Chapter-Five Violation of The Rights of The Children

Child Rights: A Sociological Study of Militancy Affected Children in Jammu Region Chapter-5
Chapter-Five
VIOLATION OF THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILDREN
In the preceding chapter focus has been laid on studying the socio-
economic profile of the child victims. In the present chapter the study has been
initiated regarding the violation of child rights due to militancy related incidences.
In order to have an in-depth understanding of violation of child rights, ten case
studies have also been prepared that deal in detail with the various facets of
militancy situation. These case studies focus on the children how they became the
victim and vulnerable in the present situation of the state.
As armed conflicts keep on escalating all over the world and the most
severely affected are the children. There is nothing more depraved in the war than
the involvement of children in somewhat they do not wish and they do not have the
means – practically or mentally – to cope with and even they don’t recognize what
is good and bad for them. The loss of their childhood, the pain, the brutality and
the displacement they are caught up in, are potentially harmful to their up-
bringing, health issues, mental problems and even they are compromised with their
future because of conflict like situations. Conflict affected children frequently
encounter psychological problems such as post traumatic stress disorder,
depression, long term problems in coping with future stressful situations,
aggressiveness and anger (Analyti, 2012).
According to Betancourt and Khan (2008), War is a situation categorised

by the dissolution of the civil structure, insecurity, unpredictability and loss of
regularity in daily life. It is commonly asserted that when a country is undergoing a
state of war, the worst affected are the children. Their family and social networks
are shattered, diminished and for the children, it is a deep-seated change in their
social structure, which otherwise should support their normal development.
Rieder and Choonara (2012) has provided statistics which states that one in
Violation of the Rights of the Children 138

six children living in a conflict ridden area globally, and it is found that civilians
suffer more harm, damage or death than soldiers in clashes. The affect of war on
children can take many forms resulting into health problems of paramount
importance. Children are a susceptible population and they should never be treated
like adults, as the physiology and psychology differ considerably. In many
countries of the world, children are abducted and recruited to get their involvement
in small operations of dissemination of information, supplies of arms is a grave
concern and poses great problem for the physical and mental stability of the
children. Further, the factor of displacement is a usual outcome of armed conflict
which brings out serious crisis in front of children and their families, regarding
their survival in inhuman situations of undernourishment, overcrowding in
refugees camps and a condition of psycho-social uncertainty, besides limiting their
exposure to quality health services (Burke, 2006 & Pine, 2005).
Because of the armed conflict, children frequently experience Traumatic

Stress Disorder that may impact their whole life afterwards. Catastrophic paradox
is that with the result of Post Traumatic Stress Disorders children inculcate
extremely belligerent behaviour that directs them to the militias, thus generating a
ferocious cycle of violence (Rieder & Choonara, 2012; Burke, 2006; Catani,
2008).
Every incident of war or confrontation results in the emergence of

mammoth number of orphans and often shaping their future years. The recruited
children soldiers, even if they have not suffered severe injuries or disabilities, have
shown symptoms of anxieties regarding separation from the parents and the
uncertainty of surviving and coming back home, the parents left behind and the
warring group’s Post Traumatic Stress Disorders and serious psycho-social
problems (Davis,2010; Chartrand,2008).
Every war that broke out has both direct and indirect consequences on the
general masses. In recent years the conflicts have escalated to the civilian
population, which was not the case earlier when the targets were mainly affected

soldiers. The statistics of 1980’s reveals that the wars have resulted in the death of
85 percent of civilians, who were not directly involved in the confrontation,
whereas the same statistics for world war second stood at 19 percent much less
than the present times armed conflicts.(Goldson, 1996).
Betancourt & Khan (2008) have observed that the long-term sufferings of a
confrontation are more tarnishing than the instant ones. And it is more appalling
when it comes to children. In contrast to the conservative warfare, the use of new
strategies, weaponry and new technologies, which are focusing on social,
economic, political, psychological and physical destruction of one nation and
creating an atmosphere of fear, terror and panic among the civilians. Under these
circumstances, the children are the worst sufferers on all fronts. Their dwellings
get destructed and their families are shattered, and their probability for a
productive and healthy life is minimized. Besides this, large numbers of children
are physically abused, harmed, terrorised and traumatized because of the conflict.
As Goldson (1996), has categorized the effects of war into two main
categories of direct effects and indirect effects. Where the direct effects includes
the death and morbidity of children due to conflict and indirect outcomes includes
improper socialization, dislocation, health problems such as malnutrition, rise in
prenatal and infant mortality rates, increase in deprived surviving surroundings and
an increase in infectious diseases and epidemics that drastically shortens the life
expectancy, along with economic and social implications and psychological
sufferings.
Toole, Waldman and Cutts (1996) have observed that the number of people
who are facing migration and displacement due to conflict has inflated from 30 to
43 million today, it has been corroborated that while the mortality among
dislocated people has increased between 5 and 25 times in contrast to mortality
among people who have not been displaced. As per expectation, the rates have
shown further increase in case of children under 5 years of age, as they are more
prone to conditions of malnutrition and diseases like tuberculosis, diarrhoea,

measles and respiratory infections. Another major obstacle to the recovery of the
children is the difficulty in having access to the health services due to lack of
security. According to a survey conducted in Mozambique, an area affected by
armed conflict, regarding the child and maternal mortality, has shown a
considerable positive relationship between lack of immunization due to failure to
access health services, combined with the absence of the father of the house and
increased infant mortality (Cutts et.al. 1996 & ICRC, 2011).
The United Nation Convention regarding rights of the children has

bestowed the following rights upon the children worldwide, of which India is a
signatory and it includes:
Article 1 (Definition of the child)
The United Nations Convention on Child Rights has suggested the age less
than 18 years for the child, except in the countries where the particular laws set the
lawful age for adulthood as earlier than this. The Conventions monitoring body i.e,
the Child Rights committee has advised and encouraged the States to review and
increase the legal age for majority at 18 or above if at present it is kept less than
18.
Article 2 (Non-discrimination)
The Rights of the Convention applies to all children, irrespective of their

race, faith, culture or abilities; whatever type of family they hail from. It should not
matter whatever language they interact in, where they stay in, whether they are
boys or girls, whatever their parent’s profession is, whatever their culture is,
irrespective of their disabilities or whether they are rich or poor. Every child
should be treated fairly on all aspects.
Article 3 (Best interests of the child)
The foremost concern in the process of decision making which may affect
children should be oriented towards safeguarding their interests. The decision

making of the adults should be in the best concern of the children. The impact of
the decisions on the children should be well thought out in advance and more
particularly in the works of government policies, financial plans and laws related
to the children.
Article 4 (Protection of rights)
This article conceives that the governing bodies have an accountability to

take all accessible measures to ascertain that the children’s rights are protected,
respected and fulfilled. Countries ratify the convention are impressed upon to
review their laws concerning the children. This whole exercise involves
introspecting their legal, social services, educational and health systems, over and
above intensity of financial support for these attributes. Governments are obliged
to take all essential steps to make certain that the least standards prescribed by the
Convention in these fields are being met. They must facilitate the protection of
children’s rights in the families and create a milieu where they can grow up and
accomplish their potentialities. On some occasions, it may require a change in the
existing laws or creating novel ones. These law-making changes can not be
imposed, but are outcome of the same process through which any regulation is
created or transformed inside a country. Article 41 of the Convention states that if
a nation already has superior laws and legal standards regarding children than
those enshrined in the Convention, the higher standards of that nation shall prevail.
Article 5 (Parental guidance)
It is imperative upon the government to admire the rights and

responsibilities of the parents to channelize and show right path to their children,
so that, as children nurture, they may be trained to make use of their rights
appropriately. It also involves helping the children to understand their rights in
proper way and may not take weird decisions when they are too young to handle
its consequences. Article 5 of the Child Rights Convention supports the guardians
to deal with the rights issues "in a way which confirms with developing the

capabilities of the child". At the same time it places on government the

responsibility to defend and help families in fulfilling their indispensable role as
care takers.
Article 6 (Survival and development)
One of the most important rights of the Convention includes the right to
live, in which the children have the right to live a healthy life, and this is the prime
duty of the government to ensure that children should develop and survive
healthily.
Article 7 (Registration, Name, Nationality, Care)
The convention confers on all children the right to have an officially

registered name, legally be acquainted with the government. Children encompass
the right to belongingness to a nation. Children also possess the lawful right to
know about, get acquainted with and, as much as possible, to be taken care of by
their father, mother or by their close relatives.
Article 8 (Preservation of identity)
Convention provides for the right to children to have an identity – an

administrative record of who they are and their complete profile. Government
ought to respect children’s right to a name, nationality and familial bonding.
Article 9 (Separation from parents)
All children irrespective of their race, caste, creed and colour have the right
to survive and grow with their parent(s), except when it is dreadful for them. In
those cases where parents have separated, convention gives the right to the
children to remain in contact with both of the parents, unless it is detrimental for
the emotional and physical security of the child.

Article 10 (Family reunification)
In those cases where family members live in different nations of the world,
children should be authorized to travel between those countries so that children
and parents can continue to be in contact, or get reunite as a family.
Article 11 (Kidnapping)
All the governments should make necessary arrangements to prevent the

children from being moved away from their own nation unlawfully which involves
kidnapping and human trafficking. The Convention’s Optional Protocol on the
child prostitution, sale of children and child pornography has a provision which is
concerned about kidnapping for monetary motives.
Article 12 (Respect for the views of the child)
This article is concerned with the participation of children in their decision

making and listening of their opinions by the adult members of the family,
particularly when the decision is going to affect the children. It encourages the
parents to involve the children in routine decisions and respect their view point
without giving children authority over the adults. Article 12 does not obstruct the
right and responsibility of the parents to communicate their vision on issues
affecting their children. Convention further recognizes that the level of
participation of children in decision making must commensurate to his level of
maturity. When a child grows, his capability to form and express his viewpoint
develops with age. Obviously, the adults will give more weightage to the views of
a teenager than those of a preschooler, whether in the family, in the legal or
organizational decisions.
Article 13 (Freedom of expression)
Convention aims at providing right to the children to receive and share

knowledge, as far as; it is not detrimental for them or others. In enjoying this right,
children also have the moral responsibility to respect the rights, reputation and

liberty of others. This article provide the children right to express and share the
information in any way they choose the best, which includes by talking, writing or
drawing.
Article 14 (Freedom of thought, conscience and religion)
Through this article children over the world have been bestowed upon the
right to profess their religious faith and believe of their will, but on condition that
it should not prevent other people from practising their rights. Parental guidance is
paramount in these affairs. The Child Rights Convention admires and compliment
to the responsibility and rights of parents in providing moral and religious conduct
to their wards. Majority of the religious groups around the world have expressed
their unconditional support to the Convention, which indicates that the Convention
in no way is preventing the parents from bringing up their children within the
traditions of their religion. Further, the Convention also recognizes the right of the
children to question certain aspects of the religious traditions as one matures in
respect of age. They may develop their own views and examine their beliefs, but
only on the condition that they must respect the freedom and rights of the others to
profess and practise their religion and beliefs.
Article 15 (Freedom of association)
The article provides the right to the children to become member of the
groups and organizations, to meet with people and form associations, so far as it
must not discourage other persons from adhering to their own rights. When other
people are availing and enjoying their rights, children should have the honesty and
sincere commitment to admire and respect the rights, liberty and reputation of
others.
Article 16 (Right to privacy)
Every child should have a right to solitude, to enjoy time alone. The
regulations and laws ought to defend and safe guard them from harassment for
their good name, their way of life, their homes and their families.

Article 17 (Access to information; mass media)
Children enjoy the right to receive information which is imperative to their

well-being and health. It is mandatory on the part of the government to promote
mass media – television, radio, print media and internet, social media as content
sources – to make information available in the form that children can understand
and desist from endorsing those materials that might damage the children.
Electronic media should chiefly be encouraged to contribute information in
languages that children can understand. Children’s books should be made available
to the children.
Article 18 (Parental responsibilities; state assistance)
Article holds that in cooperation with each other father and mother must
contribute to their responsibility of nurturing up their children, and must regard
those things that are preeminent for each child. This Convention, does not allow
more rights to government at the cost of the rights of the parents to nurture their
children rather emphasize on government’s accountability to assist parents in
providing more appropriate .guidance to their children. It chairs a duty on
government to endow upon assistance services to parents, meticulously when both
mother and father have been employed outside the house.
Article 19 (Protection from all forms of violence)
Children have the right to be secluded from each types of violence; they
should be protected from being spoil and abuse, physically or psychologically.
Government should guarantee that the children are suitably cared for and are
protected from all sorts of violence, mistreatment and overlook by their parents, or
anyone else who is guardian to them. The Convention does not identify what forms
of penalty parents should use. Though any form of restraint involving violence is
intolerable. There are many ways which are capable in helping children learn about
their family and social panorama for their behaviour – ones that are non-aggressive
and are suitable to the child's level of growth. Majority of the countries has already

categorized the type of penalty which can be regarded as rude and offensive. It has
been left over to the particular governments to re-inspect these legislations and by-
laws in the backdrop of the Convention on Rights of the Children.
Article 20 (Children deprived of family environment)
This article especially focuses on those children, who are deprived of

family environment and on those who are not looked after by their family
members. The Convention sought that these children ought to be looked after by
those people who respect their ethnicity, culture, religion, speech and their
customs.
Article 21 (Adoption)
This convention has primarily focussed on the right to care and protection
in those circumstances in which the child is adopted either in the nation or native
place where child has taken birth or to the other country where he has to live, same
rules should be applied to them which suits best to them.
Article 22 (Refugee children)
Child Rights Convention conceives that those children who have been
forced to stay out of their country due to war like conditions back home and are
living in the shelters requires special protection besides all other rights bestowed
upon by the Convention.
Article 23 (Children with disabilities)
The article advocates for those children who have some kind of infirmity or
disability to have the right to extraordinary care and support, in addition to all
other rights enshrined in the Convention, so that they can enjoy their life
completely and lives an independent life.

Article 24 (Health and health services)
Convention provides the children, right to have the best medical practices
available, to good quality health care, to nutritious food, safe drinking water, a safe
and clean environment and up to date information to help them stay in good
physical shape. It is the moral and ethical duty of the developed nations to liberally
assist under developed nations to achieve this target.
Article 25 (Review of treatment in care)
The Convention bestows upon those children who are taken care of by the
local administration, rather than their parents, carries the right to have a look at
these living arrangements regularly to ascertain their appropriateness. The care,
affection and treatment given to the children should always conform to the
supreme interests of the adolescent.
Article 26 (Social security)
This convention talks about the social security of the children as it

emphasizes that the destitute and poverty ridden children have a right to approach
the government directly or through their guardian to fetch assistance.
Article 27 (Adequate standard of living)
Convention provides the every child has right to a minimum prescribed

standard of living that efficiently caters to their physical and mental requirements.
It becomes the responsibility of the government to assist those families and
custodians, who cannot meet the expenses to provide these standards, particularly
with respect to food, clothing and shelter.
Article 28: (Right to education)
This article confers the right to the attainment of primary education, free of
any charge to all the children across the world. In this endeavour the wealthy and
resourceful nations ought to extend assistance to the poorer countries in their

achievement of this right. Education in the schools should be imparted in a way to

improve the inherent talent of the children and enable them to compete in this
world. Schools must respect the dignity of the children and must not resort to
violent means in maintaining the discipline. It chairs moral responsibility on the
government to ensure that the administration of the schools must review their
discipline policies and desist from mental or physical violence, neglect or abuse in
practising discipline policy. Adolescents must be encouraged to attain the highest
level of qualification to which they are capable of.
Article 29 (Goals of Education)
Convention not only advocates for the attainment of education by the

children, but also focuses that the mode of education should be oriented towards
developing the talents, abilities and personality of the children to the fullest. The
aim of the education should not only limited to impart literacy, but to make them
learned citizens, who should respect others people, their own and other cultures,
human rights, principal of peaceful co-existence, the protection of the environment
etc. The Convention also puts responsibility on the children to honour the rights of
their parents, their values and cultures and the education should inculcate these
values among the children. The Convention restricts itself from addressing issues
like dress codes, school uniforms, prayers or the singing of the national anthem in
the schools and leaves it to the school officials and government in each country.
Article 30 (Children of minorities/indigenous groups)
The Convention while discussing the minority or indigenous children,

states that they have the right to gain knowledge about and exercise their own
language, religion and culture and this right available to every child without any
discrimination. Convention voice for inculcating a feeling of pride among children
while practising one’s own language, religion and culture and is available
everyone; This particular right assumes significance in regions mainly where
minority cultures are not practised by the majority population of the nation.

Article 31 (Leisure, Play and Culture)
The Convention bestows upon every child the right to play and relax, and
this article provides him the opportunity to join in a broad variety of artistic,
leisure and cultural activities.
Article 32 (Child Labour)
The Convention lies onus on the respective government to guard children

from labour that is hazardous or may prove harmful to their health or may come in
the way of their attaining education. The Convention fully addresses the problem
of the working children and protects them from dangerous and exploitative labour;
on the same time the Convention does not prevents the parents of children to
engage them in helping out at home in works commensurate to their age in the
name of this article. If children assist their parents in a family farm or business,
their tasks should be safe and matches to their stage of growth and must meet the
terms of national labour laws. At the same time such job should not infringe upon
any other right available to them through this Convention.
Article 33 (Drug Abuse)
Through this article the Convention urges upon all the government to use
all possible resources to safeguard children from making use of injurious drugs and
from getting involved in the trade of drugs.
Article 34 (Sexual Exploitation)
It is the responsibility of the government to protect the children from all

types of abuse and sexual exploitation. The Optional Protocol has enlarged the
domain of this provision in the Convention regarding child prostitution, child
pornography and the child trafficking.

Article 35 (Abduction, Sale and Trafficking)
This provision stresses upon the government to take all measures at its
disposal to ensure that children are prevented from abducted, being sold or
trafficked. The Optional Protocol has enlarged the domain of this provision in the
Convention regarding child prostitution, child pornography and the child
trafficking.
Article 36 (Other forms of Exploitation)
The children ought to be guarded and protected from such activities that
take undue advantage of them or could bring harm to their wellbeing and growth.
Article 37 (Detention and Punishment)
This provision of the Convention allows nobody to reprimand children in a

brutal or harmful manner. If a child is found guilty of breaking law, then also he
should not be treated cruelly. They must not be put in prison along with adults,
should always remain in touch with their family members, and ought not to be
sentenced to capital punishment or life imprisonment without any likelihood of
release.
Article 38 (War and Armed Conflicts)
This article deals with the war affected children and urges the government
to do everything possible in hand for the care and protection of children affected
by war. Children below 15 years of age should not be dragged or recruited to be a
part in armed conflict or to join the armed forces. Through the Optional Protocol of
the Convention, the age for recruitment in armed forces has been raised to 18 years
of age, besides putting up a blanket ban on compulsory recruitment of children
below the age of 18 years world over.

Article 39 (Rehabilitation of Child Victims)
This provision advocates for the right to receive extraordinary assistance to

the abused and neglected children; and to those who have suffered exploitation in
any form. The efforts should be concentrated towards their physical and psycho-
social recovery; and ensuring their reintegration into the society. The rehabilitation
policy should cater to the needs as well as work for restoring the self-respect,
dignity and health of the children.
Article 40 (Juvenile Justice)
The article about juvenile justice impresses upon the government to

provide legal help and fair treatment to those children who are held responsible for
breach of law in a judicial system within the frame work of child right convention.
Governments are obligatory to set a bare minimum age below which children
cannot be alleged criminally accountable and to ascertain minimum guarantees for
the quick and fair resolution of legal or unconventional trials.
Article 41 (Respect for Superior National Standards)
The Convention also confirms that the rights of Convention are mandatory
only, when the child rights of a country are inferior in standards. Convention
further signifies that, in case the legislation and rules in a country assures better
protection of rights of the children than that of the Child Right Convention; in that
scenario, the rules and laws of that country shall prevail upon the laws of the
Convention.
Article 42 (Knowledge of Rights)
Convention rests the responsibility on government to impart knowledge

about child rights among the children and the adults through electronic, print and
social media; through seminars, conferences and street shows having wide
coverage. Besides, the Convention also advice the adults to help out children to
learn and understand about their rights.

Articles 43-54 (Implementation Measures)
These articles discuss the ways through which international organizations

like UNICEF and governments ought to put their efforts to make sure that children
are protected by their rights.
Violation of Child Rights in Jammu and Kashmir
In the present study stress has been laid on those rights of the children
which have been violated in the state of Jammu and Kashmir because of long
sustaining violence. United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Children
advocates for 54 child rights enshrined to the children worldwide to which India is
a signatory, out of these only those have been studied which pertains to the topic of
research.
Article 1 is devoted to the definition of the children and the United Nations
Convention on Child Rights has suggested that a person designate to be a child
should have the age 18 years or less, other than in those nations where the
particular laws put the legal age for maturity as earlier than this. The Conventions
monitoring body i.e, the Child Rights Committee has advised and encouraged the
States to review and increase the legal age for maturity at 18 or above if at present
it is kept less than 18. In the present study, children below the fourteen years have
been studied as in case of India, it is a matter of constant debate to define at what
age a person ceases to be a child. According to the Census of India, a child is a
person having age of 14 or less, and same is recognised by many governmental
programmes. Biologically childhood is the stage between infancy and adulthood.
According to the United Nations Convention on the rights of the child, a human
being can be categorized as a child having age less than eighteen years and
adulthood is achieved prior to this age. And this categorization of child age is
varying from country to country according to their own laws and the judgment age
limit of a child they possess. The present study involves 35 children below the age
of 6 years, 90 children in the middle age group of 6 – 12 years and 125 children

belong to the early adolescent age.
Discrimination means the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different

categories of people or things, especially on the grounds of race, age, or sex. In
other words, discrimination means treating people differently, negatively or
adversely without any reasonable justification. The Rights of the Convention
pertains to all children throughout the world, irrespective of their race, faith,
culture or abilities; whatever type of family they hail from. It should not matter
whatever language they interact in, where they stay in, whether they are boys or
girls, whatever their parent’s profession is, whatever their culture is, irrespective of
their disabilities or whether they are rich or poor. Every child should be treated
fairly on all aspects. People should not be placed at a disadvantage simply because
of their racial and ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual
orientation. Glaring signs of discrimination have been witnessed in the functioning
of the orphanages, where specifically disabled children are denied admission
because of the absence of trained staff, except in Bal Ashram Budhal, run by
Social Welfare Department, where such restriction does not prevail on papers; but
no disabled child has been admitted even there till date. About 19 girl victims have
reported that their brothers are staying with their surviving parent whereas they
have been sent to the orphanage because of poverty. Both of these incidents points
toward glaring violation of Article 2 of Child Right regarding Non-discrimination.
It has been observed that disable children affected by the militancy met with
discrimination in the hands of the orphanage management. As far as their
admission to orphanages is concerned, there is a clear verbal instruction from the
management to the staff not to admit such children.
Article 4, has been outrightly violated, where in, the government machinery
have failed in safe guarding the rights of the children regarding health and
educational systems in their native areas. As far as funding for the orphanage home
are concerned, meagre or no funding on the part of the government is made, if
ever, those are not timely. They are mainly relying on the public donations.

Government should have an accountability to take all accessible measures to

ascertain that the children’s rights are protected, respected and fulfilled. This
whole exercise involves introspecting their legal, social services, educational and
health systems, over and above intensity of financial support for these attributes.
Governments are obliged to take all essential steps to make certain that the least
standards prescribed by the Convention in these fields are being met. They must
facilitate the protection of children’s rights in the families and create a milieu
where they can grow up and accomplish their potentialities. It does not mean that
helping a child means to leave them with the number of choices with effects in
which they are childish to handle.
Violation of Right to Safety
Manoj Singh, an inmate of SOS, Bal Gran, in camp Gole Gujral, Jammu, is
a resident of village Pran in Kishtwar district. At the age of nine, he had a bad
experience of life. He was studying in class 3rd in the S.O.S. Hermann Meiner,
Senior Secondary School, Jammu, sponsored by the orphanage. His eldest sister
got married two years back. He is a single orphaned and his mother is living with
her parents, after the death of his father who was killed by the militants.
He narrated that one day when his father had gone to the forest to graze
animals and to fetch wood. The animals came back in the evening, and his mother
was anxiously waiting for his father, since afternoon. The village people gathered
at his house and some men went into the forest in search of his father, but returned
back as the night has fallen. The family was very scared and could not sleep the
whole night. In the morning, matter was reported to the police and search was
carried out in the forest where his dead body was found. He was killed by the
militants as few people have spotted some mysterious men with arms in the forest.
The family was already leading a impoverished life, after the death of father, there
was no source of income. Children left their studies and his mother brought them
into the Balniketan orphanage. His sisters were admitted in the Balika niketan
orphanage and his mother is staying with her parents and doing work in others

houses. He now regularly attends the school and likes to study. His favourite game
is Cricket. He has many friends in the orphanage, but still remembers and miss the
love and affection of his mother and sisters. While talking to him, he again and
again remembers his mother which shows that he loves his mother a lot. He wants
to become a teacher after completing his education and wants to go back to his
village to teach the other needy. The incident throws light on the violation of
Article 28, 9, 38, 4 & 5 of the child’s right.
Article 5 is imperative upon the government to admire the rights and

responsibilities of the parents to channelize and show right path to their children,
so that, as children nurture, they may be trained to make use of their rights
appropriately. It also involves helping the children to understand their rights in
proper way and may not take weird decisions when they are too young to handle
its consequences. Violation of Article 5 can be assessed from the fact that the
victims in the orphanage are denied parental guidance consistently. The failure on
the part of the government to protect the families has resulted in the upbringing of
these children away from the guidance of their parents. Their mental development,
personality build up and cultural values have been worst impacted.
Article 6 emphasize on one of the important rights of the Convention which

includes the right to live, in which the Children have the right to live a healthy life.
And this is the prime duty of the government to ensure that children should
develop and survive healthily. The present militancy conflict has had a profound
effect on the state of Jammu and Kashmir, with grave implications for the survival,
development and well-being of children. In the on-going conflict countless
children have been rendered orphans (100,000 as reported in (www.chinar.org) or
are in a state of great impoverishment. They have been deprived of their basic
rights, such as the right to a name, family and an identity, the rights to health and
education, the right to life and secure environment etc. resulting in deep impact on
their socio-psychological well being. The survey shows that the respondents were
uncertain about their future and were in constant worry regarding the well-being of

their family and friends.19 per cent of children reported that they had sleeping
disorders. They cannot sleep comfortably as they are afraid of darkness and see
their parents getting killed in their dreams. Many were fearful of strangers.
Separation from the parents made the child sufferer in childhood and it is
not only the basic right but need of the child to be with his parents unless and until
the parents are dead or bad for them is enshrined in the Article 9 of the UNCRC.
This article has been the most gravely violated, as almost all the children are the
sufferers, because of the militancy, unwillingly their parents have sent them to the
orphanage homes. Nearly 64 percent of the respondents have shown their
willingness to live with their parents. Rest of the 36 percent were not willing
because of the less facilities back home and poverty.
Happy Family Whacked of Militancy
14 years old Khadim Hussain, has been in the Bal Ashram orphanage in
Budhal, for the past five years. He is from Kotcharwal, a remote village in Budhal
highly suffered from militancy. He is having one sister and two brothers. He is
accompanied by his two brothers. He is a student of 7 th standard and likes to go to
school. He is good in studies and other co-curricular activities as drama, dance etc.
He also participated in essay writing competition and got second position in
school.
He was brought to the orphanage home by his father. As his father was
incapable of bringing up the children because of militancy which has ruined their
life. Earlier they were having their own house and land in their village and living a
happy life, but 3 years back, one night totally changed their life, he clearly
remembers that night when a group of 5 – 6 militants came to their village and
started indiscriminate firing on the innocent people, their neighbourer died in front
of their eyes. When militants were shooting at their neighbourer he and his father
were in their house and his father hide himself and children behind the wheat bags
and whole night they remained there. His mother with sisters was out of the home

to visit maternal uncle. In the morning, every one gathered in the village,
administrative officers visited only in the morning. Their family along with other
migrated to the Rajouri town and father started doing the labour work and being
unable to take care of his children brought them to the orphanage home. He
remembers his life in the village, but scared of going back to the village. He misses
the love and affection of his parents and sister. He wants to become a doctor.
The incidence throws light on the violation of Article 5, 9, 19 and Article
28 of child rights.
According to the Article11, Government should take steps to safeguard

children from being taken out illegally. This article is particularly concerned with
abductions. Kidnapping of the children by the militants is not uncommon in the
militancy affected areas. Such incident not only violates Article 11, but also article
6 (Survival and development), article 19 (protection from all forms of violence),
article 34 (sexual exploitation), 36 (other forms of exploitation) and 39
(Rehabilitation of child victims) i.e. their right to education, protection from
violence, sexual assault, and harassment. In the study, 2 percent of the children
have reported witness to abduction or were self victims. One child from the
respondents has faced this situation; she was abducted while coming back from the
schools at the age of 11.
When Life Changed its Meaning
Fourteen year old Seema Devi is from Gorakhpur in Srinagar, a military

infested area. She is the eldest among her three siblings-Ravi, Rahul and Manguri.
She was brought to the orphanage by police, nearly 2 years back, when she was
kidnapped while coming back from the school, where she was studying in the
seventh standard.
Militants abducted to threaten her father whom militants suspects to be an

army informer. She was recovered from Jammu in unconscious condition. She was
taken to the hospital and then police admitted her to the Balika Niketan. Later on

parents were informed but they did not come to meet her, nobody from her family
visits her she cried for many days. Her studies suffered due to this incident. She
did not know her fault till today. She wants to go back to her home and live with
her siblings but nobody comes to get her back home. Even in the orphanage,
inmates were not friendly with her they say her behaviour is very aggressive, they
often talk about her. Warden reported that with time the things have started
improving. Now, she has many friends. Manisha another inmate is her best friend.
She wants to study ahead and become a Doctor to earn name in the society.
The loss of her education, her abduction, separation from parents has left a
deep scar on her mind. The case study points towards the abuse of article 11, 9, 28,
19 of child rights.
In Article 19, Children have the right to be secluded from each types of
violence; they should be protected from being spoiled and abused, physically or
psychologically. Government should guarantee that the children are suitably cared
for and are protected from all sorts of violence, ill-treatment and overlook by their
parents, or anyone else who is guardian to them. As far as the study is concerned,
Article 19 has been violated in the worst way. Nearly 4 percent of the militancy
affected children have reported physical abuse in the hands of the relatives, when
they stayed with them after the incident. Whereas, all the respondents have shown
signs of mental disturbance because of the violence.
Children Deprived of Parent’s Love
Anwar belongs to the Kishtwar district. He is thirteen years old and came
to the orphanage with his paternal uncle five years back. He feels very unlucky as
he does not know much about his parents because he was small when brought to
the orphanage. It is only through his maternal family that he knows little about his
parents that his father was killed by the militants and his mother left home as she
could not bear the shock and left home, leaving behind him and his sister. After
this incident his maternal uncle brought them to his house, where they stayed for

three years. But as his uncle was a poor farmer he could not bear the financial
burden for long and brought him and his sister to the orphanage. Since then he has
been staying here and the institution has become a home for him now. Coming to
the orphanage helped him to stabilize his life as death of his father and missing of
his mother completely changed the meaning of life for him. He says that he feels
unlucky as he does not know how it feels to be loved by the parents. He feels
deprived of his parents and gets filled with rage for the manner in which his father
was killed. But he is positive towards life and still waiting for his mother. He
wants to make full utilization of all the services available at the institution so that
he can become a rich person and then he can help others. His aim in life is to
become a teacher. He loves his sister the most and wants to live with her. The
incident infringes upon the right of the child under article 28, 9, 38, 4, 5 and art 31.
Article 23 advocates for those children who have some kind of infirmity or
disability to have the right to extraordinary care and support, in addition to all
other rights enshrined in the Convention, so that they can enjoy full and
independent lives. This article has been violated by all the orphanage homes, as no
trained staff and facility is available for the special children though it is not
accepted by the administration, but it has been learnt that they did not give
admission to disabled children, because of administrative compulsion they have
not mentioned it in their literature, but instructions are there to the staff of
orphanage not to admit such children, clear violation of article 23. Children have
the right to have good quality health care, which helps them to stay healthy but
during the study it was found that nearly 3 percent of the children when admitted
in the Balniketan were suffering from serious ailments, they were mistreated and
were not given proper medical care during relocation following militancy incident.
A glaring violation of Article 24 in the hands of government agencies as well as
relatives.

Deep Anguish in the Heart
Anchal Singh, fourteen years of age is an inmate of Balniketan orphanage

in Jammu. He belongs to Samdhi village in Doda. He was brought to this
orphanage home 3 years back when he was eleven years old, after the assassination
of his father Kirpa Ram, a Village Defence Comittee member, in 2008. He was
accompanied by his mother, along with his two siblings-Kavita and Tanuja, his
sisters were putting up at Balika Niketan. His mother migrated from there due to
continued threats from the militants.
He is a student of class fifth and has suffered immensely in his studies. He

recalls the frightful night, when three men (militants) carrying guns knocked at
their door. When his father opened the door, he was shot at with four bullets. His
mother locked herself with children in other room. After sometime, when they
opened the door, found their father in a pool of blood. They all were weeping
profusely. Then army and police visited their house and searches were carried out
to find the militants, but nobody was caught. After few days, they started receiving
threats from the militants and then their mother brought them here. He still
remembers his home and friends there, and often wishes to go back home. But
fears for his life on return. He has great outrage against the militants and wants to
join army to take revenge of his father. The incident has made a great impact on
him psychologically that, he did not like to talk to the strangers. This particular
incident suggests the violation of Article 9, 28, 38 and 39 to live with parents.
Article 26 convention talks about the social security of the children as it

emphasizes that the destitute and poverty ridden children have a right to approach
the government directly or through their guardian to fetch assistance. Nearly 74
percent of the respondents have reported meagre or no assistance provided by the
government agencies immediately after the incident. Only their relatives have
helped them at that time. Even orphanage homes have reported very little or no
assistance, that too untimely and irregular assistance from the government quarters
for the needy children, glaring breach of the Article 26.

Infringement on the Right to Education
Twelve year old Pooja Devi, has been in the orphanage for the past six
years. She is a promising student and is in the standard 4th. She clearly remembers
what happened on that night. Her family was taking dinner after a hectic day. At
that moment somebody started knocking their door very heavily. Her father got up
to open the door. As soon as he opened the door, four men entered into the house
loaded with guns. The children were asked to go to the other room. They asked her
mother to cook food or otherwise they will kill everybody. Her father resented and
asked them to go out of the house. The militants being annoyed with his father,
fired upon him, killing him instantly. Her mother was shouting and trying to stop
them and suddenly one of the militant opened fire on her. She was hit by bullet in
the stomach and died. Death of both the parents changed meaning of life for them.
She along with her brother had to move to her grandparent’s place. This led to a
break in their studies. They stayed there for two to three months and were later on
put into the orphanage because they were old and could not afford their expenses.
Coming to the orphanage was challenging but they were left with no other option.
She still remembers the brutal killing of her parents and the ugly sounds of the
gunfire because of which she cannot sleep properly. She wants that the conflicts
should end as soon as possible so that no more innocent lives are lost. The incident
violates the right of the child under the Article 5, 9, 28, 31 and 38. Article 28
confers the right to the attainment of primary education, free of any charge to all
the children across the world and Article 29 states that education should be
oriented towards developing the talents, abilities and personality of the children to
the fullest. Education also serves much broader functions. It gives shape and
structure to children’s lives and can instill community values, promote justice and
respect for human rights and enhance peace, stability and independence. But the
present conflict has deprived many children of their basic right to education and
posing serious problems for the future. Education of the children has been
disrupted or discontinued due to many reasons. As we discussed in chapter four
that thirty three percent of the respondents were able to continue their studies, but

Sixty-seven percent respondents could not continue their schooling because of

various reasons, compromising their abilities and prospects. Seven percent
respondents said that their school buildings were deliberately targeted by the
militants and got destroyed in those acts and they were left with no other choice
than to quit school. Thirty four percent of the respondents were not going to the
schools as their parents were killed by the militants and then they could not
concentrate on their studies, thus they dropped out of the school. For thirty four
percent of the respondents it was the question of basic survival that had forced
them to quit the schools as these respondents were directly or indirectly affected by
the on-going conflict.
Unswerving Battle with Life
Life for 13 year old Ashok Singh has been a constant battle. He is in 3rd
standard and has joined Balniketen 3 years back, but while talking to him it seems
that he has seen enough of his age. His mother too is at the orphanage and is
working as a Mother.
The situation which Ashok Singh faced completely shattered his life as he was
very close to his father. His father was working as a medical representative. But he
was receiving constant threat calls from the militants as they wanted that he should
work with them. As he was not submitting to their demands, he was kidnapped and
till date his whereabouts are not known. The police, however, claims that the
decomposed body of his father was found from the forests which he denies.
This incident completely changed their lives and shattered the whole
family. It left them in a state of total confusion with no hope for the future. They
went through extreme economic crisis and were consistently being threatened by
the militants. For these reasons the police shifted the family to a school in
Srinagar, where he along with his family stayed for seven months. From there the
police then brought them to the orphanage. But he does not like to stay at the
orphanage home, as he feels himself imprisoned and because he cannot develop

trust with anybody. But he does not want to go back to the village either as he is
afraid. This continuous movement from one place to another resulted in
educational loss to him and therefore, is lagging far behind his age mates. He
seems quite disturbed and revengeful as he said that the only aim in his life is to
join the armed forces so that he can take revenge from those who killed his father.
This shows the deep psychological impact that the killing of his father left on the
little boy and the harm it has done to his innocence. This particular incident
suggests the infringement of article to live with parents, Article 28, 29, 19 and 26.
Article 31 bestows upon every child the right to play and relax, and
provides him the opportunity to join in a broad variety of artistic, cultural and other
recreational activities. The obstacle to freedom of movement created by conflict
not only prevents children from gaining access to schooling and health facilities
but they also hinder the ability of the young to enjoy leisure and play activities in
the company of their peers. The respondents underwent similar experiences as
checks were put on their mobility by their parents or relatives out of fear at their
earlier places of residence. The respondents, however, are now cherishing the
liberty given to them for enjoying the activities that are a source of happiness to
them.
Real Sufferers-Children
Feroz Din Chowdhary is an inmate of Bal Ashram, Budhal. He is thirteen

years old and is in the orphanage for the last 3 years and is a student of 5 th standard
in a local school. He belongs to Poonch and is having a sister, who lives with his
mother in the village. He has lost his father when he was just eight years old. His
father Din Mohd. was killed in an Integrated Explosive Device ( IED) explosion,
planted by the militants on the road to target army vehicles. He remembers that
day; he was playing with his younger brother and sister outside his home. His
father has gone out for work and mother was cooking food in the house. He saw
some villagers carrying the body of their father on the shoulders. From them they
came to know about the death of their father in an Integrated Explosive Device

(IED) explosion. At first, he was unable to understand the situation, everybody was
weeping, his mother and relatives were crying terribly. Police and army people
came to their home and told something to his mother. Later he came to know that
the militants have escaped after committing the incident. The incident has
completely eroded their family mentally as well as financially. The bread earner of
the family has gone and they do not know what to do now? They did not receive
any assistance from any quarter as promised by the administration. Relatives also
assisted them for short period only. His mother started working as labourer, which
was not sufficient enough to bear the expenses of the family. Due to which she was
forced to bring both the sons to the orphanage. His younger sister lives with his
mother back home in the village. He likes to attend the school, but after this
incident, his studies suffered the most. He did not attend any school for the next
two years due to poverty and was able to resume his studies, when admitted to the
orphanage. He attends a local public school along with his brother; studies of both
are sponsored by the orphanage. He is always worried about the health and safety
of his mother and sister back home, as nobody is there to take care of them. He
remembers the love and affection of his mother and sister and wants to live with
them. He is satisfied that his brother is accompanying him, with whom he shares
his mind. His health is a concern, as he often remains ill and feels weakness and
complained that no medical facility is available in the orphanage and visits
government health centre whenever required.
His ambition in life is to study hard and become an officer, so that he can
live with his mother. This particular incident points towards the violation of child
right under Article 28, 9, 24, 39.
Article 38 deals with the war affected children and urges the government to
do everything possible in hand for the care and protection of children affected by
war. Many incidents related to the violation of this article can be quoted wherein
administrative machinery has failed to perform its duties towards militancy
affected children. Nearly, 16 percent victims reported that no government official

visited them after militant incident. They were looked after by their relatives.
Another 38 percent have reported that they were looked after by the army for a few
days only before admitting them to the orphanage home. The role of government
in providing protection and care at their native place was far from satisfaction, a
defiance of Article 38.
Anguish in the Personality
9 year old, Rajkumar a boarder of SOS Balgran and a student of 2nd

standard , hails from Gulabgarh area of Kishtwar district. He is a student of Ist
standard and was brought to the orphanage by his maternal uncle. He was already
single orphaned due to the death of his mother, when he was 5 years old due to
illness. He has elder brother, who is staying with maternal uncle. His father was
working as porter with Indian army and was threatened many a times by the
militants to leave his work. One day, he went out for his work but was killed in an
encounter between army and militants. Village people and army man came to their
house, army offered to take children with them, but the village headman did not
agreed. They were shifted to the house of their maternal uncle who lives in the
nearby village. Maternal uncle was having a big family and limited resources
because of which he shifted him to the SOS Balgram, Jammu two years back.
During intervening years he did not attend school. Poverty forced his uncle to send
him to orphanage, elder brother stayed back because he was helping the uncle in
his work. He did not like the atmosphere of the orphanage in early days but slowly
he is coping with the atmosphere of the orphanage but now feels good. He misses
his brother and often finds himself alone to share his mind. He does not like to
make friends. He misses his brother a lot and wants to live with him. After
completing his education; he wants to become an army officer and will take
revenge with the killers of his father. The case study is a saga of multiple
violations of child rights such as Article 9, Article 28, Article 19, and Article 5.
Article 39 advocates for the right to receive extraordinary assistance to the

abused and neglected children; and to those who have suffered exploitation in any

form. The efforts should be concentrated towards their physical and psycho-social
recovery; and ensuring their reintegration into the society. The rehabilitation policy
should cater to the needs as well as work for restoring the self-respect, dignity and
health of the children. But the resources available in this regard in the state are
abysmally inadequate. The institutions that are providing rehabilitation to children,
victims of militancy, admit only those children who are not suffering from any
major mental disorder. Thus, not much help is available to them.
In Article 42, Convention rests the responsibility on governments to impart

knowledge about child rights among the children and the adults through electronic,
print and social media; through seminars, conferences and street shows having
wide coverage. Besides, the Convention also advice the adults to help out children
to learn and understand about their rights. Nearly all the respondents have shown
ignorance towards knowledge of any right available to them. Neither any seminar
nor event have ever been organised to impart knowledge in children about their
rights by any governmental or semi- governmental agency.
Violation of Child rights by the Government machinery
Mohd Riyaz, a 14 years old boarder of Bal Ashram, Budhal is a student of

th
8 standard of the local public school. He has two sisters, one married and one
staying with the mother in the Alal village of Thannamandi in Rajouri districts. He
has no interest in studies and don’t want to attend the school after the incidence
because he wants to work for sustaining the life of his mother and sister. His story
is similar to many other children who have lost their father in the militancy related
activity; but he has lost his elder brother in the same incidence. It was a Friday
afternoon, when his father and elder brother had gone to the nearby mosque to
offer prayers when suddenly two terrorists coming on a motorcycle resorted to
indiscriminate firing, killed both of them on the spot; whole family was
traumatized, relatives were crying loudly and weeping. The family was left with
small piece of land producing crops just suffice to sustain. His family was told by
the police, that the militants have escaped from the spot committing the crime and

police have got to know from the sources that his family was targeted by the
militants on the behest of somebody from the locality. Keeping in view the
looming threat on the life of Riyaz, his mother brought him to the Bal Ashram, 4
years back. At first, he was frightened by the incident and was not able to sleep at
night. He did not like to make friends. His mother often comes to meet him. He
does not believe people easily and wants to join Army to take revenge from the
militants. The case study of Riyaz, is a live example of breach of child rights
falling under Art.9, Art 38, 19.
It has been observed that more or less all of the basic rights of the children
have been violated. Primarily article 4, has been dishonoured, where in, the
government machinery has failed in safe guarding the rights of the children
regarding health and education in their native villages. Article 9, ensuring
companionship with parents and siblings, Article 19 protection of children from all
forms of violence; mental and physical, Article 38, 39 along with article 42
ensuring that the governments must do everything to protect and care for children
affected by armed conflict, psycho-social recovery and social integration following
armed conflict or other abusive experiences. The failure on the part of the
government has been found to organise seminars, workshops and awareness
programmes to make children aware about their rights.

Chapter-Five Violation of The Rights of The Children

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Child Rights: A Sociological Study of Militancy Affected Children in Jammu Region Chapter-5

VIOLATION OF THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILDREN

According to Betancourt and Khan (2008), War is a situation categorised

Violation of the Rights of the Children 138

Because of the armed conflict, children frequently experience Traumatic

Every incident of war or confrontation results in the emergence of

Violation of the Rights of the Children 139

Violation of the Rights of the Children 140

The United Nation Convention regarding rights of the children has

Article 1 (Definition of the child)

The Rights of the Convention applies to all children, irrespective of their

Article 3 (Best interests of the child)

Violation of the Rights of the Children 141

Article 4 (Protection of rights)

This article conceives that the governing bodies have an accountability to

Article 5 (Parental guidance)

It is imperative upon the government to admire the rights and

Violation of the Rights of the Children 142

capabilities of the child". At the same time it places on government the

Article 6 (Survival and development)

Article 7 (Registration, Name, Nationality, Care)

The convention confers on all children the right to have an officially

Article 8 (Preservation of identity)

Convention provides for the right to children to have an identity – an

Article 9 (Separation from parents)

Violation of the Rights of the Children 143

Article 10 (Family reunification)

All the governments should make necessary arrangements to prevent the

Article 12 (Respect for the views of the child)

This article is concerned with the participation of children in their decision

Article 13 (Freedom of expression)

Convention aims at providing right to the children to receive and share

Violation of the Rights of the Children 144

Article 14 (Freedom of thought, conscience and religion)

Article 15 (Freedom of association)

Article 16 (Right to privacy)

Violation of the Rights of the Children 145

Article 17 (Access to information; mass media)

Children enjoy the right to receive information which is imperative to their

Article 18 (Parental responsibilities; state assistance)

Article 19 (Protection from all forms of violence)

Violation of the Rights of the Children 146

Article 20 (Children deprived of family environment)

This article especially focuses on those children, who are deprived of

Article 22 (Refugee children)

Article 23 (Children with disabilities)

Violation of the Rights of the Children 147

Article 24 (Health and health services)

Article 25 (Review of treatment in care)

Article 26 (Social security)

This convention talks about the social security of the children as it

Article 27 (Adequate standard of living)

Convention provides the every child has right to a minimum prescribed

Article 28: (Right to education)

Violation of the Rights of the Children 148

achievement of this right. Education in the schools should be imparted in a way to

Article 29 (Goals of Education)

Convention not only advocates for the attainment of education by the

Article 30 (Children of minorities/indigenous groups)

The Convention while discussing the minority or indigenous children,

Violation of the Rights of the Children 149

Article 31 (Leisure, Play and Culture)