Surendra Kumar, IPS Inspector General of Police, CID, Assam has been conferred the Save the Children, the international organization that has for 100 years been transforming the lives of hundreds of thousands of children around the world. lives and the future we share.
The “Changemaker of the Year” award was conferred on Kumar on 30th September, 2019 in New Delhi.Earlier, he had been conferred the Smart Policing Award 2019 by the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FICCI) Smart Policing Award.
Both awards are in recognition of the handbook that Kumar authored ‘Role of Duty Bearers in Child Protection’ , which was published by Centre for Child Rights, National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam with support from UNICEF. The book was conceptualized during the Fourth Round Regional Consultation of North Eastern States and Sikkim on ‘Effective Implementation of Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection of Children) Act, 2015 with focus on Integrated Child Protection Services’ which was organized by Supreme Court Juvenile Justice Committee in collaboration with State Child Protection Society and UNICEF, Assam.
This book was formally released on 20thJuly, 2019 at Assam Administrative Staff College by Hon’ble Chief Minister of Assam, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal. The book launch event was attended by a wide range of stakeholders starting from senior officers of the state, civil society organizations, academic&training institutions and media houses.
The author in this book has identified the important legislations pertaining to child protection and has defined the roles of duty bearers as mandated under such legislations. In order to cater to different stakeholders and for their convenience, the book has been written in a very simple language and varied range of infographics have been used for better understanding of complex processes.
Highlights of the Book
There are eight chapters and 10 sub chapters in the book; each chapter is dedicated to a government department and defines their roles and responsibilities under various laws dealing with children. In the book, the author has also suggested set of recommendations to ensure effective execution of their responsibilities. The author, Shri Kumar has also used his rich experience of working in the field with a personal insight into the problems faced and lapses committed by police officer in the chapter ‘Role of Police’. The author believes that, in order to effectively work with children, apart from understanding of one’s own responsibilities, it is highly desirable that one is also aware about the role of other duty bearers working with children.
The book is a successful attempt to bring clarity and generate awareness by encompassing the provisions and mandate of different legislations at one place and has the potential to be a ready reckoner for all government officials, duty bound to work for children. Since this book has been written with an aim to enrich the knowledge of the stakeholders and create awareness among duty bearers, the book will be non-chargeable and it has no price. The book will be amended and upgraded from time to time, based on enactment of new legislations and amendments to existing legislations relating to children. This book will also be shortly available in vernacular language to reach-out the last tier of child protection functionary and other stakeholders working with children.
The copies of the book have been sent so far to more than 50 NGOs working in the field of child protection; the DGPs of various States/Union Territories; Central Ministries and Statutory Bodies dealing with children; Judicial officers; National Law universities; State Child protection Societies; State Commissions for Protection of Child Rights; some individuals, etc.
The e-Book has also been launched and is available for free download from the following links:
1.http://bprd.nic.in/WriteReadData/News/book_child-protection1.pdf
–India Legal Bureau