Doomed to a stateless state

Every other month we read of abandoned children, or those whose parents neglected to register their birth, in a quagmire when the time comes to attend school. Instead of tying their hands up in red tape, the authorities should use the discretionary power in Article 15A of the Federal Constitution to grant these children citizenship, reports SHAILA KOSHY. 

IF this were a fairytale involving a foundling, the child is assured of a happy ending. But this is the real world; where laws and bureaucracy rule, where you can’t go to school if you don’t have a birth certificate and can’t take any public examinations if you don’t have an identity card.