In 2008, the weak financial condition of his family and father’s unstable mental condition forced 12-year-old Shubham Rathore to leave home and work as a helper at a tea shop. But fate had other plans, as the following year, he was rescued by the Kailash Satyarthi-led Bachpan Bachao Andolan.
Now, 13 years later, at age 25, he won the Young India Fellowship at Ashoka University, and has enrolled for its Liberal Arts course, set to begin in August.
“Usually, 25,000-30,000 students apply for this fellowship, of which, 200 are selected. And I made it. I chose liberal arts because I would get to study economics, social science, political science, and social justice, learn a lot, meet different people and share my story with them,” adds Rathore.
But the memories of that one year that he spent in Mandsaur still haunt him.
“I had to migrate 30km away from my village Pratapgarh in Rajasthan. My job was to serve tea and wash the glasses. I used to be so scared that my hands trembled and the glasses would fall and break. I would get scolded and cry, but I never told my mother. And for all the work I did, I was just given a meal and no money.”
Rathore recalls the day before the rescue operation, when someone from Satyarthi’s team came to have a cup of tea at the shop.
“He spoke to me at length, and the next day, the whole team came there with the police. They had called my mother for identification, and I was sent to Bal Ashram in Jaipur, and told I will be able to study here. Then, after a week Bhai Sahab (Kailash Satyarthi) and Bhabhi Ji (Sumedha Satyarthi) came to meet the kids and make all of us feel comfortable,” he adds.
Here, Rathore grew up with 100 other kids. He was introduced to the world of books through the three months of informal schooling at Bal Ashram before being enrolled in the local government school in Class 9.
“I got the opportunity to participate in the National Conference on Child Rights in 2010 on the implementation of the RTE Act, and was part of the signature campaign in which we got supportive signatures from Parliamentary members for ‘RTE Act’,” he adds.
His biggest inspiration is Kailash Satyarthi, also an engineer.
“So, I decided to study engineering, and my physics was also good,” he adds. After studying till Class 12 at Bal Ashram, he pursued electrical engineering from Laxmi Devi Institute of Engineering and Technology, Alwar.
“At college, I became an active member of various youth groups in college, conducted awareness activities and provided free tuition to the children of the nearby village,” says Rathore.
In November 2017, he secured a job as an assistant engineer at Power Grid Corporation of India Limited and worked on one of their projects.
“I left the job, but whenever I take holidays, I visit Bal Ashram or my mother as I love spending time with her,” he adds.
Apart from participating in several rescue operations, he has been a part of a national awareness campaign on child rights.
He got an opportunity to address the ‘Laureates and Leaders for Children Summit in Jordan.
He is a part of Bal Mitra Gram project, where elections are held among government school kids and a Bal Assembly is made that discusses issues of schools and finds their solutions.
Looking back, Rathore is happy to gauge the difference education has made in his life.
“But more than that, it’s the social education that I got at the rehabilitation centre. I developed a different perspective and gained confidence. Also, we should not eat at restaurants that employ kids,” adds Rathore, who aims to raise awareness on child rights among the youth.
Bal Ashram Founder Sumedha Kailash, who mentored Rathore, says, “Shubham is one of the amazing child survivor leaders from Bal Ashram. Our vision is to make sure children not only get their formal education, but also become aware citizens and agents of change.”