Kailash Satyarthi is the winner of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize. The Nobel Prize was granted in recognition of his efforts of over 40 years to save over 100,000 children from exploitation and help them realize their right to education. His work brought global attention to India’s child labour crisis which is a global challenge and continues to affect over 160 million children across the world. It was first highlighted, as early as 1839, in Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens’ narrative on the child chimney sweeps of the post-industrial revolution in England.
India’s child labour laws have evolved significantly over time, shifting from regulation to outright prohibition beginning with the Indian Factories Act of 1881, which banned work for children under seven. Post Independence, protection of children was built into the Constitution (Article 24 prohibits hazardous child labour and Article 39 urges the state to safeguard children from exploitation). The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, banning children under 14 from hazardous jobs and regulating others, was passed in 1986, followed by the 1987 National Policy, which emphasized rehabilitation and education. Subsequently, in 1996, the Supreme Court’s ‘M.C. Mehta vs State of Tamil Nadu’ judgment mandated schooling and compensation for child workers and made employers accountable. In 2009, the Right to Education Act made free education a right for children aged 6–14, reinforcing the legal framework against child labour. The Nobel recognition of this global challenge in 2014 galvanized public awareness, intensified policy focus, and added urgency to reform efforts within India. Just two years later, in 2016, India amended its Child Labour Law to prohibit all employment of children under 14, with limited exceptions, and banned hazardous work for adolescents aged 14–18. The 2017 Rules followed, detailing enforcement and rehabilitation. Satyarthi’s Nobel Prize was thus more than symbolic—it helped shift the national conversation from tolerance to zero tolerance, accelerating legal and social change.
This illustrated children’s book was created by Srividhya Venkat. Her other books are Girls on Wheels, Dancing in Thatha’s Footsteps, The Clever Tailor and Pickle Mania. The illustrations are by Danica da Silva Pereira, an illustrator and graphic designer hailing from the lush landscapes of Goa, with an MA in Children’s Book Illustration from the Cambridge School of Art. She has infused the book with a profound personal connection, having observed the echoes of child labour portrayed in these pages. The vividness of the illustrations and the brevity with which impactful messaging has been built into the play of the narrative will make this depiction an easy-to-disseminate publication. A very attractive feature of the book is the depiction of the child’s reflective mind that seeks to make sense of the world around, particularly issues of discrimination, untouchability, unfairness, and marginalization. The book has a sensitive manifest appeal which is likely to entice child readers through the very telling narratives and illustrations, and a much deeper
subtext for the adult mind at a latent level.