I was reading a collection of Ruskin Bond short stories. In one of them, a little girl visiting her grandmother runs across the road from the house to the fields as the unknown beckons her. As I was reading, I wanted to stop her from venturing out into the unfamiliar. I almost had my heart racing and wanted to reach through the pages to physically stop her from coming to any harm. And it was then I realised I was living in Ruskin Bond’s simpler world where the girl simply goes and befriends a boy, who too has nothing in mind beyond pure friendship. I realised that in that world of children’s literature, there were no lurking psychos, no men who could not differentiate between a child and woman and no ‘known’ relatives to take advantage of this innocent girl.

I also realised with a pang that I, who grew up in the beautiful world where Enid Blyton and Amar Chitra Katha were the staples, was now a middle-aged woman who could only imagine the worst. That was what the newspapers and the news channels with their almost daily reports of a rape here and a rape there have reduced me to — a highly -strung woman who is unable to visualise the carefree abandon of childhood. Along with this revelation came deep sadness over the fact that we have taken away the beautiful innocence of childhood and imprisoned our children in the concrete world indoors with television for company.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau, the number of reported crimes against children more than doubled between 2012 and 2014. Nearly 90,000 such crimes were registered in 2014, of which over 37,000 involved kidnap and abduction, and nearly 14,000 involved rape. No wonder, parents are becoming paranoid about the loss of innocence in their children. Even rapes on school premises rock the nation. How then can this nation stop the terrible trend?

Education is the key. We need to educate our nation and its people that children deserve to live, and live well. Our country, despite making great strides in the technological and economic spheres, seems to be still grappling with a skewed sex ratio. I believe that for our girls to be appreciated and treated well we need our leaders to be more empathetic. They should think twice before making outlandish remarks such as, ‘boys will be boys’, or going into semantic hair-splitting on what a ‘gang rape’ is. As a nation we lack role models.

Secondly, we need to revamp our slow-moving judicial system and plug the loopholes by bringing on rapid reforms. Despite the sharp increase in the incidence of crime, the rate of conviction in rape cases involving children in 2014 was an abysmal 31 per cent. Unless there is a rapid change in our judicial system and a quick redress system in place, the perpetrators would have scant fear of the law and will continue their shameful acts without remorse. The government needs to realise the seriousness of the situation and its long-term implications, and incorporate the changes as early as possible.

Understandably, parenting is an onerous job and parents of both girls and boys should ensure that their house is filled with love, respect and compassion for all. Most parents are oscillating between suffocating children with love and later giving in to the pressure of teenage rebellion and providing them with all the freedom without question. Striking a balance between a healthy kind of neglect and ensuring good behaviour at all times is the key. Surrounding the home with good thoughts and deeds would help raise more balanced children.

The same goes for the field of education. Moral values need to be imparted and steps taken to ensure that the wards become better human beings. Concerted efforts by the government, the police, the school authorities and the parents are needed if we want our children and grandchildren to continue to live in the innocent world created by Ruskin Bond, Enid Blyton and their ilk. They deserve this carefree world before the responsibility of adulthood weighs them down.

This was published in The Hindu in 2015.

This blog post is part of ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’
hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla
and supported by Ivorystation, a new-age luxury website.