“Bhai sahab” as we all fondly address Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi ji, he is a father-figure to me. He is a multi-faceted personality with a child-like innocence and a magnanimous heart. On this historic day when the Nobel Peace Prize Committee announced the conferment of the award on Bhai sahab, let me share my personal experiences with him and what I learnt from him that inspired me to choose law as my profession.
My story with Bhai sahab begins in 2001, when I was only 5 years old. I belong to the under-privileged Banjara community of Rajasthan, which is a nomadic community and moves from one place to another in search of livelihood and a source of income. No one from our community owns any agricultural land and hence, has no regular and stable source of income. Education and its value in life is unknown to our community members. Despite of my under-privileged background, I am now a professional lawyer fighting for the cause of children and brushing my shoulders with the best of the legal eagles in the national capital, all this has been possible because of Bhai sahab. He always told me, “never let the child inside you to die”, for that will encourage you to learn new things and do wonders in life. It is only because of his inspiration and constant encouragement that today I have become a lawyer not just to earn a livelihood for myself but also to bring about a change and for a better and safer society for our children. Bhai sahab’s guidance has encouraged me to fight against child labour, child exploitation and other crimes against children in the court of justice.
How I met Bhai sahab:
One day as I was working with my parents and brothers for a telephone contractor in Jodhpur, I heard at a distance a procession led by a tall man raising slogans for the promotion of education among children, “Shiksha par hai har bachche ka adhikar”. Just then I saw, the tall man walking towards me and my parents who were busy digging holes for laying the telephone wires. The tall man was none other than our adored “Bhai sahab”, he was then on his “Shiksha Yatra” (Education March) campaigning for a national law for free and quality education for children a fundamental right in 2001. The Yatra provided an impetus for the 86th Amendment to the Indian Constitution, making education a fundamental right for children between the ages 6 to 14 years in 2009. Bhai sahab approached my parents and inquired very politely, why the small children are working instead of going to school? My parents told Bhai sahab, neither we have the money nor the ability to send our children to school.
Bhai sahab, caressing my cheeks and my elder brother’s head, he told my parents to send us to his Bal Ashram Trust, located in Virat Nagar near Jaipur. Bal Ashram Trust, is an innovative and grassroots organisation that addresses deep-rooted and complex societal problems to ensure child protection and create a child-friendly world. It was founded by Kailash Satyarthi and his wife Sumedha Kailash (fondly called Mata ji by me) in 1998 as a long term rehabilitation centre for children rescued from child labour, child slavery and child trafficking. The Trust has positively impacted 174, 724 lives till date.
My parents were very apprehensive on the suggestion and were hesitant to send their children away from to an unknown place with a stranger. But all their apprehension faded away, when they visited Bal Ashram Trust with Bhai sahab along with us and met Sumedha ji (fondly known as Mata ji by us). The lovely family-like atmosphere and care and protection of the teachers was an eye-opener for my parents. Soon, we found ourselves (myself and my brothers) getting admitted into the Bal Ashram Trust under the guidance of Bhai sahab and Mata ji and found a new home and bigger family.
There at the Bal Ashram Trust, I learnt all about a family-atmosphere and both Bhai sahab and Mata ji played every role of a family member, a mother, a sister, a father and friend to me and my brothers. I vividly remember once he took me up and held me in his folded arms, when he was told by my parents it was my birthday. The picture from that day is still a great part of my everyday life. The great ambience at the Bal Ashram Trust made us feel at home and never did we feel out of the place among many other children of our age. Quality education and holistic personality development is what we received that has now enabled me to grow in confidence and caliber in life.
What I learnt:
Bhai sahab comes from a very humble background but despite that he achieved and reached the top in life. This fact has always remain deeply etched in my mind and pushes me every day to do something better and bigger in my profession and life.
I belong to the Banjara community in Rajasthan, a community and a state, where child marriage is accepted both as a tradition and social norm. Despite the existing laws, people continue to practice the social evil in their everyday life, but I believe Bhai sahab’s recent appeal to rope in all citizens to fight against this evil will certainly change the course in the society in the coming days.
(Author: Amar Lal, lawyer, child & human rights activist and Youth Leader)