CHENNAI: Everything from the need for schools to have a proper Physical Training (PT) period to the effectiveness of child helplines was discussed by children from districts like Chennai, Salem, Dharmapuri and Kanyakumari at the ‘Unleashing voices of the Unheard Progenies’ (UVUP) event conducted by the Inclusive Neighbourhood Children’s Parliament (INCP) on Saturday.

It was refreshing to see over 20 children of different ages putting forth their points in an orderly and respectable manner. There was no yelling and no one spoke out of turn.

“We, as children, decided to orchestrate this conference to make the government assimilate the concept of a Children’s Parliament and also to proffer the petitions prepared by us concerning the issues that we confront in the current scenario,” the organising forum and deliberating MPs said.

One of the emphatically discussed topics was the harrowing case of the 11-year-old girl who was abused by a group of men for months in Chennai, in July 2018.

“We shuddered to imagine the agony of the girl, who is active in mind, suffering severely in body but incapacitated to express,” said Swarnalakshmi Ravi, the Child Prime Minister of National Children’s Parliament India.

“Eventually after many discussions, we all came up with the indelible solution of the government undertaking and conducting the Children’s Parliament to bring out the voices of the children, by making the children aware of their rights for their own protection and safety.” 

The children passed the following resolutions in the parliament that was headed by Swarnalakshmi and Gnanasekar, the Deputy Child Prime Minister of the National Children’s Parliament India. They spoke about the need for the child helpline to be strengthened, and for all SCPCRs (State Commission for Protection of Child Rights) to be granted suo motu rights for child rights violations. They said there should be at least two permanent members in the SCPCRs to follow and execute policies formulated for children. They went on to say that members of the bar council and advocates should not appear for perpetrators as was done even in the 11-year-old’s case.

The children also wanted to have an ombudsman in the judiciary to be appointed specifically for them to investigate children’s issues and make litigation against the same for speedy disposal of cases. Further, they emphasised the need for PT classes in schools where martial arts are mandatory for students. They highlighted the need for strict laws to be implemented and also the government being firm and forbidding liquor shops from being established near schools. Finally, they felt the structure to the Children’s Parliament too needed to be revamped. 

Every time a motion was set to be passed, children who supported it would raise their hands and once it was passed, they would clap. If there were any objections, the children found a way to deliberate, discuss and debate without raising their voices or using unparliamentary language. Even when certain MPs drifted to discuss other issues that were not related to the agenda for the day, they were very politely asked to remain on-topic, thus ensuring that it was not a long-winding session that bore no fruit.

Investigating children’s issues

The children of National Children’s Parliament India wanted to have an ombudsman in the judiciary to be appointed specifically for them to investigate children’s issues and make litigation against the same for speedy disposal of cases.