThefirstthingIdidwasthatIwroteaverybasicchapteronIntroduction
toChildRights.Thenachapterinthepreviousbookhaddemographicinformation
based on Census 2001. That needed an update as per Census 2011. Please
remember,Iwasusingallthisformyteachingpurposestoo.Sotheinformationthat
I was to share with my students had to be the latest and the best. Rework on the
book had begun. Concerted effort on completing the book started only after
Springer agreed to publish the work. This was in August 2014, and till the sub-
mission of the manuscript which was in February 2015, I was on an average
devoting 5–6 hours on the book every day. The journey of writing this book has
been very pleasurable for me. The research that went into writing the book also
contributedimmenselytothecontentofmylectures,andfurtherimprovedmeasa
teacher.
ThebookisacomprehensivecompendiumontheChildinIndia,thechallenges
whichthechildfacesinsurvival,development,educationorbyvirtueofadisability
orlackofcarebythesociety.Thebookinasimplemannerintroducestheconcept
and meaning of child rights and subsequently puts forth measures taken by the
government and civil society to help achieve the child rights. The major themes
expounded are infant and child survival, early child development, street and
xi
xii Preface
working children, children in conflict with law, children with disabilities, child
trafficking, child sexual abuse, amongst others. It raises the question of survival,
development and participation of these special groups of children and how their
chances of achieving full potential is severely compromised. The book also doc-
uments the responses of the society for the care and protection of children.
The book presents a commentary on the situation of children in India and the
difficulties in living faced by them due to the especially hard conditions that they
live in. Each chapter gives the magnitude of the problem and clarifies the major
policyframeworkwhichthegovernmenthasadopted.Majorlegislationsproviding
legal support are included. At certain places, attempt is made to even cite some
legal cases in an attempt to emphasise how legislations are providing succour to
children facing challenges in development. Relevant newspaper articles are inter-
spersed in the text. Each chapter has a section that presents the innovative and
credibleworkofsocialorganisations,whichcansuggestideastoemulateforfurther
action in the field. Efforts of exemplary NGOs working in the field are profiled in
thechapters.Thetopicscoveredaresuchthattheywouldgeneratesocialawareness
amongst the youth.
The broad purpose of the book is to comprehensively discuss the roadblocks
whichthechildinIndiafaces,whatthecausesoftheseroadblocksareandwhatthe
government and the social sector are doing to help children in India achieve their
potential.
The aim of writing this book is to explain the concept of child rights and to
highlight the plight of children in India. The book is likely to find readership
amongst students pursuing higher education in the universities of India. ‘Child
Rights’, ‘Child Welfare’, ‘Child and the Law’ are common courses offered by
universities across the country. The book should fit in the various curriculums.
AbookonChildRightsisurgentlyneededasthiscourseisnowbeingofferedin
undergraduate studies in many Delhi University colleges in the least. This book
would be useful for numerous home science colleges and agriculture universities
which offer courses in Child Development, Child Welfare, Child and the Laws,
NGO Management, Human Development and Family studies across India. This
bookshouldalsofindreadershipamongstsocialworkstudents.TheNCERTisalso
proposingtoincludeChildRightsandHumanRightsasacourseforclassesXIand
XII. A publication on this subject is much needed and appropriate and this book
should come as a sigh of relieffor students studying this course.
Geeta Chopra