Nearly a decade after the initiative was launched, Manipur is yet to notify its proposed State Policy for Children, raising questions over the Government’s commitment to institutionalising child protection at a time when prolonged ethnic conflict has left thousands of children exposed to displacement, disrupted education, family separation and psychological trauma.
The proposed policy, initiated in 2017, has undergone several rounds of deliberation and revision, but its final notification remains pending. The draft was reportedly submitted to the Social Welfare Department in 2017, while the policy was subsequently published in the State Gazette for public comments in November 2020. A revised version was prepared in 2026 following sustained efforts by the Manipur Commission for Protection of Child Rights (MCPCR).
The Commission, whose present Chairperson was earlier the Convenor of the drafting committee, has repeatedly pursued the matter with the Government and even sought the intervention of the Juvenile Justice Committee of the High Court of Manipur to expedite the necessary administrative and legal processes.
Despite these efforts, the policy has yet to cross the final hurdle of governmental approval and notification.
The delay assumes greater significance as nearly 30,000 children affected by the ethnic conflict are reported to have faced displacement, interruption of schooling, psychosocial distress and increased vulnerability to exploitation. Fragmented relief and rehabilitation measures cannot adequately address these interconnected challenges without a comprehensive and functioning child protection framework.
The revised policy reportedly seeks to address emerging and historically neglected vulnerabilities, including discrimination against gender-non-conforming children, marginalised children and children orphaned by HIV/AIDS, particularly concerning property and inheritance rights. It also incorporates concerns relating to cyber safety, online exploitation and digital abuse.
A key component is the proposed convergence of departments, including Social Welfare, Education, Health, Home, Labour and Rural Development, with clearly defined responsibilities for prevention, protection, rehabilitation and reintegration. The framework is expected to align government interventions with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.
Unlike sectoral initiatives such as the Manipur State AIDS Policy, 1996, and the Manipur State Policy on Psychoactive Substances, 2019, the proposed child policy requires coordinated ownership across multiple departments. While MCPCR has sustained the initiative, its formal adoption rests with the Government.
With Children’s Day approaching on November 14, the Government faces an opportunity to end the prolonged delay by placing the revised draft before the Cabinet and completing the remaining approval process.
The policy must not remain another unfinished government initiative. For thousands of children whose lives have been disrupted by conflict and deprivation, protection cannot wait for another round of administrative deliberations. Manipur needs a notified child policy, backed by resources, institutional accountability and time-bound implementation—not another promise on paper.