Mumbai: Nobel Peace Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi is no stranger to organising marches and yatras for a cause, but this time he says he is going to war. Two days ago in Delhi, Mr. Satyarthi vowed to reawaken the ‘slumbering consciousness’ of the nation by organising a Bharat Yatra from Kanyakumari to Delhi against child sexual abuse and trafficking, from September 11 to October 16.
On Thursday, Mr. Satyarthi was at the Bombay Stock Exchange to participate in an event connected to the launch of Bharat Yatra’s website and to lobby support for his new venture from corporate houses. Speaking to The Hindu on the sidelines of the event, Mr. Satyarthi said that organising yatras that cut through the country, as this one plans to, is a strategy that has worked well for him in the past.
“I came up with the idea of a yatra in the early 90s to protest against child labour because it was a time when Indians were not aware of the problem. People considered it a common thing for a child to be working,” he said. “So how to challenge it? It could not be done through seminars and conferences. And I thought in this case that victims may not be coming to you for help but it is better to go to them.”
In 1993, Mr. Satyarthi said he organised a Bihar to Delhi yatra on child labour that got a lot of media attention and this was followed by a bigger yatra from Kanyakumari to Delhi against child labour. The yatra succeeded in bringing an amendment to the law on child labour leading to the addition of a number of occupations and industries listed as hazardous and not suitable for children to work. Similarly, another massive rally from Kanyakumari to Kashmir to Delhi to make education a fundamental right was successful, he said, as it brought about the constitutional amendment in Parliament within six months.
“We have this experience and it is a tested strategy to mobilise people and political will,” he explained. “When victims and survivors take the lead their voices become the strongest. They are genuine and honest.”
As regards child sexual abuse, however, Mr. Satyarthi feels that the dimension of the problem is much bigger. “That’s why I call it war, because it is so hidden. Hidden under social taboos, and under the fear to speak up. It is a moral epidemic because it enters into homes and hearts and in many cases it could be relatives or family members who are responsible for the abuse,” he said. In order to get more people to speak out, Mr. Satyarthi said he would be knocking on every door — from ordinary people to the prime minister, chief ministers, religious faith leaders, judiciary and police.
“We are hoping to achieve some major things in terms of people's participation. First, we are aiming for one crore people to sign a pledge to make India safe again. Secondly we want to see youth groups or village groups formed along the way that will take leadership on this issue. Thirdly, we want to see that more cases are reported to the police.”
The role of the corporate sector is immense, Mr. Satyarthi said, adding that it was in their larger interests to come up with solutions. “They have to understand that the sustainable economic growth of any country requires the strong foundation of safety, freedom and education for children. If these things are jeopardised then the productivity, innovation and skills are also jeopardised,” he added.