A 'Baal Panchayat' (Children's Parliament) was organised in the capital by Kailash Satyarthi Children's Foundation here on Wednesday on the occasion of World Day against Child Labour.
The event saw the participation of 80 children across the country.
Children presented a charter of demands in the children's parliament which they wished to convey to the government of India. The children appealed to the new Government at the Centre for the elimination of child labour and trafficking in the country through effective implementation and time-bound action of laws and make District administration totally accountable.
The participants at the congregation expressed concern over under-reporting of the abuses of child labour across the country and said that tackling the menace should be included in the Government's proposed 100-day action plan.
Child leaders from Bihar, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, and victims of child labour and trafficking discussed a charter of demands for elimination of child labour in India and making India safe and healthy for its children.
They advocated and emphasised on the active participation of children in Gram Panchayats as well as the establishment of "Bal Panchayats" across India. They also demanded the creation of Village Migration register in each Panchayat and organisation of a Gram Sabha meant for discussing issues pertaining to children twice a year.
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In addition, they insisted on introducing a scheme in Gram Panchayat ensuring for free and compulsory education for girls till Class 12. The young leaders also demanded that the Gram Panchayat should work towards no dropouts of children from schools.
Talking to ANI, one of the participants Mohammad Manan Ansari who was rescued at the age of 10 from Koderma district of Jharkhand shared his experience as child labour.
He said "I was 10 years old in 2007 when I was rescued from Jharkhand Mica Mines. In Jharkhand, every other child works in Mica Mines. I had to work in two to three hundred feet deep mines where the temperature was extremely high and it was very hot. I used to get severe injuries in my body while collecting mica. I was then taken to Baal ashram where my talent was nurtured. Now I have studied Life Sciences at Delhi University."
Manan who has addressed the International Labour Conference in Geneva when he was 14 and has been a speaker at TEDx Talk held at NIIT, Mangalore further added "we talk about globalizing various things like education, trade, language but why don't we globalise compassion? That is the only solution to tackle the menace of child labour."
Sharing similar experiences, Akhilesh said that he was rescued from bonded labour which had been continuing in his family since four generations.
Akhilesh who hails from Patna Bihar said "I used to work in a brick kiln where my family was working as bonded labour since four generations. I lost two fingers of my hand while working when many bricks fell on my hand while carrying them. Child labour is a serious problem in our country. I want to help other children who work in such professions so that it is not repeated with them.