Child Labor in India: A Dismal Picture

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Article 45 of the Indian Constitution says that—
“The state shall endeavour to provide, within a period of 10 years from the commencement of this constitution, for free and compulsory education for all children until they complete the age of 14 years.”
However, what is true on pen and paper is far from reality. With credible estimates ranging from 60 to 115 million, India has the largest number of working children in the world. Lives are being nipped in the bud by toxins in factories; the heat of stone quarries is drying up innocent dreams; childhood is slipping away with the sweat from working in the open fields for hours. Be as rag-pickers or domestic servants, these children have traded their childhood, their lives and their dreams for a few rupees, in a desperate attempt to keep themselves and their families alive. In the process, they are deprived of literacy and are subjected to frequent abuse. Being exposed to the harshest environments and the toughest realities of life, these children have been found to wither, in case alive, by middle age.
 
After over 60 years of Independence and over a decade after India became a signatory to the United Nations Convention on Child Rights, the Indian children from poverty-stricken backgrounds continue to face the brutal brunt of torture and neglect. Statistics reveal that India has 17 million child labourers — the highest in the world. Laws have been formulated to protect children from this ordeal, but they have conveniently been waived aside by those in power, helped by lack of awareness of child rights among the general public and the families of the children. Over half of the working children (54%) are in agriculture, and most others are employed either in construction ( 15.5%) or in household work (18%). About 5% are in manufacturing jobs, and the remainder (about 8%) are scattered across other forms of employment.

Policy-makers and educationists opine that inadequate access to educational institutions and the irrelevance of educational curriculum push more children towards work at an early age. It has further been pointed out, through surveys, that an impressive percentage of poor parents realize the importance of education in providing social mobility to the economically disadvatantaged sections of the society. It is the ills of the school system, coupled with affordability issues and the uncertainty of the outcome of education that deter them from sending their children to school.

Labour also has a telling effect on the health of these vulnerable children. Many children are employed in intrinsically hazardous occupations where they may contract silicosis, pneumoconiosis, byssinosis etc by working in the slate, lock, glass and powerloom industries. Secondly, some child laboureres are plagued by poor working environments.

Overall, the situation of child labour in India poses a dismal picture.