The biggest impact of the recognition received by Kailash Satyarthi will be the enhanced awareness that will be created towards child rights. The Nobel has to be viewed as the beginning of the road for a child labour free India. It also has to be seized as an opportunity to deal with other areas of child rights abuses
As we march into 2015, it is incumbent upon us to reflect on the accomplishments and achievements of our nation in the past year. Through the highs and lows of the year, one of the great honours that came our way in 2014 was the Nobel Peace Prize which has come to India through the richly deserving child rights activist Kailash Satyarthi, who became India’s eighth Nobel laureate. With this award, Satyarthi joins the league of extraordinary personalities like Martin luther King, the Dalai lama and Aung San Suu Kyi.
It is a well-known fact that our country has reached Mars and aspires to be a regional and global super power. However, there are still more than 60 million children who find themselves in the clutches of child labour. My fellow child rights activist, who has also always been a friend, philosopher and guide, is the man who became the face and voice of these 60 million children and underage people who have been illegally employed in farms, factories, mines, restaurants, small and big establishments and units across the country.
It is well-documented now that Satyarthi is an electrical engineer by training and a father of two children. Decades ago, relinquishing all his professional and financial aspirations, he started a non-governmental organisation (NGO) Bachpan Bachao Andolan, dedicating himself to the cause of a child labour free India. Bachpan Bachao Aandolan has thus far successfully rescued close to 80,000 children from the claws of child labour, including some children who had been sold off by their own parents in order to settle their debts or for other personal gains, besides children who had been kidnapped for trafficking and other related abuses. Today, these 80,000 children have a future to look forward to as opposed to a life of servitude, slavery and abuse. The assimilation and reintegration of these children in our society will strengthen the country as a whole besides giving a life of dignity to these children. Further, his organisation has advocated various causes related to child welfare before various courts, Governments, national and international fora, and Satyarthi is responsible for a number of judicial pronouncements and Government policies which have had a far reaching positive impact on the children of our country.
Satyarthi is a humble, dedicated and a kind man who is certainly deserving of this recognition which has been bestowed upon him. But I was surprised to see the number of people who considered this peace prize as the end of the road, the result and reward for all the great work put in by Satyarthi. People rejoiced in his success and rightly so. However, many chose to conveniently forget that till such day a single child in our country is subjected to child labour, this war continues. Our battle against child labour is still in its inception stage and has only just started, and Satyarthi would be the first to acknowledge that this is going to a long drawn out battle. A battle, which cannot be fought by a handful of activists, but will have to be fought by our society as a whole.
So what does this recognition for Satyarthi mean for India as a nationIJ Should we celebrate or should we introspectIJ The answer is that we must do both. The celebration is certainly a must since an Indian has got the Nobel Peace Prize. It will give tremendous encouragement to all child right activists across the country and more and more people will join this noble cause. The very fact that India has people with the virtues of Satyarthi is in itself a cause for celebration for the nation.
The need for introspection though is a much larger need for our society. The fact that India needs people like Satyarthi and other child rights activists is a cause for concern since it reflects the grim state of affairs in respect to the issues relating to child labour and other child rights abuses in India. The facts and figures relating to the levels of child rights abuse in our country are truly an eye opener and would leave most of us embarrassed.
We also must not forget that India is faced with various types and forms of child rights abuse. Whilst people like Satyarthi continue to do praiseworthy work in the area of child labour, other areas such as female foeticide, child trafficking, child pornography, use of juveniles for crimes, lack of adequate educational opportunities for children with special needs (especially in rural areas), diminishing parks and play areas for our children in the cities, and missing children are some of the other core issues which plague our society. Each one of these issues, amongst others, requires cohesive and a proactive efforts by the Government, judiciary, law enforcement agencies, activists and by society as a whole.
We must bear in mind that while the issue of child labour has come under the spotlight with this recognition, other issues relating to child rights as mentioned are not lost sight of and are pursued with equal vigour and resolve.
Though Satyarthi has been a well-recognised figure in the field of child rights protection for decades, the simplicity of the man always kept him a little away from media and national spotlight. That has, however, changed now. The facts and figures that have now come to the attention of the average Indian have virtually coerced us to look deep inside and introspect in ways we have not done before. Each one of us is compelled to see if we have in anyway become a part of this social evil.
I am a firm believer that true change in the mindset of a society can only come about by way of awareness. India is a country of numerous laws relating to child rights, but they are not necessarily implemented. The non-implementation of these laws is invariably a result of non-awareness of these laws even amongst law enforcement agencies. To my mind, the biggest impact of this recognition will be the enhanced awareness which will be created towards child rights in society as well as law enforcement agencies.
The recognition received by Satyarthi, therefore, has to be viewed as the beginning of the road for a child labour free India. It also has to be seized as an opportunity to bring the spotlight upon other areas of child rights abuses. The solution lies is awareness, and this recognition will prove to be a big stepping stone in the creation of the awareness which is required for combating this evil and eliminating it.
This journey and struggle will only culminate on the day when people like Satyarthi and other child rights activists are simply not required and all children in the country will have the opportunity to determine their own future which will be free of servitude and abuse. That indeed is the true purpose of this award and the motivation that we as Indians should receive from it.
The true benefit of Satyarthi’s recognition will come in the years to follow when we as a society will become more aware and sensitive towards the rights of children. It is now up to us to either only celebrate and forget or to introspect and gain as a nation from this recognition at an international level.
Some effects of this achievement have already begun to show. The recent rescue of 83 children in Maharashtra who were otherwise destined for imminent abuse, and the Prime Minister himself taking up the cause of saving and educating the girl child (Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao) are all welcome developments.
I am truly happy and encouraged to see that people who have dedicated themselves to this noble cause are now being recognised at an international level. But I can assure you that only people who don’t yearn for awards or recognition get such recognition. Awards and recognition cannot be the aspiration criteria and would encourage each empowered Indian to help, educate or rescue at least one child whenever and wherever they find the opportunity, and will feel as rewarded as Satyarthi feels today, if not more.
It would be unfair for me to end this article without mentioning the other crusader/awardee Malala Yousafzai, the brave young girl from Pakistan. The fact that an Indian and a Pakistani have jointly been awarded this Nobel for their contribution to the field of child welfare only goes to show that while countries may subscribe to boundaries, humanity has none. The issues that touch our souls as human beings are common to the entire world and we must deal with those issues as human beings and not as citizens of our respective countries.
Our children are the seeds of our future and protection of all child rights is the bounden duty of all empowered citizens of the world. Nevertheless, this recognition is a victory for all the voiceless children across the world whose plight will no longer remain concealed.