Asian Centre for Human Rights P.O. Box 9627, Janakpuri, New Delhi-110058, India Tel: +91-11-25620583; 25503624; Fax: +91-11-25620583 Email: [email protected]

The Status of Children in India

An alternate report to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child on India’s first periodic report (CRC/C/93/Add.5) Geneva, Switzerland 6-10 October 2003

The Status of Children in India 2 A Submission to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child

Table of Contents

I. INTRODUCTION ...... 5

II. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...... 7

III. UNICEF’S ROLE IN PREPARATION OF THE PERIODIC REPORTS: ETHICAL QUESTIONS...... 16

IV. GENERAL PRINCIPLES...... 19 ARTICLE 2: NON -DISCRIMINATION...... 19 THE INEFFECTIVENESS OF THE SCS AND STS (PREVENTION OF ATROCITIES) ACT, 1989 ...... 20 Case 1: Killing of Dalit children in Bihar...... 26 Case 2: Burning of a Dalit girl in Madhya Pradesh ...... 26 Case 3: Rape of a Dalit girl in Gujarat...... 26 Case 4: Dalit teenager raped in Rajasthan ...... 26 Case 5: Dalit Girl tortured, paraded burnt to death in Uttar Pradesh...... 27 ARTICLE 6: THE RIGHT TO LIFE, SURVIVAL AND DEVELOPMENT ...... 28 LEGALISED EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTIONS ...... 29 Case 1: Drunken cops kill boy in ...... 30 Case 2: Killing of Masood Ahmed Shah...... 31 Case 3: Killing of Javid Ahmad Magray...... 31 Case 4: Killing of Mohammad Ashraf ...... 31 Case 5: Custodial death of Chetan, Punjab...... 31 V. CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS ...... 32 ARTICLE 7: NAME AND NATIONALITY ...... 32 Case 1: The denial of the right to nationality to the Chakma and Hajong children....32 Case 2: Stateless Mohajirs in Hyderabad since 1948...... 34 Case 3: Stateless Punjabi refugees in Jammu and Kashmir since 1947...... 34 Case 4: Still the Outsiders: Pakistani refugees in Rajasthan...... 35 ARTICLE 14: FREEDOM OF THOUGHT, CONSCIENCE AND RELIGION ...... 35 Case 1: Freedom of Religion Acts ...... 36 Case 2: Dalit girl thrown into well for worshipping ...... 37 Case 3: Prohibition of entry of the Dalits into temple...... 38 Case 4: Attacks against Christian minorities...... 38 ARTICLE 15: FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION AND PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY...... 40 Case 1: School children cane charged...... 40 Case 2: Police beat Tibetan students in Agra and Delhi ...... 41 ARTICLE 17: ACCESS TO APPROPRIATE INFORMATION...... 41 ARTICLE 37: THE RIGHT NOT TO BE S UBJECTED TO TORTURE AND OTHER CRUEL, INHUMAN OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT ...... 45 Case 1: Torture of tribal students in Delhi...... 47 Case 2: Torture and tattooing of a Kashmiri boy, Bashir Ahmed Dar...... 47

ACHR Report 2003

The Status of Children in India 3 A Submission to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child

Case 3: Torture of Mukesh Kumar, Punjab...... 47 Case 4: Torture of Rupesh, Punjab...... 48 Case 5: Torture of children in Jharkhand...... 48 Case 6: Torture and custodial death of Pradeep Singh...... 48 ARTICLE 28: CORPORAL PUNISHMENT ...... 49 Case 1: Suicide of Ramu Abhinav...... 49 Case 2: Student beaten to death by Madrasa teacher...... 50 Case 4: Children chained by madrasa in UP...... 50 Case 4: Corporal punishment of Dipendra Dubey...... 51 Case 5: NHRC’s intervention against the corporal punishment of Aarti Saroj ...... 51 Case 6: 60 children given corporal punishment...... 51 Case 7: Students stripped for skipping homework...... 52 VI. EDUCATION, LEISURE AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES...... 53 ARTICLE 28: EDUCATION, LEISURE AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES ...... 53 Case 1: Poor state of girl child: findings of Parliamentary Committee ...... 53 Case 2: Dalit children’s lack of access to education ...... 57 Case 3: Denial of right to education to the Chakmas and Hajong students ...... 58 Case 4: No education for juveniles and destitute in Assam...... 59 ARTICLE 29: AIMS OF EDUCATION ...... 59 Case 1: Hinduisation of education in Madhya Pradesh...... 59 Case 2: Promotion of hatred through education in Gujarat...... 60 Case 3: Promotion of di