Today is National Handloom Day: a day to celebrate the contributions that handloom weaving artisans make to the crafts and economy of the country.
However, as The Wire reported on July 13, the nationwide lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic put many weavers in penury, leaving them so financially distressed that they had to push their children into child labour.
On July 15, two days after the The Wire’s report was published, the Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) wrote a letter to the district magistrate (DM) of Varanasi, Kaushal Raj Sharma, requesting him to take action on the matter.
Bachpan Bachao Andolan is a pan-India movement campaigning for the rights of children. Founded in 1980 by Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi, it works to end bonded labour, child labour and human trafficking and demands the right to education for all children.
Also read: Out of Work, Weavers of Famed Banarasi Silk Sarees Forced to Push Kids into Child Labour
The letter, with the subject, “Requesting Support for linking Banarasi Saree Weaver families with government social welfare schemes to eradicate increasing child labour risk in Bajardiha area of Varanasi district,” requested the DM to initiate action on several matters.
It said: “Identified saree weaver families who lost their livelihoods due to Covid-19 Pandemic from Bajardiha area should [be] linked with present government social welfare schemes, MNREGA, SHGs and district administration should link adult family members with other suitable job opportunities so that they can earn for their family fooding [food] and other necessary requirements and not engage their children in child labour (sic).”
The letter further demanded, “Awareness in the area for eradication of child labour and strict instructions should be given to families of Bajardiha area not to engage children in child labour as it’s punishable under offence under CLPR [Child Labour (Protection and Regulation)] Act, 2016 (sic).”
The letter also invoked section 2(14) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, saying: “Children found working in contravention of labour laws for the first time being in formed are CNCP (Children in Need of Care and Protection) so that children involved in child labour should be liberated with collective efforts from community, NGOs, and government stakeholders, to ensure that other children can be pro-actively saved from the risk of getting trapped in menace of child labour (sic).”
Also read: COVID-19 Crisis Will Push Millions of Vulnerable Children Into Child Labour
A high risk of exploitation and trafficking
Surya Prakash, the Uttar Pradesh state coordinator of Bachpan Bachao Andolan, first reached out to this correspondent for clarity on the issue and then spoke to Ghazala Qamar, a local activist in Bajardiha, to get more information on the issue of child labour in the weavers’ neighbourhoods. Workers of Bachpan Bachao Andolan also visited the area and confirmed the prevalence of child labour in the area, observing several children selling fruit, fritters and tea and working at grocery stores.
Prakash believes that children who are exposed to child labour are highly vulnerable to exploitation by employers and also to human trafficking. There are also many health hazards involved, such as the risk of contracting the novel coronavirus.
Two underage girls sit at a tailor shop owned by their father. Photo: Ismat Ara
Vishesh Gupta, chairperson of the Uttar Pradesh State Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (UPSCPCR), also wrote a letter to the DM, directing him to liberate the children from child labour and to link the families to welfare programmes for their benefit.
Manish Sharma, BBA spokesperson, said, “I would like to congratulate The Wire for writing about a prevalent issue in Varanasi. Usually people don’t pay attention to child labour among the lower classes of society. When The Wire’s story was published, we also did some fact finding and we found that these kids were supporting their families by working long hours. The DM concerned was then intimated of the issue and we requested him to associate the distressed families with government schemes. The DM took cognisance of the issue and has forwarded it to the authorities concerned.”
The BBA’s Access to Justice programme includes working with government bodies to ensure the best possible future for children who have been exposed to child labour or been trafficked.
Also read: In Shattered Post-Lockdown Economy, Govt Must Keep a Strict Eye on Child Labour
The DM forwarded the letter from the BBA to Dev Vrat Yadav, assistant labour commissioner (ALC) of Varanasi, who has initiated work in the area.
More than one lakh people who reside in Varanasi’s Bajardiha area were severely affected due to the national lockdown. Entirely dependent on weaving the world famous Banarasi sarees, they suffered huge losses because even pre-pandemic orders were cancelled.
NHRC seeks action taken report
On behalf of the NGO People Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR), Shruti Nagvanshi wrote to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) one day after the report was published in The Wire, requesting that “special packages” be provided to weavers of Bajardiha area as interim relief. Nagvanshi attached The Wire’s report with her mail.
In response, the NHRC wrote a letter to the DM, calling for an action taken report within four weeks.
“In case the report is not received within the stipulated time, the Commission shall be constrained to invoke coercive process u/s 13 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 for personal appearance of the concerned authority (sic),” the letter said.
The letter was signed by Mukesh Kumar, Assistant Registrar, Law, National Human Rights Commission.