Profile of a former slave you helped
 

Titakashwar Sada, 14 year former slave

Titakashwar Sada is 14 years old.  He comes from Patori, a village in the State of Bihar, the poorest State in India.

When he was about 9 years a middleman arrived in his village and took him away after deceiving his mother and father with false promises that he would provide Tilakashwar with a good education and vocational training.

Instead, the middleman sold him to Ramraj Bind, a loom master in the village of Harcharanpur in Badoi District, near Mirazapur, who forced him to work at a carpet loom.  Here he worked as a slave for 5 years.  He was regularly beaten and made to work 10‑15 hours a day. He was only fed half cooked rice and raw dal (pulses). He was severely beaten if he asked for food.  Sometimes he had to sleep on an empty stomach. He did not receive any wages because he was a slave.

Tilkashwar was released two years ago after BBA activists and government officials under the supervision of Kailash Sathyarti, the Chairperson of the BBA, conducted a raid.

However, he started working again only after a year of his return to his village because his father, who had been suffering from a prolonged illness, had died and his mother, Bhutti Devi, could hardly live on her meagre wage of 300 to 400 rupees a month (about $9) working as a landless agricultural day laborer.

When a BBA activist got to know this, he convinced Tilakshwar’s mother to send him to Bal Ashram, which is a transit rehabilitation centre for child laborers. Tilkashwar hopes to become a tailor and is currently training to be a tailor. He is enjoying himself and is very happy.


TITAKASHWAR SADA IS ONE OF THE CHILDREN YOU HAVE HELPED
We wish to thank all our members and supporters who have worked so hard in the last 12 months in the fight against slavery and child labor.  In this and subsequent issues we will profile six of these children.  Three from our program in northern India: Titakashwar Sada from slavery, Subhash Kumar from pawn-slavery and Ajmer Ali Ansari from child labor; and three from our program in southern India: Ramappa Moogappa from pawn-slavery, Ravi (a slave since he was 8 years old) and Murugesha Rajappa, a bonded laborer.