This page is for your creative contributions. E-Mail your articles to startt.blog (at) gmail.com
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A FRIEND
RENIL JUSTIN S(1)
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Then, Shyam saw a fish seller with a lot of fresh fish in the
market. He was selling it for Rs. 40 per kg. The man asked him “do you pay any
tax for this? The seller asked him to leave the place if he does not want to
buy anything. He left the place. On the way he saw a man sitting beside the street, asking the people to join for YOGA. The man also asked Shyam, 'Sir, do you
want to learn yoga free?'. Shyam said, 'yes, of course'. The Yogi was so happy and
made Shyam sit in a posture from which it was not possible for him to come out easily. While Shyam was on this difficult 'asana', the shrewd yogi
took all his money and ran away.
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(Short Story, Essay, Poem, Sharing of experiences and other creative articles in MS Word, Times New Roman, 11, Maximum word limit 1000.
Cartoons and paintings in scanned form.
Quiz/Questions only on Current Affairs)
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STARTT Personality Development Program: A superb experience
It was a crisp cool morning on 27th October.I woke up wondering why there was a feel of excitement in the air and then it occurred to me that it was the day of our KENGERI TRIP. I quickly got ready, packed my bag for catechism (unfortunately I had to wait till noon for the program) and set course to church.
By twelve thirty we assembled in St.Joseph's hall for lunch.After having a delicious lunch we went to our allotted buses to start our journey. The journey was not at all boring. We entertained ourselves by asking each other riddles and by telling jokes. I found the journey quite long but we finally reached there. On getting down from the buses we went to the campus to start our first session with the one and only, Fr.James Pampara on the topic ‘motivation’. It was a really interesting session with some wonderful videos. Next up we had our first competition-elocution. Every contestant had put up a fantastic performance and it was a really tight fight. But unfortunately, everyone can’t win so Neomi from group S3 was selected as the best. Then we went outdoors to take in some fresh air, to stretch our legs and to play some games. The first game was awesome. We had to stand holding hands forming a chain and had to get a hoop through the chain. It was certainly not as easy as it looked but it was still fun.
Then we proceeded to another game in which we were paired up with a partner, blindfolded and had to get across a minefield. This game was flabbergasting and challenging but don’t forget, we are startites. Most of us got across without any difficulty. We had a small snack break next to fill our grumbling stomachs. With filled stomachs, we went for the quiz competition conducted by none other than our friends from the Y Group. The questions were really challenging but competitors did a good job. In the end S2 emerged as the winners. The much awaited debate competition was up next. It was really exciting to see competitors fighting for and against the topic. Finally Sonali from S3 received the title of best debater. Time had flown really quickly and we had reached the prize distributing time. The prizes were handed by Fr.James Pampara and Professor Gladys.
This development program has helped me improve my character and has made me little more confident and brave to go for more debate , elocution and quiz competition. This is all because of STARTT and I am really proud to be a part of it.
That was an absolutely superb day. I thank all the masterminds behind this program with all my heart. It was a fantastic day which I will always remember. I thank all the STARTT members and volunteers and mentors for their hard work.
Reshma (S Group)
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My Little
brother
I have a little
brother!
When I do my duty
He is very naughty
When I do Maths
He comes with snacks
When I want to read
He comes to me with a need
When I read science
He shouts little rhymes
When I am in trouble
He walks around like
a bubble
At all times he disturbs me
Yet it’s a pleasure to me
Because he is my Little brother!
-Aleena Johnson- J4
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A SONG FROM MY HEART
My song is full of praise,
It’s sure, that
you’ll attain grace,
I want always Jesus to be my sight,
And want always to be exquisite.
I have a song,
Which has a strong
Simple pleasant story,
And it’s not made up of fury.
My song is full of praise,
It’s sure, that you’ll attain grace,
I want always Jesus to be my sight,
And want always to be exquisite.
I have a song,
Which has a strong
Simple pleasant story,
And it’s not made up of fury.
This song from my heart,
Never tears your heart apart,
So chant my song,
And move along.
Godson Babu
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SANTA ON A CHRISTMAS EVE
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| (santa-clause.eu) |
The light has come up,
Every hand rises to bid goodbye to darkness,
Every face experiences smiles after frowns,
Every mind makes resolutions to welcome changes,
Every tree is found
adorned with bells and balls,
Kept aside, is a small crib made by human hands,
Every kitchen filled with cakes and dishes,
Every heart prepares the room to welcome light.
It’s the time when every kid opens its ears,
To hear the story of that great light,
Who was born two thousand years ago,
In a manger, on a very cold night,
Then they move from one door to the other,
Wearing hats painted red and white,
They proclaim that the light “JESUS” has born,
With a cheerful mind and a pure heart.
After hours of singing and dancing, they come,
Wait eagerly to see long the beard man,
They think he comes in an open sleigh,
With their gifts from far away.
They receive the gifts with a thankful heart,
Have a delicious meal with mom and paa,
Meet their friends and play hide and seek,
And wait patiently for next CHRISTMAS EVE..
Disha Dixon S Group
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Beautiful
World
The world is so
beautiful
It is made by god
He made rivers,
trees and everything.
I love my beautiful world….
Where I was born,
and
where I had grown
up.
On the bank of the river….
In the shade of
trees…
Yes, I really love
this
beautiful world.
LIA SAJI, J1
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A FRIEND
A friend is a personal teacher
They teach us either good or bad
A Friend is like a judging master
They help us to know what is wrong or
right
A Friend is like a cheering soul
They cheer us when we strive
A Friend like a supporting team mate
They fight for us over feeling and pain
A Friend is like a loving dear
They love and care for us
A
Friend is like lighting lamp
They show way to us
NO MATTER WHAT FRIENDS ARE
BUT CHOOSE A GOOD FRIEND AND LIVE
JOYFULLY
RENIL JUSTIN S(1)
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Joy of Giving and Sharing
It was yet another tiring day
at work and I was eagerly awaiting my Husband’s call
telling me that he is near
enough for me shut down my laptop and be at the office gate
(the usual routine is that he
picks me up from work). The much awaited call came but
alas, it was to convey that he
is stuck in office and would be late. Having no other option,
I decided to try my luck with
auto and thankfully, the very first auto driver I requested
agreed to drop me home.
As per my usual practice while
traveling in autos, I plugged on my ipod and soon lost
myself in the soothing
melodies of yesteryears. We soon reached the St Johns Hospital
signal and seeing the long
queue of vehicles ahead of him, the driver switched off the
engine and stretched himself.
These days in Bangalore (also
could be the case in other cities as well), we have no
dearth of small kids coming to
us for alms or trying to sell some trinket at every other
signal junction. It’s indeed
true that we are very often advised not to encourage these
activities and I am inclined
to agree to a certain extent. However , many a time it is really
difficult to turn a blind eye
to these little ones trying to eke out a living the way they have
been taught.
Today, there was this young
lad of about 8 years who came up to me
with his palms stretched out ,
I opened my hand bag and looked into my wallet but could
not find any currency of lower
denomination . Looking up to the young face, I could see
that he was intently focusing
his attention inside my bag which in fact momentarily
annoyed me and then I released
what had caught his attention . It was the bar of Bounty
Chocolate which one of my
colleagues who had gone abroad had given me. I had kept it
for my kiddos who of course
loved any thing to do with chocolates! I offered the same to
him, who joyously accepted it.
In my combination of Hindi/Tamil/Kannada , I
prompted him to eat it
immediately since I did not want him to end up not getting any
portion of the bar , but this
is where this little boy defeated me totally . He shook his head
mumbling something, pointed
towards the other side of the road and the next thing I
knew, he was crossing the
road. I turned to the other side to see what was happening and
the sight I witnessed was one
so eye-opening and at the same time endearing. The little
boy was very happily sharing
the small bar of chocolate with 2 other little boys and all of
them looked so happy .
The signal had turned green
and my auto moved on, and in me there was a certain feeling
of contentment and joy I had
never experienced before. In today’s world of competition,
we see that most of us tend to
become more and more self-oriented and less sharing, may
be its high time we draw some
lessons from these kids.
For instance, I used to think
that by donating to some charities on a yearly basis, I have
provided my due to the
society. However, now I realize that there's much more.
Even small acts such as
sharing a tiny bar of chocolate could bring happiness to some and
observing that happiness
provides a different kind of contentment to certain others.
I shared this incident with my
family and I think it did move them as deeply as it moved
me. And I felt real happy when
recently, while waiting at a signal, my husband on his
own without any prompting took
the time to take some money from his wallet to offer the
small boy trying to sell flags to
us.
Gudiya
John, Mentor and Co-ordinator, STARTT-SLP
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GOD
God is great,
He knows our fate.
He is like our father,
To make us good.
He is like our mother,
To give us food.
God writes the story!
The story of our lives.
It is His screenplay.
He makes it film (gives life).
We are the actors.
The film begins,
When we are born.
The film ends,
When we are dead.
“To lead us, He is in front of us.
To save us, He is behind us.
To bless us, He is above us”.
‘GOD BLESS YOU’.
Godson Babu (Group S-1)
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The man who was a miser
Once
upon a time, there lived a man named Shyam who was a miser. He lived with his
family in a village. It was New Year’s Day. The man’s wife gave a list of food items that was over in the Home and asked him buy and come.
The
man set off with the list. On the way, he saw a shop selling atta (Wheat Powder). The merchant
said Rs. 30 per Kg .He asked the merchant, 'can you make it Rs.10
per Kg?'.The merchant said this is the lowest price you get.
Then, the miser said 'I saw a person selling it for Rs. 5/- per Kg, today morning'. Hearing this the merchant said to him, 'ok, you may go and
buy from him' and the miser had to leave the shop.
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Moral of the story:
Never waste money for silly reason nor
be miser, use money for needy things.
Aleena Johnson, Group: Junior-4
Aleena Johnson, Group: Junior-4
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Why I love Spring?
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| Photo: commons.wikimedia |
THE SEASON SPRING,
MAKES ME BRING,
A SMILE ON MY FACE,
THEY ARE REALLY THE BEST DAYS.
THE BIRDS FLY,
HIGH IN THE SKY,
WITH SHINY WINGS,
WITH A BEAUTIFUL MORN,
FIELDS LAY IN GOLDEN WITH CORN,
APPLES TURN RED,
COZY I LAY IN THE BED,
BE GRATEFUL TO GOD.
THE ALMIGHTY GOD,
I LOVE THE SEASON SPRING.
Aleena Johnson, Group: Junior-4
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My “Over- Disciplined” Chinky friend
By Tresa Saju, Mentor, STARTT
A card which came too early for the next ‘Friendship Day’ by snail mail,
reminded me about my one time close friend. She was our neighbour while we were
in Singapore. In spite of many ideological differences, we shared a special
friendship.
Her first response to me when I returned after a short vacation in India
was ‘Hi, it’s so sad, all your fairness gone by farming’. I got embarrassed.
She knows India as a country with large farm lands where people labour day and
night to earn a livelihood. I decided to share about the uniqueness of our
country’s culture, traditions, heritage and values with her. But the attempts
were not always fruitful because she was not able to digest the logic behind the
customs and traditions we follow in India. Her attitude itself was totally
different from ours. Also according to her, most Indians are not disciplined
and they lead a casual lifestyle.
My friend was very critical of the frequent strikes in India. According
to her India is also a ‘republic’ like Singapore. So when people have selected
their rulers and when the government is working hard for the welfare of people,
how could people protest against the elected leaders? According to her it is a
clear indication of ‘disobedience and consequent indiscipline’. She couldn’t
concur with my argument that right to protest against poor governance is a fundamental
right in a democratic society.
Her doubts and my explanations continued. Some of her queries about Indians
were the following:
Why are you agreeing to marry a person whom you never knew before?
Why do you control your youth and never allow them to have close
friendship with opposite gender?
Why parents stay along with married children?
Why are you averse to public display of affection to your partner?
Why do you always violate traffic rules?
Why you are not keeping “Little India” (place in Singapore where most
Indians live and have business establishments) clean like the other places of
Singapore?
Once she asked me what is the meaning of ‘bribe’? I tried to explain.
Her innocent doubt was why should one pay an extra amount when there are
stipulated rules and regulations about the execution of a service or delivery
of a product? I gave her some examples and she was surprised at the extent of
corruption in India..
The questions asked by Chinky friend had indeed prompted me to
introspect on our culture and lifestyle. In spite of our unique cultural
traditions and robust family values, we are looked down upon by people from
other countries. We, Indians are habituated to violate rules to get things done
in our way. Even when the path is straight forward, people tend to search for
roundabouts. This results in indiscipline, chaos and inequity. Self-discipline is a habit, a practice, a
philosophy and a way of living. People who achieve enduring success are always self-
disciplined.
What is self-discipline?
Briefly, it is the self-control imparted on own behavior and actions. A self-disciplined
person will be able to do what he should and stop doing what he shouldn't
According to Theodore Roosevelt, “With self- discipline most anything is
possible”. What is taken for granted in our behaviors which arose from our deep
rooted habits may not be tolerable for all. Therefore it is necessary that one
should inculcate a sense of discipline early in life in our children so that
they won’t face embarrassing questions from others about their lifestyle and
values when they grow up.
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MOTHER TERESA: A TRUE CHRISTIAN
An Article Review by Gerald Buthelo, STARTT-LTP
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| Photo: inspirationboost.com |
If Gandhiji ever seen Mother
Theresa, he would have said: ‘Here is a true Christian!’
26th August was not a special day
for the nuns belonging to the Missionaries of Charity. Some of those nuns even
do not remember that it was Mother Theresa’s Birthday. Mother Theresa never
celebrated her birthday. Even otherwise, where is the time for these nuns to
indulge in any celebration? They are busy taking care of the destitute under
their love and care. They struggle to get them food, wipe their tears, procure
them medicines and wash their wounds and clothes.
Here is a review of the article
published by Navin Chawla in the Hindu dated 26th August 2013 wherein he has
attempted to give answers to the certain questions and claims raised in a study
by a few Canadian academicians. They said that Mother Teresa is anything but a
saint. The team led by Serge Larivée and
Genevieve Chenard from the University of Montreal’s department of
psychoeducation, and Carole Sénéchal of the University of Ottawa’s faculty of
education claims that Mother Teresa was a product of hype who housed the poor
and sick in shoddy conditions, despite her access to a fortune. Out of many such allegations, one is raising
doubts on her contacts with characters such as Haitian dictator Jean-Claude
Duvalier. It was absurd that a group of academics made such reports without
ever having met her or visiting India. Furthermore the very credibility of over
287 documents which they claimed to have referred is doubtful.
The said “study” which was widely
publicized in various media sources has hurt millions of her admirers and
followers, especially the ones who had the privilege to witness her work
personally. One such person
is Mr.Navin Chawla, a former
civil servant of India who held various top positions under the govt of India,
and retired as Chief Election Commissioner in 2009. The reason to elaborate a
little about this great person is because of the fact that neither his high
position nor his faith stopped him from not only writing a biography on Mother
Teresa but also made him one on whom she reposed her trust. Mr Chawla in a
recent article in The Hindu shared a few
of his memories of Mother Teresa which will answer all the questions of her
critics.
Following is a summary of what he wrote:
Mother Teresa at the age of 18, realized
that her vocation lay in a far off India at a time when barring a few priests none in her community
knew where India was. After being ordained, Sr.Teresa arrived in Calcutta,
appalled by the sight of pavements swarming with people struck by the great
Bengal famine of 1942-43. Vatican
perhaps for the first time in history allowed a nun to step outside the secured
convent to the streets.
Confronted with destitution and death
around her and no health care service present then, she once took a dying man
to hospital which refused him on grounds that since he was about to die they
could not offer him a bed as they cannot save him. Only after she sat for a
dharna was the man admitted. But later he died in the shabby condition in the
hospital.
At this point she began to search a place
where she could take those the hospitals refused and where she could nurse them
so that they can be healthy or die in dignity.
She begged various authorities and finally was given a small hall
adjacent to kalighat temple. She brought all hapless patients to that place and
took care of them.
The Canadian “study” criticizes her for not having set up
a hospital; it was because mother Teresa knew such an establishment would tie
down all her sisters to this single establishment and then who could care for
those who fell by the wayside? The lepers, the AIDS patients that no one wanted
to go near. The study accuses her for receiving finds from ‘dodgy’ characters.
However, during the course of writing the biography, when Mr.Chawla asked her
about the receipt of donations from
character like Duvalier, her
concise answer was, in charity everyone had a right to give, “I have no right
to judge them, God has the right.” It seems that Duvalier had set up small
missions in Port-au-Prince, one of the world’s desperately poor places. As
against the claim made in the study that Mother received one million dollar, it
was found that Duvalier’s daughter-in-law went to mother’s mission and donated
1,000 dollars and not one million.
The point now is not about arguing against the
“study” but admiring and probably learning how all through her life she lived a
life of a true CHRIST-Ian and a true evangelist. Her life was but a living
gospel. Bible says, “Do not judge others, so that God will not judge you” (Mat 7:1-2)
As Jesus said to his apostles (Mat 10:8-10), “You have received without
paying, so give without being paid”. Mother Teresa was a true evangelist for
she never attempted any conversion or criticized other faiths. Instead through
her compassion and piety and the consistent love and care for the poor and
marginalised sections, she changed the hearts of many. Mother Teresa cared for
people of all faith equally and in each poor she saw the suffering of Christ.
Mr Chawla says the reason he got more attracted to this frail nun was, although
a staunch catholic, she never even once made him feel his religion as inferior
nor persuaded
him to believe it was a shorter
route to divine. This nature of her, he says made people of all faith accepting
her. Accordingly he says, she never made such attempts because she believed
that conversion was the
work of God and not her. Picking
the children abandoned at the gates of Shishu Bhavan she never converted them for she said “he would
probably be adopted into a nice Hindu household, and such conversion would be a
cardinal sin.”
As a true evangelist she led a
true CHRIST-Ian life, which attracted many to her side and inspired many volunteers to her mission
across faith. This angered some communal organizations and they demanded to the
West Bengal Chief Minister to send her back to her country. Basu posed them a question “if you are ready
to clean the wounds, provide medical care and feed the lepers, I will
immediately ask her to go back” and the activists just vanished.
In an atmosphere where certain
groups accuse even Catholics of forceful conversions which has caused a hostile
attitude and of suspicion towards the Catholics, apart from other lessons,
mother Teresa gave us an important message. You become a true evangelist, not by praising your religion or propagating
it in a boastful way before others but only by practising the virtues of gospel
in your daily life, by being a living
example of good faith, by being compassionate towards the weaker sections of
society, and thus by showing the true spirit of Christianity.
Perhaps, Mother Teresa can
inspire us in this world where there is a dent in the faith and where religion
is reduced to another ceremonial appendage to the modern world, and people
don’t care about others.
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In the gutters of the city
Beneath the street lamp, on the damp wet
pavement;
Scarcely clothed in a torn, ragged
dress.
And clutched to her breast, in a
pathetic bundle, was the fruit of her womb.
Scratched was her face, and torn was her
hair.
And not a glance she stole from the busy
life on the street.
Faces flicked away and footsteps hurried
up
When men in suits and women in heels
passed by this cuddled up pair.
Hurrying to their workplace or fussing
‘bout their outfit to a party,
Not a human had time for these two
living souls wasting away beside them………………….
Never had she met a pair of eyes so
filled with love
Untill that boy from the corner shop met
her gaze……………………
For the first time, was her stomach
filled, in her entire life.
For the first time was her infant’s cry
for food silenced,
And all because of one understanding
mind, one generous heart.
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| Photo: walkthroughIndia.com |
Look at your children, rotten people,
and learn
That innocence, that willingness to help
When a devastated soul is crying out in
agony!
This is the time, fellow mates, this is
the time!
When we children, the future generation,
are to take an oath
To make this world a better place for EVERYONE
to live in.
Push aside these insensitive rock
sculptures
To see that not one more soul dies in
vain-
-IN THE GUTTERS OF THE CITY!!
AKHILA THOMAS
S1 GROUP (STARTT-SLP)
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FAITH
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| Image: backgroundchristian.com |
Faith is
the staff of Moses
Faith is
the shelter from sin and the wind of pain
Faith is
the unity of a happy family
Faith is
the guide to the road of love
Faith is
the moon sheds light of hope at the darkness of failure
Faith is
the key to the chain of burdens
Faith is
a mother who wipes your tears
Faith is
a father who holds your hands at troubled times
Faith is
a friend who helps you get rid of your problems
Faith is
a teacher who teaches you to be strong
Faith is
a watch dog that protects you from evil
Faith is
the water which fulfills the thirst of happiness
Faith is
the road to heaven
Cherian Joseph
STARTT-SLP
S2
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LAW RELATING TO CHILDERN IN INDIA
Have you ever thought about
a law which protect and care about Children? Let me summarize it for you.
The name of the Law is the Juvenile
Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000, amended in 2006 and
2011, which contains statutory provisions to handle cases relating to minor
offenders, called as "delinquents," "juveniles in conflict with
law" or as "children in need of care and protection". The word
"accused" is not purposely used for minor offenders so as to prevent
the stigma associated with it. The Act is essentially a social welfare
legislation, crafted specially to deal with offenders under the age of 18 and
aimed at their proper care, protection and treatment through catering to their
developmental needs. It makes it mandatory for juvenile courts to adopt a
child-friendly approach in its procedures and adjudication. The law also takes care of the
victims of child abuse, drug abuse, beggary and also children living under
exploitation of either their guardian/parent/or any person.
Section 2(k) of the Act defines a "juvenile" or a "child" as a person who has not
completed 18 year of age while 2(l) says a "juvenile in conflict with
law" means a juvenile who is alleged to have committed an offence.
Regarding determination of the age of a juvenile, the Act calls for a "due
inquiry" by competent authority, the
Juvenile Justice Board.
Section 21 of the Act prohibits
publication of name etc of a juvenile in conflict. News papers and
magazines will be prosecuted in case they publish the photograph or name etc of
a Juvenile in conflict with law.
The special features of
this Act are as follows:
A] Juvenile Justice
Board:[Section 4]Juvenile
Justice Board is the Competent Authority to deal with all Juvenile offences in
India.
B] Special Juvenile
Police Unit:[Section
63]A unit of Police force of a state designated for handling of Juveniles or Children.
The Act also provides for rehabilitation of children such as:
C] Child welfare
Committee:[Section
29]It is a welfare committee formed under this act for care and protection of
Children.
D] Shelter Home [Section 37]: It is a
home or a drop-in –centre of Children.
E] Special Home:[Section 9]An
institution established by a State Government or by a Voluntary organization
and certified by that state Government.
Now let us
examine who are the beneficiaries of this Act. Section 2[d] of the Act defines
‘Child in need of care and protection’ means child –
i. “who is found without any home or settled place or abode and
without any ostensible means of subsistence,
ii. Who resides with a person (whether a guardian of the child or
not) and such person-
a. has threatened to kill or injure the child and there is a
reasonable likelihood of the threat being carried out, or
b. has killed, abused or neglected some other child or children
and there is a reasonable likelihood of the child in question being killed,
abused or neglected by that person,
iii. Who is mentally or physically challenged or ill children or
children suffering from terminal diseases or incurable diseases having no one
to support or look after,
iv. Who has a parent or guardian and such parent or guardian is
unfit or incapacitated to exercise control over the child,
v. who does not have parent and no one is willing to take care of
or whose parents have abandoned him or who is missing and run away child and
whose parents cannot be found after reasonable inquiry.
vi. Who is being or is likely to be grossly abused, tortured or
exploited for the purpose of sexual abuse or illegal acts,
vii. Who is found vulnerable and is likely to be inducted into
drug abuse or trafficking,
viii. Who is being or is likely to be abused for unconscionable
gains,
ix. Who is victim of any armed conflict, civil commotion or
natural calamity;
FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES
There are several principles that are fundamental to the
application, interpretation and implementation of the Act and the rules.
Some of them are given below:
Principle of presumption of innocence:
A juvenile or child or juvenile in conflict
with law is presumed to be innocent of any mala fide or criminal intent up to
the age of eighteen years.
Principle of dignity and worth:
(a) Treatment
that is consistent with the child’s sense of dignity and worth is a fundamental
principle of juvenile justice. This principle reflects the fundamental human
right enshrined in Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that
all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. Respect of
dignity includes not being humiliated, personal identity, boundaries and space
being respected, not being labeled and stigmatized, being offered information
and choices and not being blamed for their acts.
(b) The
juvenile’s or child’s right to dignity and worth has to be respected and
protected throughout the entire process of dealing with the child from the
first contact with law enforcement agencies to the implementation of all
measures for dealing with the child.
Principle of Right to be heard:
Every
child’s right to express his views freely in all matters affecting his interest
shall be fully respected through every stage in the process of juvenile
justice.
Principle of family responsibility:
(a)
The primary responsibility of bringing up children, providing care, support and
protection shall be with the biological parents. However, in exceptional
situations, this responsibility may be bestowed on willing adoptive or foster
parents.
(b)
All decision making for the child should involve the family of origin unless it
is not in the best interest of the child to do so.
(c)
The family - biological, adoptive or foster (in that order), must be
held responsible and provide necessary care, support and protection to the
juvenile or child under their care and custody under the Act, unless the best
interest measures or mandates dictate otherwise.
Principle
of Safety (no harm, no abuse, no neglect, no exploitation and no
maltreatment):
(a)
At all stages, from the initial contact till such time he remains in contact
with the care and protection system, and thereafter, the juvenile or child or
juvenile in conflict with law shall notbe subjected to any harm, abuse,
neglect, maltreatment, corporal punishment or solitary or otherwise
any confinement in jails and extreme care shall be taken to avoid any harm to
thesensitivity of the juvenile or the child.
(b)
The state has a greater responsibility for ensuring safety of every child in
its care and protection, without resorting to restrictive measures and
processes in the name of care and protection.
Principle
of right to privacy and confidentiality:
The
juvenile's or child's right to privacy and confidentiality shall be protected
by all means and through all the stages of the proceedings and care and
protection processes.
Principle
of repatriation and restoration:
(a) Every
juvenile or child or juvenile in conflict with law has the right to be
re-united with his family and restored back to the same socio-economic and
cultural status that such juvenile or child enjoyed before coming within the
purview of the Act or becoming vulnerable to any form of neglect, abuse or
exploitation.
(b)
Any juvenile or child, who has lost contact with his family, shall be eligible
for
protection
under the Act and shall be repatriated and restored, at the earliest, to his
family, unless such repatriation and restoration is likely to be against the
best interest of the juvenile or the child.
In conclusion, Juvenile Justice [Care
and Protection of Children Act 2000] and Rules is a protective and reformative
law for the welfare of children who has become a culprit or victim of
‘circumstances.’ Recently, in the aftermath of Nirbhayas case in Delhi there is
huge demand from the public to lower the age limit of the juvenile from 18 to
16.
Adv
Sunil Paul
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