No laws in India to protect children below 6 years
Absence of government's commitment in India to young children’s rights has led to deficit childhood and jeopardised the development of their fullest potential, says NCPCR chairperson.
Bangalore: National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) chairperson Shantha Sinha on Wednesday stressed the need for a legal instrument to provide all essential services that enable children access to health, nutrition, care and protection.
- There is no law protecting children's rights in the 0-6 age group/ Photo credit: BuisnessWeek
Speaking at the 36th foundation day lecture on `Deficit Childhood -- Implications for India's Democracy', at Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B), she observed that a large number of children, especially those below six years, are left out of the purview of laws.
"Thus there is no law protecting children's rights in the 0-6 age group at present," she said.
Though there are certain legal instruments derived from the labour legislations pertaining to the factories Act, mines and plantation, and construction workers, in reality they have remained on paper. But the Right To Education (RTE) Bill, which stresses upon providing free and compulsory education for children, makes education a fundamental right for each and every child in the 6-to-14 years category. "It's a great law. Education can prevent children from getting caught in various activities including trafficking," she said.
After more than 60 years of Independence, Sinha said that children's rights as the state's obligation are yet to become a whole-hearted commitment. "There's deficit childhood in every respect, harming the development of children's fullest potential," the chairperson said.
However, she said there are gainful achievements in some areas in the country with some states, districts and blocks doing better than the rest on the child development indicators of health, nutrition, education and other entitlements. These continue to be abysmally poor in some pockets for certain class of children.
"Deficit childhood is in a sense absence or failure of the state. This can result in a child's expulsion from the state and market. Also, deficit childhood shows the state's failure to reach out to every child and not to the incapacity of the child to access her entitlements," she added.
