MY INTERVIEW WITH a MISSED HERO

DATE 9/9/08 : MY INTERVIEW WITH a MISSED HERO

While I was on my way to the Surat city from Hazira, I happened to board an auto for transportation.

A young little boy boarded the auto along with me. A boy who looked not older than 8th or 9th class (around 13-14 year old), who had he been studying at a school would have carried books in his hands and would have been approaching a class or a tuition instead of going to a petrol bunk with an empty can in his hand to buy diesel for refilling his own driven truck. Yes indeed he is a truck, heavy vehicle driver. He was a very charming little boy, quick to grasp whats going on around him. He was sitting to the edge of the seat with his empty can in his hand. Laughing unwontedly to the sarcastic jokes on his state Bihar and his favorite real life hero Lalu Prasad Yadav.

I managed to drag him in to a little conversation wherein he told me about his journey from Bagalpura, BIHAR to Hazira, Gujarat to earn some money so he could run his 4 member family back home, 4 member family where 3 members are penniless, father due to his old age and brother who is jobless. He is certainly an example of responsibility.


He happened to run away from his home with a sum of Rs 1500 which he borrowed from a friend’s home, the friend who lured him about the money that he would be earning if he managed to escape out of his home. Little aware of the dangerous and hazardous places he would be made to work ,instead of supplying the much needed education to his budding life, instead of spending his childhood with in his mothers courtyard ,cherishing the love of his mother, which millions are deprived off, HE ran away from his home to the mirage of money.
Babuly yadav, age 16, as told by him, as told to him to be told to others, so that he is not caught by any govt. Authorities under child labour. But still he is underage to drive a heavy vehicle across the highways though. His MAALIK (boss) got him an illegal license to run the heavy vehicle in the national highway, which could be lethal for him as well as anyone who is traveling along with him.


Bablu yadav manages to earn around 3000 to 4000 a month from which he sends more than half of money to support his family back in Bagalpura. He aims to own his own truck in future when he grows big, as big he might have the privilege to own a legal license also. When asked about his happiness in the decision he has made, he happened to tell me he regrets the decision he has made but its too late for him to rebuild his life back home but he surely doesn’t lack the enthusiasm to work his way through his life to achieve what he wants.

In areas where industries dominate the location, there will be many children like Bablu yadav, who are misguided and brought to these places for working in there. They surely reduce the labour cost and can also be made to do double work.

It is time now to cut this infiltration of children from villages to these places and it is high time to put a check on this trend. Government and society should take a step forward to make these innocent children understand long term of benefits of education.

By looking at the charm and attentive nature of Bablu yadav, i realized that India had just given away a good engineer or a doctor, who could have served millions of people, instead of a MAALIK and his trucks.

Hundreds of Bablu yadavs are created everyday and millions of people of our nation lose much needed man power to serve the country.