United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child (1989) Art 33- State parties shall take all appropriate measures, including legislative, administrative, social and educational measures, to protect children from the illicit use of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances as defined in the relevant international treaties, and to prevent the use of children in the illicit production and trafficking of such substances
Juvenile Justice ( Care and Protection of Children) Act 2000 , (amended 2006) Art 25 Penal for giving intoxicating liquor or narcotic drug or psychotropic substance to juvenile or child- ‘Whoever gives, or causes to be given, to any juvenile or the child any intoxicating liquor in a public place or any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance except upon the order of any duly qualified medical practitioner or in case of sickness shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and shall be liable to fine’
‘I was caught smoking with my friends by the school authority and we were issued TC,’ ‘ I was kicked out from the school because I was caught drinking’ ‘My father thrashed me for chewing talab’ ‘ I was made to kneel down holding my ears the whole day in the school veranda because the teachers found tobacco packet in my school bag’ ‘ My friends and we were expelled from the school due to sniffing of dendrite’’ My parents were summoned to the school because my teachers caught me smoking’’ I was caught chewing paan and my parents had to pay fine’ ‘ I was caught with some tablets, I am not allowed to come to school anymore’ . Haven’t we heard all these so often since the days we were in school and even today things have not changed much? What about the adults who has been selling them all these stuffs? How many of them were punished? Children have always been punished for abusing all types’ drugs, (of course with all good intentions) by concern authority/parents/adults/elders. Perhaps some children changed for good due to the fear of punishment. Perhaps some children became worse; perhaps many became hardcore substance addicts after they were kicked out from the school! And perhaps, the dakunwalla with all his dirty money laughed all the way to the bank. Who is the actual culprit? The real culprit, the root cause be uprooted and thrown into fire before they trap all our children in the deathly trap of substance addiction, diseases and death.
Too often many of us adults failed to realize is that the adult shopkeeper/chemists/bars and restaurant owners/booze joint owners who sold them all these substances to children should also be booked and penalized as per the law. Why should innocent children always be victimized and suffer for the crimes of adults? It is not only the children who are at fault for abusing drugs. The adults who are exploiting children for their own selfish monetary gains should be imprisoned and fined for their illegal act of giving intoxicating liquor or narcotic drugs or psychotropic substance to children. For too long due to ignorance/indifference of adults to protect and correct/reform the children in the most appropriate way has pushed many children to the point of no return. We adults have become experts in finding faults, punishing, blaming the children but how much have we done to protect our children from such harmful elements in the society? Neglected and misguided children need to be shown the right direction in the most child friendly way to reform them. Child protection is the need of the hour. Protection of children from anti-social elements in the society and from irresponsible parents in the home. Parents who use their children to buy liquor/tobacco/cigarettes etc etc for them are guilty of a crime against children. Such irresponsible parents are in countless homes in the ‘dry Christian state of Nagaland’. Let us ponder for a while, take courage to admit where we have failed, gone wrong and move ahead with determination to create a safer place for our children.
K. Ela
Prodigals' Home
NSCB Complex, 4th Floor,
PB-148, Dimapur -797112
Nagaland
