The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child categorically prohibits involving children in war operations. Despite international conventions, however, minors continue to be used as soldiers in military conflicts around the world. The Naxal movement is no different; during the last forty years of its existence it has irreparably damaged children's lives. All parties to the conflict - Naxal groups, the state-sponsored Salwa Judum anti-Maoist group, and Special Police officers (SPOs) assisting the government security forces have recruited children in different capacities and exposed them to injury and death. A recent report by Human Rights Watch titled "Dangerous Duty: Children and the Chhattisgarh Conflict" updates information on the use of children by all the major groups in the Naxal movement.

It is the established policy of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) to recruit children above age sixteen. However the process starts earlier with the recruitment of children in the age group of six to twelve for children's associations called Bal Sangams, where children are trained in Maoist ideology, used as informers, and taught to fight with sticks. Depending on their skills and aptitude, children from a Bal Sangam are "promoted" to other Naxalite departments like Sangams (village-level associations), Chaitanya Natya Manch (CNM, street theater troupes), Jan Militias (armed informers who travel with the dalams), and Dalams (armed squads). In the Sangams, Jan Militias, and Dalams, Naxalites provide weapons training to children with rifles and teach them to use different types of explosives, including landmines. Children in Jan militias and dalams participate in armed conflicts with the security forces. Children in Bal Sangams, Sangams, and CNMs do not participate directly in hostilities, but are vulnerable to attacks by the security forces during anti-Naxalite combing operations. Children recruited into dalams are not permitted to leave, and may face severe reprisals, including the killing of family members, if they surrender to the police.

However, the most dangerous and most recent Naxal strategy is of the CPI-Maoists now forming a Child Liberation Army (CLA). At least 300 children are being trained in the dense forests of Dhanbad and Giridih in Jharkhand under a crash course in the use of small arms. Apart from jungle warfare these children are trained to collect information about the movement of security forces and pass it on to the outlaw group. "The Maoist rebels use children in their propaganda war against the government and security forces," confirms SN Pradhan, spokesperson of the Jharkhand Police.

At the end of 2007, the Chhatishgarh police created a storm by admitting that they had accidentally recruited underage SPOs, but claimed that they had since removed around 150 officers from their ranks, including children. The Chhattisgarh Police Act, 2007 fixes the minimum age for SPOs at 18 years, but no special care was taken to verify that all the applicants were really aged 18 and above. While there is no evidence of new SPO recruitment since March 2006, in interactions with both SPOs and community members, this author has discovered that SPOs under the age of 18 continue to serve with the police. There are also allegations of the state authorities forcibly enlisting civilian support for the Salwa Judum; some members also take away children, mostly boys, to attend meetings. Once in the camps the children are used to carry arms and participate in subsequent raids.

The Naxal movement has come a long way, and in the course of this long journey, it has transformed the lives of millions of women and children. Children and their families are not only getting caught in the crossfire, many are being targeted. Nothing is spared, held sacred or protected. Within the assistance programmes, especially designed for the Naxal-infested areas, attention must be paid to these circumstances. International humanitarian law provides protection for children in conflict situations. However in the changed ground situation the Government of India and the state governments in Naxal-infested states need to prohibit the recruitment or use of children in hostilities by rebel and non-governmental armed groups. States need to criminalize such practices.

Use of child soldiers in contemporary armed conflicts is not a new phenomenon; it is a common phenomenon in Sierra Leone, Uganda, Mozambique, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Myanmar. Since 1996, approximately two million children have died in war, at least six million have been injured or physically disabled, and 12 million have been left homeless. However, given the conflict dynamics of the Naxal movement, if the use of children gets institutionalized in its self-proclaimed war against India, and if the state agencies continue to ignore international covenants and conventions on not using child soldiers, it will make the situation worse than before, affecting an entire generation.