SUMAN K SHRIVASTAVA
Ranchi, Sept 17: The Jharkhand State Legal Services Authority (JHALSA) today rolled out a massive 100-day campaign to take care of the vulnerable children in Jharkhand who are susceptible to various types of abuse.
The campaign was launched in association with the Jharkhand government’s women and child development department, Kailash Satyarthy Children’s Foundation, and Bachpan Bachao Andolan to send out a message to the vulnerable children: Akele nahin hai aaap (You are not alone).
Under the outreach scheme conceptualised by Justice S Chandrashekhar, the JHALSA, during the next 100 days, will first identify the children in need of care and protection and link them with child protection schemes, so that they may never become victims of trafficking, child labour, child marriage, child abuse, etc.
Launching the intensive drive at the Jharkhand Judicial Academy auditorium, Supreme Judge-cum-NALSA Executive Chairman Sanjay Kishan Kaul said that children are the future of the nation and their rights must be safeguarded to install them to their fullest vigour, but unfortunately, India and many other countries face some challenges in this regard. “So, there is a need to address these challenges, head-on and act collectively to protect and uphold their rights,” he added.
Jharkhand High Court Chief Justice Sanjaya Kumar Mishra, JHALSA Executive Chairman Justice S Chandrashekhar, Justice S N Prasad, and Justice Rongon Mukhopadhyay among others were also present on the occasion.
Justice Kaul emphasized that every child regardless of gender, caste, or social structure they belong to deserves to be treated with dignity, respect, and equality. “The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child which India ratified in 1992, serves as a patron for protecting child’s rights. Consequently, Child Rights are protected in constitutional India in several specific laws such as the Juvenile Justice Care and Protection Act, the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, the Right to Education Act, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act etc. The state has a primary duty to operate in children’s special interests, and practically every area of government policy from education to public health affects children to some degree or the other,” he added.
Justice Kaul quoted K Ramaswami’s observations that children’s earliest experiences significantly influence their education, hence the focus should be their immediate growth and development of child.
He further stressed that one of the pressing issues is child labour. “Millions of children are still employed in hazardous and exploitative labour across India. These children are denied the opportunity to seek education, jeopardizing their future prospects and perpetuating the cycle of poverty. Child labour is deeply intertwined with poverty, therefore addressing the issue of poverty is equally important. This requires comprehensive social welfare programmes, access to education, skill development, livelihood opportunity for parents of child labour, and empowering families to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty,” Justice Kaul said.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Justice Sanjaya Kumar Mishra cited it as a burning issue by saying that ‘worldwide children are voiceless victims of physical, emotional and sexual violence, and India is not an exception.
Delving upon the legal framework, he added the enactment of the POCSO Act in 2012 and J.J Act in 2015 are watershed Acts in the history of child rights in India. These Acts look after the best interest of the child, he pointed out.
Justice Mishra pointed out that there exist two harmful stereotypes with respect to sexual abuse, first that only a girl child can be subjected to sexual or physical abuse, and not a boy child, and second that offenders are persons not known to the child. Both these stereotypes are wrong and these have to be set aside by the stakeholders who are involved in the implementation of these Acts,” he added.
Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad pointed out that children constitute the nation’s valuable human resources. “The future well-being of the nation depends on how its children grow and develop, he added.
Justice S. Chandrashekhar lauded Justice Kaul’s efforts, thoughts, and guidance in legal aid services as an Executive Chairman of NALSA.
The inaugural ceremony was followed by four technical sessions on the topic – Schemes and Programmes for development and welfare of vulnerable children in Jharkhand by Kripa Nand Jha, Secretary, Dept. of Women, Child Development & Social Security, Govt. of Jharkhand.
The second technical session was on the topic ‘The Legal Perspective’ by Justice Ananda Sen and Manoj Prasad, Chairman, Commercial Taxes Tribunal, Ranchi.
The third technical session was on ‘Understanding Children and their vulnerability to abuse and exploitation’ deliberated upon by Ravi Kant, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India & Country Head, KSCF, US.
And the last technical session was on the topic ‘Preparation of Plan of Action including a timeline for sensitization of all the village level child protection committee (VLCPC) members across the state discoursed upon Dr. Sangita Gaur Assistant Director (Training and Capacity Building), KSCF, India.
