- Freedom means being able to fund his own education in college and not be forced to become a daily wage labourer
- Freedom means being able to perform the last rites of her parents despite being a girl and then earn a living for herself.
Young girls and boys for whom every day is a struggle shared what freedom means to them as the country celebrated 75 years of Independence on Monday.
The girls and boys between 16 and 23 years of age were “proud and grateful” that they were able to break the shackles of their circumstances that would have pinned them down to a plight they were born in.
Most of their parents have not had the privilege of formal education.
From an early age, these children have had to earn their living by working as domestic help or daily wage earners.
But they aspire to a better future and have been able to better their condition by at least going to college and simultaneously making a living of their own.
The students are part of the Shiksha programme of an NGO — Calcutta Social Project — that works with them and empowers them to try earning as a tutor or a caregiver while they study at college.
On Monday, the students celebrated Independence Day by telling many more like them how they could reverse their plight with effort and resilience.
“They are born in a free country but unlike many others their age these girls and boys are imprisoned by their own class and social status. Being able to educate themselves and go as far as college, has allowed them a real taste of freedom to break that cycle of poverty,” said Mohuna Dutt, the project director and head of child development at the NGO.
“They value this freedom because they have worked for it,” she said.
Rohit Bhagat, 23, said that unlike his parents who could not read or write he is now pursuing undergraduate studies at a city college.
He teaches children at the Shiksha programme and is also a caregiver and earns Rs 19,500 a month.
Urmila Shaw, 17, lost her father and mother within six months when she was barely 15.
She and her elder sister did the last rites of her parents resisting relatives who said that only a male should do it.
“If boys can do something, then why not girls?” asked Urmila.
It is the same spirit that helps Urmila, a student, sustain herself financially.
“We are two sisters and we have to support ourselves. We cannot expect other male members of the family to earn a living for us,” she said.