Research Proposal A Study On Child and the State: Juvenile Delinquency in Indian Context Submitted by: NARESH KUMAR

GUPTA Roll No. : 09/11 M.Phil. (Political Science) University of Delhi

DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE UNIVERSITY OF DELHI DELHI-110007 2011

Research Proposal Topic: Child and the State: Juvenile Delinquency in an Indian Setting

Central Question What has been the role of the State in dealing with the issue of Justice in rela tion to delinquent Children? Related Question How far the States act of disciplining the juvenile delinquent is justifiable in the name of justice? To what extent States laws has been able to deal with the issue related to Juveni le delinquency? Hypothesis Laws dealing with juveniles should emphasis more on the cause rather then effect s. A possible suggestion is to have feminine care and concern for children placed u nder such custodial or rehabilitation system. Frequent check-in system of the Institutional setup for these children is needed . Review of Literature Scholars from different disciplinary background have analysed the problems of di fferent dimensions and magnitude that confronts the juveniles in India. One of t he most eminent authors is Ved Kumari, who in her work- The Juvenile Justice Sys tem in India identified it as an area still in darkness, despite the vaunted par adigm shift from welfare to rights. The significant question raised by the author is that, how may law, administration and policy conceptualise a child or juvenile as a legal person? She further questioned the conceptual histories of the state

as unfolding parens partial agendum? The claim, that she puts forward--how may w e best understand the multiplex and conflicted, role and functions of the coloni al as well as post-colonial state and law formulation as conveyors of care, prov iding welfare to the abandoned, destitute and neglected children and as themselv es offering narratives of principle causes of the very constitution of destituti on of such children? A very serious concern over state sponsored cocktail of ben efits to the delinquent and neglected children remains problematic for all of us . Merely having provision of a shelter, a diet that approximates functionally two square meals a day, and some skills and competences that rehabilitation programme s do; somehow deliver for life after incarceration, may be said to be benign in re lation to available existential alternatives. As a reform to the existing system , the author assumes the possibilities of having feminine care and concern for c hildren and young persons placed under custodial incarceration. Similar kinds of views have been upheld by many other scholars. However, a more detailed review of the institutional setup by the state for such children, in th e form of detailed narratives from the delinquent juveniles, by Yogesh Snehi, in his article State and Child justice, presents another significant insight into th is issue. The narratives clearly showshow ineffective this institutional set-up h as been for taking care of these children. Incidents of beating by the inmates, sometimes by officials in order to extract a confession of the crime, punishment s which are of corporal nature, along with other kinds of abuse and torture, has been common across all narratives. This surely makes it a matter of serious con cern. On the issue of Age as the more sensitive indicator of childhood, scholars a cross all fields, have similar concern. Even the recent judgements and cases see m to be pre-occupied by the issue of age. The significant question that remained seminal across these caseswhat has been the age of the accused when the crime wa s committed, in order to decide whether the case is to be dealt under adult crim inal law or under juvenile justice act, which calls for separate legal procedure for children in conflict with laws. Scholars like Hansa Sheth, Kathleen Kelly Reardon, Christopher T. Noblet, Jane Tunstill and others, brings into account the societal factor, with special empha sis to the role of the family, along with economic determinism , as the principl e causes of the very constitution of destitution of such children and their invo lvement in criminal affairs. These instances shows how state laws such as Juveni le Justice System, deals more with the effects rather then cause and therein lie s the problem. Scope of Study

The government of all developed countries and many developing countries have sho wed considerable attention to the needs and vulnerabilities of all children and young people. The existing relationship between State and Children includes rela tionship in all spheres like socio-economic and political. Indeed, the provision s of domestic statute along with a range of international treatises, rules and c onventions- impose obligation upon the state agencies not only to protect but al so to promote their human rights. However, despite such official claims, histori cally-embedded, children s rights including their claims to care, protection, wel fare and justice are often neglected, if not blatantly violated. This holds true in India as well. Compared to the first few decades of development of the India n constitution.[not very clear.do u mean to say Indian state or the condition of the ndian state..just have a look] there is perhaps a greater understanding of, and conce n for, child rights to literacy, education, health, development and welfare. How ever, the same does not hold true for children and young persons caught in the w eb of juvenile justice system in India. It still remains an area of darkness des pite the continuous shift and change in policy to deal with the issue of justice related to delinquent children. Children in India, because of their sheer numbe rs, ought to have been the subject of prime focus of development planning, resea rch and welfare policies, but it has not been so. Despite this constitutional vi

sion, majority of children in India has no childhood to speak of. The juvenile j ustice system conceived by legislation, aims at providing care, protection, trea tment, development and rehabilitation of delinquent and neglected children yet t he care and services provided by them have been criticized as insufficient and s ub-standard. In my research, I will explore this disjuncture and limitation on t he part of the state and its laws, along with its institutional set-up, which de als with this issue of juvenile delinquency and the lack on its part. I would al so like to explore this relationship between the State and the delinquent childr en, from the Foucauldian understanding of Discipline and Punishment, where the pri mary function of all modern States tends to be disciplining the societies and co rrecting its deviant behaviour. .[be care ful mentioning Foucault makes it looks i mpressive but you will be required to answer various other questions.ensure that you know enough of Foucault to incorporate him in the proposal] Concepts and Methodology The key concepts or terms are: - Child, State, Laws, institutions, various Acts and Amendments, Justice and Rights and the Foucauldian understanding of discipli ne and punishments. With regard to methodology, I will include the review of the exiting texts on this issue. A brief historical study of international treaties and conventions and their binding obligation upon various States, along with it , critically analysing its implementation will be done. With regard to this, a t horough re-reading of various Acts, debates and Amendments brought about by the government of India on this issue is also desirable. Some interesting case stud ies along with state crime reports and if possible some interview with the subje ct of study may also be included.. [see I really dont know how things work in socia l sciencesbut what I gather from your proposal this is an uphill task u are under taking.it will be very difficult to finish thiswhy dont u narrow it down a bitbut I m not an expert talk to some pol science guy I m sure they know better] Sources Primary Source: A re-reading of various Acts, Amendments, Cases and their Judg ements, along with some ethnographic work will be undertaken. Secondary Source: On secondary resources, a detailed scholarly study of various Books, Journals, case studies, articles and debates related to this issue, wi ll be taken into account. Chapterisation and work plan Introduction: I will propose and discuss the issues and deal with it subsequent ly. Chapter 1: State and Child :- The first chapter deals with the definition of child, the age determination tendency and profile of children in India, as it be comes all too important for us ,when it comes to the study of juvenile delinquen ts. Chapter 2: Historical Development of Juvenile Justice System in India: - In this chapter, a brief historical review and evolution of Juvenile Justice System in India will be discussed. It is interesting to know how certain problems remain r ecalcitrant to vast transformation of political contexts. The transition from co lonial to the post-colonial leaves the structure of state and its laws, concerni ng to Juvenile Justice System almost intact. The attempt is to describe the natu re, scope and structure of Juvenile Justice System in India. Chapter 3: The Offence and Offenders: - Here the attempt is to analysis the nat ure of offence committed by juvenile and the kind of punishment or rehabilitatio n measures adopted by the government. Here a critical review of the institutiona

l measure i.e. the role that institution (juvenile homes and care centers) has t o play will be analysed. As it has rightly been stated by a Brazilian activist, A juvenile delinquent is nothing more than a poor child caught red-handed in stru ggle for survival. [I think ther shuid be no quotation in the chapterisation. Thi s is preposterous for literaturecheck how it works in Pol science] Chapter 4: Case-Studies: - As the title of this chapters suggest a brief invest igation of some case studies along with a few land mark judgments will be discus sed extensively. [ I think this will extend your work and so you shud chuck it o ffagain consider my opinion as that of a novicepls consult ur teacherI think in Mph il no primary data or such work is required] Conclusion: The final section of my work will discuss at length some possible s uggestion and changes in the policy of law, with the need to have an effective c heck on already existing laws. A Working Bibliography Bajpai, Asha. 2003. CHILD RIGHTS IN INDIA: Law, Policy, and Practice. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. Cicourel, V.Aaron. 1968. THE SOCIAL ORGANISATION OF JUVENILE JUSTICE. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Goldson, Barry and John Muncie, (eds).2009. YOUTH CRIME AND JUVENILE JUSTICE: Ch ildrens Rights and State Responsibilities, Vol-3. New Delhi: SAGE Publication. Kumari, Ved.2004. The Juvenile Justice System in India: From Welfare to Rights. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. Matza, David. 1964. Delinquency and Drift. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Rabinow, Paul. (eds). 1984. THE FOUCAULT READER, New York: Pantheon Books. Reardon, K.Kathleen, Christopher T. Noblet, (eds). 2009. Childhood Denied: Endin g the Nightmare of Child Abuse and Neglect. New York: Sage Publications. Snehi, Yogesh, 2004. State and Child Justice, stories of delinquent juveniles. E conomic and Political Weekly, Vol, No, pp 4512-15 Sehgal, B.P.Singh.1995. HUMAN RIGHTS IN INDIA: Problems and Perspectives. New De lhi: Deep & Deep Publication. Sheth, Hansa. 1961. JUVENILE DELINQUENCY IN AN INDIAN SETTING. Bombay: Popular B ook Depot. Tunstill, Jane. (eds).1999. CHILDREN AND THE STATE: Whose Problem? New York: CAS SEL Publication. Vijapur, P.A, P.Abdulrahim, (eds).2008. Implementing Human Rights in the Third W orld: Essay on Human rights, Dalits and Minorities. New Delhi: Manak Publication . Weiner Myron, Neera Burra, Asha Bajpai, (eds).2006. BORN UNFREE: Child Labour, E ducation, and the State in India. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. [ All the title of books shud be in lower case..titles are not written in upper c ase} ok.just have a look and get back tyo me ..overall its nice but too much work fro 2 yearsok just thik over it and better narrow it..downok]