In the midst of independence anniversary celebrations, millions of forgotten child labourers are still waiting for the dawn of their freedom.
Shouting for an end to child labour, hundreds of children marched through the wide avenues of New Delhi yesterday as the nation prepared to celebrate its golden jubilee. Arriving at parliament, the children presented a memorandum to the nation's president demanding that all children should receive an education and that no child should be forced to work.
The march marked the culmination of a two-day meeting on the problem of child labour in South Asia. Earlier yesterday, the children sat in a semi-circle in the shadow of the Old Fort in New Delhi in a self-styled parliament. They condemned the government for not delivering to them their basic constitutional right of a free education for every child under 14.
Child activist Mr Satish Kalyarthi, of the South Asian Coalition for Child Servitude, spoke of the scale of the problem.
"There are more than 60 million child labourers in South Asia," he said. "What is lacking is the political will and social concern to implement the provisions of the constitution and the 1986 Child Labour Act."
The Indian government disputes Mr Kalyarthi's figures. According to the Indian Labour Ministry, only 18 million children are employed in labour-intensive industries.
India officially banned the employment of children under 14 in 1948 and outlawed child labour in 17 hazardous industries under the 1986 Act. Under India's 1950 constitution, the state committed itself to provide free and compulsory education for all children up to 14 within 10 years. The Supreme Court upheld this constitutional right in 1993.
"The children are tired of hollow promises from the politicians," Mr Kalyarthi said. "They will continue their struggle against child labour until every child in India is free."