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Indian children : Labouring away!
Jun 14, 2010 07:06 AM UTC submitted by Rakov Kirpal
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The 1991 Census carried out by Government of India states that there are 11.28 million working children under the age of fourteen years in India.
Shiva
, an eight-year old orphan was reported dead on June 29, 1993, after he was caught escaping and then beaten and scorched to death by his employer. In another incident, 446 children were rescued from over 200 zari shops in the glamorous city of Mumbai, while 25 children were rescued from an ill-lit small room converted into a zari factory in the national capital, New Delhi.
The 1991 Census carried out by Government of India states that there are 11.28 million working children under the age of fourteen years in India. Advocacy groups suggest the real figure could be as high as 60 million.
Blaming the government for not doing enough is obviously not the solution – the larger solution lies in kindling the national consciousness. In almost every household in Delhi NCR there is a child working as a maid, in almost every small shop there is a child working as a helper and this apart from children who work in the fields as agricultural labourers, of girls who work in their own homes to enable their parents to go out to work.
In most of the Indian industries, girls are recognized as unrecognized laborers because they are seen as Help & Supporters and not workers. Hence, this section remains almost totally unprotected by law. India has the largest number of working children in the world. The world will have once again celebrated the annual day against Child Labour – but that wouldn’t change the fate of these children who live a life of misery and suffering.
Welfare organizations define a child laborer as a child who has to work everyday, sometimes for more than 14 hours a day and is not paid as per norms. The International Labor Office reports that children work the longest hours and are the worst paid of all laborers.
The Child Labor Act of India prohibits employment of children less than 14 years of age in 13 occupations and 57 processes. The law also lays down penalties for employment of children in violation of the provisions of this Act and regulates the employment of children with respect to working hours, number of holidays, health and safety in workplace.
Nevertheless, the menace continues to grow unbridled. No doubt, the industries and the families of such children share the blame, but the onus lies first on the lawmakers and watch-guards of our society and nation. Child labor presents itself in a series of forms of labor involving children. These include:
* Domestic servants
* Forced and bonded labor
* Commercial sexual exploitation
* Industrial and plantation work
* Street work
* House hold work
Experts point out towards the following as being the root cause of the rampant child labor scenario in India:
* Poverty
* Family debt
* Administrative attitude
* Easier and cheaper availability of child laborers
* Social mindset
The only person who can make a difference is you – say no to employing children as domestic workers, report any child who might be working in any hazardous occupation – take responsibility and you can make a difference!
, an eight-year old orphan was reported dead on June 29, 1993, after he was caught escaping and then beaten and scorched to death by his employer. In another incident, 446 children were rescued from over 200 zari shops in the glamorous city of Mumbai, while 25 children were rescued from an ill-lit small room converted into a zari factory in the national capital, New Delhi. The 1991 Census carried out by Government of India states that there are 11.28 million working children under the age of fourteen years in India. Advocacy groups suggest the real figure could be as high as 60 million.
Blaming the government for not doing enough is obviously not the solution – the larger solution lies in kindling the national consciousness. In almost every household in Delhi NCR there is a child working as a maid, in almost every small shop there is a child working as a helper and this apart from children who work in the fields as agricultural labourers, of girls who work in their own homes to enable their parents to go out to work.
In most of the Indian industries, girls are recognized as unrecognized laborers because they are seen as Help & Supporters and not workers. Hence, this section remains almost totally unprotected by law. India has the largest number of working children in the world. The world will have once again celebrated the annual day against Child Labour – but that wouldn’t change the fate of these children who live a life of misery and suffering.
Welfare organizations define a child laborer as a child who has to work everyday, sometimes for more than 14 hours a day and is not paid as per norms. The International Labor Office reports that children work the longest hours and are the worst paid of all laborers.
The Child Labor Act of India prohibits employment of children less than 14 years of age in 13 occupations and 57 processes. The law also lays down penalties for employment of children in violation of the provisions of this Act and regulates the employment of children with respect to working hours, number of holidays, health and safety in workplace.
Nevertheless, the menace continues to grow unbridled. No doubt, the industries and the families of such children share the blame, but the onus lies first on the lawmakers and watch-guards of our society and nation. Child labor presents itself in a series of forms of labor involving children. These include:
* Domestic servants
* Forced and bonded labor
* Commercial sexual exploitation
* Industrial and plantation work
* Street work
* House hold work
Experts point out towards the following as being the root cause of the rampant child labor scenario in India:
* Poverty
* Family debt
* Administrative attitude
* Easier and cheaper availability of child laborers
* Social mindset
The only person who can make a difference is you – say no to employing children as domestic workers, report any child who might be working in any hazardous occupation – take responsibility and you can make a difference!
Comments (4)
Prabhjot Singh on Jun 14, 2010 07:14 AM UTC
Great Activity
Rakov Kirpal on Jun 14, 2010 07:19 AM UTC
Replying to your jot!
Kunal Sen on Jun 14, 2010 02:52 PM UTC
Almost every middle-class Indian now complains about the difficulty of finding suitable domestic help. May be things are improving, and may be there is hope.
Anonymous User on Jul 8, 2010 08:34 AM UTC
reply to your jot
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