NEW DELHI: Karan Kumar, 13, lost his years of infancy when he was forced to abandon his formal schools years and understand the economics of running an electrical shop.
Trafficked, abused and forced into bonded labour in hazardous conditions devoid of any security. In 2015 Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) came to his rescue. Liberated from the shackles of bonded labour, the outspoken and much healthier lad aspires to be a cricketer in future.
Currently, Karan is a student of class 6th at Government Senior Secondary School in Delhi.
The year 2017 will be instrumental in paving the way for a moral crusade against the imminent threats that lie ahead for India’s children.
“On the occasion of World Day Against Child Labour this year, it is expected that the International Labour Organisation (ILO) convention will be ratified by the Labour Ministry of India. Post ratification, India will be under the purview of the legislation along with the majority of other nations that work towards annihilating the menace of child labour” said Satyarthi.
In 1998 a global march conceived by the founder of BBA and Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi that transcended geographical boundaries across 150 countries and bringing together around 2,000 delegates, including labour ministers from different countries.
“India will join majority of the countries that have adopted the legislation to prohibit and place severe restrictions on the employment and work of children” Satyarthi added.
As we celebrate and rejoice in the triumphs and the legacy of World Day Against Child Labour, the key statistics do not project a formidable picture of mechanisms in place to stop this abomination of child rights’ violations across the globe.
An estimated number of 150 million children are involved in child labour worldwide as per UNICEF data. Globally, it is reckoned that the trafficking of around 2 children per minute helps generate an annual profit of 32 billion dollars in industrial economies.
Nearer home, the 2011 census states that there are around 444 million child labourers in the country, which accounts for 36 percent of the total population.
Moreover, there are 33 million child labourers between the ages of 5-18 years and 10.13 million between the ages of 5-14 years in India. The ignomious numbers manifest an annual turnover of 120,000 crores as black money due to the presence of bonded labour in India. The worst performing states accounting for human trafficking have been Assam, Bihar, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.