Child Labour Free India

Posted on | mei 4, 2012 | 2 Comments

”My eyes hurt when I look at them…
Its like a puzzle scattered all over
They say these are Alphabets”

8 year old Renu gazed at every hoarding she found on the side of the road. She tried to read the alphabets and matched their shapes to those she had learnt early in life.

Enrolled in a school at the age of 5, she was soon compelled to dropout due to lack of classrooms and absence of teachers. Renu is one amongst the 8,150,618 children of India who are still out of school even after 2 years of implementation of Right to Education Act, thereby becoming one of the victims of child labour in India. She was working at plastic glass factory before being rescued.

There are many like Renu who were forced to leave schools due to lack of teachers, unavailability of separate and clean toilets for girls and children, lack of clean drinking water facilities, undue demands of money by school authorities, children being made to sweep the classes and school premises, lack of proper boundary walls and ceilings in classrooms and numerous sanitation problems etc. All of these children are now caught in the vicious cycle of child labour and are unable to get access to the benefits suggested under RTE Act.

Supreme Court of India’s upholding of the validity of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (RTE Act) still could not ensure the presence of all the children in India to be in schools, as there are millions still working in hazardous factories. Many non government organizations like Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA), strongly feel that RTE Act can only come alive when our nation is completely child labour free.

It is heartening to witness campaigns like ‘Child Labour Free India’ launched by BBA along with Global March, aiming to bring about an amendment in the existing Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986, by ensuring a total abolition of child labourers in the country till the age of 14 years.

The campaign has been able to garner huge support from the Bollywood film industry with superstars like Salman Khan, Nandita Das & Sonam Kapoor appealing to the masses to stand up to fight against child labour in India.

As part of the campaign activity, children (former child labourers, school drop outs, children rag-pickers etc) are knocking the doors of parliamentarians and celebrities to seek their support in this fight. Almost 100 children from 12 different states of India (Bihar, Jharkhad, M.P, Rajasthan, Karnataka etc.) are coming together for a national meeting to share their experiences and outline their problems. The campaign has also become viral on social media and people’s active participation reflects their support to fight child labour in the country.

We need more of such social initiatives to become the voice of 6 crore Indian children, whose own voice has been imprisoned within four walls of slavery. We need to stand up against Child Labour to make sure that the laws made to curb this evil are implemented in true sense.

To know more about the campaign, please visit:
http://www.bba.org.in/campaigns/CLFI/

AUTHOR: Garima Dimri
URL: http://www.bba.org.in
E-MAIL: garima [at] bba.org.in

Blog this!
Bookmark on Delicious
Recommend on Facebook
Tip on Hyves
Share on Linkedin
Share on technorati
Tweet about it
Print for later
Bookmark in Browser

Comments

2 Responses to “Child Labour Free India”

Basu Rai
mei 4th, 2012 @ 12:44

I agree with Garima Dimri,
It is true that even today whenever we see the children at the red light junction it gives clear picture that our country’s future is in danger because children are the future of country if they are in the darkness at the present then what sort of India we are going to create?

We talk about growing economy and making laws but who is going to implement that? we are the people to understand these all heinous crime and those innocent eyes are wide opened with the hope to get help to save their childhood so let them save their right and childhood let them live as normal human

Now time has come please open your eyes and help this BBA’s people to fight against Child labour and support “Child Labour Free India Campaign” I’m going to support them I don’t care rest of others but if they came it would be good after all we are Indians full of compassion and still hour humanity is not dead

By Basu Rai
Saurabh Singh
mei 4th, 2012 @ 13:31

I appreciate the author’s way of highlighting the plight of child labourers in India. There is a political and social unrest in the country due to pathetic conditions of masses in general and children in particular. The country is being divided into India and Bharat, with the ever increasing social and economic problems of Bharat on one side and shining India on the other. RTE has become a political gimmick for lawmakers of India to rule Bharat.

Amid all this, it is a heartening to know that NGOs like Bachpan Bachao Andolan and Global March Against Child Labour have come up to save the childhood. They are the only hope of the childhood in these gloomy times but probably not the last.

Everybody is aware about the work Bachpan Bachao Andolan has done in last 32 years whether it be ‘Rugmark’ or their famous Global March of 1998.

Tipping point is nearing and time is not far when these NGOs will take the form of a revolution which shall liberate childhood for ever from the clutches of exploitation.

I urge world community to support these NGOs in their holy endeavor to save childhood.

As an individual i unequivocally support and endorse ‘Child Labour Free India Campaign 2012′

Regards