No Child’s Play

When boys his age were making a beeline for MBA entrances and corporate jobs,Utsav Singh Bains,24,walked in a completely opposite direction. A recent Law Department (UILS) graduate from Panjab University,he swum against the tide,when he smuggled his camcorder in homes of Punjab to shoot a documentary. A way of social activism,it continued with his short films as he made Lost Childhood on the issue of police abuse and killings of street children in India,followed by Children of a Lesser God,a film that was screened on YouTube. Taking note of his work with street children and the drive to create awareness on social injustices on children,Bains was picked by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) to represent Chandigarh and Punjab at the National Consultation on the implementation of The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2000 in 2010.

Now,Bains has becomes one of the youngest members to be selected as a Consultant by the National Advisory Council,a Committee headed by Sonia Gandhi to work on National Policies concerning children in India.

“The National Advisory Council of India is a body set up to monitor the implementation of the UPA government’s manifesto,the Common Minimum Programme,and it is also the brainchild of Congress President,Sonia Gandhi,” says an excited Bains,who was picked by Harsh Mandar,a veteran civil society worker and one of the members of the council. Bains will be working closely with Mandar on the amendments in Juvenile Justice Act (2000),the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 2000 and a project called ‘Open House’ for street children. “The idea is to open homes where street children can come and live a healthy life,” he says.

Bains will also be working for the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights and Centre for Equity Studies,New Delhi,on the National Child Programme,which will be finalised by Sonia Gandhi and implemented by the National Advisory Council and other government agencies. Other important areas of work will be Implementation of the Juvenile Justice Act,Sarv Shiksha Abhiyaan,Right to Education,Legal Aid and policy making for disadvantaged children.