Child labourers rescued in Delhi prefer livelihood over freedom

The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 2016 had invited the ire of several people working in the field of child rights activism, who claim that the legislation legitimises child labour. The Act allows for children between the age of 14 and 18 to undertake non-hazardous work in family enterprises or the entertainment industry.

Almost a year after the Bill was passed, the adverse after-effects of the Act still reverberate. In a recent operation, around 52 children were rescued by a local NGO from several parts of Outer and North West Delhi. Surprisingly, instead of welcoming the rescue workers, many of the children – as they told Millennium Post – reportedly wanted to return to their jobs.

Though the children had lost considerable weight and were paid a paltry sum for a punishing work schedule, many wanted to return to their families claiming that they were never forced to work by their parents.

The rescue opeartion was undertaken on May 8, when a team from the NGO Prayas and police personnel from five police stations, led by the Rohini Sub-Divisional Magistrate Santosh Kumar, had raided multiple locations in Sultanpuri, Mayapuri, Vijay Vihar, Aman Vihar and Begumpur.

"We had conducted a survey of the areas where the children were employed. After deciding on an assembly point, the teams started to sweep the area and we rescued every single child who was employed at such places," said Naveed Anjum, a rescue worker with Prayas.

The teams had rescued a total of 57 children from local bakeries, small-scale manufacturing units, car and bike repair shops, and local hotels.

While talking to Millennium Post, Kumar said that it was a "smooth operation" barring a few incidents. Most notable was the incident where an angry crowd confronted the rescue workers thinking that the children would be sent to jail. "We won the confidence of the locals and convinced them that the children would be taken care of and they eventually agreed. In some cases, the owners had quietly whisked away the children to a local jhuggi. They were eventually traced and rescued," Kumar added.

However, the children seem less than thrilled about the rescue operation. For 16-year-old Irfan, inhaling the smell of petrol was never a problem. "I faced no health problems at the repair shop. I was never good at studies and decided to work for my family. My brother gave me this job and I was surrounded by my family. I could eat and sleep on my own will", he said.

Many of the children, with number tags pinned to their chest, were given refreshments by the NGO. However, for many of them, the first thing on their mind was returning to their family. "Please tell me when they will let me leave this place. I like to work at the mechanic shop. Now I don't think I will find any more work. I may have to return to Aligarh," said Nagin (17). For 14-year-old Bhupendra, working 12 hours a day at a sweetmeat shop was never a problem. "They paid me Rs 6,000 which is good enough. I have been telling these NGO people that I will never be able to work again, because I know that they will catch me again in another raid," rued Bhupendra.