Children in Arunachal Pradesh need more than just laws on paper — they need someone actually watching out for them. And Governor KT Parnaik made that crystal clear this Saturday.
A Blunt Message at Lok Bhavan
When APSCPCR Chairperson Ratan Anya and commission members called on the Governor at Lok Bhavan to update him on the outcomes of the recently concluded North East SCPCRs Convention on Child Rights in Tawang, Parnaik didn’t hand out pleasantries and send them on their way. He used the moment to deliver a pointed message — that the Arunachal Pradesh State Commission for Protection of Child Rights must stop functioning like a passive complaint box and start behaving like a genuine watchdog. “Every child deserves a safe childhood, quality education, good health, protection from exploitation, and equal opportunities to realise his or her potential,” the Governor said. Simple words. But carrying real weight.
Stop Waiting, Start Preventing
The most significant push from the Governor was his call to fundamentally change how the commission operates. He advised the APSCPCR to shift from a complaint-based mechanism to a preventive child protection framework, stressing that greater emphasis should be placed on early identification and prevention of child rights violations rather than just responding to grievances after they occur. That’s a critical distinction — and one that child rights advocates across the Northeast have been raising for years. Waiting until a child is already in distress is simply too late. Parnaik urged the commission to focus specifically on child abuse, trafficking, child labour, substance abuse, school dropouts, child marriage, and cyber exploitation.
POCSO Cases and the Accountability Gap
One of the more uncomfortable moments of the meeting was the Governor’s frank concern about POCSO. He expressed grave concern over the growing number of POCSO cases and the extremely low rate of prosecution, advocating for effective prosecution of offences under the Act. That gap between cases registered and cases actually prosecuted tells its own troubling story. He also stressed the need for regular inspections of observation homes, shelter homes, hostels, and other child care facilities — calling for this to be institutionalised, not left to chance.
Reaching Every Village
Beyond enforcement, the Governor pushed for a statewide awareness campaign — one that doesn’t stop at government offices. He encouraged the commission to build a broad-based child rights literacy movement involving educational institutions, panchayati raj bodies, religious leaders, youth organisations, civil society groups, and the media, ensuring awareness programmes on child protection laws, online safety, mental health, and reporting mechanisms reach every village and urban locality. Chairperson Ratan Anya, accompanied by members Niri Chongrowju, Honluk Lukham, Ngurang Achung, and Member Secretary Yakar Dawe, assured the Governor that the commission would work towards implementing his suggestions.
The Tawang Convention brought Northeast child rights institutions together. Good. Now the harder part begins — turning those declarations into action on the ground, in the villages, in the schools, where children actually live.
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