Lack of transparency, casual attitude on the part of Central child rights body baffle activists

In a Bt cotton field...

A high-level consultation in Ahmedabad by the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), New Delhi, a statutory body under the ministry of woman and child, Government of India, is said to have left several state non-government organisations (NGOs) dissatisfied over the top body's refusal to show transparency. Chaired by Nina Nayak, member, NCPCR, with consultant Swati Chavla sitting next to her, a statement by Dalit Hak Rakshak Manch (DHRM), one of the participating organisations, said, while the meeting was meant for discussing issues on child rights, the media was not invited. On the other hand, state intelligence bureau (IB) persons sat through to note what all Gujarat activists had to say.
The statement said, even the invitation letter sent to a few NGOs for the consultation very casual. It was sent to "some selected persons" and was signed by one ‘Swetaben’ from NCPCR, whom nobody knew. The organisers neither bothered to take note of the fact that Nina Nayak and Swati Chawla would take the meeting with the NGOs. In fact, the "organisers wanted to keep this a low profile", and the result was, "an important event was turned to a futile exercise; public money was wasted."
Nina Nayak requested Gujarat activists to submit their petitions in English, but "she failed to give explanation on inaction on those complaints which have been written in English", DHRM statement said. Prominent NGO activists including Dipak Dabhi (ASVS), Jayanti Makwana (BAAG), Mujahid Nafis (Manav Garima), Raju and Dipti, Jayanti Makwana (BST), Rajesh Bhatt, Sarifa and Nurjahan (Aman Samuday), Dipak Rohit, Nirjari and Binal (DHRM) did not like such an approach.
"All activists unanimously raised their voice against the apathy of the Gujarat government in solving child rights issues", the statement said, quoting Rajesh Solanki of DHRM, who raised the issue of mismanagement of juvenile homes in Gujarat. Giving an example, he said, Kutch-Saurashtra's seven out of eight district observation homes have been converted into children homes. The result is, children from all the districts are brought to Rajkot, where alone an observation home functions.
During the meeting, Sarifa narrated the plight of minority students in a government school near Bombay Hotel area in Narol where tanker comes once in a day, and for the remaining time kids remains thirsty, and where not a single rule of the right to education Act is followed. Mujahid wondered what happened to his applications forwarded to the NCPCR. Mehul Pandya lamented the plight of construction workers without giving any single incident."
Nirjari from DHRM said that she had contacted all the state counterparts of the NCPCR members and invited them at a recent consultation on juvenile homes, but none of them turned up. She added, several officials were asked to remain aloof from the consultation. Certain major NGOs like Prayas were not even invited by the organisers of the NCPCR meet, which was held at the Circuit House in Ahmedabad, the statement regretted.

Comments

Irrational? Basis for fear among Hindus about being 'swamped' by Muslims

I was amused while reading an article titled "Ham Paanch, Hamare Pachees", shared on Facebook, by well-known policy analyst Mohan Guruswamy, an alumnus of the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University. Guruswamy, who has also worked as an advisor to the Finance Minister with the rank of Secretary to the Government of India, seeks to probe, as he himself states, "the supposed Muslim attitude to family planning"—a theme that was invoked by Narendra Modi as Gujarat Chief Minister ahead of the December 2002 assembly polls.

Why's Australian crackdown rattling Indian students? Whopping 25% fake visa applications

This is what happened several months ago. A teenager living in the housing society where I reside was sent to Australia to study at a university in Sydney with much fanfare. The parents, whom I often met as part of a group, would tell us how easily the boy got his admission with the help of "some well-meaning friends," adding that they had obtained an education loan to ensure he could study at a graduate school.

Tracking a lost link: Soviet-era legacy of Gujarati translator Atul Sawani

The other day, I received a message from a well-known activist, Raju Dipti, who runs an NGO called Jeevan Teerth in Koba village, near Gujarat’s capital, Gandhinagar. He was seeking the contact information of Atul Sawani, a translator of Russian books—mainly political and economic—into Gujarati for Progress Publishers during the Soviet era. He wanted to collect and hand over scanned soft copies, or if possible, hard copies, of Soviet books translated into Gujarati to Arvind Gupta, who currently lives in Pune and is undertaking the herculean task of collecting and making public soft copies of Soviet books that are no longer available in the market, both in English and Indian languages.

Gujarat slips in India Justice Report 2025: From model state to mid-table performer

Overall ranking in IJR reports The latest India Justice Report (IJR), prepared by legal experts with the backing of several civil society organisations and aimed at ranking the capacity of states to deliver justice, has found Gujarat—considered by India's rulers as a model state for others to follow—slipping to the 11th position from fourth in 2022.

Punishing senior citizens? Flipkart, Shopsy stop Cash on Delivery in Ahmedabad!

The other day, someone close to me attempted to order some goodies on Flipkart and its subsidiary Shopsy. After preparing a long list of items, this person, as usual, opted for the Cash on Delivery (popularly known as COD) option, as this senior citizen isn't very familiar with online prepaid payment methods like UPI, credit or debit cards, or online bank transfers through websites. In fact, she is hesitant to make online payments, fearing, "I may make a mistake," she explained, adding, "I read a lot about online frauds, so I always choose COD as it's safe. I have no knowledge of how to prepay online."

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

Of lingering shadow of Haren Pandya's murder during Modi's Gujarat days

Sunita Williams’ return to Earth has, ironically, reopened an old wound: the mysterious murder of her first cousin, the popular BJP leader Haren Pandya, in 2003. Initially a supporter of Narendra Modi, Haren turned against him, not sparing any opportunity to do things that would embarrass Modi. Social media and some online news portals, including The Wire , are abuzz with how Modi’s recent invitation to Sunita to visit India comes against the backdrop of how he, as Gujarat’s chief minister, didn’t care to offer any official protocol support during her 2007 visit to Gujarat.

Area set aside in Ahmedabad for PM's affordable housing scheme 'has gone to big builders'

Following my article on affordable housing in Counterview, which quoted a top real estate consultant, I was informed that affordable housing—a scheme introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi—has deviated from its original intent. A former senior bureaucrat, whom I used to meet during my Sachivalaya days, told me that an entire area in Ahmedabad, designated for the scheme, has been used to construct costly houses instead.

Just 5% Gujarat Dalit households 'recognise' social reformers who inspired Ambedkar

An interesting survey conducted across 22 districts and 32 villages in Gujarat sheds light on the representation of key social reformers in Dalit households. It suggests that while Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's photo was displayed in a majority of homes, images of Lord Buddha and the 19th-century reformist couple, Savitribai Phule and Jyotiba Phule, were not as commonly represented.

Search This Blog