Our Roman holiday with Budhia

The perpetrators and abettors of this cruelty on a hapless child must be made accountable

On May 2 we saw the spectacle on TV of a frail and diminutive four and half year old boy, Budhia Singh, running a distance of 65 km from Puri Jaganath temple to Bhubaneshwar in sweltering heat. Budhia wearing an oversize sports shirt of Central Reserve Police Force with red socks and sports shoes was seen panting with exhaustion to complete the targeted 70 km whilst the cadets of CRPF accompanied him running or cycling in relay, with TV vans recording his performance. Budhia gave up the targeted run at 65 km due to exhaustion. The kid was woken up at 4 am in the morning to start his run and took 7.02 hours to cover 65 km. This was declared an achievement for a young boy.

The editor of the Limca Book of Record stated that young Budhia’s achievement would be entered in the Limca Book of Records. “Given his family background, today’s achievement was more special and Budhia will be a human interest story,” he said.

What was the purpose of this cruel exercise on a child of four and half? He himself obviously could not have had the judgment to decide for himself. Nor had his parents the chance to object to such an infliction on him because Budhia’s father is dead, and his mother, who washed dishes in Bhubaneshwar, had sold Budhia to a man for Rs 800. This was his “family background,” which “made a good story”!

This was not a competitive running race for the young if at all there could be a race for running a distance of 70 km for children of this age. This was intended to be a performance or a record at the expense of a hapless child without parental care and protection. The question is also how the authorities permitted the child to be trained to run by a judo coach, Biranchi Das. Did no one among the people who lined up in large numbers to watch “the wonder boy” protest at this Roman holiday. According to leading paediatricians Budhia’s cartilages could face serious wear and tear, affecting his normal growth. But who cares, it was a famous record!

Some years back we protested at the practice of young boys being taken from India for camel races in the Middle East and who were strapped on the saddles of camels. Budhia’s free will to perform was not more than the child camel riders. Yet no one’s conscience registered his plight; he was encouraged and goaded all the way till he fell exhausted.

Budhia must be saved from his protectors, and those who have perpetrated and encouraged this inhuman outrage should be made accountable.

The writer is a senior advocate of the Supreme Court of India