A moment for which GANDHI ji would pity himself for not being able to witness it live, A tribute even the government of INDIA could not guarantee other than mere statues and photo printing on the currency notes of our nation. The Vivid motion statues of Mahatma Gandhi – varnished in silver to get tarnished.....Indeed...it is a strange spectacle, yet performed due extreme necessity by these little kids on the streets of INDIA.
What makes them stick to the grave activity of being exposed to the sun light for more than normal tacitly of human abilities? Knowing GANDHI ji is the least that is expected from these children who are nowhere near any forms of education or a normal childhood but What means could take them back to school? Most importantly, What makes them get UN-NOTICED either by THE GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS or any other entity?
These are the questions that I quest for finding answers...........
I noticed these group of children fashioned as GANDHI on the beaches of Visakhapatnam and I directly approached them in order to find out the whereabouts of these infant Gandhis. They were all very lively and charming and very playful and were very quick to grasp the happenings surrounding. They wouldn’t let you go away without giving a penny or two if you clicked their photo or shot their video. They are like every other child of INDIA, the Indian ness was the mark on their face. They were innocent but learned about living life even before they understood what life was all about and for them life is just about dawning GANDHI’s costume identically as shown in his statue-earning a few bucks by posing as a statue of
GANDHI- giving what they earned to their parents and eating whatever they get and then sleeping over to start yet another day of GANDHI GIRI. They may not know who GANDHI was but they surely know that GANDHI’s still very popular and very respected. The youngest was around 6 years old and the eldest was around 10 years old.
Clearly it is legible that these children formulated in to this prototype- purely due to their “desperate situations and happening in their life and their fate”
Striking note i gathered from all the 9 children on the beach road was that, they all belonged to the same locality i.e. they all told me same places when asked about their backgrounds. They all told me the same regions like Chinna waltair- bus stop-zalari peta. This assured me that they all descended from the same locality and with a common interest of earning money to survive in this world and hence I went on to the locality stated by them, only to find myself fooled because no one in the locality recognized anybody from that locality fashioning as GANDHI and going out for earning their breads. So I concluded that all the children miss led me by giving wrong information-which may be because they were ordered by their mothers who were all the time behind their children-navigating them through the beach road and helping them pool money through densely packed places.
I now came to a conclusion, that this case of 9 children – is a sheer case of CHILD ABDUCTION or EXTREME POVERTY.
When I asked these children regarding education, not one was ready to accede to my idea of me taking them back to school neither were they happy to talk about schooling and education and more over their parents were least bothered about sending them back to school since the fact here is that, they(Parents) know least about education-and its benefits(Since they were un educated) and more importantly they were more least bothered or interested to learn the benefits of education or get their children educated.
So now what’s next? How do I get these children back to school? How do these children who are “invisible to the government officials – re incarnation of GANDHI to the public “ get to utilize the SSA (SARWA SIKSHA ABHINAYAM ) Or The FREE AND COMPULSORY ACT, according to which children from the age of 6 to 14 are entitled to free and compulsory education by the government of INDIA, where in the children are provided free food (MID DAY MEAL PROGRAMME ) , free books and basic necessities for education. Is this a mirage on the desert? The programmes may be going well but they are surely in accessible to various children of INDIA. Cores of rupees might be being spent but not a penny surely is being accessed by these children on the streets of INDIA.
I then headed to a local police station when in I waited for a cumulative of 8 hours in two days only to hear him say “we don’t have a right to work on this issue”.
Well, I understand the prime force may be busy with maintenance of law & order around the city but this case of children is surely not something to let go because in a span of few years these innocent kids have every chance of turning in to gross criminals...the society would definitely help in the cause.
My motto behind going to the police station is to exercise THE JUSTICE JUVENILE ACT, THE CHILD CARE ACT, (LINK TO THE ACT : http://nicp.nisd.gov.in/pdf/jjact.pdf ) wherein it is specified that children abducted or exercised in the act of begging is a crime and those responsible are liable to action and the children victimised are entitled to government rehabilitation proceeded by enrolment in to schools for education.
The same could be done through LABOUR ACT, but the concerned officer told me they had no right as there is no EMPLOYEE-EMPLOYER relation in here.
Clearly in my view there is least importance that is directed towards these children or it is directed by the higher authorities to direct least importance towards them.
Most recently an article covering this issue of street children came up in THE HINDU (LINK TO THE ARTICLE : http://www.thehindu.com/mp/2009/10/24/stories/2009102450860100.htm ) , and I expected some recent from the concerned people would cause immediate action and would cease the plight of these children and get them back to schools. Perhaps I was too optimistic and it was disheartening to witness these children continuing their act of helplessness on the very same streets of Vizagapatam beach.
The interviewing took place in September, Article came on oct-24th and still the plight continues and so on....I witnessed the children again on November 1st and guess this will continue on and on...
This is clearly a Hercules task and I am left with no answers and only questions to fire. And I am still in a turbid vision with abysmal answers and unclear concepts on these issues.
So what is the ultimate solution? Is there no end to this exploitation of children?
Do these children stand a chance to enjoy to the childhood or at least exercise the RIGHT TO EDUCATION?
For now I feel like a hypocrite for recording the plights of these children hoping in to a documentary (www.youtube.com/saintshaky ) for a solution and I feel really sad whenever I see them on the beach road and it pains me for being incapable of brining justice and a smile on to their fate. I Hope things change soon before it’s too late and I am writing this piece of note with utter helplessness and in search of answers.
It is always important for us all to know that, it is EDUCATION that can bring a change to the society and it’s you and me together who can bring a change.
Educate to eradicate poverty.
