Andhra Pradesh

‘Neglected children attracted to crime’

ADILABAD: Are the present day anganwadis, day care centres or crèches any match to the old system wherein children were taken care of and groomed by practically experienced grandparents and other old members in the family? Because of the disappearance of joint family system even in rural areas, children of working women find it more and more difficult to get the needed care from elders.

Though no statistics can be found because juveniles are not being booked, police confirm neglected children from many poor families are being attracted towards a life of crime. The number of children committing petty crimes in the urban centres is increasingly steadily that necessitates a re-look at this phenomenon.

“The home where the joint family lived was the crèche of the given child. The personality of the child got moulded on the laps of his aged elders in the ‘chuttubanthi illu’ while the parents went working. Only lactating mothers were allowed to carry their children to the work place, usually an agriculture field within close proximity,” recalls author B. Muralidhar.

“Migration in search of a livelihood has forced the nuclear family system even among the labour class and the economic activity of the present times has thrust upon children in the poor families the task of bringing in supplemental incomes. Many children suitable for being put in a crèche are therefore found loitering on the streets,” he adds.

The All-India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), that has welfare of the unorganised working class as its prime agenda has recently formed a shramika mahila forum in Adilabad town that has working mothers as members. “The forum was formed to press for streamlining the functioning of anganwadis in the gamut of child care. The AITUC leadership has deliberated on the issue thoroughly and will soon include the streamlining of anganwadis or opening urban day care centres and crèches for the women of unorganised sector as one of its main demands,” reveals S. Vilas, AITUC district general secretary.

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