Orphans Are Citizens Too: Meet the 26-YO Woman Fighting For Them within the Supreme Court!

Posted On Nov 17, 2019 By admin With Comments Off

Out of the 20 million orphans in India, less than 1% are in orphanages. 117 districts in India do not have a single orphanage.( Source: MWCD Trackchild-Child Care Institutions in 2015 ). However, even all the persons who make it there aren’t any better off.

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A glaring example of this came to light in May 2018 when young girls between the ages of 7-17 suffered rampant sexual abuse over numerous months at an orphanage in Muzaffarpur, Bihar.

Additionally, orphanages settle over devoting these children a name, caste credential and everything else. Maharashtra is currently the only territory in India that does this, in addition to orphans with a one per cent territory in government jobs.

Since its inception in 2009, its core mandate of the Integrated Child Protection Scheme( ICPS, which is now called Child Protection Assistance or CPS) under the Government of India was to protect these prone children. However, the coverage of this programme has been less than 1 lakh offsprings per year.

The Annual Report of MWCD for 2017 -1 8 includes a table( Page 72 ):

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In the 2018 -1 9 plan, the total allocation to CPS was Rs 725 crores, which is less than Re 1 per progeny per daytime. For the previous financial year, it was Rs 648 crore and for 2019 -2 0, the figure stands at Rs 1500 crore.

Meet Poulomi Shukla, a 26 -year-old advocate, who registered a PIL in the Supreme court in July 2018 striving judicial intervention to ensure that these children are guaranteed the Right to Life, Right to Education and Right to Equality.

“The government considers a large section of parties as socially, economically and educationally deprived( SCs, STs, OBCs, BPL ). By not returning orphans the same benefits as youngsters from these communities, you’re saying that small children with parents is weaker than one left on wall street. This is illogical, ” says Poulomi, speaking to The Better India.

Poulomi Shukla (2nd from Right) at a Diwali celebration party with orphans at an orphanage. Poulomi Shukla( 2nd from Right) at a Diwali celebration party with young orphans at an orphanage.

“Legally speaking, the Mandal Commission had scheduled 11 criteria to declare a class of parties as OBCs, and any parish which fulfils more than half of those benchmarks will be certified OBC. Orphans are the only class of people who fulfil it by 100%. So, shouldn’t they at least get the same benefits as other OBCs are getting? ” she argues.

Poulomi is seeking territories for orphans in educational institutions and government positions. Besides, she demands them to get a slice of state-sponsored scholarships and benefits given to students from SC/ ST/ OBC communities.

These benefits wander from pre-matric and post-matric scholarships, admittance in private schools under RTE Act, tuition coaching for competitive quizs and scheduled interview, seed coin for self-employment, lends at concessional paces and recognition for budding inventors, amongst others.

As per the Annual Report of the Ministry of Social Justice 2018 -1 9records, the the expenses of 2018 -1 9 on Post-Matric Scholarships for SCs stood at Rs 5928 crores, while it was Rs 1,000.45 crore for OBCs. In addition to Rs 237.47 crores for Pre Matric grants for SC/ ST/ OBC, the total expenditure on scholarships on OBC/ SC/ ST children in 2018 -1 9 stands at of Rs 7165.95 crores.

” Orphans aren’t eligible for any of it. By the time they reach the age of 18, they have to pretty much fend for themselves. For children with the benefits for bookings, they have mothers who will at least attempt to look out for them. Orphans have no one ,” she explains.

But why does this lawyer care so much?

Ever since she was 10 years old, Poulomi has cooperated with orphans. First introduced to them by her baby, an IAS officer, who supervise the admission of children around orphanages across Haridwar, Uttarakhand, following the 2001 earthquake in Bhuj, Gujarat, she understood very early in life how difficult it is for them.

But she also didn’t know what she could do to help.

For representational purposes only. (Source: Wikimedia Commons) For representational intents only.( Source: Wikimedia Commons)

“I could get them gifts or menu from outside, but nothing beyond. Once I finished college, I tripped across 11 nations calling orphanages, substantiating their state of affairs and speaking to various stakeholders. Following my hastens, I wrote a record ‘Weakest on Earth- Orphans of India’, which was published in November 2015. The book even received an endorsement by a former Judge of the Supreme court of the united states, Justice VS Sirpurkar. Initially, I tried petitioning governments, but I encountered a lot of inertia. That’s when I went to court, ” she recalls.

What can ordinary people do?

“Apart from gifts and food, give them your time and scrutiny. Even if you make an effort to visit an orphanage once or twice a month, you are able to hold them accountable because they know you’re coming to see these children and ensure they receive basic benefits as promised. You can also go beyond–sponsor their education, help them buy school works or get them internships. If you examine a child begging on wall street, catch out if they are orphans and make them to the necessary dominions, ” she concludes.

Poulomi’s efforts to ensure that the larger populace recognise orphans and grants them the same institutional tending as children from historically deprived communities are praiseworthy, and will hopefully go on to ensure that they do not remain India’s forgotten citizens anymore.

Also Read: After Granddad Battles Loneliness, Girl’s App Connects Old-Age Homes to Orphanages

( Edited by Gayatri Mishra)

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