'Kailash Satyarthi pulled the rug from under child labour employers'

VARANASI: Lenin Raghuvanshi is ecstatic. "It's a great moment for us. Kailash Satyarthi has won the Nobel," he says. A founder member of the 1993-established Bachpan Bachao Andolan, Lenin remained with BBA till 1999 before floating his own outfit.

Eastern UP's Mirzapur-Bhadoi carpet belt was Satyarthi's karmabhoomi in the early days of his struggle against child labour and trafficking. He started Rugmark, a label given to carpet makers who guarantee child labour-free products.

In 1980, Satyarthi and the Bonded Labor Liberation Front, New Delhi, launched a crusade against child servitude in the carpet industry . The stretch from Varanasi to Mirzapur and Bhadohi was the carpet heartland. About 3 lakh kids were engaged there.Despite government and industry denials, the mission, aided by the Supreme Court, led to the liberation of thousands of kids.