The Maoist insurgents in Nepal have been abducting children from various parts of the country with a view to training and inducting them into their ranks. In all, over 3000 children have been abducted on different occasions since 1996. They are said to be in the age group of 14 to 18; some could be younger. One of the earliest reports of the presence of children among Maoist ranks surfaced as early as in October 2001.  A 15-year-old student was lured into the rebel-fold in Libang, Rolpa district. Another report claimed as late as in April 2004 that, in a majority of cases, children have been recruited into the Maoist group from the insurgent strongholds of Rolpa, Jajarkot, Gorkha, Salyan, Sindhupalchowk, Kavre, and Sindhuli.

Lending credence to reports of the Maoists targeting children, Kamal Shahi, a top leader of the All Nepal National Independent Students Union-Revolutionary (ANNISU-R), a Maoist affiliate, disclosed that at a January 2004 meeting, the insurgent leadership has decided to create a 50,000 strong child militia. The abduction and training of children does not seem to be a result of waning Maoist cadre strength, but is, perhaps, intended to widen their cadre base.

This is in sharp contrast to denials in the past by the insurgent leadership on either fielding or proposing to children among their ranks. In November 2002, senior Maoist leader Krishna Babadur Mahara said, “We have no children in our fighting force. We do not admit anyone below 18 in our army…. We have the support of the children as well as the elderly. But they are not part of our army.” Earlier on 24 August 2000, brushing aside as mere “propaganda” an Amnesty International (AI) allegation of forced recruitment and presence of children among Maoist cadres, Pushpa Kamal Dahal said, “… there is no recruitment at all of children in any unit of people’s guerrilla army under the leadership of our party [Communist Party of Nepal––Maoist].” The AI was seeking the freedom of some 30 children abducted from Janapriya High School in Jajarkot district, who, it apprehended, could be trained and deployed among the fighting forces of the rebels.

According to a March 2004 report, children were being rounded up from class rooms without any explanation and marched to undisclosed locations. On 25 February 2004, 65 students of Birendra Higher Secondary School, Bafikot, were abducted in the midst of the examination season, perhaps for imparting arms training. In fact, school premises are being used by the Maoists for parades and drills. Rebel presence and blatant display of arms in schools have the consequence of disrupting academic life, frightening some pupils and, perhaps, inspiring a few to take up arms.

A spate of abductions, targeting both children and adults, was reported ahead of and following the eighth anniversary of the initiation of the “people’s war” in February 2004. In the past, the rebels targeted pupils of grades nine and ten. This now extends down to those of grade six, aged 12 years, especially from districts in western Nepal where the writ of the State is limited to the district headquarters. In 2004 alone, there have been over 20 instances of abduction of children, besides those of teachers, across Nepal.  Usually, following their abduction, they are given basic military training and are made to participate in meetings of insurgent-affiliated mass organizations, listen to speeches of Maoist leaders, and mostly set free thereafter. However, some continue to be held captive, though their number is uncertain. Also, on some occasions, the children were taken on a conducted tour of Maoist base areas.

Subjecting the captives to speeches and proceedings of meetings serves the function of indoctrinating the young minds. Speaking in the context of child combatants in India’s People’s War Group (PWG), a senior security force officer told this researcher during an interview in January 2004 that, being at an impressionable age, children are easily prone to manipulation. They get carried away listening to speeches, exhortations and inspiring cultural performances by rebel cadres. They are, therefore, susceptible to being drawn closer towards the insurgent movement and might eventually end up with the rebels.  Poverty, influence of a family member or relative, victimization, and a feeling of personal loss could be some other contributing factors.

Presently, the Maoists have been using children as couriers, cooks, porters and in cultural teams, but not as fighters. In fact, Nepalese authorities have yet not arrested or neutralized ‘armed’ child combatants.  As one Rolpa-based human rights activist noted in March 2004, “We don’t have evidence or witnesses of Maoists training children to use arms.” Some others, however, claim to have actually seen “armed children under the age of 18 years patrolling the village.”  This, perhaps, speaks loudly of the shape of things to come in Nepal.