GUWAHATI: Writer Arup Kumar
Dutta, also known as India's Enid Blyton, on Tuesday said it was time Assamese literature moved beyond the entertainment-based approach to children's fiction and addressed issues related to child sexual and physical abuse.
Speaking at the curtain-raiser for the 12th edition of Festival of Books for Children, Dutta said, "I do not know to what extent Assamese literature has covered child abuse.
But going by what I have seen, Assamese literature has been mostly concerned with an optimistic, amusing and entertaining approach when it comes to children.
Child abuse, whether sexual or physical, has not been given much attention."
Seeking awareness of child rights through Assamese literature, the author said, "An early mention of child abuse was made in the Assamese story '
Tejimola' by eminent writer Lakshminath Bezbaroa."
Dutta is known for several works such as 'The
Kaziranga Trail', 'The Blind Witness', 'Trouble at Kolongijan' among others.