The train slowly drew into the station. After getting up, and keeping my luggage at its place when I was having a cup of tea, I saw a couple along with their little son coming towards my seat. After they inquired about the seat number, berth and all, they all settled just in front of my seat. I saw two aged people probably their parents, bid them goodbye. On seeing them, I asked the lady- “Your In-laws?” She answered me –“No, they are my mom and dad”.
Then I asked her- “Where will you all get off?” She answered in a soft voice-“Punjab”. I thought for a while that people mostly travel from Mumbai to Punjab for working purpose or for some day out, but I felt something strange in her answer and asked her-“Why? For a small trip?” Her sudden answer had a flow of both surprise and shock as I was taken aback as to how it can happen. The fact of this article lies in her quite shocking answer which is full of trembling and terrifying truths behind the so-called ‘nicely-developed’ Indian society.
Now what is that answer?
She answered confidently- “No, in search of my lost father”. Now wait. Did she just say “my father”? Then who was that old man who bid him along with her mother? Before I could come up with my next question, I guess she understood where exactly I was standing, so she answered in a mild voice-“Yes the one you saw is not my real father, I’m on my way to search my father whom I lost when I was just 9 years old due to some…..” there she stopped and could not utter anything more. I looked in her eyes, and realized a deep struggle embedded within her that was about to appear in front of me.
“My mother died when I was born, so I had all hopes on my father since that day, though he had both hearing problem and was handicapped from the beginning. Myself Roshni, as named by my father, didn’t know life has so much for me till one day when I was returning from my school happily with the report card in my hand having good marks in it. Just before I could step into my house, something stopped my mouth, I could feel someone holding my hands and putting it back, I shouted and yelled “Baba…Baba…Bachao Baba”…but nothing could get inside his ears, he was busy preparing something for me, I could see, but by the time I see who they were, my eyes were closed…”
I asked-“And then?”
She smiled a bit and answered-“And then I faced life’s darkest and worst phase that was waiting for me. My eyes slightly opened, I could see a man and a woman talking to someone who was standing near me. I stood up with my eyes wide open…and was taken aback to see it was Pammi chachi and Sekhar chachu, our neighbour. I immediately ran towards them asking them to take me back home, but Pammi aunty threw me back saying “from now on you’re going to stay here only”. I cried, shouted, telling them I want to go back to my home to my father but there were none to hear me. After they went, a lady came there giving me all possible work she could impose on me. When I refused to do those, I was beaten. Needless to say, when I saw there is no hope left for me, I worked day and night. I was given only a plate full of one chapatti and some salt along with it. If ever they didn’t like anything in my work, they would beat me with an iron rod or on some occasions they used a steam iron to scald over my back rather than on the clothes.
Slowly I realized the fact that my neighbour kidnapped me and sold me to them and now they have the full right to do anything they feel like. They used to lock my hands and legs with a chain during night hours so that I won’t be able to runway from the house.
I happily had borne all those tortures until one day when I was heavily down with fever. The lady didn’t hear any, and forced me to work more. At last, I couldn’t bear any more and fainted while working. They called the doctor and he advised them to take me immediately to the hospital. They didn’t even bother and let me lie on the kitchen floor for about a week. Once I recovered after a lot of struggle, I tried to run away from that house and I succeeded in doing that. I was feeling glad, but didn’t know that I have more struggles waiting for me.
I ran and ran. I was determined not to stop till I go far away from them. But I didn’t know I would be falling as a prey for those animals out there waiting for me.
I found a bench nearby, sat there breathing heavily when someone again held me up in air, put me inside a rag and took me somewhere. I was shouting hard to help myself; but I saw he was taking me to a place. After few minutes, I was allowed to come out of the rag and I saw it was a dark place rather a junkyard where five-six boys were there, staring at me. I was unaware of their intentions rather didn’t know what they wanted me to do, I tried to escape once again but they caught me somehow. They tied my hands and legs with a rope and asked me to do as they say.
They told me that I have to steal and bring money for them and if I do that they will let me live or else not. I was somehow determined not to do such things but who’d listen to me. They tortured and harassed me for consecutively three days; they slapped and beat me hard, bullied with all possible things, poured hot oil over my hand, stubbed my body with cigarettes, and one of them even tried to rape me.
After some day with all my lost hopes, I couldn’t cope up with the situation and tried to act accordingly. They told me to steal purse, money or anything I get from people outside and warned me not to escape or else they might cut my hands too. But I somehow knew that only I can save myself.
On getting a chance I again tried to escape, two of them even stalked and ran after me. I ran hard, they tried to catch me but they couldn’t. I hid under a table near a tea stall. I was breathing hard in terror when someone put his hand on my back. I got scared, turned back and I saw a man who told me to come out.
I hesitated and told him that two goons were after me and I won’t come out. But he assured me that nobody is there and I’m safe to come out. When I came out, he asked me about everything. I told about the whole incidents and how I badly wanted to go back home.
He asked if I have any contact number of my parents but I didn’t had any. Not knowing what to do with me or where to take me, he decided to take me to his home. I hesitated at first knowing my previous experiences, but he assured me not to have any fear about and that I am safe with him.
I went along with him to his house and was welcomed by a lady who asked him who I was. The man took her to another room and I heard him saying her that they already lost a daughter 5 years back. And he doesn’t have any idea regarding my parents and my place. Now God has given them a second chance and why not they accept me as their daughter then. But I went through so many things all those while, so I couldn’t trust them anyways. I thought he had also brought me to his house to make me work for them like the earlier one. So I went to their kitchen and started washing their kitchen chores and suddenly the lady came running, threw those things from my hand and told me that I am not supposed to do such things, those works are not mine.
She took me to a room where I saw a picture of a little girl. She told me that the girl in the picture is Simran, their daughter who died 5 years back due to an accident. She looked just like me and so from now they want me to be their daughter. They both graciously accepted me, from that day itself I felt like I have a new life awaiting for me, after so much pain, struggle and torture I had no idea how it came into being, but it was really unexpected for me.
I trusted them, accepted them as my new parents and started a new life with them after that. They came to my life as God, my savior, and they helped me in all possible ways they could. They made me educated, took care of me like my real parents, never prevented me from achieving my goal, encouraged me in good things like opening a school for those children who are the victims of child labor and all, just like me, always gave me whichever things I wanted, and were always there supporting me in my bad times as well. After that I got married and was living happily.
Soon after that my life changed. I got love from everywhere but something was missing too. I soon had a baby boy who was also welcomed in this world with lots of love and care. Just one such day came into my life that opened my eyes again. My son was playing and got hurt while doing it so, I saw how his father became so much worried just with that little scratch.
Something came into mind again. Yes, it was scratching my mind as well. I became worried as I could suddenly remember something from my past. Yes that past, which was left long before, I tried to remember how even I used to play and used to get hurt and my baba though deaf and handicapped used to come running towards me in his wheel chair. I realized that even lacking two senses in his body, he used to understand when his daughter is getting hurt and how much she needs him.
I thought maybe that day itself when my neighbours were kidnapping me he understood something is wrong with me. I had a faith that he would come to save me, but I knew this too that his crippled body won’t allow him to do so.
But I realized one fact that my neighbours wanted to sell me and earn money, but they didn’t see that by encouraging child abuse with this, they are not only making other child’s future dark but also breaking a happy family by snatching away their child and selling them to that inhuman section of the society. Among all this, while I was so much involved into my pain and struggled life that I forgot I had someone there too who has been waiting for me since that day. So I decided to go and search for my father and tell him that his daughter still loves him and maybe it’s my mother’s blessing that I got such nice parents even in my worst phase of life. But for now, I need to find him as soon as possible.”
This was one incident of a girl. But do we really think that it’s ending is just one case like this?
Today children are being kidnapped, sold to people who are using them to push the work load over them, and there’s nothing new in that. We all know about this, we can’t do anything regarding this because we see every day about this in newspapers, blogs, etc. and just let it happen.
But my question is that why they shall carry bricks when the shoulders are intended to carry books? We celebrate ‘Labor Day’ on 1st May, its okay, but why shall we look upon kids as labors? Whatever people say, there is no reason and no excuse, because child labor is nothing but child abuse. A child should get education as his birth right, so don’t you think we should fight against child labor and encourage education for them? We know we can’t stop those inhuman acts completely, that’s not in our hand. But Child labor should be banned. At least this is in our hand. We should make our future bright, and shape our future right, for this we need to stop child labor because Child labor increases Illiteracy, making the future worse for you and me. So for a better nation, for a bright future, we should stop child exploitation from today itself.
This post originally appeared here.
Note: Image used in this article is for representational purpose only.
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