Campaign for the Liberation of Child Labourers
Of all the bonded labourers liberated by the organisation so far, fifty percent have been child labourers. They have continued to suffer exploitation at the hands of the owners along with their parents. These children have been found in stone quarries, brick kilns, chemical factories, etc. All these trades fall under the category of hazardous industries, in which child labour is completely prohibited.
The work performed by these children is not counted by the owners anywhere, either in writing or otherwise. Instead, they often make the innocent but absurd argument that these children are merely working along with their parents and that they have no desire to study. The reality, however, is that in all these establishments workers come to work with their entire families. There are no formal or informal schools for their children for miles around, nor do the owners make any such arrangements.
In 1997, in compliance with an order of the Supreme Court, the State Government conducted a survey of child labourers. In an absurd manner, the administration of each district announced the dates in newspapers before conducting the survey. As a result, all employers forcibly sent all children on leave during those days.
During this period, the Alwar unit of Bandhua Mukti Morcha, remaining alert at its own level, recorded the statements and other details of such child labourers and had them included in the survey. As a result, the highest number in the entire state—1,084 child labourers—were identified in Alwar.
The organisation formed different teams of its workers and, in coordination with the survey teams of the district administration, completed this work.
Among the child labourers liberated by the Morcha during that period, it would be appropriate to give one example here.
Meat Farms Pvt. Ltd. – 1997
On 29 April 1997, on the reliable information provided by active organisation worker Shri Mauj Khan, a raid was conducted at a meat plant named Meat Farms Pvt. Ltd., situated in Kesar Pur Panchayat, only eight kilometres from the Alwar district headquarters.
Thirteen child labourers were liberated from there.
In the statements given to the survey officer accompanying the Morcha team, seven boys and six girls stated that they had been working in this meat factory for the past three years amid boiling oil, blazing furnaces, strong-smelling chemicals and scolding from the managers.
They were not even being paid minimum wages.
Through the vigilance of the organisation, it became possible to release these 13 innocent children from a hazardous industry.
The interviews of all these child labourers were broadcast on the “Awaaz” programme of Star Plus TV in May 1997, in which they narrated their experiences to the then Labour Minister Shri M. Arunachalam and Labour Officer Shri L. D. Mishra.
There are more than six crore child labourers in India, who are compelled to lose their childhood while working in hazardous and non-hazardous occupations.
It is indeed an irony that none of the governments that have come to power after independence have been able to present any concrete solution to this problem.
It is the considered view of Bandhua Mukti Morcha that economic assistance should be provided to child labourers to connect them with primary education, so that they can study and join the mainstream of the country, and so that children who have already entered schools do not become compelled to leave their education midway and take up labour because of economic and social reasons.
To put this idea into practice, during the previous six years, Bandhua Mukti Morcha operated a total of 15 child labour schools at different locations in Alwar district.
All these were run with the support of the International Labour Organisation, Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Textiles, National Child Labour Project organisation, etc.
In these schools, child labourers are removed from work and educated, taught some form of handicraft, and in return provided one kilogram of grain per day or one meal or refreshment.
An amount of ₹100 per month is also provided as an incentive.
This experiment has produced very good results.
On the one hand, the family of the child labourer removed from work receives food security, while on the other hand the child is encouraged towards education and learns a practical skill for earning a livelihood in the future.
At the national level too, Bandhua Mukti Morcha is running a large residential centre at Indraprastha Gurukul Ashram near Delhi.
Here, liberated child labourers from across the country are receiving free education and training.
From Alwar, 70 percent of the children who completed such schools have subsequently taken admission in government schools for further education.
In this context, it would be relevant to mention the following schools run by the organisation:
1996
Guru Gobind Singh Kacchi Basti Child Labour School
Most of the girls from this area go to large houses to sweep and mop, wash utensils or look after children, while the boys work in hotels and roadside eateries or work with their fathers in traditional occupations.
In this Sikh-majority settlement, most of the men work in building construction as shuttering workers.
Alcohol addiction is common.
Under such adverse circumstances, persuading parents to stop their children from working was not an easy task.
After continuously counselling the people of the settlement for approximately one month, we succeeded in achieving our objective.
Thus, in June 1996, this school for 50 child labourers was started in the settlement.
With financial assistance from the Ministry of Labour, Government of India, money was provided for the salaries of teachers/trainers and one kilogram of grain per student per day.
However, other necessary physical resources—such as mats, fans, furniture, teaching materials, etc.—had to be arranged by the organisation through public cooperation.
The school was operated for two years.
During this period, girls were given training in sewing, while boys were taught chair weaving.
Many children were admitted to government schools for further education.
1999
Kabir Basti Child Labour School
Considering the carpet industry to be completely within the category of hazardous industries, child labour was completely prohibited in it.
After this, organisations such as Bandhua Mukti Morcha began getting raids conducted on the carpet industry on a daily basis.
In response, carpet manufacturers devised a method whereby the looms used for carpet weaving were installed in the homes and huts of child labourers.
The manufacturer’s agent would deliver the raw material after weighing it and collect the finished carpets.
In this way, the direct identification of employers became difficult.
In the middle of the city, Kabir Basti was one such stronghold of carpet weaving, where billionaire businessmen of Jaipur had spread a network of this trade.
With the objective of curbing their open exploitation, a child labour school for 50 children was started here on Gandhi Jayanti, 2 October 1999.
Before this, a survey had been conducted and for two months struggles had been undertaken at various levels with the owners and their agents.
Most of the children in this school were girls.
They were provided stipends, nutrition, educational materials, vocational training, sports materials, etc. with the cooperation of the Carpet Export Promotion Council and the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India.
The remaining arrangements were made by the Morcha at its own level.
2001
Child Labour School, Khudanpuri
In this school, 25 boys and 25 girls below the age of 14 were studying.
All the boys had been liberated from brick kilns and the girls from the carpet industry.
More than 90 percent of the children belonged to the Dalit community, while the remaining children belonged to minority communities.
This school was started in July 2001.
The target was to enable every child to pass Class V within three years.
Judging from the progress so far, this target appeared entirely achievable.
2002
Child Labour School, Mundawar
After great efforts, innocent workers who had been digging the difficult stone mines of Neemli Pahad in Mundawar Tehsil, making them wet with their sweat, were liberated and connected with education.
All 50 children from the Banjara community had, for the past few months, put aside their picks and crowbars and were now holding slates and pencils in their hands.
The National Child Labour Project organisation was to provide all of them with a ₹100 monthly stipend, nutrition, educational materials and various other facilities.
2003
Child Labour School, Neemrana
The Neemrana Industrial Area has these days gained national and international recognition because of its Neemrana Fort.
Many prominent people have come to participate in political, social and literary seminars here.
However, not one of them noticed the child labourers working here.
As a creative effort against child labour, this school is being operated in a rented house near the Panchayat Samiti building.
We hope that we will also be able to bring some change into the lives of these children.
Similarly, child labour schools were also run in areas such as Bhojpur, Samra village and Bhim Nagar.
2005
Child Labour in the Zari Industry in Ajmer
Children are brought from West Bengal, Bihar and Orissa to work in the industry of zari embroidery on sarees.
Poor parents send their children in exchange for ₹2,000.
Contractors bring them to Ajmer and make them work for an average of 15 hours a day, providing them with dal and rice twice a day.
They are given ₹50 per week as pocket money.
The children cannot speak Hindi or Rajasthani.
Their condition is extremely miserable.
Following the initiative of the Morcha, a raid was conducted on this aari-taari industry on 15 December 2005 by Labour Commissioner Shri R. P. Pareek and ADM C. R. Meena, along with a police force, and 204 child labourers were liberated.
Divisional Commissioner Shri Deepak Upreti and District Collector Mahavir Singh extended full cooperation in the liberation operation.
The Morcha team accompanied State President Rajesh Yajnik.
2006
Child Labour in Manu Marg Colony in Alwar
On 29 May 2006, a 12-year-old boy from Bihar was liberated from a house in Manu Marg Colony.
Information about this child had been received through Childline.
The case was investigated by the Alwar S.D.M.
The noteworthy aspect was that the employer of the child labourer herself was the Chairperson of the Child Welfare Committee.
Newspapers gave extensive coverage to the matter.
This case demonstrated how children can be exploited by putting on the mask of concern for child welfare.
2007
Hotels and Roadside Eateries in Alwar
On 26 and 27 November 2007, on the initiative of the Morcha and on the instructions of the Joint Labour Commissioner, labour inspectors conducted raids along with the Morcha team.
34 child labourers were identified and liberated from hotels and roadside eateries in Alwar city, and charge-sheets were filed against the employers.
2007
Beauty Parlour Case
On 23 March 2007, on the basis of reliable information, a meeting was held with Joint Labour Commissioner Shri Vishnu Sharma and a complaint was submitted regarding a child brought from Jharkhand and kept in bondage.
On the same day, Labour Welfare Officer Shri Rambabu Sharma, Inspector Dinesh Yadav, Morcha’s Rajesh Yajnik, Advocate Renu, Nayan Tara Sharma, Madhu, Shaukeen, Narendra, Shankar Lal, etc., conducted a raid at Roop Nikhar Beauty Parlour at Ashok Circle.
The statement of the girl and the employer was recorded.
The girl underwent a medical examination and was placed under the protection of Childline.
The girl had been purchased and brought from a placement agency in Delhi.
Those who had purchased and brought her were relatives of a prominent businessman in the city.
For three days, Morcha office-bearers were pressured through inducements and threats.
Leaders of all parties made recommendations in this matter, which, according to the source, demonstrated that our leaders always support the rich from within rather than the poor.
2008
Dona-Pattal Factory
Four child labourers were rescued from a dona-pattal factory in Chameli Bagh, and a charge-sheet was filed on 18 February 2008.
On 14 December 2009, a joint team of Morcha office-bearers and Labour Department officials conducted raids at Deepak Traders and Kunal Enterprises in the Matsya Industrial Area of Alwar.
Approximately three dozen children were liberated from the two establishments.
On 16 March 2010, one boy was rescued from a restaurant in Arya Nagar.
On 19 March 2010, one boy was liberated from Gupta Lake Restaurant.
On 18 June 2011, a major operation was conducted against the aari-taari industry operating in areas such as Hasanpura, Bhatta Basti and Sodala in Jaipur city.
229 child labourers were liberated and sent to their places of origin in West Bengal under administrative supervision.
From 27 to 30 June 2011, a special campaign was conducted with the Labour Department.
19 child labourers were liberated, and charge-sheets were filed against the concerned employers.
On 6 February 2012, a child from Karauli Kund was rescued from a confectioner’s establishment.
He was admitted to Raj Pratap School, and his widowed mother was connected with the State Government’s Palanhar Scheme.
On 16 April 2012, a Morcha team and Labour Department Inspector Shri Ratnesh Sharma rescued children from a restaurant in the bus stand premises, from Sweets Home opposite the bus stand, and from Kitchen Appliances at Hope Circus.
Successful special child labour schools were operated in Samra and Bhojpuri villages of Thanagazi Sub-Division, and in Kharbas Kacchi Basti in Alwar city.
Every year, dozens of children working in the fireworks industry in Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and in the fireworks industries of Bharatpur and Bhilwara in Rajasthan die.
Hundreds are injured and thousands become victims of exploitation.
During the Diwali season every year, Bandhua Mukti Morcha conducts an anti-fireworks campaign in schools and colleges.
Positive results are emerging from this campaign.
The Hon’ble Supreme Court has completely prohibited fireworks in the NCR.
Jai Durga Enterprises Bottle Plant, Alwar — 26 February 2015
At the Jai Durga Enterprises bottle plant, identified through a survey conducted by Bandhua Mukti Morcha workers, a team comprising Sonu Singh, Sandeep Jatav, Pradeep Jangid of Bandhua Mukti Morcha; Sushila Rathore of the Child Welfare Committee; Labour Inspector Mahendra Sharma; Childline’s Satish Chaudhary and Poonam; and members of the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (Police) including Premchand, Charan Singh, Fajruddin, etc., conducted a raid at 10:30 a.m. on 26 February 2015.
At the site, 50–60 men, women and children were found cleaning bottles with chemical solutions.
Approximately 5–7 girls were apparently immediately made to flee.
Later, when the main gate was closed by the police, 21 girls were rescued from the premises.
Of the 21 girls, 20 belonged to Scheduled Caste communities.
Their ages were between 8 and 16 years.
All of the girls had burns and cuts on their hands, palms, wrists, etc., caused by chemicals.
All the girls were taken directly from there to the Child Observation Home at Hasan Khan Mewat Nagar, where their statements were recorded before the Child Welfare Committee.
The girls were being paid ₹23 for cleaning one sack of bottles.
They worked from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and, on average, cleaned two sacks during that period.
Following the intervention of Bandhua Mukti Morcha and on the instructions of the District Collector, all the rescued girls underwent medical examinations, including age-related examinations.
All of them were found to be minors.
On 26 February 2015, Bandhua Mukti Morcha provided food to the girls for both meals.
On 27 February 2015, Mother Teresa Home provided food.
On the afternoon of 27 February, all the children were handed over to their mothers, fathers or guardians.
Affidavits were obtained from all the guardians stating that in future they would not send the girls to work and would send them regularly to school.
The Labour Department secured payment of the girls’ outstanding wages.
On 25 March 2017, Bandhua Mukti Morcha District Vice-President Daya Garg, through the Child Welfare Committee, had 15 children rescued from begging in Alwar city.
On 20 November 2019, 17 child labourers were rescued from Fateh Ram ka Tiba in the Nahargarh police station area of Jaipur.
According to Bandhua Mukti Morcha Jaipur’s Basant Haryana, a joint operation was conducted by Nahargarh Police and organisations working with child labourers under the direction of ACP Meghchand Meena, Kotwali Police Station.
The 17 children were working in a bangle factory.
Seven of them were from Samastipur district, Bihar, and ten were from Muzaffarpur district, Bihar.
All the child labourers were working in extremely miserable conditions.
Their ages were between 6 and 13 years.
The children stated that their employer gave them boiled rice and the water from dal as food and made them work from 5 a.m. until midnight, approximately 12 to 16 hours.
If they felt sleepy, the employer beat them.
Two accused persons were also arrested at the site, named Gyasuddin and Bhola Khan, both residents of Muzaffarpur, Bihar.
The operation was led by Bandhua Mukti Morcha State President Rajesh Yajnik and Nahargarh Police Sub-Inspector Ajaypal, along with Rakesh Kumar Tiwari, Navratna Agrawal, Ajay Sharma and Banban Mishra.
On 28 November 2019, child labourers were rescued from Namak Mandi in the Jaipur Kotwali Police Station area.
A rescue operation was conducted under the leadership of Bandhua Mukti Morcha State President Rajesh Yajnik, with the participation of the police, Childline and the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit.
Four children were rescued from the site.
Two children were from Khadampur Police Station, Begusarai district, Bihar, and two were from Musri Dharari Police Station, Samastipur district, Bihar.
Mohammad Moin, son of Ahmad Hussain, aged 62 years, resident of Namak Mandi, Dhobi Pada, Jaipur Kotwali Police Station, and Mohammad Phool Babu, son of Mohammad Jameel Akhtar, resident of 275, Khazane Walon ka Rasta, Jaipur Kotwali Police Station, were arrested.
On 16 December 2022, child labourers were rescued from Sweet Shop, Bakhtal Ki Chowki, Alwar.
A joint team of the Police Anti-Human Trafficking Unit, Childline, the Labour Department and Bandhua Mukti Morcha rescued three child labourers working at a sweet shop located at the Bakhtal Ki Chowki, Alwar outpost on 16 September 2022. The team rescued all three children and brought them to the Childline office. After counselling, they were presented before the Child Welfare Committee, which ordered that they be rehabilitated at Irada Bal Griha. The police registered a report against the concerned owner at M.I.A. Police Station. The team included Rajesh Yajnik and Renu Gupta from the Morcha, Labour Inspector Rekha Yadav, Laxman Singh and Sumit from the police, and Mukesh Kumar from Childline.
On 15 July 2025, child labourers were rescued from Sawai Madhopur .
Child labourers working in Sawai Madhopur were freed along with the town of Malakhera in Alwar district. All of them were presented before Renu Gupta, Chairperson of the Child Welfare Committee. Renu Gupta handed over all the children to their family members and gave instructions to the Labour Department to get wages paid to all of them.
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