22 ... ... ... ... .. T E N Y E A R S O F T H E C O M M I S S I O N I N R E T RO S P E C T leitmotif of the Commission has been its insistence on the provision of free and compulsory education for children up to the age of 14 years, and the allocation of an appropriate level of resources to achieve this objective. 6) The Issue of "inclusiveness": Rights of Marginalized and Vulnerable Sections of Society 2.31 For the Commission, the thread of "human dignity" connects all rights, making them indivisible. Further, the protection of those rights rests on the pillars of equality under the law and the prohibition of discrimination, inter alia on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. From its earliest years, therefore, the Commission has: ● Taken note of the "ancient societal wrongs" that made some Indians less equal than others and the tenacity of long-standing attitudes that - based ostensibly on religion or custom - were inimical to a proper respect for the rights of all of the people of the country. The Commission made it its mission to combat the prejudices that had resulted in the persistence of such situations, despite the demands of the Constitution and a variety of laws. ● Placed special emphasis on securing the rights of Dalits and Adivasis, paying careful attention to the complaints that it received alleging acts of discrimination, "untouchability", violence against the human person, atrocities of various kinds, and high-handedness by public servants and others. ● Sought, in particular, to bring to an end two pernicious and demeaning practices which affected members of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in large measure: manual scavenging and bonded labour. The former issue was first taken up by the Commission in 1996-97. In recent years, it has been the matter of successive communications at the highest level from Chairpersons of the Commission to the Prime Minister of India and the Chief Ministers of States. The latter subject, the eradication of bonded labour, as mentioned earlier, has been a "core" concern of the Commission from its very first year; in addition, it is a responsibility especially entrusted to the Commission through a 1998 remit of the Supreme Court. N AT I O N A L H U M A N R I G H T S C O M M I S S I O N