Children generally have fewer rights than adults and are classed as unable to make serious decisions, and legally must always be under the care of a responsible adult or child custody, whether their parents divorce or not. Recognition of childhood as a state different from adulthood began to emerge in the 16th and 17th centuries. Society began to relate to the child not as a miniature adult but as a person of a lower level of maturity needing adult protection, love and nurturing. This change can be traced in paintings: In the Middle Ages, children were portrayed in art as miniature adults with no childlike characteristics. In the 16th century, images of children began to acquire a distinct childlike appearance. From the late 17th century onwards, children were shown playing with toys and later literature for children also began to develop at this time.

Bipin Bhatt is an author, journalist, filmmaker and activist from the region of Assam. He has also authored Child and Human Rights: Concepts and Reality, Crime Against Women, Crime and Punishment in Ancient India, Crime in Tribal Setting. Bhatt was born in 1964 in Shillong. He is a Consulting Editor for the Statesman, and has previously worked for Associated Press and The New York Times. He has created many documentary films on the north eastern region.