"MEET OUR CANDIDATES" moderation on 6th April 2011

പദ്മ അവാര്‍ഡുകള്‍ക്ക് ഒരു ചരമഗീതം !!!

അവാര്‍ഡുകള്‍  അത് കിട്ടുന്ന ആളെ വലുതാക്കുന്നതും ലഭിക്കുന്ന ആളുടെ വലുപ്പം കൊണ്ട് അവാര്‍ഡുകള്‍ വലുതാകുന്നതും കണ്ടിട്ടുണ്ട്.എന്നാല്‍ രണ്ടും ചെറുതായി പോകുന്നത് വളരെ അപൂര്‍വമായി മാത്രമേ കാണാറുള്ളൂ . ഇക്കുറി പദ്മ അവാര്‍ഡുകള്‍ ഈ പോരായ്മ പരിഹരിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നു എന്ന് കാണുന്നതില്‍ സന്തോഷമുണ്ട്. പല അവാര്‍ഡ്‌ ജേതാക്കളും വളരെ 'ചെറുതായിപ്പോയി'.  അതിലൂടെ പദ്മയും ഒരുപാട് ചെറുതായ പോലെ. അവാര്‍ഡുകള്‍ വീതം വെക്കാനുള്ളതല്ല, മറിച്ച് അര്‍ഹിക്കുന്നവരെ ആദരിക്കാനുള്ളതാണ് ! ഒരു വര്‍ഷത്തില്‍ ഇത്ര വീതം ആളുകളെ ആദരിക്കണം എന്ന വാശിയൊന്നും വേണമെന്നില്ല. അര്‍ഹിക്കുന്നവരെ കാണുമ്പോള്‍ ചെയ്യണം എന്നേയുള്ളു . എള്ളോളം വലുപ്പമുള്ളത്തിനെ ആന എന്ന് വിളിച്ചാല്‍ നാണം കെടുന്നത്‌ സാക്ഷാല്‍ ആനകളായിരിക്കും . മറ്റേതിനു കെടാന്‍ നാണം ഇല്ലല്ലോ!

നല്ലൊരു മുരിക്കിന്‍ പത്തല്‍ വേണമായിരുന്നു!

തന്‍റെ കക്ഷി  നിരപരാധിയാണെന്ന് തെളിയിക്കേണ്ടത് എല്ലാ വക്കീല്‍മാരുടെയും കടമയാണ്.  അതില്‍ ആരും കുറ്റം പറയാറുമില്ല. എന്നാല്‍ കെ. ജി. ബാലകൃഷ്ണന്‍ വിഷയത്തില്‍ ഒരു വക്കീല്‍ കിടന്നു കളിക്കുന്നത് കാണുമ്പോള്‍ മാലോകരാകെ ഇതും ഒരു വക്കീല്‍ തന്നെയോ എന്ന് മൂക്കത്ത് വിരല്‍ വെക്കുന്നു.  അയ്യോ, എന്തൊരു പൊട്ടന്‍ കളിയാണിയാള്‍ കളിക്കുന്നത്?  ഇത്തരം കളികള്‍ കാണുംപോള്‍  പഴമക്കാര്‍  ഉപയോഗിച്ചിരുന്നത് നല്ല പച്ച മുരിക്കിന്‍ പത്തല്‍ ആയിരുന്നു എന്ന് ഏതോ കഥാപുസ്തകത്തില്‍ വായിച്ചിട്ടുണ്ട്.

വേലി വിളവ്‌ തിന്നരുത്.

      കെ . ജി . ബാലകൃഷ്ണന്‍ വിഷയം ചര്‍ച്ച ചെയ്ത്‌ ചര്‍ച്ച ചെയ്ത് കേന്ദ്ര ബിന്ദുവില്‍ നിന്നും മാറിക്കൊണ്ടിരിക്കുന്നു. ഇപ്പോള്‍ ദളിതന് അഴിമതി നടത്തുന്നതിന് സംവരണം വേണമോ വേണ്ടയോ എന്നിടം വരെ എത്തി നില്‍ക്കുമ്പോള്‍ ബുദ്ധി ജീവികളോടു മതിപ്പ് തോന്നിത്തുടങ്ങി. ഒരു വിഷയത്തെ എത്ര വേഗത്തിലാണ് അതിന്റെ മുന ഇവര്‍ തിരിച്ചു കളഞ്ഞത്! ഇന്ത്യയിലെ നീതിന്യായ വ്യവസ്ഥയിലെ പരമോന്നതനായിരുന്ന ഒരാള്‍ അഴിമതിയുടെ നിഴലില്‍ നില്‍ക്കുമ്പോള്‍ അയാളുടെ ജാതിയോ മതമോ നോക്കി അഭിപ്രായം പറയണം എന്ന് വരെ പറയാന്‍ ഇവര്‍ക്ക് കഴിഞ്ഞിരിക്കുന്നു. 

      വിവരാവകാശ നിയമം തനിക്കു ബാധകമല്ലെന്ന് പറഞ്ഞ ഒരാള്‍ -  താന്‍  എല്ലാ  നിയമങ്ങള്‍ക്കും അതീതനാണെന്ന് കരുതുന്ന ഒരാള്‍ - നീതിന്യായ വ്യവസ്ഥിതിക്കു വെല്ലുവിളിയാണ്. ഒരു ജഡ്ജ് എപ്പോഴും നിയമങ്ങളെ മാതൃകാപരമായി അംഗീകരിക്കണം. ഭാരതീയ പൈതൃകം അതായിരുന്നു പഠിപ്പിച്ചത്. വേലി വിളവ്‌ തിന്നരുത്.

  ജസ്റ്റിസ്‌ ബാലകൃഷ്ണന്‍ ശുദ്ധന്‍ ആയിരിക്കാം. ആവട്ടെ എന്ന് പ്രാര്‍ത്ഥിക്കുകയും ചെയ്യുന്നു.  പക്ഷെ അത് ബോദ്ധ്യപ്പെടുത്തണം. ദളിതനയാലും മേലാളനായാലും!!!  

CHILD RIGHTS, CHILD LABOUR AND CHILD ABUSE

'The Children are the World's most valuable resource and the best hope for the future'.  Hence safe guarding and promoting the welfare of the children are the bounden duty of the state and the society.  Realising that caring and protecting the lives of children needed pivotal priority, the UN had formulated a declaration on the rights of the child. India is a party to the UN declaration.  Accordingly it adopted a National Policy on children.  The policy reaffirmed the constitutional provisions for adequate services to the children both before and after birth and through the period of growth to ensure their full physical, mental and social development.  India is also a signatory to the World declaration on the survival, protection and development of children. 

          In this context let us examine who is a 'Child'.  In common parlance, a child is a human being upto ten or twelve years of age.  But according to international law, a child means, every human being below the age of 18 years.  This age limit is taken as the person will be immature and his physical and psychological growth may not have attained maturity till then.  India has also accepted this concept and formulated enactments on the rights of children – Juvenile Justice (Care and protection of children Act 2000, and child labour (Prohibition and Regulation)Act, 1986. While the states are urgently formulating enactments regarding the rights of children, there are many sceptical persons who doubt whether the children are entitled to any rights when parents or guardians are looking after them.

          In this context, Child Rights can be defined as the fundamental, vital freedoms and the inherent rights of all human beings below the age of 18.  These rights apply to every child irrespective of the child's parents/legal guardian's race, colour, sex, creed or other status.

          The convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is a treaty that lays out the rights of children and the standards to which all governments must aspire in order to promote these rights.  The best interests of the child are always the primary consideration.

          The CRC confers the following rights on all children across the world.

-       a child should be protected against all forms of discrimination and punishment.

-       A child has the right to survival and development.

-       A child should be protected from abuse, neglect and exploitation.

-       A child has the right to education, housing, healthcare and all forms of mental and physical well being.

-       A child should have the right to participation, to expression, information, thoughts and religion.

-       The child should be protected against child labour, drug abuse, sexual exploitation, sale, trafficking and abduction.

-       He / she should not be subjected to torture, deprivation of liberty.

-       He / she should not be forced to take part or indulge in armed conflicts.

          While all children need protection irrespective of their social, economic or even geographical location, some children like the homeless children migrant children, street and runaway children, orphaned or abandoned children, working children, child beggars, disabled children are more vulnerable than others and need special attention.

          A recent UNICEF report on the state of the World's children under the title 'Childhood under threat' concerning about India, states that millions of Indian children are equally deprived of their rights to survival, health, nutrition, education and safe drinking water.  It is reported that 63% of them got to bed hungry and 53 % suffer from chronic malnutrition.

          According to another UN report

-       Between 15-20 million children are victims of bonded labour.

-       An estimated 2 million children world wide are sexually exploited every year.

-       3 lakhs children are actively participating in armed conflicts.

Child Labour

          Child labour is quite rampant in India inspite of the Acts prohibiting the social menace.  The children from poor families are employed in fire and match factories, glass factories, hotel, etc.  The children are being paid meagre wages or at times no payment at all.  The unscrupulous employers find this practice very easy to carry on as the children are not capable or collective bargaining and also are not aware of their rights or entitlements.  Sometimes they are forced to content with some food.  The children will have no will to complain about their condition and the exploitation is carried on.  As the years go by the children end up as bonded labourers with nowhere and will to go and seek better employment.  The children working in match, fire-works, brick klins industries do not have protection from occupational hazards.  Longer periods of work without rest with meagre wages – their health gets ruined from a lustre less childhood, they grow stunted in body and mind.

          The enforcement of relevant Act – Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 1986 and provisions under various labour enactments prohibiting employment of children gets defeated when the employers engage them under covert means.  In spite of there being acts prohibiting child labour the number of children employed is escalating .  In the 1991 census, the number of such workers in India was 11285349 and in the year 2000 it was seen increased to 12666377.

          These datas clearly indicate that the enforcing machinery should be much more vigilant.  Above all, a social awareness against this social evil is required so as to locate the 'child labourers.  Child labour undoubtedly is a form of child abuse and violation of human rights.

          Sexual exploitation of children is another evil that is devouring the conscience of the society.  According to UN reports an estimated 2 million children are being subjected to sex abuse all over the world.  They are exploited in homes, work places and streets.  The children are not safe even within the four walls of their homes as incest is widely reported.  Most of the cases go unreported and unnoticed.  The children who are sexually abused, in most cases are not aware of the fact that they are being ill treated or their human rights are being violated.  In Indian social set up, the children are taught to respect their elders.  The children look at the elders with reverence.  So they think that whatever the elders do are the right things. Even if some of the victims do complain they are left unheeded by the elders.  The conservative puritan social set up of India makes the elders reluctant to discuss about sex and they incidence of sexual abuse of children are least discussed in the family or social circles.  This attitude too contributes to the increasing number of sexual abuses of the children.  The victim's silence encourages the abusers to carry on with their clandestine activities.

          Tourists spots like Goa, Kovalam, Puri and other coastal belts are places where sexual abuses of children are increasingly rampant.  The  parents of children of poor families are lured by tourists with money and they entrust their children to these people. Sexual abuse of the children thrive in the lodges where the tourists stay.  It is very difficult to nab the culprits as the parents/guardians of the children or the hotel owners rarely co-operate with the authorities.

          Sexual exploitation leaves the children wounded and scarred physically and psychologically.  Many of these traumatised children end up as prostitutes later in their life.  The violent childhood experiences at a tender age leaves them to juvenile delinquency and serious psychological disorders like depression, suicidal tendencies, etc.

          In order to curb this social evil the government is taking efforts to improve the implementation of its Juvenile Justice System through functionaries like the Juvenile Justice Boards, Child Welfare Committees, Police and Caretakers in the various institutions under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000.

          Of course, there are a number of enactments to stop the violence towards the children.  But it is a fact that no rule or act can completely eradicate social evils.  Only through sustained public awareness or public movement can we bring a drastic change in the condition of these hapless children.  As we all know, how public awareness campaigns contributed to the success of Family Planning in India.  The awareness of having small family is so welcomed by the people that they look down on persons having a larger family.  NGOs, school teachers and other social activists can play a crucial role in bringing light these social evils.  A good teacher should be able to identify an abused child when he notices a change in the behavioural pattern of his wards.  It is the duty of every individual to try to identify and locate when human rights violation against children are committed.  They should also come forward to save these hapless marginalised children and inform the relevant authorities – the CWC members – so that the culprits are punished and the children are rehabilitated in the appropriate care homes.

         

         

          There are complaints that the children are subjected to different types of abuses even in some Orphanages, where they are supposed to be taken care of.  There are orphanages and adoption centres considering children as a commodity to make money by way of accepting charity from philanthropists, grants from government agencies and in some places even collecting huge donations for adoption from parents, misinterpreting certain provisions of J J Act. Many of these institutions are being run not for rescuing the children, but to make money and power using the strength of these poor lives. The children at many orphanages are subjected to cruelty.  The law is very much weak in this area due to several reasons.  There are no effective inspection machinery to check the activities of orphanages and adoption centres. The authorities of these organisations themselves behave like self governments. Our Laws are quite helpless before these power blocks.

        It is not that the children have no rights, but it has turned out that those who are supposed to protect and safeguard the interests and rights and thereby the welfare of the children have become the torturer and tormenters.

[ Paper presented by the author in the National Seminar on HUMAN RIGHTS, held at S N College  Kannur on 25^th November 2010,sponsored by University Grants Commission, New Delhi.]

NATIONAL SEMINAR ON HUMAN RIGHTS Sponsered by UGC, New Delhi - Paper presentation on Child Rights, Child Labour and Child abuse- on 25th Nov 2010

Nehru and Children

 

Universal Children's Day is being observed on November 20 every year. It was established to encourage all countries to institute a day, firstly to promote mutual exchange and understanding among children and secondly to initiate action to benefit and promote the welfare of the world's children. It was also chosen as the day to celebrate childhood. . But in India it is celebrated on 14th November, as it is the birth anniversary of the legendary freedom fighter, independent India’s first Prime Minister and the architect of modern India – Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru. The reason why his birthday has been chosen for the celebration of children is because of his love and affection for children. Children's Day is to celebrate "childhood" as we all yearn to rediscover our childhood with its innocence and playfulness.

 

Apart from being a Statesman and an efficient administrator, Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru was a gifted writer and a historian. His books The Discovery of India, Glimpses of World history etc. bear the stamp of an intellectual with a sensitive mind and a poetic temperament. He strived to make a free democratic, socialist, secular India and was an apostle of world peace.

 

Though the children’s day is a tribute to the architect of modern India, it is also a gift for the millions of children. Pandit Nehru was very much fond of Children. To them he was always ‘Chacha Nehru’ and not the all powerful Prime Minister. He used to be very happy and exurberant in the company of children. The Children, as a token of love used to gift him with roses – red roses – which he would happily pin in his button hole. Pandit Nehru, apart from being an ardent statesman was a creative writer with a sensitive mind. His sensitivity and imagination is vividly portrayed in all his works, be it letters from a father to his Daughter or his will and Testament.

 

His love for the nature is clearly pictured in his will in which he wished that ‘the major portion of his ashes be scattered from a height over the fields where the peasants of India toil so that they might mingle with the dust and soil of India and became an indistinguishable part of India’.

 

Indeed, his love for the children was an extension of his love for the Nature as the children are the “blooming flowers of the nature”. He might have also been inspired by the dictum ‘Child is the father of Man’.

 

To Nehru, children were always a source of solace and happiness. In his hectic life as the prime minister of india he always had to tackle nerve racking problems. But once he was in the company of children his serious demeanour would change, he would be light hearted with full of mirth. In their company, he would find an outlet for his emotions. He would allow the little ones to play pranks with him. Being a great advocate of education for children, his government oversaw the establishment of many institutions of higher learning. He played an important role in shaping modern India; he laid the strong foundation for India’s future by creating universal primary education and reaching children in farthest corners of India with this programme.

On children’s day we celebrate it by distributing sweets, light entertainments by the children and the like. But is that enough to honour the memory of that great humanist, the tireless fighter for rights and justice?

 

What we have done for the betterment of Children who are destitutes and who are not blessed with a normal, happy life? Something has to be done for those marginalised children.

Celebrating Children’s Day is about giving children the right to enjoy and grow into healthy and educated citizens of the country, and if you can teach our child the value of sharing with others what they are lucky to have, then not only our child will grow into a responsible human being, but also another child who otherwise could have ended up being a delinquent, had it not been for our thoughtfulness. 

 

Every day so many cases of children being abused and ill treated are being reported. They are being exploited in homes, workplaces and streets. Child labour is quite rampant. The children are not safe even within the four walls of their home, as incest is being reported in many cases.

 

Recent UNICEF report on the state of the world’s children under the title “Childhood Under Threat” , speaking about India, states that millions of Indian children are equally deprived of their rights to survival, health, nutrition, education and safe drinking water. It is reported that 63 per cent of them go to bed hungry and 53 per cent suffer from chronic malnutrition.

 

India is a party to the UN declaration on the Rights of the Child. Accordingly, it adopted a National Policy on Children in 1974. The policy reaffirmed the constitutional provisions for adequate services to children, both before and after birth and through the period of growth to ensure their full physical, mental and social development. India is also a signatory to the World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children.

 

While all children need protection, because of their social, economic, or even geographical location, some children like Homeless children, Migrant children, Street and runaway children, Orphaned or abandoned children, Working children, Child beggars, Disabled children are more vulnerable than others and need special attention. 

 

The Constitution of India guarantees all children certain rights, which have been specially included for them. The country is taking efforts to improve the implementation of its Juvenile Justice System through the systems of functionaries like the child welfare committee members, Juvenile Justice Board, police and care-takers in the various institutions under the Act.

Of course, there are a number of laws and enactments to curb or stop the violences towards the children. But in spite of such rules, violation of human rights of them are escalating. Many cases go unnoticed and unreported. It is a universal fact that no rule or acts can completely eradicate social evils. Only through sustained public awareness or public movement can we bring a drastic change in the condition of these children. Only a social consciousness of the people can better the lives of the children who are the future architects of the nation. It is the duty of every person to see that the exploitation of children in all spheres are eradicated and the quality of life of these hapless human beings are enhanced. If we strive to attain this goal it would be a befitting tribute to the farsighted visionary who dreamt the future of india safe and secure in the hands of the children. Yes, “Children are the world's most valuable resource and best hope for future” 

(The speech made on 14th Nov 2010 All India Radio.) 

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