Is Banning Child Labour the Solution ?

I yelled "Ramu" and he replied, "Yes Sir !" And every one there with me in that coffee shop amusingly stared me for 17 seconds !! And yes the reason for that was obvious. They all wanted a straw for their floats and so they tried their lingo best to call that under 14 guy employed with that shop. "Chhotu" and it failed ! "Munna" it too failed ! "Oye Hero" again no response from the other side ! Some chap with embedded etiquettes (Ode to HRCs and CCDs) even called “Excuse me !". Needless to say, no response I doubt, even he could understand what it meant ? A big question for them was, “How on earth did I know his name was 'Ramu'?”

*FLASH*

I'm no SUPER SOUL. I have been to many such shops which employ children who should rather be in schools. I've gauged the trend in the names by now. That’s it the case.

This was the stuff that amused them but the actual thing that should’ve amused them was that, the chap was happy working there. I was not stunned at this. I know how it feels earning some money. His smiling face was an obvious consequence provided he’d get some coins in his pocket while returning home every evening. He has become self-dependant to some extent. He doesn't need to plead before his father for Rs. 2 lottery card. He can purchase his cap out of his own savings. There are reasons for him to be happy.

What role should we play for them? NIT boasts of being a premiere institute in terms of providing quality education, what about the kids employed in institute’s canteens and food corners? They don’t demand quality education they just wish to enjoy a basic education. And unfortunately NIT fails on this part.

On our part we hardly heed into whether our paperwala is a child laborer or not. The person who comes to deliver milk at our door has reached 14 or not? Add to this we have now developed a trend of keeping a child-servant in our homes. Awful!

I ask what if we really grow conscious and stop employing kids? Will it be the solution? What if I visit a shop and force the shopkeeper to down the shutter for he employs children in his shop? Will it work? They will instantaneously migrate to another shop for job. May be experience fetches them more salary then. A very odd scenario, let us suppose all of us swear not to employ child laborers so as they do not get jobs anywhere. Or better take government banning child labor. Have you ever thought who will feed their bed ridden fathers then? I can hear voices saying they will admit them in the schools. I bend before you! AASRA , your work is worth admiring! But what about the father then who in no time will bid adieu to all of us if his child fails to bring Rs.50 for his bread any evening.

Your social service is solicited but at the same time it needs to remove the potholes of the process. Things have to be thought from the roots. Stopping child labourers is no act of praise unless you ensure their family’s well-being which forced them for so. Stopping child labourers is just like forcing a wall with no displacement. Zero work !! You stop one and the other will employ him. It can’t be eradicated unless child labourers' employment don’t remain their family’s necessity. Rather we should generate employment for their fathers and mothers of their caliber.

Just for a thought, “ A night watchman can be a job for a deaf person.”

Think for some more, so that your noble causes really bear fruits !!

Image: Rooted and Muted by Sourav Pattanayak- Degree 361.

Jawaharlal Nehru was the father of Farooq Abdullah ?

I remember, I won a treat for winning a bet against one of my friends when I was in Class VIII i.e 7 years back. The thing was, he favored the fact that Farooq Abdullah is the son of Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru and I was strongly opposing. Actually i wondered how he could be. His complete family tree and who's who were in our course. In fact we had grown up mugging that. Moreover it was ridiculous to accept " Farooq Abdullah as the son of our first prime-minister Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru."

Yesterday the same friend of mine visited me. He had a three page printout of some article taken over from internet. Although he could not prove Abdullah being the son of Nehru. But many other derogatory facts about the Nehru-Gandhi Family were there in that printout. I will reveal all of them one by one.


Indira Gandhi converted to Muslim before marrying Feroze Khan:

Indira Gandhi came close to Feroze Khan while in England and she married Feroze Khan in a London mosque. Before marrying she converted to Islam. Probably that is why she wasn't allowed to enter Jagannath puri Temple. And when later she managed to enter because of her power the temple was completely washed when she returned.


Mahatma Gandhi was the father-in-law of Indira Gandhi:

Yes, Jawahar Lal Nehru and his wife Kamla Nehru were not satisfied with their daughter's marriage to a Muslim. So Mahatma Gandhi suggested Feroze Khan to adopt the surname 'Gandhi'. There is also a fair claim that Feroze Gandhi was adopted by Mahatma Gandhi. Feroze Khan's mother's was a parsi before marriage and her surname was Gandhy. The resemblence of her surname with Gandhi was probably the reason for him to adopt the surname of Mahatma Gandhi.


Feroze Gandhi was not the father of Sanjay Gandhi:

Father of Sanjay Gandhi was Mohammad Yunus, a close associate of Indira Gandhi and not Feroze Gandhi. And in fact Mohammad Yunus was the one to weep the most when Sanjay's plane had crashed and he died. He wished Sanjay should marry a Muslim girl so he was against the Sanjay-Menka match. Sanjay Gandhi also blackmailed Indira Gandhi a lot because he knew who his actual father was.


Sanjeev Gandhi had stolen a car and so he became Sanjay Gandhi:

Sanjeev Gandhi was arrested for a car theft in UK and so his passport and other documents were siezed. The then Indian ambassador to UK, Krishna Menon changed his name to Sanjay Gandhi and procured a new passport for him.


Rajiv Gandhi turned catholic before marrying Sonia Maino:

It is widely accepted and easily accessible fact on the internet that Rajiv Gandhi changed his name to Roberto before marrying Sonia Maino and he turned catholic too. His son was Raul and daughter was Bianca and not Rahul and Priyanka.


Ghiasuddin Ghasi was the grandfather of Jawahar Lal Nehru:

Nehru's grand father Ganga Dhar was employed in the Bahadur shah's court during 1857 when British took over Delhi. At that time none of the employees in his court was Hindu. according to mughal records. A Muslim kotwal named Ghiasuddin Ghasi was there who had to flee to Agra to save him self from the British. And he changed his name to Ganga Dhar.



Jawahar Lal Nehru was born in a red-light Area:

It is alleged that Jawahar lal Nehru's father Motilal allowed his wife to stay with Mobarak Ali in whose office Motilal was employed. Motilal's wife stayed with Mobarak Ali in his bungalow named 'Irshad Manzil'. Jawahar lal was not born to Mobarak Ali but to Motilal but in a small rented house in the middle of a redlight area. Probably, that is why Nehru's birthplace is not a tourist spot.


I'm cutting it here. Although ,there is also an allegation that Nehru had a sexual affair with Edwina Mountbatten, the wife of last Viceroy Louis Mountbatten. I browed internet for hours but could not find anything revealing Nehru's sexual affairs with Edwina. So, I won't comment. And neither could i find Farooq Abdullah being Nehru's son. So no chance of retro-treat my friend !!

(The author does not reserve the copyright, so you can reproduce this post in any manner)

[Click on any of the sub heads highlighted in red to dive into that controversy]