OVER 60 million children who are below 14 years of age are working in India. Some are as young as four years.
India is one of the fastest growing economie in the world and has the potential to be a super power nation but millions of innocent children here are not attending school. They are but busy doing petty jobs in restaurants, silk industry, carpet weaving, firecracker units, etc. Children are forced to work to help their poor families, but this deprives them of their basic right to childhood joys and education.
The condition of these kids is awfully appalling, they are paid mere Rs 300 to Rs 500 a month; sometimes they are given food to survive and no money at all.
India has around 30 per cent of the world’s working kids living here. A study conducted by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, says there are as many as 60 million children working in India’s agricultural, industrial and commercial sectors.
Non government organisations’ emphasis that the number could be around 100 million, if one was to describe all children out of school as child labourers.
Among the obvious reasons for child labour, poverty is the biggest reason in India. Child Labour Law of India is in line of International Labour Conference Resolution of 1979. The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, seeks to achieve the basic objective of banning employment of kids below the age of 14 years in factories, mines and hazardous employment and to regulate the working conditions of children in other employment.
However, there are loop holes, as the law fails to curb the menace of child labour. What role we as citizens of a shining India should play to end this threat to our youngsters so that these wonderful kids do not need to toil for making the ends meet? What can we do to bring a smile back on their innocent faces?
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