7 months ago
Kailash Satyarthi's 'Karuna' Rescues Children from Carpet Industry
Kailash Satyarthi is a famous person who helps children.
One day, he rescued a boy named Idrees from a carpet factory.
Idrees had been working there since he was five years old and missed his mom very much.
When Kailash brought Idrees back to his village, his mom, who had gone blind from sadness, recognized him by his voice.
This made Kailash very happy, but he also saw that many more children were still being forced to work.
So, he started a campaign to tell people in other countries about the problem.
He created a special label called Rugmark (now Good Weave) to show that carpets were made without child labor.
This helped reduce the number of children working in the carpet industry and made sure more kids could go to school.
Kailash Satyarthi rescued a boy named Idrees from a carpet factory in Bhadohi, Uttar Pradesh, in December 1989.
Idrees had been working in the factory since he was five years old and did not recognize his blind mother initially, but they reunited emotionally.
Satyarthi realized that legal action alone was not enough to stop child labor and decided to appeal to consumers in Europe and North America.
He created the Rugmark certification system (now Good Weave) to ensure carpets were made without child labor, which significantly reduced child labor in the industry.
The campaign expanded consumer awareness beyond carpets to other products, leading to a broader impact on ethical production and supply chains.
- Who
- Kailash Satyarthi, Idrees, Taslima, and other child laborers in the carpet industry
- What
- A rescue mission and subsequent campaign to eliminate child labor in the carpet industry
- Where
- Bhadohi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and other regions in South Asia
- When
- Initial rescue in December 1989, campaign started in 1990
- Why
- To free children from exploitative labor and promote ethical consumerism
Key facts
- Author
- Kailash Satyarthi
- Book Title
- Karuna: The Power of Compassion
- Publisher
- HarperCollins India
- Pages
- 248
- Price
- ₹ 399
- Initial Rescue
- December 1989
- Location
- Bhadohi, Uttar Pradesh
- Child Laborers in 1990s
- 1 million
- Child Laborers in 2010s
- 150,000
- Certification System
- Good Weave (formerly Rugmark)
Quotes
Kailash Satyarthi
Nobel Peace Prize laureate and founder of the Bachpan Bachao Andolan (Save the Childhood Movement)
“‘Everyone is getting ready to leave. Don’t you want to go home, too?’”
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“‘You will have such a system for carpets.’”
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Villager
A resident of Idrees' village
“‘Sir, she cannot see. Her son was kidnapped many years ago and she has lost her sight after years of crying from grief and despair.’”
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Older woman
A caller on a German radio show
“‘I had saved some money and bought a beautiful carpet. Now I realise child slaves probably made it. I will throw it out. But will I ever be able to find a carpet that I can be sure was not made by children?’”
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