The Public Tv ||Tangmarg|| 05 August 2025
In Tangmarg, a vibrant gateway to Gulmarg’s tourist haven, the sight of young children begging on dusty streets and crowded markets is a daily tragedy. These children, some as young as five, weave through traffic or linger near shops, their outstretched hands a silent plea for survival. This is not just a symptom of poverty—it’s a glaring failure of the administrative machinery, particularly the child protection department in Jammu and Kashmir, which has turned a blind eye to this crisis. The absence of checks, accountability, and ground-level action is robbing these children of their rights and futures.
The Department of Social Welfare in Jammu and Kashmir, tasked with protecting vulnerable children, has been in existence since 1960, with a mandate to address the needs of the underprivileged, including malnourished and exploited children. Yet, in Tangmarg, there is little evidence of this mandate translating into action. The Jammu and Kashmir Commission for Protection of Child Rights, meant to safeguard children’s rights, has been mired in administrative delays, with recent calls for applications for its chairperson and members still pending as of November 2024. Meanwhile, the Integrated Child Protection Services (ICPS), designed to reduce children’s vulnerability to harm, appears dormant in Tangmarg, with no visible efforts to rescue or rehabilitate child beggars.
India’s legal framework offers robust tools to combat child begging. The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, mandates that children found begging be treated as “Children in Need of Care and Protection” and provided shelter, education, and rehabilitation. Section 76 of the Act imposes harsh penalties for exploiting children for begging, yet Tangmarg’s streets tell a different story. The Indian Penal Code’s Section 363A targets trafficking for begging, but enforcement is virtually nonexistent. The decriminalization of begging by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, following the Delhi High Court’s 2018 ruling, was meant to shift focus to rehabilitation over punishment. Instead, it has left a vacuum where neither punitive nor protective measures are effectively implemented.
The child protection department’s inaction is compounded by systemic failures. There are no reliable checks to monitor child begging in Tangmarg, no centralized database to track vulnerable children, and no functional shelter homes under the SMILE scheme, which aims for a “beggar-free” India by 2026 but has only rehabilitated 352 children nationwide as of 2024. Reports from other regions, like the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights urging proactive measures, highlight what’s missing in Tangmarg: coordination, awareness, and on-the-ground intervention. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) offers an online complaint system, but how many in Tangmarg—where literacy and access to technology are limited—can navigate it?
Socio-economic factors fuel this crisis. Poverty, migration, and the post-COVID economic slump push families to rely on children’s earnings. Tangmarg’s tourist economy exacerbates the issue, with begging rackets exploiting children to tug at visitors’ heartstrings. Yet, the administration’s response is deafeningly silent. Where are the police sweeps to dismantle trafficking networks? Where are the Child Welfare Committees (CWCs) to rescue and rehabilitate these children? The lack of nodal officers or proactive campaigns in Tangmarg, unlike initiatives like “Poshan Bhi, Padhai Bhi” elsewhere, underscores a troubling neglect.
This isn’t just bureaucratic inertia—it’s a betrayal of trust. Every child begging in Tangmarg is denied their constitutional rights under Articles 21 and 24, which guarantee a life of dignity and protection from hazardous work. India’s obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child ring hollow when children face daily risks of abuse, trafficking, and exploitation. The narrative of “development” in Jammu and Kashmir, often touted by authorities, ignores these children, whose plight contradicts claims of progress.
The path forward demands accountability and action. The child protection department must establish functional shelter homes in Tangmarg, equipped with education and vocational training. Police must enforce anti-trafficking laws to target begging mafias, not vulnerable children. Awareness campaigns, like those in Indore, should urge tourists to support shelters instead of giving alms. Families need economic aid through schemes like MGNREGA to reduce dependence on child begging. The government must appoint proactive nodal officers and ensure the Jammu and Kashmir Commission for Protection of Child Rights is fully operational.
Tangmarg’s child beggars are not a statistic—they are a call to conscience. Readers, don’t just pass by these children. Report sightings to CHILDLINE (1098) or local authorities. Demand that the child protection department wakes up from its slumber. These children deserve schools, safety, and hope—not pity. Let’s make Tangmarg a place where childhood is cherished, not exploited.