Juvenile Delinquency in Kashmir (A Special focus on Stone Pelting)

 

Dr. Asima Hassan

PhD in Sociology, University of Kashmir, Srinagar Kashmir, India.

 

ABSTRACT:

Juvenile delinquency is one of the most serious problems in present times in Kashmir. There is evidence of a universal increase in juvenile crime taking place especially in the conflict-ridden states and Kashmir is no exception. A study of juvenile delinquency is very vast and to study its various aspects is also very comprehensive and can be studied from various angles. The intensity and severity of juvenile offences are generally determined by the social, economic and cultural conditions prevailing in a society. The present study focuses on stone-pelting in Kashmir in which hundreds of juveniles are involved. The data obtained from lone Observation Home in Kashmir establishes that a large number of stone pelters in Kashmir were juveniles mainly till 2019. During the period between 2008 and 2016, prolonged protests in Kashmir provided a platform for the expression of discontent, thereby reducing the need for young boys to join militancy. It is believed that militants recruited a few dozen juveniles in Kashmir since 2016 and a good number among them were killed. Similarly, a major chunk of juveniles in conflict with law, who have been apprehended in recent years by the police and who were brought before juvenile justice boards (JJBs) in Kashmir were stone pelters. In the present study, 100 randomly chosen social investigation reports of those juveniles who were involved in stone-pelting submitted to Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) Srinagar were content analysed.

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION:

Children are the greatest gift to humanity and supreme assets of the nation. More than a century ago, Abraham Lincoln said: “A child is a person who is going to carry on what you have started. He is going to where you are sitting, and when you are gone, attend to those things you think are important.

 

Children are a human resource, invaluable but vulnerable, yet developing with potentiality to bloom with joy in an atmosphere of caring society. They are great promise of tomorrow, the dawn of humanity and bud of social development.

 

India known as the Republic of India is the 7th largest country in size and the 2^nd most populated country with more than 1.2 billion people, it is the most populous democracy in the world. In 2017, the Indian economy was the world's 6th largest nominal GDP. India is among the fastest growing major economies and sees itself as a newly industrialized nation. However, it still continues to face various challenges like poverty, corruption, malnutrition, and lack of public healthcare systems and access to it¹.

 

Children are considered as the gift from God and as national assets. The directive principle of State Policy ensures that children receive equal opportunities for development during the period of the growth, which will reduce inequality and make sure that social justice is achieved. However, due to various shortcomings, a certain number of children fail to follow social and legal laws and they get involved in delinquent behaviour which is also known as Juvenile delinquency or Juvenile crime. Crime by juveniles is a harsh reality in India and across the globe²

Children are the most vulnerable population of the society and are considered the most important asset of our nation. India houses about 19% of the world population of children. The concept that children are the future of tomorrow has changed and it has become that children are the citizens of today and this is visible because children are allowed to voice their opinion and be heard. This brings up the concept of the age and the vulnerability of children because they are at the risk of being exploited, abused, becomes a victim of neglect and violence. Vulnerability does not only dependent on the age but other factors as well and they can be measured by the capability of the child to protect oneself and the ability to recognise, if the situation or event is harmful. UNICEF, one of the global supporters of children have outlined those children who have undergone abuse, exploitation and neglect are vulnerable.

 

In India, children are known to be the greatest asset of the nation which means they are also the future resources which will help to shape the country for the times to come. According to the ministry of statistics and programme implementation 2012, one third of the Indian population constitutes of children aged between 0 to 18 years. In the light of the circumstances and conditions and children belonging to the vulnerable section of the society and going through immaturity of age, mental makeup and understanding this particular age and the adverb or unfavourable social economic and environmental context the children could fall prey to activities that may be termed as criminal or illegal in nature³. Therefore, in this context, those children who violate the law are referred to as "children in conflict with law" or "juvenile delinquents.

 

The concept of Juvenile delinquency or Juvenile in conflict with law may be relatively new, but the problems that children face can be traced back in history and are as old as civilization themselves. Most societies have resolved to take up issues related to children by following the accords of its religious, social, and political ideologies or beliefs. In India, the breakdown of feudalism and rise of industrialization, migration, and urbanization have changed the attitudes that the society has towards children. This attitude change has been influenced by the breakdown of the joint family system in the modern world and the ease of access to gadgets and technology has contributed significantly in this regard. It has also influenced the way Juvenile delinquency or children in conflict with the law have been looked upon. The rising pressure from peers and families to do well in life and to get settled has led to more stress being placed upon children. This combined with the anticipation, dreams and aspirations that the children have about their own life also contributes to shaping a child understanding. These decisions are now being made by the child, during these processes the child relies on social media and the current trends that they observe around them to make these decisions, these may be right or wrong. In the light of the above circumstances when the child is unsatisfied or fails to reach goals this may lead them into deviant behaviour and may trap them in various anti-social activities. With the ease of access to social media platform and media, in general, there is a lack of both positive role models and rising peer pressure which influences a child to stay away from the norms that govern the society. With aping of the western culture there have been instances in modern India among metropolitan cities wherein children question the existing customs and traditions of the Indian context and chooses to follow the Western norms, which may, in the long run, cause them to become juvenile delinquents because of the nature of the media that depicts western culture.

 

The word Juvenile originated from the Latin word “Juvenis”, which signifies a young person. Therefore, a Juvenile/Child refers to an individual who has not completed 18 years of age and this is a variable parameter because in different nations the cut-off age to identify an individual as a child or an adult differs. Juvenile crime also known as Juvenile delinquency is a term that defines a minor or child’s participation or accusations in any activity that may be defined as offensive or goes against the legal established system. This legal system also determines the kind of preventive and corrective measures that are needed for the child keeping in mind the interest of the child the state and society. The term child in conflict with law refers to a person/individual under 18 who encountered justice system because of being suspected or accused or abetting a crime or participating in any offenses legally⁴

 

Juvenile delinquency takes place in various forms and very in degree, frequency, duration and seriousness and involves different forms of specialization like drug addiction, sex offences, predatory acts etc. Delinquency like other social behaviour has complex roots. It is most often a transitory phenomenon. The future criminals can certainly be reduced by preventing the children of going astray. The child because of his being future of the nation should be given atmosphere conducive to his being a responsible and sensible citizen. If the child is brought up in an unwholesome environment, he assimilates wrong norms and values and at later stage of life it becomes difficult to bring him to the right path. It is now matter of common knowledge that a good number adult criminals committed first offence in their childhood, long before their first conviction as adult offender. They being child managed to escape notice of their first offence which encouraged them to commit further offences till they were apprehended, tried and convicted. However unless causes of delinquency are known and identified the problem of delinquency cannot be prevented. So the question arises as to what causes a child to break a taboo, a social sanction or law? Delinquency as a social disease cannot be treated without knowing about its causes. The subject of crime unlocks such powerful emotions that it is most difficult to obtain objective or scientific data on the incidence of crime and on the circumstances under which the crime rate rises and falls. In order to explain juvenile misconduct it is necessary to analyse the condition of the individual involved, the influence of the society around him and the sequence of occurrence preceding the deviant behaviour of the juvenile. Delinquency is an important problem requiring urgent attention. The problem of causation is not easy but rather highly complex. This fact cannot be lost sight of that the law-and-order situation in the whole world is deteriorating every day. Disorder and conflict in society are dominating the lives of the people leading to social tension, phobia and lawlessness. This owes considerably to the deviation in the behaviour of some members of society from the social norms. Matza⁵ states that problems of deviance are perceived as threats to the social norms, values and control. Deviant behaviour among the delinquents and criminals is assuming serious and violent forms and it is an alarming situation. According to Singh the most dreadful aspect of the problem is that juvenile delinquency is the widest gateway to adult crime. If the trend continues for long, a time may come when the very life of the society would be disrupted. Wolfgang⁶ asserted that almost universally, the highest incidences of assaultive crimes are committed by young offenders, most of whom are in their twenties and many of them are in their late teens or early thirties. Lately, it is observed that juvenile delinquents commit offences of serious nature (like adults) including riots, arson, robbery, dacoity, murder and even rape.

 

The foregoing exhaustive treatment of the social, psychological and economic causes of Juvenile delinquency makes it clear that the principle of specific causation does not properly apply to this phenomenon. In fact, no any criminologist and Psychologist can refute the fact that the causes of crime are several and varied. Activities of person are related to the modes of adjusting to his/her environment. In this adjustment individuals who apply socially acceptable means are called healthy while those who are unsocial/ and abnormal means for his adjustments are called criminals. Therefore, children become a criminal through the co operation of many causes, social, familiar, individual, psychological and economic.

 

KASHMIR CONTEXT:

The ongoing conflict in Jammu and Kashmir is amongst the oldest unresolved conflicts under United Nations. The long history of conflict in the state of Jammu and Kashmir has not only left a trail of death and destruction behind, but it has also taken emotional toll on the local population. The impact of armed conflicts on civilians has exponentially grown since 1990, as 90% of the victims of armed conflicts all over the world are civilians –among which 80% are women and children⁷.

 

The 1996 The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) report on “Impact of Armed Conflicts” on children found out that globally more than one billion children under 18 years of age are living in conflict-torn regions, which is one-sixth of the total population of the world⁸. More than three decades long conflict in Jammu and Kashmir has been no different, as children are the lesser-known victims of the widespread and systematic violence in the region.

 

The conflict has led to considerable social problems across the region, particularly in Kashmir Valley. The ground reality in Kashmir is changing slowly but surely, as more and more young boys are either taking to violent path, or are at the forefront of prolonged unrest. The major problems that children are suffering from armed conflict in Kashmir are presented under the following headings:

 

Changes in Roles and Responsibilities:

When families undergo times of deprivation and material loss, it is not surprising that they may turn to their children as an economic resource. This is true in many places but particularly so in a conflict-ridden situation when regular breadwinners are absent, killed, or injured. The likelihood of hazardous work increases in conflict because of the fall in normal economic opportunities and the prevailing environment of lawlessness and impunity. It will also depend on local cultural factors which, for example, may create few obstacles to the employment of boys but ensure that girls are largely prevented from pursuing any public economic activity. In Kashmir as well, the sons are encouraged to migrate for work. During conflict, children who have lost their father or the prime bread earner and they are left to run the households with younger siblings or simply left to fend for themselves on the streets. Conflict increases the pressures on the young to work, possibly at the expense of their schooling. It also leads to under-nourishment and malnutrition; inability of parents to pay for the basic necessities of school education, such as uniform and writing materials; and more often than not leads to the child’s withdrawal from religious, social, and cultural events.

 

Social Disorder:

Some of the environmental threats to children commonly associated with conflict include displacement from homeland, family dispersal, separation and discord, destitution, loss of service access and social interaction. Often the disruption occurs in Kashmir during the times of combat and children somehow manage to leave their village and remain in their relative’s place till the situation improves.

 

Vulnerability to Children:

Many conflicts are now being fought with a combination of high-tech hardware and traditional weaponry. The variety of combat activities enabled by this mix of weaponry leads to the injury and death of child civilians in a wide range of situations. The sudden outbreak of gun battles between opposed forces may cause injury to children caught up in crossfire. The increasingly sophisticated weaponry involved in the launching of shells and bombs which are both dropped and planted usually in markets pose an unavoidable threat to children and their families. Not only are the numbers of casualties from a single incident often great, the unpredictable nature of such activities contribute to an atmosphere of fear and anxiety.

 

Loss of Parents:

Orphanages seeking to accommodate children who have lost the care of their families due to conflict have become commonplace in Kashmir. It is reported that Kashmir has 33,000 conflict widows and only 8.7 % remarried and it has also created conditions where children are abused by step parents. Residing in orphanages children are exposed to new risks, incidences of orphan children being abused and beaten for petty reasons in Kashmir are often reported. UK-based child rights organization, Save the Children, has revealed that the estimated population of orphans in Jammu and Kashmir is 2, 14, 000 and 37 % of them were orphaned due to the armed conflict⁹.

 

Education of Children:

It is a widely accepted fact that schooling is vital for children’s social and cognitive development. In the conflict situation of Kashmir, regular school attendance and formal education entails considerable risks for students. One major effect of the violence reported was fear among children (24.6 %). School related problems also scored high, such as being unable to attend school was 15.5 %¹⁰. Frequent ‘Hartal’ (strikes) on different conflict related issues have deteriorated the quality of education. This ‘Hartal’ can go for months together, thus having strong negative impact on the young generations of Kashmir. Children learnt new ways of ventilating by showing aggression and were given due reinforcement for the same, although this does not lead to any positive growth in them.

 

Loss of Childhood:

Childhood is known for freedom, fun and playing different games and Kashmir before armed conflict was no exception. Children used to stay out late in the evening and play different games. But now the situation is totally different. Children are involved more in indoor games and have lost all those fun filling opportunities. They are more tense and stressed and have lost the real childhood.

 

Mental Health:

Armed conflict in Kashmir has high impact on mental health of children. Empirical studies on children in an armed conflict showed the determinant effects on children’s mental health and wellbeing. The psychiatric literature shows that conflict situation increases disorder prevalence¹¹. Some of the commonly found mental health problems in the valley are Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, General Anxiety, depression and dissociative disorders etc. The feeling of insecurity is also common among people of Kashmir and children are like born with it. When a child arrives home late from school, the anxious reaction of parents clearly indicates the deep-rooted insecurity which is a result of armed conflict. Children do not feel free to move as parents keep on telling them about harmful consequences. This insecurity is found more among girls than boys¹².

 

Rebellious nature, Social Deviance, Juvenile Delinquency and Crime:

The generation gap between parents and young generation has widened due to present volatile scenario. Young generation do not see parents as their role models when it comes to political issues; rather blame them for not doing anything about it. So they start experimenting with their own aggressive methods to express their suppressed feelings and would go against any authority. The influence of violence in its extreme form got reflected often in violent attitudes and behaviour-pattern of youth in Kashmir. In its cumulative effect, youngsters, especially of school-college going age groups got attracted/ motivated to violence in theory and practice. It was essentially political and personal ends. They considered violent way of life as desirable and preferable. In terms of consequences, it meant rejection of non-violent values of Kashmiri society. The violent environment over a period of 30 years effected in-family situation in a way that changed the traditional inter-generational relations, patterns of socialization, and prevailing patriarchal authority and aggression in overall behaviour. The gun culture directly made it easy to violate traditional values and norms, inter-relationship in peer groups, schools, neighbourhoods and relatives’ circles. In this entirety of violence, the younger generation was lost to ‘gun’.

 

With the introduction of violence and other effects of militancy after 1989, social deviance among the school –college youth is on rise, observed never before. While it has disturbed the patriarchal authority and traditional pattern of the parent children relationship within the family, the value-based pattern of life and traditional moral ethos was exposed, leading to the process of cultural erosion in some cases. In the situation in which legal authority and social control become ineffective, there emerges a tendency to invalidate laws and rules, especially among youths. That is what has been happening in Kashmir. Thus a significant number of youths commit minor and major crimes {from theft to murder} In comparison to the traditional Kashmiri society about 50 years back, hardly any case of minor or major crime was committed or reported, but the situation has changed radically to such an extent that every kind/type of crime is committed in Kashmir today¹³. The daily reports of the police control room, radio, telephone, print media and official statements record a higher number of crimes including the major crime. In reality, Kashmir experiences incidents of serious to heinous crimes daily and has emerged as one of the major spots of crime. Some of these crimes are horrible and so kills the human conscience.

 

Children as Combatants:

Data from the police show that children in J&K are being recruited by various militant groups. According to data accessed from the J&K police, at least 24 children below the age of 18 were recruited by various militant groups from 2010 to July 2018¹⁴. Most of them are recruited as active combatants or over-ground workers, who help in organising logistical processes for the armed groups. The icon of the current wave of militancy The data maintained by the J&K police show that the first underage recruit in the new, social-media driven wave of militancy was its poster boy Burhan Wani. At the age of 15, he was recruited by Hizbul Mujahideen(militant group) and by 2013, he had become the leading figure of the group. Burhan Wani, exemplifies the term “child soldier”, as defined by the UN The police data show there were no juvenile recruits during 2011–13¹⁵. Press and civil society have tended to put a shroud on the issue of child soldiers by relying on vague terms such as “diaper militants” and “minor militants” to describe this trend¹⁶. The misleading narrative created by these terms coupled with the narrative that glorifies these underage militants results in dire consequences. There is a lack recognition of the real issue of minors becoming combatants. A scholar studying the Kashmir conflict condoned the recruitment of the juveniles into the militant groups stating the “public support” and “youth bulge”: “In order to permanently renegotiate their relationship with the Indian state and to look for a solution outside of the ambit of Indian Constitution, some people in Kashmir see violence as the only alternative. This alternative has not been criminalised and is in fact celebrated within the society. And such celebrations are not a new phenomenon. They continue from the 1990s. Today, the heroism attached to militancy in Kashmir is kept alive by the public support it gets and is carried forward by a young and educated generation, which is a function of the youth bulge and a high literacy rate. In such a situation, one should not be surprised by the recruitment of a 15-year-old. The ‘resistance’ narrative in Kashmir celebrates the involvement of children in the militancy and demonstrations; young boys and girls are encouraged to ratchet up emotions in protest¹⁷. Juveniles in Kashmir are being used as stone-pelters and in some cases as militants by Pakistan backed forces. Children are being pushed to the frontline under the cloak of ‘resistance’ and the society needs to introspect and recalibrate the responses to this trend.

 

Stone Pelting:

After decline in militancy in the mid-2000s, stones became a popular choice of weapon during protests. This trend has been there since the 2008 Amarnath –land row agitation in Kashmir. While stone pelting has become a routine feature of street protests in Srinagar the summer of 2008, 2010 and 2016, three mass revolts have seen driving stone pelting. The year 2010 was marked as the year of teenage killings in Kashmir.

 

Prior to 2008, Kashmir did not see direct involvement of youth or children in the dissent against the State at such a scale. But post 2008, children felt a sense of belonging to the collective expression of dissent against the state. More and more youth took to the roads to assert their disagreement against the political scenario of the state. And which resulted in extensive detentions of the children as a consequence. Of the 182 juveniles in conflict with law kept in Juvenile Home (Srinagar) from September 23, 2011 to September 30 2013, over 60 percent which is 110 were stone pelters.

 

It took a long battle for Jammu and Kashmir to determine the age of a minor. After police and other counter-insurgency agencies started picking-up minors, and in certain cases, using fabricated documents to prove them adults, a public outcry forced the political executive to take call on this. Finally the population upto the age of 18 years were declared minors.

 

It was in the follow up to it that the government started taking the juvenile justice system seriously. Though a slow pace movement was going on for some time towards the juvenile justice, the fast pace of developments taking place on the streets pushed things a lot. Quickly, the government setup a juvenile Home in 2011 in Srinagar, and within days of its completion, hoards of young boys started getting in. Some of them were accused of stone pelting and some held for being part of the street unrests.

 

In August 2018, the administration of Jammu and Kashmir has set up juvenile justice Boards in all 22 districts of the erstwhile State. The special juvenile Police Units have been set up in all the 22 districts of the erstwhile State. This was the long pending requirement under the J&K Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2013.Three Observation Homes have been approved during the year 2018-19 in addition to already existing two (02) Observation Home (01) each at Srinagar and Jammu.

 

Children placed under protective Custody in Observation Home (Srinagar)

From 1^st September 2018 to 31^st November 2019.

Nature and quantum of alleged juveniles in conflict with law (Observation Home Harwan, Srinagar)

Table 1.1

 

The Table 1.1 clearly depicts that nearly 60 percent of the juvenile in conflict with law in Kashmir were involved in stone-pelting and other unlawful activities. From 1st September 2018 to 31st November 2019, out of 520 juveniles in conflict with law majority (311) were involved in stone pelting and other unlawful activities. This gives a clear insight as how teenagers in Kashmir are being used by the separatists and militant handlers for carrying out attacks on security forces.

 

In August 2018, juvenile cases were transferred from all the chief judicial magistrates and judicial magistrates (First class) to the concerned boards. In Srinagar 292 cases have been transferred from CJM TO JJB. 1,631 Cases were transferred from CJM’s to JJBs across the state. Srinagar had the highest number of cases followed by Baramulla with 210 cases.

 

JJBs are comprised of a Principal Magistrate and two members in accordance with the Juvenile Justice Act. The JJBs receives all kinds of cases from stone –pelting to murder to robbery. The Juvenile Justice Act, 1997 was amended in 2013, the amended rules laid out the formation of JJBs in each district of Jammu and Kashmir with the purpose of protecting the rights of children in conflict with law. However the JJBs were absent till only some time ago –officials admit the JJBs should have been set up before-and consequently, the juveniles had to appear in regular courts.

JJBs are aimed at rehabilitating children who are in conflict with law. In regular courts stringent approach towards offender is being adopted but in Juvenile Justice Boards, reformative and restorative approach is being adopted so as to make the juveniles better individuals. After the revocation of 370 the central Act 2015 is now in force in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

 

No. of Children lodged in Observation Home in the cases of stone pelting/rioting since Ist August 2018 to August -5th-2019

Table 1.2

 

No. of children lodged in Observation Home in the cases of stone pelting from 5 August-2019 to 31^st December-2019

 

Table 1.3

 

No. of children lodged in Observation Home in the cases of stone pelting from 1 January-2020 to 31^st December-2020

 

Table 1.4

 

No. of children lodged in Observation Home in the cases of stone pelting from 1 January-2021 to 31^st October-2021

Table 1.5

Out of 446 cases against juveniles from August 1, 2018 to August 5, 2019, when the Parliament of India scrapped special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370, over 46% which is 208 cases were of stone pelting Out of 121 juveniles detained in Kashmir from August 6, 2019 to December 31, 2019, nearly 50 percent which is 60 were involved in stone pelting/rioting.

 

However, from 2020 onwards, as the stone pelting ebbed, the cases of juveniles involved in stone throwing also saw a decline. In the year 2020, out of 246 juveniles in conflict with law on 47 which is just over 19 percent were stone pelters. In the first 10 months of 2021, out of 373 juveniles in conflict with law only 86 which is over 23 percent were involved in stone pelting.

 

The above data clearly depicts that after the August 5,2019 Post abrogation of Article 370 that gave special autonomy to the erstwhile state, there has been a drastic decline in law and order incidents and involvement of juveniles in stone pelting has also decreased considerably.

 

METHODOLOGY:

Social Investigation Report (SIR) means the report of a child containing detailed information pertaining to the circumstances of the child, the situation of the child on economic, social, psycho-social and other relevant factors, and the recommendation thereon. Probation officer is to obtain information regarding ‘antecedents and family background of the juvenile and other material circumstances likely to be of assistance to the Board for making the inquiry’. the Board shall obtain SIR before passing any order SIR has three parts:-first part deals with family details and requires the PO to give the data or information regarding the close relatives in the family, delinquency records of the family, social and economic status, ethical code of the family, attitude towards religion, relationship amongst the family members, relationship with the parents, living conditions etc. - requires both factual data and analytical aspects-second part requires the PO to provide the child’s history regarding his mental condition, physical condition, habits, interests, personality traits, neighbourhood, neighbour’s report and school, employment, if any, friends, child being subjected to any form of abuse, circumstances of apprehension of the child, mental condition of the child – requires both factual and analytical details like mental condition of child. Third part is the most important i.e. the result of inquiry where the PO is required to inform the Board about the emotional factors, physical condition, intelligence, social and economic factors, religious factors, suggested causes of the problems, analysis of the case including reasons for the delinquency To collect the information PO is required to visit the home and locality and school of the child several times.

In the present study, Social investigation reports were subjected to content analysis. A hundred randomly selected social investigations of stone pelting cases submitted to Srinagar Juvenile Justice Board were analysed in terms of their content. The data obtained from the reports has been tabulated, co-related and the simple quantitative and qualitative analysis was made.

 

RESULTS:

SIRs were analysed under several themes identified

1. Childhood influences leading to delinquency:

Here are some influences that have been arrived at using the data and these are the sub-themes that come under the influencers that prompted the children to commit crime.

a. Socio-economic condition:

The socio-economic condition of the juveniles was a major reason for their criminal background. Out of the 100 juveniles in conflict with law, 74 were from a poor background. This could be an indicator that poverty is one of the main causes which has a lot of implication on the behaviour of the children. Children from poor economic background are forced to practice delinquent behaviour/activities due to the situations or circumstances. Several studies in the past reiterated that poverty is one of the factors invariably linked to children’s vulnerability and one of the tipping factors pushing them to the chances of offending.

 

b. Peer influence:

Children in the growing stage tend to be more independent of the parents and family and form their own peer groups. This shift towards dear group is a normal growth process and normally at this stage they move out of the control of the parents and spend more time with friends. In this aspect there is a high chance for children who do not receive love and care and neglected by the family to lean into deviant behaviours. The child does this to be acknowledged and accepted by those who the child considers close to them. For neglected children the influence is most likely from the peer group. Studies have shown that children who experience neglect or conflict or family disruptions tend to stick to those who have undergone similar experiences and to make friends with those who are able to cope with them even if it means engaging in deviant activities. Peer pressure from groups have always had the power to cultivate behaviour patterns contrary to those that exist in the family¹⁸ Peers are the first ones who have more influence on children. They generally introduce something new and force them to try something new with them. In that regard, it is very important for a child to have good friends, because these influences decide the life of a child.

 

In majority of the (82) SIR reports it has been found that peer group influence was responsible for the juveniles to involve into stone pelting. 67 juveniles have admitted that they had aggression and anger against the armed forces as, according to them, they are killing Kashmiri people while as many juvenile have stated by that they indulge into such activity for mere enjoyment and fun. it has also came to fore that all the juveniles belonged to the families that didn’t have any criminal record, therefore the factor of social learning for committing crimes can be ruled out. Even without any crime record in the family, children were still into delinquency.

 

Interpersonal/family issues:

There is a high chance for children to drift into deviance due to absence of either one or both of parents and if there is a problem of bonding among them or if the parents not have time to take care of the children due to any marital relationship or problems. In many cases the families live together but there was tension and marital fight within the family because of economics strain or other issues. These cause a strain on the relationship between parents, which in turn affects the behaviour of parents in taking care of children. Parent’s lack of attention, supervision and monitoring slowly push the children into various crimes. In this study, out of 100 juveniles, 27 juveniles do not report a positive relation with their parents, The report show inconsistent and weak relations and bonds with their parents, ranging from lack of understanding between them and their parents, ‘hostility and rejection’ towards them. 12 juveniles have come from the homes that are dysfunctional or broken through divorce, separation of parents or from the homes that are psychologically broken through serious dissention and nagging between the parents. These factors of family structure are all conducive for perpetration of juvenile antisocial conduct and negative behavioural patterns on part of children.

 

d. Education:

The fact that children in the institutions have stated the dropping out of school was the first step towards deviance. It is clear that the failure to keep them in school to continue their education was a grave contributing factor to them moving into deviance and offensive acts. If there was more care and interventions that could have been given at schools for children who have shown signs of deviant behaviour, it may have prevented them from being sent into the system. The fact that in school under supervision there may have been chances where the teachers may have observed the signs of deviance behaviour and if it was addressed then there might have been a change in the way life turned out for these children.

 

While analysing the Social investigation reports it came to fore that all the children have reported that their school attendance was severely affected over the last years. The quality and effectiveness of education also deteriorated severely over the last years. Majority of the juveniles have stated that their suspension of classes due to frequent hartals, bandhs, curfews and strikes has resulted in thin attendance in all educational institutions. The juveniles have stated that they missed a lot classes and most of them left education in midway because of the interrupted education or lack of income. The juveniles also reported that due to the administration/system collapse their education suffered extremely. Out of 100 juveniles 100, 32 juveniles have left their education because of their detainment. Most of the juveniles have missed out their education for one or two years and could not appear for exams and have got missed out the time of examination. It was also revealed by the reports that majority of the juveniles have confessed their guilt and wanted to focus on their future and those who are students they want to focus on their studies. They wanted a chance to better their life.

 

Experience with Police:

The Juvenile Justice Act states the police have to interact with the children keeping in mind their best interest. It is mandate for every police station to have a Special Juvenile Police Unit set up, they will be handling all cases related to children that may come to the station. The law states when a child comes into conflict with law the child has to be treated not as an adult or a criminal but as a victim of the society in other words the system has to interact with the child in a friendly manner. In reality this rarely happens. There have been cases where the children have been known to be treated like criminals are handcuffed, beaten and tortured to get them to confess.

 

The stories of mistreatment by the police were common among all the Juveniles, the SIR reports showed all the juveniles have bad experience with police. The SIRs brought to light several instances where minors were detained by the police, kept in police lock-ups with adults for extended periods, and subjected to abuse and torture while in custody. It has been found that the police action has been in clear violation of the Jammu and Kashmir Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, which mandates that if a minor is apprehended, they have to be produced before the state’s juvenile court within 24 hours. The court decides whether they are to be transferred to juvenile homes, and the act categorically states that minors cannot be housed in police stations.

 

CONCLUSION:

Juvenile delinquency being it is common in world; it has very deep roots in Kashmir also. The participation of the children in the environment they belong and live in, is unavoidable. The environment affects the development of children and they can’t grow in isolation to the cultural, economical, social and political developments that happen around the children. With the introduction of violence and other effects of militancy after 1989, social deviance among the Children and youth is on rise, observed never before. It is a matter of concern for a society and is becoming a menace. Juvenile delinquency is a type of anti-social behaviour by a juvenile who is under 18 years. It is a social problem that arises out of for a varied number of reasons. There are a number of reasons that impel a child to commit a crime or become criminal minded. In the present study it has been found that the socio-economic condition of the juveniles was major reasons for their criminal background, majority of the juveniles have from a poor background. This could be an indicator that poverty is one of the causes which has a lot of implication on the behaviour of the children. The findings also revealed that peer group was responsible for the juveniles to involve into stone pelting. 67 juveniles have admitted that they had aggression and anger against the armed forces as they are killing Kashmiri people while as many juvenile have stated by that they indulge into such activity for mere enjoyment and fun. The study also show that juveniles have inconsistent and weak relations and bonds with their parents, ranging from lack of understanding between them and their parents, these factors of family structure are all conducive for perpetration of juvenile antisocial conduct and negative behavioural patterns on part of children. During the analyses of SIRs it has also come to fore that many juveniles have left their education in a midway because of the interrupted education or lack of income. The Juveniles have reported that due to defective administration/system collapse their education has suffered extremely. The juveniles also reported that their study has got disrupted and the reasons of disruption in their studies mentioned by the juveniles were detention and lack of economic resources. The stories of mistreatment by the police were common among all the Juveniles, during the analyse it was found that all the juveniles have bad experience with police. Juveniles were badly treated by the police after being caught. The juveniles (stone-Pelters) end up being lodged in police lock-ups which compounds the problem. If children involved in stone pelting are locked in jails, there is every apprehension that some of them might become militants later. It is high time that we take steps to sensitize police officers, give them proper training and ensure that we deal with our children who are in conflict with law with due care and love. Delinquency in the broad sense has grasped the society firmly as criminal, or other antisocial activities are at great risk factors so prevention efforts need to be comprehensive in scope this may include activities such as substance abuse education and treatment, family counselling, youth mentoring, parenting education, educational support. It was found that the stone pelting is too complex process, rather a psycho-social phenomena, to understand. From expressing the sentiment, to vulgarity, deviance and fun, it is a multifaceted mob action that needs to be put in a proper framework to ponder over a changed but perilous mass psyche.

 

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Received on 23.11.2021         Modified on 06.12.2021 Accepted on 19.12.2021         © A&V Publication all right reserved Int. J. Ad. Social Sciences. 2021; 9(4):173-182.