Ban child labour: Satyarthi
On: 15th December 2014 , Source: The Times of India
Nobel Winner Says History Won't Forgive If Bill Not Passed Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi made a strong pitch for a complete ban on every kind of labour activity for children up to 14 years of age on his return to India after receiving the peace prize.Seeking urgent focus on passage of a pending legislation against child labour, Satyarthi said history ''won't forgive'' the MPs if they fail in the task.
''I want to make an earnest appeal to all Parliamentarians, and also to other leaders to facilitate the passage of the key legislation failing which history and children of India s won't forgive them,'' Satyarthi t said at a press conference after his return from Oslo, where he i was conferred the Nobel Peace Prize. Satyarthi said his goal i was to see in his lifetime that child labour is confined to ''pages of history'' as an evil e that once existed but is no l longer a reality . Satyarthi said that the award has increased c the weight of ''moral respon t sibility'' on his shoulders and that his job wouldn't be complete till the day a ''single child is enslaved''.
The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment (CLPRA) Bill, if passed by Parliament, will prohibit employment of children below 14 years in any occupation, bringing the law in consistency with the Right to Children to Free and Compulsory Edu cation Act, 2009. Satyarthi also said that children between the ages of 1418 years must not be allowed to work in labour activities notified as hazardous.''Rehabilitation and education of children freed from clutches of child labour needs to become a reality ,'' he added.
60yearold Satyarthi, an ardent follower of Mahatma Gandhi, said that he could ''visualise Gandhi walking to wards the stage'' to receive the award in Oslo. ''When I was sitting at the podium, I was remembering him (Gandhi) every single moment. I could visualize him walking towards the stage to receive the award,'' said an emotional Satyarthi.
When asked how he would spend the prize money , Satyarthi said ''every single penny'' will be used for the cause of children in India and globally .He underlined that the money will not be spend on his NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA).
Satyarthi, who jointly received the award along with Pakistani teenager and education activist Malala Yousufzai, said that ''sustainable peace'' between India and Pakistan could only result from more mutual cooperation. ''I am not a politician, but as far as I understand more peopletopeople contact and mutual cooperation is required for sustainable peace between the two countries,'' he said.
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