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

A sector under siege? War and real estate: Navigating uncertainty in India's expanding market

I was a little surprised when I received an email alert from a top real estate consultant, Anarock Group , titled "Exploring War’s Effects on Indian Real Estate—When Conflict Meets Concrete," authored by its regional director and head of research, Dr. Prashant Thakur. I had thought that the business would wholeheartedly support what is considered a strong response to the dastardly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Operation Sindoor.

Environmental concern? Global NGO leads campaign urging banks to cut ties with Odisha steel project

A decade after the withdrawal of the South Korean multinational POSCO from Odisha following large-scale protests, questions remain about whether India-based JSW Steel, which took over the project, can successfully revive the 13.2 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) steel plant and coal-fired power plant. POSCO initiated the project in 2005 but exited in 2017 due to sustained local opposition.

Beyond Indus water treaty suspension: A 'nationalist' push despite harsh climate realities

The suspension of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) appears to have pushed the middle classes, at least in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state, Gujarat, further towards what the powers-that-be would consider—a "positive" direction. As usual, during my morning walk, I tried talking with a neighbour about what impact it would have. Ignoring what is widely considered a "security lapse," this person, who had just returned after buying milk, compared the Modi move with Trump.

Ahmedabad's civic chaos: Drainage woes, waterlogging, and the illusion of Olympic dreams

In response to my blog on overflowing gutter lines at several spots in Ahmedabad's Vejalpur, a heavily populated area, a close acquaintance informed me that it's not just the middle-class housing societies that are affected by the nuisance. Preeti Das, who lives in a posh locality in what is fashionably called the SoBo area, tells me, "Things are worse in our society, Applewood."

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.

Despite Hindutva hold claim, 18% Hindus in US don't want to be identified with Hinduism!

Scanning through news items on the Google News app on my mobile — which is what I do almost every morning — I came across a story published on India.com, which I found somewhat misleading. The headline said, "Muslim population drops significantly in THIS country as over 25% Muslims leave Islam due to…, the country is…"

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.

Adani Group a key player in Indo-Israel defence cooperation: Tel Aviv daily

Said to be one of the most influential Israeli dailies, "Haaretz" (literally: News of the Land) has identified the Adani Group—known to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi—as one of the key Indian business houses engaged in defence cooperation with Israel. Pointing out that India supplied the Israeli military with Hermes 900 drones, the daily reported that this advanced aerial vehicle came off “the production line in a factory set up in Hyderabad, as part of the cooperation between the Israeli Elbit and India's Adani Group.”

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.

Search This Blog