At a time when journalism is courting sensationalism and sleaze, an unassuming four-page tabloid is doing its bit by writing about the trials and tribulations of Delhi's child labourers. And the newspaper staff is particularly qualified to write about the subject - they form a part of this nameless, faceless multitude.
"The plight of street and working children was never shown on TV channels and in newspapers. We decided to launch our tabloid to make these children aware of their rights and raise their issues. After a lot of brainstorming, we came up with the name Balaknama for our tabloid," 18-year-old Vijay, who is national secretary of Badhte Kadam, told IANS..
Vijay, who worked in a CD case manufacturing factory in Delhi, has been involved with the tabloid since 2006.
The paper publishes stories about the struggles and achievements of street kids in the capital. There are around 500,000 child labourers in the capital, many of whom live on the streets, say activists.
"This is our independent newspaper. We are the ones who decide the content of each edition. Our members from across Delhi meet at one place and discuss the topics to be published in the edition," said Shanno, 17, who works as a maid in Seemapuri.
Formed in 2002 in Delhi with 35 children, Badhte Kadam now has 10,000 members also spread across Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
"Whether it is police or the common man, everyone looks at us with disgust. We are mistreated by everyone in society. To create our own identity, we formed this group and a year later, we launched Balaknama to make our voices heard in society," says Vijay.
"This tabloid is absolutely free for common people. We charge NGOs who are its subscribers. The response is not that bad," said Sanjay Gupta, director of Chetna.
"We are also thinking of getting it registered so that we can get subsidy and reach out to a large number of people and highlight the issue of exploitation and grave conditions in which these children live," Gupta told IANS.