Rajasthan: Dr. Shailendra Pandya The Child Rights Activist Will Be Awarded In Delhi As "Desh Ratna" By BYWA,

Dr. Shailendra Pandya will be awarded by Bharti yuva  welfare Association (India) in New Delhi as "Desh Ratna" This ceremony will be held in the ltg Auditorium opp. Doordarshan Bhawan in parliament area.

Let We known Who Is Dr. Shailendra Pandya

Dr. Shailendra Pandya is an Indian child protection specialist and a former member of the Rajasthan State Commission for Protection of Child Rights who is passionately driven for the protection of child rights. 

Dr. Pandya completed his engineering from Rajasthan University. Throughout his graduating days, he served the society by providing free education for underprivileged children. His passion started taking shape when he decided to give up a lucrative job in a Software conglomerate and pursue a career in social entrepreneurship.

Dr. Pandya has dedicated the past ten years of his career to the field of Child Protection, tirelessly working to ensure the safety and well-being of children. His relentless efforts have resulted in the liberation of 865 child laborers in the last three years, marking a significant achievement in child protection. He is a strong advocate for strengthening grassroots committees focused on child protection. He pioneered the development of the very first module, "Buniyaad," designed to orient and fortify BLCPC and GPLCPC committees in their mission. Through his dedicated workcentres tribal children now have access to free education through a network of 304 "Shikshalaya" (Free education centers). Over the past decade, Dr. Pandya has successfully facilitated the integration of more than 10,000 tribal children into mainstream education within tribal areas. His commitment to child protection is unwavering, and his accomplishments reflect his dedication to safeguarding the future of children. He also is a notable TEDx speaker who shared his journey of child protection and how India can become a developed nation by enduring child protection. 

Notable Works – 

Dr. Shailendra Pandya's dedicated efforts led to a historic milestone in the Udaipur Division. For the first time, an Injunction Order was issued under Section 13(1) of the Child Marriage Prohibition Act in Kherwada block of Udaipur district in 2023. 

His commitment to protecting children's rights underscores his deep sensitivity to this critical issue. Recognizing the devastating impact of child sexual abuse, he and his organization have extended their support to 180 child sexual abuse victims. They provide crucial legal and psychological assistance, ensuring these victims can access justice by offering free legal aid and counseling services.

He has also shown a deep commitment to addressing the issue of child marriage. In order to combat child marriage in the area and raise awareness, he took the initiative to collaborate with the district administration of the city. Together, they launched a helpline for reporting child marriages and offered a reward of Rs 2,100 to individuals providing information about such cases. This effort resulted in the prevention of 15 child marriages during a single wedding season. Furthermore, he extends crucial support to the victims of child marriage. Through his dedicated efforts, he successfully facilitated the nullification of two child marriages, liberating the girls from the shackles of this harmful practice.

For the first time an interstate rescue operation was conducted where 138 childrens in the 10-16 age groups from Surat were rescued. The children were brought from different states to work in Surat’s textile sector, hotels, and as domestic workers. Twelve people were held in the raid. Of the 138 children rescued, 128 were from Rajasthan, the rest from Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh.

On June 12, 2022, to mark Anti Child Labor Day a week-long campaign was launched in the name ‘Child Labor Free Udaipur’. In the campaign, 91 children were rescued from various employment establishments ranging from restaurants, alcohol shops, general stores, and construction sites. In the campaign 17 FIRs were registered against 54 employers. Out of 91 children rescued 60 children have been linked to education and have been mainstreamed.

During the times of COVID – 19, a Situational Analysis of Tribal Child Labor was done in which 865 children coming back to the villages due to reverse migration was tracked down and were linked to the educational facilities, and steps were taken for their rehabilitation. Along with the rehabilitation, such families of child laborers were also identified who have lost all sources of income, and cash transfers were also made to their families to ease their survival.

Awards 

On October 30, 2023 he was conferred the "Social Jewel Award 2023" by Mr. Ramesh Bais, Governor of Maharashtra during the National Youth Summit organized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India, held at the Raj Bhavan in Mumbai. 

In January 2023, he was conferred with ‘National Youth Excellency Award’ on National Youth Day. 

On July 20, 2022 he was honored by Leadership Excellence Award in the category of ‘Outstanding Contribution for Protection of Child Rights in India’ for working for a long time in the field of child protection and doing commendable work for the rescue and rehabilitation of Child Labors. The award was presented by Bollywood actress Mrs. Diya Mirza at The Lalit International Hotel, Mumbai.  

He was also honored by India’s 100 under 40 ‘Social Leaders’ by Fox Story India, 2022 for exemplary work done in the field of Child Rehabilitation and Child Rights in India.

In the year 2017, I was honored by ‘Social Change Makers’ award by National Channel Doordarshan. The award was presented by Bollywood actress Mrs. Indra Krishnan for the work done in the field of child protection. 

State Awards

All Media Council awarded him with ‘Best Social Activist’ in 2023

He was conferred with ‘Sudarsh Award’ 2023, by Razzaki Public Charitable Trust. 

He was conferred with ‘Bal Seva Saman’ for his commendable work in promoting child protection and education on 27-08-2023. 

I was honored by ‘Laadli Award’ on International Girl Child Day October 11, 2014 by then Cabinet Minister, Mr. Arun Chaturvedi, for the work done for promoting child protection in tribal areas and promoting girl child education in the areas. 

Honoured by Dr. Pushpendra Singh Bhati, Honorable Judge, Rajasthan High Court for efforts made in the field of Child Protection with special focus on Child Labour in Southern Rajasthan. 

Honored by All World Gayatri Pariwar, for commendable work in the field of Child Protection 2017

Former Member, Rajasthan State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, July 2019-July 2022.

Honored by Jal Star Award for making clean drinking water accessible to the rural children in southern Rajasthan. 

Awarded by Mr. Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya, then Cabinet Minister, GoR and then District Collector for commendable work in the field of child protection on 26 January 2013.