Not a day passes without the footpath in front of the Secretariat at Statue Junction in Kerala’s capital city Thiruvananthapuram witnessing protests by organisations and individuals, who want the state to be held accountable for delay in justice and human rights violations. Some of these protests turn violent, requiring the use of water cannons or bursting of tear gas shells, and entering news cycles. Many protests, mostly by individuals, rarely gain public attention unless there is public outcry or a known figure is involved like Daya Bai, who is currently on a hunger strike for the sake of victims of Endosulfan.
Shakunthala is one such individual who has been protesting in front of the Secretariat since 2014. Ever since her daughter was taken away forcefully in January, 2015, one can often see her holding the photograph of her daughter crying her heart out. Most of the time. Shakunthala, no longer her former self, stays silent. But at times she would raise slogans against the police, who took away her child, in a shivering voice. TNM tried to talk to her but couldn’t because she is dejected and does not feel anymore that anybody can help her. If you persist, she will keep murmuring that everyone betrayed her.
Shakunthala, 52, first came to Statue junction in 2014 with her husband B Sukumaran and Amalu, her daughter, who was then only an eight-year-old. A TNIE report on Children's Day in 2014 featured the travails of the family who had by November, 14, 2014, completed 292 days of protest. The report also carried a photograph of Amalu, playing on the footpath. The couple, residents of Neyyattinkara in Thiruvananthapuram district, sat on protest alleging police inaction in a complaint they gave over some goons trespassing their property. The couple had alleged that a gang tried to take away five cents of land they owned. Shakunthala had also spoken about their inability to continue Amalu’s education because of these issues and the alleged physical assault on her husband, to which her daughter was a witness.
In the same year, Sukumaran died in a road accident. Shakunthala strongly believes that it was a murder and since then has been living on the footpath. Her initial demand was justice for her husband and later she started to protest against the decision to remove her daughter from her care as per the direction of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC). The CWC took the decision to part the child from her because it was against the law to make children part of such protests.
The untimely death of her husband and the state forcefully taking away her daughter were traumatic for Shakunthala and this would have affected her mental health, according to some women activists in the city, who are familiar with her struggle.
Amalu was handed over to the CWC and was later brought under the care of Sree Chitra Poor Home for children located near Pazhavangadi of Thiruvananthapuram, just two kilometres away from the Secretariat where Shakunthala had been sitting on a protest for the past eight years.
Despite being a woman, who lost her husband and the proximity with her child, there was no effort from any of the agencies responsible for women’s welfare in the state - the CWC, the Women’s Commission or the Social Justice Department - to address Shakunthala’s concerns or to provide her with rehabilitation.
Speaking to TNM, L Bindu, the Superintendent of the Sree Chitra Poor Home, said that Amalu is studying in ninth standard and doing very well in her studies. “She is very happy here. Also everyone knows that she resides here. In all these years her mother did not come to visit her. Sometimes her paternal aunt would come and take her home for vacations,” she said. According to her, sometime back, when the children were being taken for a movie, her mother came running to her and tried to hold her. “Amalu said she was scared, I consoled her saying after all she is her mother,” the Superintendent said.
Shakunthala
In 2016, Shakunthala filed a petition in Kerala High Court through her lawyer Sherly M Thomas. The petition was dismissed by the court. The government pleader submitted before the HC that there were breaks in Amalu’s education between 2012 (the year she joined 1st standard) and 2014. “Despite proper counselling being given to the parents of the child, with respect to providing education, they refused to comply with any instructions given by the police authorities. Therefore, a notice was given to the parents on October 8, 2014 requiring them to attend the Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Thiruvananthapuram. But the parents refused to accept any such notice and also failed to appear before the Commission,” government pleader informed the court.
The government also informed the court that the child was shifted to Sree Chitra Poor Home and is now a school student. She is still studying in the school. The High Court dismissed Shakunthala’s petition by saying that Amalu was taken into custody as per orders issued by the CWC under the provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000 and that the child is now housed at 'Sree Chitra Poor Home', Thiruvananthapuram, under orders of the Committee in exercise of their statutory powers. “Therefore this Court is convinced that the alleged detenu is not under any illegal confinement, as alleged,” the HC said.
The court also observed that the parents can approach concerned authorities and get the custody of the child back. But by that time Shakunthala was not in a mental state to take those steps.
“They took my child from my lap. She was crying her heart out when she was snatched away from me. So it is their duty to bring my child to me. I will wait here,” said Shakunthala. When TNM spoke to her she kept repeating these words, with hand on her head even as it rained.
Though TNM approached many women rights activists, many of them who had supported Shakunthala earlier, were exhausted and had lost their interest in the case. “Now she does not speak to us. She refuses to cooperate,” said an activist.
An officer in the Social Justice Department, on condition of anonymity, said Shakunthala’s story is a classic example of how the system failed a family. “They, as a family, came to seek justice. . Nobody enquired about their complaint back in Neyyattinkara, nobody gave protection to her after her husband’s death, her child was taken away and nobody ever tried to bring the child to her, convince her or rehabilitate her. While everyone now washes their hands off blaming it on mental health they forget that proper treatment and rehabilitation was her right. It was Amalu’s right to live with her family,” the officer said.
The officer also pointed out that CWC could have done a lot in this case considering the child’s welfare. “CWC just issued an order to take away the child, and admit the child in a care home. They have all the power to rehabilitate a family, but they hardly tried for this. Admitting a child in a poor home is just clerical work,” the officer added.
When Shakunthala began her protest, the United Democratic Front government led by Ooomen Chandy was in power. The Left Democratic Front government, which came to power in 2016, is now well into its second consecutive term but there has been no sincere attempts for her rehabilitation.
However, the Cantonment police, which have jurisdiction over the place, say that they tried to rehabilitate her a few times. “She is not ready to talk to us. She shouts and abuses when she sees an officer. Another option is forcefully taking her to rehab, but that will create another controversy which the government might not want,” an officer said.
L Bindu said after Amalu’s studies are completed they are planning to approach the government for rehabilitation of mother and daughter.