‘No child should be used to collect charity, donations’
Srinagar, Mar 3: In a decisive move, the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) Srinagar has issued a strict warning to organisations in Srinagar, prohibiting the engagement of children in collecting charity and donations.
Noting that the practice rises during the holy month of Ramadhan, the Committee has expressed serious concern that these organisations are putting the safety, dignity, and well-being of children at risk for unaccounted fundraising activities. Such practices, it said, will invite action under child protection laws.
The public notice issued by the Committee states that in some cases, the children are made to collect alms and charity on a commission basis. “It is particularly disturbing that many of these children have been entrusted to such institutions by their parents for education or religious learning,” reads the notice. “Instead of being provided with a safe, dignified, and nurturing environment, they are being exposed to public solicitation, often for long hours,” the Committee has said.
The CWC Srinagar has said that these practices are a clear violation of the laws governing child protection and child labour. “Beyond legality, these practices also strike at the core values of religion itself, which place the highest emphasis on compassion, dignity, and the protection of the vulnerable.” No religion permits, let alone encourages, the exploitation of children in its name, it implores. Putting on record its serious displeasure over the practice of door to door seeking of alms by children, standing at roadsides, or from shop to shop for the purpose of soliciting and collecting money from the public, carrying receipt books.
While calling some organisations dubious, the Committee has said that organisations operating under the guise of religious institutions or charitable trusts have questionable functioning.
“There is credible information that certain entities are collecting money through children while routing donations into personal bank accounts, without maintaining any verifiable records, authorisations, or financial trail,” the notice reads. It further details that some of these organisations exist only on paper, and provide fabricated credentials to public. Many, it said, have been closed down by this or the other district administrations but continue to operate under altered or misleading religious names. “These activities amount not only to deception of the public but also to grave misuse of children for personal gain.”
The Committee has said that child safety and welfare is paramount for any society. It has warned that no organisation, trust, madrassa, Darul Uloom, or similar body shall use children for any form of fundraising or solicitation of donations, including during the holy month of Ramadan.
“Treat this notice as a last and final warning. Any violation noticed hereafter shall invite strict action under the applicable provisions of law, including proceedings under the Juvenile Justice Act and other relevant statutes,” the public notice reads.
The Committee has also urged parents and guardians to remain vigilant and to actively ensure that institutions where their children are enrolled do not misuse them for collecting money from the public or sending them from door to door.
