Q&A: Kailash Satyarthi Winner of Nobel Peace Prize 2014
Indian child rights activist Kailash Satyarthi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday shared with Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai who was shot by the Taliban in 2012.
Mr. Satyarthi gave up his career as an electrical engineer over three decades ago to start Bachpan Bachao Andolan, or Save the Childhood Movement. Today the non-profit organization he founded is leading the movement to eliminate child trafficking and child labor in India.
Some edited excerpts of an interview with Mr. Satyarthi in 2011:
WSJ: What was your inspiration for Bachpan Bachao Andolan?
Kailash Satyarthi: I was personally concerned and involved in child rights-related activities right from my childhood. Then over a period of time I realized that it is not possible that one person can make substantial change; so it is necessary to build an organization of like minded people and sensitize other people to join. I knew right from the beginning that child labor is not just a technical or legal issue and also not merely an economic issue. It’s a combination of several things. It’s a deep-rooted social evil and to wipe it out we have to build a strong movement. Bachpan Bachao Andolan has never been a typical NGO [non-governmental organization] but it has emerged as a movement over a period of time.
WSJ: What is the child trafficking situation in India right now?
Mr. Satyarthi: Child trafficking is a serious problem and I think it’s growing fast. Intra-state trafficking within the country, for instance children who are trafficked from say Bihar or Jharkhand to Delhi, Mumbai or Kolkata to big cities and towns, has been increasing. So it’s a serious problem. Not hundreds of thousands, but I am afraid millions of children are trafficked within the country every year. We can say about 50 million children are working as child laborers, according to estimates of NGOs. Out of this, 20% or about 10 million are bonded child laborers. Most of the bonded child laborers are the trafficked ones. Some of the bonded child laborers are born in bondage which means their parents were bonded laborers. In cases of children working as bonded laborers outside their hometowns and villages, they are mostly trafficked children. So at least five million children out of 10 million are trafficked and in bondage.
WSJ: Which Indian states are sources and which are destinations for trafficked children?
Mr. Satyarthi: Almost all major cities are destinations, including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad. These are the places where a large number of children end up and become either child laborers, bonded laborers or even in child prostitution, forced begging and so many forms of human bondage. In terms of source areas, Bihar is still on the top and Jharkhand is also another place. Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal are also source areas. Actually it’s everywhere. Most of Rajasthani children are trafficked to Ahmedabad, Mumbai and other places. Most of Jharkhandi children are trafficked for domestic labor. Boys from Bihar are trafficked for newly emerging industries like the garment industry.
WSJ: Where is India positioned on the South Asian and global map in terms of controlling child trafficking?
Mr. Satyarthi: India doesn’t have strong laws on child trafficking. They have a law on immoral trafficking and that is basically for adult trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation and so on. There are some laws here and there, but there are no strong and clear laws. Secondly, because of social taboos and so-called image, most local administrations and state governments don’t admit [to the problem], they keep on denying that they have a serious problem of child trafficking. But when we or someone else is able to rescue trafficked children from bondage and child labor, then only they admit. So the denial is still a big problem in many cases. Thirdly, the enforcement of laws has always been a serious problem. Whatever laws are there, they’re not implemented. Overall, we don’t see that political will which is needed for the largest democracy in the world to combat this kind of social menace and crime.