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India is a developing country and a country which is immediately plagued by child labour. According to 1991 census, there were 11.28 million child workers in India. Andhra Pradesh has the highest child labour population with 1.66 million children working in cottonseed belts, cross pollinating for hybrid seed production. Girls, aged 7 to 14 years, constitute about 95% of the work force that slog for nine hours a day at one-third the adult male wage. Small-scale factories that manufacture matches and firewood like the ones at Sivakai in Tamil Nadu, various gem cutting and polishing units, glass manufacturers, carpet-weaving industries and lock making industries employ child labour. At all these units they are exposed to gruesome conditions where none of the safety recommendations are adhered to. The unhygienic conditions take their toll and most of them succumb to various diseases before adulthood.
India has the largest number of working children in the world. What is contributing to all this child labour? The major contributor to child labour is poverty. The child workers belong to a part of society that falls below poverty line. Such poor families desperately need the additional income that a child labourer’s income provides. The conditions of these families have become so bad that they are compelled to send their children to work. The worst part is that child labourers are severely underpaid. There is no welfare system or easy access to loans so many families must go to moneylenders. The poor parents have to mortgage their children to moneylenders and the child labourer’s income is used to pay off the interest on their loans or for household. Such bonded child labours can only be released when their parents make lump sum payments, which is extremely difficult for poor parents.
People believe that it is better to leave one’s homeland than to live in abject poverty, so some migrate from their homeland to other places. But most people do not get such opportunity. They are forced to live in appalling conditions in the slums of the city. They do not have access to sanitation, drinking water and are unable to sustain themselves without jobs. The women folk leave their homes to work as maids in building near-by while children are sent to fend for themselves.
Article 24 and 39 (e) of our constitution clearly states that child labour is wrong and measures are been taken to eradicate this social problem. The Government of India implemented the child labour act in 1986, outlawing child labour in particular areas and fixed the minimum age for employment at 14. Though this Act has made child labour illegal but it fails to meet the guideline of “International Labour Organisation” concerning the minimum age for employment at 15. These policies are good enough for eradicating the child labour but their implementation is the only problem. There is no use of planning and developing policies against child labour if they are not being enforced.
In combination with the poverty and unsuccessful implementation of governmental policies, inadequacy of education also plays a great role in child labour practice. Even after five decades of independence, the government has failed to provide even primary education to its entire citizen. According to UNICEF reports on education “State of World’s Children 1999”, India is the world’s most illiterate nation, out of which two-thirds of the total number are comprised of women folk. States like Kerela has got 100% literacy. The government of Kerela allocates more funds to the cause of mass education rather than limiting itself to setting up colleges and universities. The state has put forth little effort to eradicate child labour but the extension of education system to the masses has brought about a decline in ill practices. But over all, our education system is not too effective to yield basic literacy in population. Poverty has made our education system ineffective. Drop out rates are high because children are forced to work to add to finance of their families. The parents of child labour feel that work develops skills that can be used to earn money, while education plays no role in earning. Researchers say that if adults work more and not spend their money frivolously, they will not be dependent on the earning of their children, who could be returned to school. This could increase work opportunities as well as income for adults. Records say that India has maximum number of school dropouts and every third illiterate in the world is an Indian. The Indian government has taken several measures to combat the menace of child labour. The Government introduced the “Integrated Child Development Program” (ICDP) in 1975 and the “National Policy on Child Labour” in 1987. In an attempt to compulsory education Central government has started – “The District Primary Education Program” (DPEP) and planned to finance up to 85% of total expenditures.
But what type of social welfare structure do these places have? What is the attitude of people towards education? These questions should be satisfied before implying any more education policies. The result of DPEP that was implemented a few years ago did not live up to its expectations. Hopefully, the future will speak well about the success of the program towards the universal education and eradicating child labour.
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Writer Profile
abhimanyu dev singh billawaria
A PROFILE.
NAME: ABHIAMNYU DEV SINGH BILLAWARIA.
DATE OF BIRTH: 22-O7-1984.
AGE: 20 yrs.
OCUPATION: STUDENT.
PARENTAGE: MR. VIJAY DEV SINGH BILLAWARIA,
MANAGER IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR BANK.
DR. ANITA BILLAWARIA,
SENIOR FELLOW, CENTRE FOR
HISTORY AND CULTURE OF JAMMU &
LADAKH REGIONS, DEPARTMENT OF
HISTORY, UNIVERSITY OF JAMMU.
PERMANENT ADD. : 18, PRIYADARSHANI LANES,
OPP. B.S.F. CAMPUS,
PATTA PALORA,
JAMMU-180002 (J&K).
INDIA.
(TELEPHONE: 0191-2505870)
PRESENT ADD. :
c/o raju pathan,
J-25
atlas colony,
mahesh nagar,
PIMPRI,
PUNE-18.
INDIA.
(MOB.: 09890282099)
e-MAIL ID. : oops_manu@reddifmail.com
HOBBIES : PHILATELY
NUMISMATICS
ANTIQUE COLLECTION
CURRENCY COLLECTION
READING (Literature, History, Politics, Religion, Spiritualism, Psychology, Electronics, Aeronautics)
WRITING (Poems, Stories, Self Experience & Research Articles)
LANGUAGES KNOWN: a) well known
HINDI
ENGLISH
PUNJABI
DOGRI
URDU
SANSKRIT
b) Acquainted with
MARATHI
c) Learning
FRENCH
RUSSIAN
PERSIAN
STUDY PROFILE : STUDENT OF ELECTRONICS AND TELECOMMUNICATION ENGENEERING, IN DR. D.Y.PATIL INSTITUTION OF ENGENEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (DYPIET), PIMPRI, PUNE-18.
STUDIED MEDICAL UPTO 10+2 STADARD.
STUDIED COMPUTER UPTO 10th STANDARD.
STUDIED SANSKRIT UPTO 8th STANDARD.
SKITS: a) 1st PRIZE, ON THE OCASSION OF ANNUAL FUNCTION OF B.S.F.SCHOOL, 1995
b) 1ST PRIZE, ON THE GRACIOUS OCASSION OF 50 YRS. OF INDIAN INDEPENDENCE, B.S.F. SCHOOL, JAMMU, 1997.
PARICIPATION IN
PAINTING COMP. : a)INTER SCHOOL PAINTING COMPETETION, JAMMU, 1991.
b) -Do--, 1992.
c) -Do--, 1993.
d) 1st PRIZE, ORGANISED BY RAMNAGAR SAHITYA MANDAL, JAMMU, 1995.
PARTICIPATION IN DEBATES:
a) INTER COLLEGE, ORGANISED BY
ROTARY CLUB, PUNE, 2003.
PARTICIPATION IN
WRITING COMP. : a) NATIONAL ESSAY WRITING COMPETITION, BY SHRI RAMAKRISHNA MISSION, 2003.
b) NATIONAL STORY WRITING COMPETITION, BY ASIAN AGE NEWSPAPER, 2003.
c) INTERNATIONAL POETRY COMPETITION, 2003.
WORKSHOPS
ATTENDED:a)hardware installation,TITAN, DYPIET,2003.
EXHIBITIONS
ORGANISED AND
CONTRIBUTED TO: a) ORGANISED A PERSONAL NUMISMATIC COLLECTION’S EXHIBITION IN B.S.F. SCHOOL, ON THE OCASSION OF 50 YRS. OF INDIAN INDEPENDENCE.
b) CONTRIBUTED COINS, RARE ARTFACTS, ANTIQUES, MANUSCRIPTS, ETC FOR EXHIBITION ON “JAMMU, KASHMIR AND LADAKH: A LOOK INTO THE PAST” ORGANISED BY JAMMU UNIVERSITY.
PUBLISHED WORK: a) research articles.
1) “HOW INDIAN POSTAGE WAS DEVELPOED.” IN KASHMIRTIMES NEWSPAPER, JAMMU, 2002.
b) Poem published.
1) “IDENTITY”, on website
www.poetry-contest.com.
OTHER ACTIVITIES: 1) Can do handwriting analysis, though novice in field.
2) Can do “REIKI”, healing by touch.
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