In 1988, Ajeet Singh saw a female dancer performing at a wedding in Varanasi. He was shocked by the way people treated her.

Just a teenager then and in his first year of college, he adopted the three children of that girl and gave them a better life.

“Of course my decision was not welcomed by my family or society. I faced huge opposition from everyone. But this is what I wanted to do,” Ajeet says.

After this, he started going to the red light areas of Varanasi to teach the children of the sex workers there.

“The whole profession and system are so complex that providing mere education to the kids or spreading awareness about health, HIV, etc, cannot solve it. The issue is slavery and the need to abolish the system of sex trafficking. It is only then that girls can be saved to lead better lives,” Ajeet says.

Realising that just education wouldn’t be enough, he started an organisation called Guria in 1993 to fight against the sexual exploitation of girls, especially minors. What these girls needed was freedom, and he was here to help them.

Ajeet prepared himself to take on the racket. He got a few hidden cameras—in his pen, shirt button, watch—and started to pose as a customer, only to track the locations of red light areas and the number of minor girls there.

Once he had mapped these areas, he collected a large number of volunteers and raided the Shivdaspur red light area of Varanasi. They managed to rescue 15 girls in one day.

Since then, Ajeet has conducted raids on all the red light areas of Varanasi and rescued over 6,000 children from sex trafficking so far.

After the girls are rescued, they are sent to government shelters and homes, and later, to their parents, where they are monitored closely.

“Today, I can say Varanasi is almost free from child prostitution,” claims Ajeet.

He next started taking legal action against the pimps and brothel keepers who played a key role in the prostitution racket.

“I have been attacked so many times and given death threats. Even my family did not support me. A lot of people raised questions about my work but I was determined to save the lives of these girls,” says Ajeet.

Through his organisation, Guria, he has filed about 3,500 cases against traffickers and has even landed many of them in jail.

Guria also helps in rehabilitating the rescued girls and teaching them various skills so they can switch to other professions.

“Our idea is not just to provide one-time support. These girls are like our children. You cannot just provide clothing or food to your children. You have to give them overall support. This is what we do for these girls,” says Ajeet.

Ajeet is involved in advocacy and formulation of legislation on human trafficking with the NHRC.

With a team of 25 members and hundreds of volunteers, Ajeet continues his mission to eliminate this profession entirely from the streets of Varanasi.