Child labor in India is a human right issue for the whole world. It is a serious and extensive problem, with many children under the age of fourteen working in carpet making factories, glass blowing units and making fireworks with tender little hands. According to the statistics, by Indian government there are 20 million child laborers in the country, while other agencies claim that it is 50 million.
Some common causes of child labor are poverty, parental illiteracy, social apathy, ignorance, lack of education and exposure, exploitation of cheap and unorganized labor. The family practice to inculcate traditional skills in children also pulls little ones inexorably in the trap of child labor, as they never get the opportunity to learn anything else. Adult unemployment and urbanization also causes child labor. Adults often find it difficult to find jobs because factory owners find it more beneficial to employ children at cheap rates. This exploitation is particularly visible in garment factories of urban areas. Adult exploitation of children is also seen in many places. Elders relax at home and live on the labor of poor helpless children.
The industrial revolution has also had a negative effect by giving rise to circumstances which encourages child labor. Sometimes multinationals prefer to employ child workers in the developing countries. This is so because they can be recruited for less pay, more work can be extracted from them and there is no union problem with them. This attitude also makes it difficult for adults to find jobs in factories, forcing them to drive their little ones to work to keep the fire burning their homes.
However most of their efforts were sabotaged by high level government officials covering the fact that children were doing bonded work in factory promises. They deliberately employed their energy in running public awareness campaigns and made claims of creating propaganda against child labor, instead of punishing erring employers and freeing and rehabilitating the bonded children.
Governments did take few directions on the right track initially, but most of their efforts came to naught with time. Moreover the government efforts did not reach high profile industries like bidi, cigarette making and carpet weaving. According to an official of the Human Rights watch – “Instead of living up to its promises, the Indian government is starting to backtrack, claiming the problem is being solved. Our research shows that it is not.”
The officer also identified a major link between caste and bondage in Indian society. Dalit family’s functions as bonded labor due to caste based discrimination and violence and not poverty in many cases. The caste system in India is one of the main foundations on which the edifice of bonded labor rests. Dalits or the so called untouchable are denied access to land in India, forced to work in inhuman conditions, and expected to perform labor for free. This is due to the so called upper castes boycotting them socially and subjecting them to economic exploitation. This attitude of society keeps the poor families bonded in a scourge of perpetual poverty and labor. It is now very important for all International donors to put pressure on the Indian government to enforce bonded labor and child labor laws in the country.
The term ‘child labor’ means ‘working child’ or ‘employed child’. ‘Child labor’ is any work done by child for profit. ‘Child labor’ is a derogatory term which translates into child exploitation and inhumanity according to sociologists, development workers, medical professionals and educationists. They have identified child labor as harmful and hazardous to the child’s development needs, both mental and physical.
According to the Human rights Every child has the right to get educated....Child Labour is also considered as a major crime according our constitution..
Inspite of knowing it is a henoise crime, children are still working as labourers in places such as firework factories..
We all love Diwali,the festival of lights and fireworks..But most of us do not know the tragedy behind this festival...........
Fireworks manufacturers had long been criticised for their use of child labour. Although the manufacturers declare that child labour is no longer used, estimates suggest that at least 3,000 children still work at every stage of the manufacturing process. Child labour taints fireworks industry at Sivakasi publisher with wages as low as Rs 20 per day. There had been protests by the manufacturers against the anti child labour campaign by various N.G.O.s , terming them as false allegations and conspiracies Bandh total at Sivakasi. Thousands of children die each year in the fireworks business. The beautiful sparks we see during Diwali has the tear drops and sacrifices of children hidden behind them. We need to stop all this..
Please take initiative to stop all this. Please help save the shedding tears of these children.
The future of a community is in the well being of its children. The above fact is beautifully expressed by Wordsworth in his famous lines “child is father of the man”. So it becomes imperative for the health of a nation to protect its children from premature labor which is hazardous to their mental, physical, educational and spiritual development needs. It is urgently required to save children from the murderous clutches of social injustice and educational deprivation, and ensure that they are given opportunities for healthy, normal and happy growth. Projects related with human resource development, dedicated to the child welfare issues must be given top priority by the central and state governments to stop the menace of child labor. Child labor laws need to be strictly implemented at the central and state levels. Corruption and negligence in child labor offices and employee circles should be dealt with very strictly by the judiciary and the police force. The development needs of growing children can only be provided for, by stopping the onerous practice of child labor in organized and non organized sectors with utmost sincerity. This is the only way a nation can train its children to be wholesome future citizens, who are happy and prosperous. The provision of equal and proper opportunities for the educational needs of growing children in accordance with constitutional directives will go a long way in stopping the evil practice of child labor.
-Done By,
Swagatha Swaminathan
Lalaji Memorial Omega International School
