The Hindu : Front Page : Rag-pickers have a date with Prime Minister

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jun 14, 2009
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Front Page

Front Page

Rag-pickers have a date with Prime Minister

Urvashi Sarkar

NEW DELHI: Three school children who attend classes in the morning and are engaged in rag-picking thereafter met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at his residence on Saturday and submitted a memorandum seeking a blanket ban on all labour for children under the age of 14 years.

The faces of the children – 12-year-old girls Useeran and Renu, and 15-year-old Zakhir – gleamed and their eyes sparkled as they emerged from 7 Race Course Road after meeting Dr. Singh. “It felt wonderful to meet the Prime Minister,” exclaimed Useeran who wants to be a lawyer when she grows up.

“The bungalow is beautiful!” added a wide-eyed Renu who aspires to be Miss India one day.

Zakhir, who wants to open a dance school, added to good measure: “Our Prime Minister is a nice and approachable man. But I do wish there was more time to spend with him.”

For Renu, Useeran and Zakhir, it was indeed a very proud and special moment when they met the Prime Minister. Residents of the slums in New Seemapuri on the Delhi-Ghaziabad border, these children attend school daily but also work as rag-pickers. “My parents too are rag-pickers,” said a cheerful Useeran, who has been in the trade since the age of five.

During the meeting, the children also complained about how the police and the administration ill-treat them. Said Zakhir: “Just because we are poor, the police browbeat us. We are beaten up, our meagre earnings from rag-picking are taken away and we are accused of being thieves.”

“Often I have to miss school,” continues Zakhir. “If I get late while sorting out the rubbish, I cannot attend school.”

Zakhir says he misses an average of seven days of school in a month. He is a student of Class X while Useeran and Renu study in Class VII. However, confident about the outcome of the meeting with Dr. Singh, he said: “The Prime Minister assured us he would try and do something about our problems.”

Elaborating on the contents of the memorandum they gave to the Prime Minister, Thomas Chandy, chief executive officer of ‘Save the Children’ non-government organisation which mobilised the children and helped deliver their message to the government, said: “The Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act which makes a distinction between hazardous and non-hazardous activities with reference to child labour needs to be amended. The distinction is superficial and children below the age of 14 should not be made to perform any labour regardless of its nature. The children should be encouraged to attend school. The Right to Education Bill must be made into a law soon and it should guarantee free and compulsory education to children up to the age of 14.”

Priya Subramanian of ‘Save the Children’ said “though all three children attend government schools, they are still expected to pay Rs.70-80 per month as tuition fees. Therefore these children are compelled to work in order to support their own education and also contribute to the earnings of their families which are usually large.”

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page