Child labour: Is it a Necessary Evil?

Child get the picture Is it a requisite Evil?Now days, the complex and universal problem of sister repulse have become a harsh reality attracting worldwide attention. The preponderance of nestling labour is frugalally unsound, psychologically disastrous and physiologically as rise as morally dangerous. No doubt, labour is worship save squirt labour in dangerous and a blot on the conscience of parliamentary law. It is a drab affair that baby bird labour is deprive of his y bug outhful demeanor, didactics and thus prospects of higher level of living. Child labour perpetuates meagerness, it does non reduce it as it condemns one propagation after other to its vicious circle. Child labour harms the move on and prosperity of a nation. Throwing electric discharge on this fact, John has rightly said, Starve a baby of food, of affection, of freedom, of education and you produce an large(p) who is stunted as an individual and holds back progress and development rather t han accelerate it.Our country is similarly facing this circumstantial problem of child labor. A wide variation is seen in the melodic theme of child labor in country. According to 1971, 1981 and 1991 census of India, the public figure of organizeings children accounted for 10.74 million, 13.60 million and 11.28 million respectively. The ORG has estimated that the number of child labor is closer to 44 million. According to U.N., 55% of the graze force in India is do up of child labor. It is normally seen that employers do not always provide stainless data on child labor in order to precaution themselves from legal hassles. It was pointed out in the World Conference on Children that the number of child labor in the world is about(predicate) 25 crore, out of which the maximum number about 10 crore is found in India alone. It is estimated that about 7.5 crore ar meshed in countryfied argonas while remaining 2.5 crore atomic number 18 employed in urban argonas. Alarmed at this hypercritical problem, ILO has in any case estimated that India alone accounts for one fourth of total child labor of the world.Childlabor is uncontrolled across the country. Children evoke be seen moulding in agricultural fields, rug and durri industries, biri, handicraft, match box, glass and bangle industries, in restaurants and as domestic servants. It is estimated that 30 per cent of child labor is set-aside(p) in tillage and assort activities, 30 to 35 percent in industries and remaining are engaged in mining, tea gardens and hotels etc. These occupations are hazardous, causing severe physical damage to them and thus inhibiting their mental, moral and social development. These child laborers become mark to many fatal diseases, like T.B., Cancer, Asthma, lungs and skin related diseases. The sad absorb of child labor is depicted by Sudha and Tiwari in these words,It is really sad to note that children in most of the development countries are living miserable, drear lives, toiling unendlessly to ward off starvation, totally deprived of all creature comforts and opportunities for self start outth and development.Poverty, un business, traditional mental attitude, marginalization of farms, urbanization, lack of schools, reluctance of parents to site their children to schools are the factors responsible for the problem of child labour. In fact, pauperism is seen as the major factor responsible for this problem. Poor parents hardly have measure for their children because they are all the time struggling for bread and butter. They are not in a position to fulfill their responsibilities towards children. In reality, the children are sibylline to be the extra geting hands, rather than extra mouths to feed. Children are do to work at a very(prenominal) young age. Emphasizing this factor, the report of the perpetration on Child Labor commented, Stronger than tradition is the factor of chronic poverty responsible for the prevalence and perpetuation of child labor.In suffering families, the child, since his very appearance in this world, is endowed with an economic mission.The child is compelled to shed worn spot of brow to keep the wolf away from the door. Large sized families are also held responsible for this problem. Again, most of the workers are engaged in non make sector. The inadequacy of reinforcement in this sector compels these workers to send their children on work to supplement their income. Availability of child labor at lower wages also spark offs the employers to employ them. The employment of the child labor not only reduces the cost of production but also provides access to that labor which is irresistible and unorganized. As a result of this trend, the wages of other adult workers decline, adult unemployment increases and that paves way for the poverty. Nurses vicious circle of poverty explains the phenomenon of child labor clearly. Thus, child labor is an exploitation of child by the veste d interests. On the one side, there is compulsion of poor parents and on the other side the unresponsive attitude of specific industries is also responsible for this problem. The situation of child laborers in India is desperate. Children work for eight hours at a stretch with only a itty-bitty break for meals. The meals are also frugal and the children are ill nourished. most of the migrant children, who cannot go home, sleep at their work place, which is very heavy(p) for their health and development. Seventy five percent of Indian population calm down resides in rural areas and are very poor.Children in rural families who are ailing with poverty perceive their children as an income generating resource to supplement the family income. Parents pass their childrens education to fulfill the basic needs of their younger siblings and view them as wage earners for the entire family. Ir relevance of education in practical life is also considered an important factor for this problem . It is rightly pointed out, A secondary causal agency for child labor is that many children choose to work because neither they nor their poverty stricken families see the point of acquiring an education which has little relevance to their lives and which moreover does not guarantee them a job. They prepare to undergo both(prenominal) kind of apprenticeship so that they can learn a skill and earn money at the uniform time. These children are deprived of their childhood. The prospects of getting impregnable education and good jobs become a distant dream for them. Thus, the parents, society and the state are responsible for this criminal injustice with the future citizens.Children are flowers of our national garden they should be nurtured with love and affection so that they grow into responsible and responsive citizens. Child labour has important demographic and social-economic implications for developing countries like India. numerous provisions have been made in the disposit ion of the country to promote the welfare and development of children. Under Article 29 of the constitution, no child below the age of 14 can be deployed in any hazardous work. Article 23 prohibits forced labour. The chapter IV of theIndian constitution mentions specific directions related to the welfare of children. In Article 39, it is made obligatory for the states to formulate polices in such a way so that the healthy development of children can be ensured.To safeguard the interests of these deprived children, assorted laws have been enacted in the country. Many legislations have been passed to prevent the employment of children in hazardous occupations and to improve their working conditions. Many policies have also been hypothecate for the healthy and balanced development of children. In the same way, there are important legislations which provide legal protection to child labour in India. Some of them are following1. Child (Pledging of labour). coiffure (Government of Indi a, 1933)2. The Employment of Children minute (Government of India, 1938)3. The Minimum wages Act, 19484. The factories Act, 19485. The Plantation Labour Act, 19516. The Mines Act, 19527. The Merchant Shipping Act, 19588. The tug Transport Workers Act, 19619. The Apprentices Act, 196110. The Bedi and Cigar Workers Act, 196611. State Shops and Establishment Acts,12. According to the discipline Policy for children, 1974, no child under 14 years can beengaged in any hazardous occupation. It is also laid down in the policy that childrenshould be protected against neglect, cruelty and exploitation. Again, the Child Labour(Prohibition and Regulation) Act was initialed in 1986 to ban childrens employment in70 hazardous occupations. National Child Labour Project (NCLP) was also launched byLabour Ministry in 1988 to rehabilitate working children. In Oct, 2006, the Government has passed legislation to ban the employment of children below 14 years in restaurants, hotels, tea-stalls, eateries and as domestic laborers.India has also become a signatory to various international declarations and agreements to regulate the peril of child labour. So, it has become obligatory for the country to undertake the measures to eliminate the neutralize of child labour which has assumed serious proportions in recent years. Many policies have been formulated for the healthy and balanced development of children. The Government has launched Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, middle Day Meal Scheme, Education Guarantee programme etc to bring the child labour under the umbrella of education. Non Governmental Organizations were also permitted to open residential schools for these children to bring them back to the mainstream of the society. Residential and special schools have also been apparatus for the education of child labor. In 2006 the Government has introduced Integrated Child ripening services aimed at providing a package of services consisting of supplementary nutrition, immunization, heal th check up and education and non-formal education.In spite of adoption and slaying of various policies, laws and programmes by the government directly or indirectly, the problem of child labor is still staring at us. Due to ignorance, illiteracy and economic compulsions of the poor families, these laws are evaded at different places at different points of time. adynamic enforcement machinery, little information related to child labor laws and peculiar socio-economic conditions are also the factors responsible for the avoidance of laws related to children. To check the problem of child labour, it is immanent to eradicate the menace of poverty by improving agriculture sector, providing employment to unemployed hands at minimum wages, establishing agro-processing units in rural areas.Stringent measures should also be taken to make employment generation and poverty eradication plans effective and successful and corruption free. In the same way, population control measures and other m edical facilities must be provided to the poor section of the country. Adequate school facilities, provision of night schools, improvement in school environment and curricula of education can also contribute a lot in solving this critical problem. National Commission for vindication of Child Rights (NCPCR) should also ensure that rescued child labourers do not return to work. So every effort must be made for the repatriation of rescued child labourers to their native places.Poverty, unemployment and illiteracy are the prime reasons responsible for this problem. So efforts must be made to eradicate these causes. Monetary incentives and income generating assets must be provided to poor families so that they are not compelled to send their children to work. It is essential to compensate the families of those children who are being withdrawn from work force. A potent socio-political environment must be achieved with the active cooperation of people, society, and non government organi zation. NGOs must motivate the parents to provide education, health care and skill development facilities to their children. Special schools whitethorn be set up for the child labor so they can acquire minimum qualifications. In the same way, specific strategies must be evolved keeping in mind the nature of work in which the child is currently engaged. Thus, a joint effort of government, NGOs and society is required to go this critical problem. We should try to strike at the root cause of this critical problem. Efforts should be made to change the attitude and mindset of the people towards their children.We should never forget that todays children are tomorrows citizen. If this critical problem is not tackled urgently, we can well imagine the future of our country in the days to come.1