Bal Mahapanchayat: Children call for end to child labour

Children from 13 states participated in Rashtriya Bal Mahapanchayat, an annual meet of children from different parts of the country, organised by Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) a non-governmental organisation and demanded to bring an end to the child labour and implementation of RTE completely.

The children, delegates of Bal Mahapanchayat, had come from Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Punjab, Bihar, Uttarakhand, and Haryana.

All the delegates were the elected leaders of the children’s assemblies (Bal Panchayats) formed in the child friendly villages by BBA. A child friendly village is a village where children are withdrawn from the child labour and enrolled in schools. These children form their own children’s assemblies (Bal Panchayats) through the process of democratic election and this children’s assembly works with the village assembly (gram panchayat) for the development of the village.

Addressing the children, senior journalist and columnist, Dr. Ved Pratap Vaidik said there is no arrangement of education in the country, children have to do labour and this child labour in itself is big compulsion.

“If childhood is saved then adulthood is already saved. In this country the adulthood is spoiled because we aren't able to save childhood,” he said.

“By making the children vote to elect Bal sarpanch we try to make them understand the value of their vote from childhood itself,” said Rakesh Senger national secretary of BBA.

While addressing the children, Mridula Sinha, former chairperson of Central Board of Social Welfare admitted, “I kept children as domestic worker. But you will be surprised to know that they called us Dada and Dadi, we got them educated, employed and married. We never discriminated them with my own children.”

Another senior journalist Prabhat Joshi said, “We should make proper mechanism and bring strong laws which can protect the rights of children.”

He also taught children to write news report in the second session of the Mahapanchayat, which could be very helpful for Raziya Sultana, a class 10th student who wants to be a journalist. She had been the deputy president of Bal panchayat and during that time she got a toilet and an additional room built in her school in a village near Meerut. She was also involved in the rescue of 48 child labourers and got them enrolled in the school.

Displaying true journalistic skills she even went to District Magistrate to get the money (Rs. 50 to 100 each) returned to the student, which was taken by the head-master for giving them their mark sheets.

Talking about the motive behind such Mahapanchayats, the founder of BBA, Kailash Satyarthi said, “Bachpan Bachao Andolan always believes and advocates for genuine participation of children in decision making and enhancing their leadership to fight for their own right, because they know their best interest much better than adults. Such panchayats are essentially the assemblies of their voices and inspiration, their success, failure and reaffirmation of their commitment in fight against child labour and for education.”

Since the initiation of the Bal Mitra Gram concept in 2001, BBA has transformed more than 200 child labour ridden villages into model Bal Mitra Grams (Child Friendly Villages).