What means the child labour? It does actually mean a child being employed under an industry. In simple sense it actually means any sort of work which actually misfits the age. The legal definition can be any child who is or under the age of 14, to be employed in any hazardous, industrial work as profession mainly. Here the protagonist is the child and the doing of the work is labouring under an industry. Now the pertinent question is —– Is the working of the child anywhere suiting the age which he is possessing?
For a human being to exist there are certain factors namely the social, moral, physical, mental sense which do really matter. It is clearly observable nothing of such clearly matches with such age of a human being. And above all it can be very well seen that the same stands for the substitute of the education of the child. The child in order to fight with the poverty against the crisis of the existence, is forced to do the same. But if we think in a holistic way, is it really in true sense, anywhere beneficial for the child.[1] The situation seems to be that of forcing the child to solve a very instantaneous issue. It is in no sense found to that of solving for the existence of that of the child.
Firstly, we see it prohibits the education of a person. For a human to be existent in the society, minimally school education is widely seen as the prerogative. If the person, is not that of working, how would he progress in parity with the society, how would the same be socially developed? And then as far as the physicality is concerned, is the age which the particular human is possessing, really fit for the industrial exposure? At the end does it not harming his/her longevity up to a great extent? All such questions fail to progress due to the barrier of being asked by, would the same then exist in the poverty stricken life? The answer to such enquiry would be the society which has awarded poverty to those children, in spite of being protected by a specific body i.e. the state.[2]
Then logically, hierarchically, why not is it only the state, who would not look up the matter. It appears to be the soulful duty of the state. The state should protect such beings with that of education and livelihood. And the main crux of the particular discussion lies here. Here lies below the various details of the same.
Causes of the poverty
Firstly, the factor of illiteracy of the parents which highly matters in the case. Still after prolonged exposure of education awareness programme, throughout the entire nation, the various parts of the country fail to comply with its necessity. They are totally unconvinced to consider that there lies the utility of the education. They are actually biased to inheriting the occupation of the family i.e. working in the various factories, may be own different.
Their tendency is actually to make their children work which would result income in the family as well as in their better standards of leading the life which actually comes out to be very temporary as well as that of the instantaneous. They are incapable to understand the gain in long run. In various rural areas it has been even seen that parents, being pressurized by poverty are engaging their children in family farming which includes more labour and intended more output.
Then coming upon the social factors of the same. Here the great factor which plays a very significant role is that of the caste system. We can actually say these factors are that of the subsequent too that of illiteracy. In various rural areas where we find, education has made itself untouched, such prejudices is very significant. They are obsessed with such rules of religion and think that the same is the sole way of life. And for such religion, it has been proliferated that education would remain totally untouched. They would actually go ahead exclusively with that of the occupation prescribed by their so called caste. It had also been seen that the same even do bar from getting educationally imparted, out of the fear of getting ostracized from that of the society. The typical backward illiterate society is very well intended to not permit any exception of development within itself. But such people that are incapable of understanding development too, actually lead the migration.
Regarding the economic factors there are two important dimensions which play a very crucial role upon the same. The one can be the huge indebtedness of the parents and the second can be the poverty due to unawareness of the various governmental schemes. The first thing mainly happens because of the previously mentioned factor i.e. a feeling of having lived a luxurious life by the parents of lower economic class. Even in such situations also, the people do even continue with that of the same, which all actually do sum up to that of the child labour.
But such people is actually unable to understand that the longevity of the significance of the education. Again the same is trapped in the instantaneous happiness of the family. They even do not care or rather they are not bothered to think that such circumstances may lead to the end up of their child. The next can be that of the unawareness of the various governmental scheme. The various poverty stricken, labour class people are actually least bothered to that of listening to the same. They are actually so much mentally up filled by their sufferings and bringing own way of solution to it, that such lead to these consequences.
Another reason that is very much prone to prevalence is that which comes with that of the illiteracy is that the parents do not being aware of that of the adverse effect of labour upon their children. They think of the minimal care up till short amount of age which even includes proper breast feeding; it is actually enough for a child to work all kinds on attaining certain age. Their illiteracy makes them incapable of understanding the various details and delicacies of the health science of human i.e. the various exposures of the same according to the age, do lead them into such acts. They cannot understand how harmful it is for the fitness, the very health of their child to be exposed with that of various machineries and industrialisations In such cases it is very well seen they do become the perpetrators of the consequences.
Forms of child labour in india
Forced Sexuality
This is one of the heinous most child labour, to be considered. It has the most adverse effect. This mainly happens from the poverty stricken family having apparently fair girl children. The parents get to come out of such hardship and distress to force the child to have prostitution. They in exchange are shown to be gifted as glamorous lives, also a great amount of money, sometimes even the promise to be married off thereafter by the proposer who here is actually a rich and monetary influenced man.
The parents thinking of such improved version of their would be life or sometimes assuming their children to have a decent life get convinced with it. Such exchange offers almost never happens to appear true. Rather the children become the perpetrators of the trap of prostitution. They get highly stigmatized by the society, thus abandoned by the same and lastly to grant such as an occupation. It is even very hazardous to the body. Where the intense sexual intercourse may lead to a great or permanent damage to any of the body parts of the children or even sometimes causing death.
It is even practised upon such economic lower class people by the various prostitution camps from which those children even can never have a come back to their family thereby entrapping them as a permanent members of the brothels. Sometimes even they are kidnapped and such poor families having no access to the police system, fail to rescue them. This way a large number of women folk are getting derailed from the main stream of the society. [3]
Bonded Labour
This is also a very contemporary issue influencing the children folk in the form of labour. They are actually confined within the male children. Children do work for prolonged hours in the scorching heat without getting any time to that of resistance, even sometimes they are not having any water. They are even fetched with very less rather the minimal wage. Even such instances fail to become sufficient for leading a regular life. They even get served a meagre amount of solid food of once a day, sometimes even not that. These exposure to the toxicity of nature does lead to various diseases where the basic cause is the malnutrition.
Such prolonged gap of nutrition often leads people having diseases like Gastric alser, etc. They are also exposed to the harshness of the mechanics of industries. The various toxic substances emitting out of those things namely smoke, chemicals, highly leads to that of affection upon the still underdeveloped human body structure. They are even continuously being harassed against their work. That are also dishonoured to a great extent because of their position. These affects the mental, the mental development of a child. Even seen they are also being physically harassed for the reason same.
Domestic Help
Small children are even hired in various families that even do include educated families as all-time labour. The delicacy of the same is here the most prominent reason. They even welcome children to work as a caring hand for their own children because of mental fitting. At such situations children get exposed to various forms of work like in cleaning garbage, looking after kitchen. Thus here prolonged exposure to garb ages as cleaning is the foremost work of households, does lead to various forms of diseases for the children. Exposure to various utensils do even have harmful effect for that of the children.
Professional Needs
Some factories on relation of their manufacturing of their products do need soft hands. At that time they do hire a vast rather the majority of part of children. Mainly it is prevalent in industries manufacturing items like bangles etc. where rough hands of the adults may be detrimental to the processing. This way a large scale of children are being employed in the industries .
Forced begging
This form of practice mainly happens in intensely poverty stricken families. Where it is for a day a difficult job to arrange rice as food. At that juncture the families do force their children to beg upon the streets. It appears to be highly against the wish of those children. This leads to the face of various difficulties by the children.
They do get maimed very often. Then sitting on the streets having exposed to the various smokes emitted from vehicles passing by, the scorching heat during the day, which may lead to various diseases upon that of the children. Being the purpose of earning money upon the sympathy to be a child, the consequence turns different. They hardly to earn money through this. They are rather harassed in various ways for being a child not having the maturity. They are promised to be given money in exchange of various laborious works to be done of people but in reality, they are not given. They are the instances of even child kidnapping, sexually harassing, upon their begging over the streets.
Consequences of child labour in india
The consequences of the child labour is found to that of devastating in the country. It actually affected the Indian economy to a great extent. As mentioned in the earlier the child employment stands right parallel to the education of the same. Thus, engaging in this track it creates a diversion to that of the education of the person. And education fosters development. Thus in this way, the forming generations of the country, gets derailed from new innovations prospering the economy of the same. Their lives are getting stuck with the laborious kind of work and they do scuffle around to protect their presence rather developing themselves. This way it appears to be the progress of economic welfare is quite stagnant in nature. [4]
Another devastating effect is the influence of accidental deaths to the child. In day to day those children working as labour become prone to injuries which sometimes appear fatal causing the death of the person. Working with bricks, metal often leads to the injury to the person and thus the death of the same. In this context, the children who are carrying the high bricks upon their head, it actually leads to a great damage to the same. They even frequently get exposed to various burns, electric shocks, labouring in production centres, electric construction site etc. Fatalities like the lacerations, the fractures, dizziness do also have the influence over it. [5]
Then the next adversity of the same is the affliction of various diseases. It has been seen that the children are very much prone to that of the diseases like AID/HIV, Mumps etc. The working in various unclean unhygienic sites do lead them to be prone to various infection which results in such diseases. Having nutrition in unclean places leading to the affliction of germs, insects over the food, in taking the contaminated water are the root causes for the same.
Another adversity may be that of the alcoholism as well as the addiction of the drugs. intense work load, the harshness of content of the same, the adverse climatic conditions, through which work done, etc. They in order to relief themselves from such prolonged exposure, having the continuation with same in next instance, do get no places as a shelter but having such inflictions. These contact of alcohol and mainly the drugs do tremendously affect the underdeveloped body parts of the same. This results mostly in the death cases of the persons. Thus they subsequently get involved in cases like sexual exploitation, molestations of girls, rapes etc.
The next is the emotional neglect and abuse that those children do face all at a time. They ate always upon the whip of their instructors. Any flaws would lead to the intense physical, mental as well as sexual abuse to them. They are always being abused regarding their orientation, their backgrounds, hence always exposed to that of the dark side of the human approach. Thus this affects their character building up to a great extent. They turn to be what they are seen while growing up. Most of those children has a very heinous impression over the human society which make them turned to be criminals while growing up as adults. They become habitual offenders such as rapists , murderers etc.
Constitutional provisions and national policies
Article 21 A : Right to education The state is bound to provide mandatory education to all the children aging from 6 to that of 14. It means up to that of eighth grade. The procedure of such implementation would vary according to laws made by the state.
Article 24 : Prohibition of employment of children in factories , etc. Any child below the age of 15 is strictly prohibited to be hired as labour in any factory or mine where the content of the work prone to life risk.
Article 39 : The State shall , in particular, directs it’s policy towards securing : e that health and the strength of the labours i.e. the women, men are not exploited and that the citizens are not compelled by economic needs to enter avocations which does not suit to their age of strength.
National Child Labour Policy : It was actually kind of litmus test played upon that of the child regarding the significance of the same. Here the children were actually taken to the various hazardous places like that of the construction sites, the factories, etc. They were assigned with that of the most laborious, hazardous works to do. As a consequence, it could be well seen that those who were assigned with such do highly fell ill and driven to life risk. Immediately the were rescued by the setting up of various medical camps , admission of the hospitals etc. After recovery they were put to various habitation camps as well as that of special schools to bring back them in mainstream.[6]
Legislative Action plan for prohibiting the child to get employed in hazardous , laborious , toxic work force are actually regulated by various statues based upon labour laws , etc. They do even check whether there would be the even additional employment to tat of the children made in such fields.
Not only the state but also the central government is really working hard to bring out the grey matter to light. They are in rigorous involvement in making strict union as well as state laws to prevent the such practice. They are even forming inspection agencies who do investigate in various rural as well as that of the slums of urban to check whether there is any such practice of involving child in labour. In the year of 2009 , they made a very stimulating aftermath by making such bill into force The main purpose of such statute is to have rid off the problem of child labour and to educate the same from a very grass hoot or a basic level.
Rehabilitation of children working in hazardous occupations
As mentioned earlier the government is trying their utmost to actually bring those children of having stigmatized with the black coating of labour to make then come back in the mainstream. It has been censured that around 2 million of the children were actually provided relief out of it.
The statutes
- Minimum Wages Act 1948 : This Act prevents the employment of a child ranging from age of 6 to 12 in any hazardous working field where work may appear to be laborious, task prone like that of various industries, factories, production cites etc .
- The Plantation Labour Act 1951 : This Act prevents the employment of a child ranging from age of 6 to 12 . In cases if it is for that of age ranging between 12 to 14, then on special issue of fitness report of doctor, it may happen.
- The Mines Act 1952 : It prohibits not only to be employed a child in any kind of mining or such relayed activities but also to be not present up to a reasonable distance from the place where such work is being executed.
- The Merchant Shipping Act : This Act prevents child who is of or below 14 years of age to not get involved in the working of ship or work related to that of sailing activities. Exceptions here can only act for that of the trimming ship. Not only this, but also the Act do prohibit the persons below 18 years of age to be trimmers there.
- The Apprentices Act, 1961 : This Statue says that any child of or below 14 years of age cannot be engaged in the training of the apprentices. . Even of they fulfil the criteria above mentioned, the providing of recommendation and physical fitness is mandatory.
- The Indian factories Act, 1948 : Here no child can be employed under the factory or industry specially not to be involved in hazardous work to be done by them. The pre adults working in factories even has to abide with certain rules and regulations.
- The Juvenile Justice(Care and Protection) of Children Act , 2000 : It provides penalty to the person involving children in hazardous and laborious works in factories and industries mainly that of the bonded labours. The essence of the Act has its relation with that of the Indian Penal Code 1860.
Cases pertaning to child labour
MC Mehta vs State of Tamil Nadu & ors
Where the judgement been stated that the actual essence of the constitution related to the child labour of India. It marks the way of the approach of children towards the constitution of India. It demarcated the interrelation, the connection between the poverty and child labour and also eludes the way it fails to drive way the practice of child labour from India
P.U.D.R. vs Union Of India
Here the Supreme Court stated that government of the state to change the schedule of the employment of the children Act, 1938. It even graded the work of the construction to be that of laborious intensely as well as risk prone to life.
Salal Hydro Project Vs. State of J & K
Here we find the laborious position of the child to be very risky. And the same is do actually happen due to the low economic position of the same. As it has been so intense in the society, rather the part of the society, it cannot be solved by a mere legislation. Unless & Until the economic framework is being changed for the society , the work process continues.
Bandhua Mukti Morcha vs Union of India
Here the Apex Court delivers that a child is actually the creator of the future world/generation. So in order to make them responsible and productive, they do need social as well as physical nourishment. Child Labour is contrary to such.
Policies to be implemented against child labour
There can be various measures through which the concept of child labour can actually be checked. With the development of the society, it changes its nature it even broadens its ambit.
Some of them can be:
There should be proper arrangement of census in various rural areas as well as slum areas of metropolitan or commercial cities. From there, the actual living status of the children could actually be assessed. It will actually show the comprehensive view of the development of the child. From various parameters, the status of the children on being imparted education, whether associated with any form of labour or not, will be very well assessed.
Apart from that there must also be inspection on various industries, factories, especially upon various small entrepreneurs, followed by that thorough investigation over the various services where through a scrutinized report the clear assumption of the child labour’s state in the country would actually be assessed there.
Not only this there must be very rigorous as well as critical investigation to be made in the various areas of brothels to have inspected the status of cases against child sexuality, as such zones has the probability of having such condition in the utmost way.
In all such scenarios whenever any victim is detected of stuck with child labour, such child must be rescued and with the funds of the government, such child must get the education and the perpetrators involved in the crime, should be addressed with strict punishment, even if the same is their family member or not. Such can be very vibrant steps against child labour.
Conclusion
Thus from here we can conclude that there like a part of the societal framework, the child labour is existent. It has been there in the core of mentality of that of the rural sector of the people. It got stuck there almost like that of a community mentality. From there it is actually not a very easy take up to revert back. There can be various constitutional provisions, amendments but the same as got stigmatized over the society, the people would have the tendency to repeat the same even getting beaten up for it. But the significance which the same did have, is slow but the steady influence. It, if compared to that of the previous society, appears to be lessened a bit.
There should be the practice of that of legislating several statutes relating to it, from various dimensions and rigorous amendments with that. Here the example of eradication of that of sati can be a good comparison. We find that after the passing of the Abolition of Sati Act 1860, the practice did not actually got eradicated. But the thing was people got a bit scared to practise the same.
But still the same had its practice in large number. After rigorous awareness, penalties, inspections orders even legislations it has almost got rid of by now. The latest legislation passed regarding it was the prevention of sati Act in the late nineteenth century. Here even the same policy would reasonably be assumed to be that of applied. Hence the patience over that of the government, the law makers, the policy makers, the constitution and above all we the citizens, are the utmost need to actually come out from that of such pitiful issue/condition.
[1] https//:www.wikipedia.com
[2] https//:www.india.org
[3] https://labour.gov.in
[4] CONSTITUTION OF INDIA by M.P. JAIN
https//:ilo.org
[5] CONSTITUTION OF INDIA by R.D. SHARMA
CONSTITUTION OF INDIA by V.N. SHUKLA
CONSTITUTION OF INDIA by M.P.JAIN
[6] CONSTITUTION OF INDIA by M.P. JAIN
[7] https://endchildlabour.org
https//www.unicef.org
Author: Dattatreya Ghosh is a 8th Semester student at KIIT law School, KIIT DU.
