Naxals Conscripting Kids in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh: UN Report

The report documented verified incidents of grave violations of children rights in war-ravaged countries.

File picture of Naxalites posing with bows and arrows during a rally. (Images used for representational purposes only)

(Photo: Reuters)

The United Nations, last week, released a report saying that children continued to be at the receiving end of violent incidents between armed groups and the Indian government, especially in the states of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir.

The report documented verified incidents of grave violations of children rights in war-ravaged and conflict-ridden countries and recorded over 21,000 such incidents, a significant increase from last year, 15,500 incidents.

The international body, in its report, revealed that it was continuously receiving information about the recruitment and use of children, including by Naxalites in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.

The report also claimed that a lottery system was being used to conscript children in Jharkhand.

In addition, three incidents of the recruitment and use of children were reported in Jammu and Kashmir in the context of clashes with national security forces. One case was attributed to Jaish-i-Mohammed and two to Hizbul Mujahideen.

The UN Report on Children and Armed Conflict 

It also said there were unverified reports indicating the use of children as informants and spies by national security forces as well.

The Times of India, quoting officials in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), reported on Monday, 2 July, that children aged 16-18 were often forced to join the Naxals.

"Families are often forced to gift one child for their cause," an official was quoted as saying.

“Sometimes, people allow their kids to be taken under pressure. But they are mostly boys above 16 years of age,” CRPF chief Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar told TOI.