One can’t miss the symbolism of this year’s Nobel peace prize. One winner is a victim of religious extremism, and the other an activist for child rights. One represents thousands of children being denied basic rights and hounded by extremists, the other stands for thousands of children being systemically exploited and denied their rights. And they come from neighbouring countries whose forces are at present making a mockery of an 11-year ceasefire.

Beyond this symbolism, it’s time to ask why this coveted prize came looking for Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi at this time. The answer lies in the dire situation of children in Pakistan and India. While Malala represents extremist violence on children in Pakistan, the numbers speak for India: according to the 2011 Census, 2 per cent of the country’s children between ages 5 and 14 are child labourers, and agriculture is the largest employer of children, with a 68.14 per cent share.

India has several laws and schemes to deal with the problem — such as the Child Labour Act and National Child Labour Project (NCLP). But the track record of these schemes has been criticised by many, including Satyarthi himself. The NCLP has rehabilitated a mere 8.95 lakh children since 1988. In an article written in The Hindu in September 2012, Satyarthi questioned the Government’s method to assess the number of child labourers in the country, and urged to do it “accurately”, along with launching a stronger national scheme to cope with the problem. “A scaled-up and well-resourced national scheme should be devised to cater to at least 5 million child labourers up to the age of 14, going by the Government’s own statistics,” he wrote.

The Nobel prize has drawn the world’s attention to the problem. Malala and Satyarthi say they will work together for child rights. Can their respective governments also pitch in, with effective mechanisms? Otherwise, this year too the’s Nobel peace price will also go in vain.

(Stanly Johny is Assistant Editor)

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW