13

Nov

The Paradox of Ascent: Can India Become a Superpower, while Its Children Remain Left Behind?

image

Joseph Anthony Gathia

New Delhi I Friday I November 13, 2026

India is the sixth largest global economy,  fourth largest military power with nuclear  arsenal , 150 plus operational  airports , 1100 universities, capable of sending spacecraft to Moon ad Mars and is exporting food grains like  rice and wheat .These are signs that India is inching towards becoming one of the  global super power. However, a super power is not  measured  by these indicators  alone but also by the quality of life experienced   by its people and children . When every child grows up with safety, good health, quality education, and  joy, and when citizens live with dignity and opportunity, wealth transforms into true human progress. Nearly 40 per cent of population  in Indi falls  under ‘child’  category. Therefore,  status of children’s rights and wellbeing of this huge number of   children maters a lot when one thinks of India as a global super power? And the Bal Diwas- Children’s Day-  which falls on 14  November is an appropriate occasion to ponder over this.

CHILD POPULATION
India ranks first globally with nearly 437 million children under 18 constituting nearly 39% of the total population . Per UNICEF and Census data, roughly 24% of India’s population is under 15 (about 13% aged 0–5), while adolescents aged 15–17 comprise nearly 6%. This massive cohort requires urgent policy focus on early childhood nutrition, universal quality education, and adolescent skill development to secure India’s demographic dividend .Today, every fifth person in India is an adolescent (10-19 years) and every third – a young person  (10-24 years)

THE CHILD AND LAW IN INDIA
The Constitution of India is the basic law of the country, which includes the fundamental rights and directive principles for every citizen. The Constitution encompasses most rights included in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) as fundamental rights and child protection legislations such as POCSO Act (2012)    Juvenile Justice Act (2015)    Child Labour Amendment Act (2016) banned employment for kids under 14 and regulated adolescent safety and many more. India is also a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). As per the CRC a signatory country is bound to provide four categories of rights to children . They are :right to survival, development, protection and participation.
However,  these laws have  failed  to effectively cover the lived circumstances of most children  and are therefore radically incomplete. They are also ineffective because their implementation is erratic, supported by underfunded and ill-equipped legal services and by fragmented bureaucracies that have been structured to cope with a much smaller demand for protective care than exists.
As a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), India recognizes every individual under the age of 18 as a child entitled to four core categories of rights:
* Right to Survival: Encompasses the right to life, a registered identity, nutritious food, clean drinking water, sanitation, and accessible healthcare.
* Right to Protection: Safeguards children from physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, neglect, child labour, trafficking, and early marriage.
* Right to Development: Guarantees access to quality education, early childhood care, rest, play, and emotional and intellectual growth.
* Right to Participation: Affords children the freedom of expression, access to information, and the right to be heard in matters affecting their lives.
The Indian legal architecture translates these principles into enforceable protections. let us visit the rights and wellbeing of children in India.

The Silent Emergency: Child Malnutrition
The foundational pillar of child rights is the right to survival, which encompasses adequate healthcare, nutrition, and clean surroundings. No doubt India has successfully reduced Infant Mortality Rate IMR and child survival looks better. But are they healthy?

The most fundamental barrier to India’s superpower ambitions is biological. According to data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), 35.5% of Indian children under the age of five are stunted (low height for age), 19.3% are wasted (low weight for height), and 32.1% are underweight. . Roughly 37 million Indian children under five are stunted (low height for age). Additionally, over 21 million children under five suffer from wasting (low weight for height). 

UNICEF has warned that the current global food crisis, with escalating food inflation, has placed more than 150 million children  in India at the risk of becoming malnourished, Madhya Pradesh is the hungries state int he country,  followed by Jharkhand  and Bihar and Chhattisgarh.

Malnutrition is one of the most pressing health crises facing Indian children. High rates of stunting and wasting persist, casting a long shadow over child development. In rural and marginalized pockets, preventable diseases continue to claim young lives due to delayed medical interventions, lack of clean drinking water, and inadequate prenatal care for mothers 
Malnutrition is not merely a humanitarian issue; it is an economic time bomb.

SCHOOLING WITHOUT EDUCATION
Under Article 21A of the Indian Constitution, the Right to Education (RTE) Act legally guarantees free and compulsory education for all children aged 6 to 14. This law successfully drove primary school enrolment figures to historic highs. However, physical enrolment does not automatically equate to meaningful learning, and systemic hurdles still lock millions out of the classroom.

Retention and learning quality remain major concerns. Dropout rates accelerate sharply as children transition to secondary education, a trend that disproportionately impacts girls due to safety concerns and a lack of proper sanitation in schools. Some report estimates that roughly 5 crores  are out of school and  nearly 1.65 crore children aged 6-10  are not enrolled  and about 6 to 7 million annually drop out.  

A recent NITI Aayog report highlights that around 94,000 government schools have been closed over the last decade—an average of 25 schools per day.  During the same period, government school enrolment declined by 2.26 crore students, with their share in total enrolment falling from 71% (2005) to 49.24% (2024-25).The trend has raised concerns over educational access, social equity and compliance with the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009.

SHADOW OF  EXPLOITATION
The darkest challenges to the rights of Indian children lie within child protection. Child sexual abuse remains a pervasive threat that cuts across all socio-economic strata. The government responded to this crisis by enacting the strict Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in 2012.

National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reporting reflects a visible uptick in child victimization. While local officials point out that higher case counts stem from expanded awareness, digital reporting tools, and one-stop medical crisis centres, the sheer volume remains alarming. However, experts caution that boys encounter extensive abuse as well, which is severely underreported due to social stigma.

Simultaneously, kidnapping and abduction constitute the largest singular category of reported crimes involving children, making up over 40% of NCRB records. Children are frequently taken or trafficked into illegal brick kilns, forced begging rings, domestic servitude, or early child marriages. 

India’s CSAM reports rose sharply from 1.99 million in 2019 to 8.92 million  in 2023 befor3 declining to 1.93  million in 2025. Child rape cases rose steeply from 10,934 in 2015 to 43,675 in 2024 with .1.83 Lakh  minor girl rape cases  registered  between 2020 to 2024.Rajastha, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra  and Haryana top the list.  

Where poverty, malnutrition, and school dropouts intersect, child exploitation thrives. Despite progressive legislation such as the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, millions of Indian children remain trapped in hazardous and non-hazardous labour.

CONCLUSION
India’s inability to secure comprehensive well-being and rights for its children is fundamentally a crisis of political prioritization and governance execution rather than a lack of resources or knowledge. Moving forward requires shifting from fragmented, scheme-based welfare to an integrated, rights-based lifecycle approach. A nation with hungry malnourished children is like an iron giant standing on a clay feet. 

India’s dream of becoming a global superpower cannot be realized on an unstable foundation. Persistent child malnutrition and alarming rates of sexual assault against minor girls expose deep social vulnerabilities. True national strength requires more than economic growth; it demands ensuring every child is nourished, protected, and given dignity to thrive.

Joseph Anthony Gathia is a senior journalist, author of field-based experience books on children in India. He has been children’s Rights media trainer with the IFJ (International  Federation of Journalists ) Brussels and ex. member of OMCT (World Organisation Against Torture) Geneva. He can be reached via email:  joseph.gathia@gmail.com

  • Share:

About Us

We must explain to you how all seds this mistakens idea off denouncing pleasures and praising pain was born and I will give you a completed accounts..

Contact Us

Contact Info

  • 70, Gyan Khand- 4, Indirapuram, Ghaziabad. Uttar Pradesh.
  • +91-9910322682
  • mediamapnetwork@gmail.com
  • Week Days: 09.00 to 18.00 Sunday: Closed