Child labor in India

Introduction

Children represent a force of development in any given economy. They bear the seeds of creativity that offer solutions to prevalent issues in different nations around the globe. Most developed countries focus on children through educational investment to ascertain changes in the prospected new leadership in the region. Unfortunately, a huge portion of children is under the spell of child labor for years. Child labors are tasked that hinder children from their dignity and maximum potential and are harmful to their [G1] physical development. The world harbors 1.2 billion individuals between the ages of 10-19 years of age. There are an estimated total number of 186million child laborers in the entire globe. [G2] 

The prevalence of child labor amongst children varies from country to country based on instances of exposure. In the year 2001, India had an estimate of 12.6million children engulfed in child labor (Kara 139). A huge portion of this number engaged in tougher and risky occupations. Most children working under hazardous conditions shun away from the public vicinity. They are constrained in homes from where they contribute to the nation’s underground economy.

The Constitution of India allows for the provision of free educational services to children between 6-14 years of age. The constitution[G3]  dictates it a must for children under this age to get an education. The government forbids the participation of children under the age of 14 in hazardous and risky occupations. However, cases of child labor are still prevalent in the Indian nation.[G4]  This paper focusses on the explication of the issue of child labor in India.       [G5] 

Prevalence of Child Labor in India

According to the 2011 census, the Indian nation has 400 million children. The population exhibited exceeds the entire children population in North America. Statistics proposes that every fifth child worldwide is Indian. The children face serious challenges while growing up. Out of the huge numbers of children born in India, few of them attain the age of five. The majority of the children die from malnourishment. Instances of immunization amongst children are extremely low in consideration of the global standards.[G6] [G7]  Close to 80 percent of the children, under three years are anemic. Consequently, the condition affects their learning capabi[G8] lity in diverse fields of life.[G9] [G10] 

The government enrolls a huge number of children in schools, but only a portion of them attends classes. Normally, the kids face pressure infliction from their parent to work and be breadwinners[G11]  in their respective families. In 5 years of study, few of them exhibit the capability to perform simple arithmetic. A department in the Ministry of Labor in [G12] India states that child labor affects [G13] 12 million children. However, NGO’s state that the issue engulfs an estimate of 60 million individuals (Sharma 227). Girl involvement in child labor is slightly lower than boy involvement in the same activity. Most kids work in textile industries, roadside restaurants (habeas), hotels, and in residential homes. Much of the work engaged in Industries is hazardous to the physical wellbeing of children. [G14] The working conditions are usually appalling, and they rob kids off their childhood.
[G15] [G16] [G17] [G18] 

Child Labor and the Law

The constitutional framework of India since 1950 sets clear policies on the fundamental rights of children through diverse articles. A policy in Article 24 bars children below the age of 14 from participating in [G19] either industrial jobs or any other hazardous jobs. This is the highest neglected policy in the working community of most cities in India. Article 38-e of the constitution mandates the state to formulate policies that aim at securing the health and capability of young workers and to ensure that the economic situation does not drive them into vocations that are unsuitable for their ages. From the consideration of the prevalence of child labor in India, it is clear that the execution of the policy has been gradual in the issues of children. Article 39-f allows for the provision of services, facilities, and opportunities that ascertain the healthy development of children. The policy focuses on the provision of ideal conditions for freedom and preservation of the children’s dignity through proper morals. [G20] 

Article 45 dictates the provision of free and compulsory education to all children from the time of birth to 14 years of age. Child labor in India is a prevalent issue that is open to legislation from the state and union governments. Numerous legislative developments are existent in the developmental framework of the Indian government. The Child Labor Act instituted in 1986 bars the participation of children below 14 years in hazardous occupations. The Factory Act instituted in 1948 prohibits the employment of children below 14 years in risky jobs. Youths between 15-18 years are liable to employment after providing a certificate of fitness authorized by a medical practitioner to the relevant authorities. A 1996 Supreme Court ruling advocated for the withdrawal of all children from their places of work into diverse learning institutions (Dillon 194).

Causes of Child Labor

Child labor is a catastrophic challenge in India. Most families attest that failure to let their children work would imply less wealth. Poverty is an overall contributory factor to the acts child labor. Education in classes does not cause an instant influence on the poverty status of the children at home. Consequently, they opt for an activity that will ascertain something visible at the end of the day. The lesser significance of education in children’s lives never gives an enough justification to the parents to allow their kids to leave for school. Most parents opt for immediate benefits which education does not provide. The culture of education in India has not received much establishment. The main reason behind this is that the culture has no social ascension.

The social classes in India have been a contributory factor to the malformation of the education sector. The caste system contributes to the cases of child labor, especially in poor families. This happens [G21] in a motive to rise and be independent in the competitive economy. Parents fail to make enough finances sustain their families. This factor attributes to poverty that later fuel the huge cases of child labor in India. There is also a problem of poor payment of workers in agricultural sectors. This attributes to the lower income of individuals in India. Prospectively, banning child labor has an impact of making the communities poorer. Socio-cultural issues such as class, cultural issues, and discriminations contribute to child labor. Some of the obstructions to the fight against child labor are its occurrence within the jurisdiction of a family. It is usually hard to track down hidden cases of child labor.[G22] 

Forms of Child Labor

            Children in India get employment in formal and Informal sectors. Most children participate in construction work. A smaller portion of the children participates in domestic work and middle-scale industries. The agricultural sector is the longest provider of occupations for young children. Most of them find the jobs bearable in the agricultural industries. Children in domestic homes do washing, cleaning, and cooking tasks. A broader industrial classification of child labor in India attests numerous avenues into which children earn their living. The child labor divisions include cultivation, agricultural labor, mining, and quarrying, livestock, fishing, forestry and plantation, transport, communication, and storage, trade and commerce, and lastly construction (Bagchi 24). Companies that deal with the making of bangles, power looms, the making of beads also relies on children as a chief source of labor. These companies uses toxic substances and materials in the production of their goods. Some the toxic substances include asbestos, lead, chromium, cadmium, pesticides, benzene, and mercury. Child labor is an extremely harmful practice. There is a need for wholehearted efforts to vacate this practice.
[G23] [G24] [G25] [G26] [G27] 

Consequences of Child Labor

The practice degrades the psychological and physiological wellbeing of the children. It has a negative impact on a child’s mental health. Child labor detriments the learning capability of children. Most of them fail to complete four years in school bec[G28] ause of inclining their attitudes to the family’s financial status. Child labor affects the provision of education to the youngsters within a nation. On mental health, child labor exposes children to digestive, skin, and respiratory conditions. It also causes asthenia, irritability, migraines, and enuresis (Deb 214). Working children have poor physical health, especially kids working in industrial shops. They exhibit poor physical health, social care demands, and skin lesions. [G29] 

Child labor deteriorates the health of youngsters in contributing to instances of lightheadedness, depression, impaired memory, and fatigue. This condition is evident in children who work in industries that use solvent toxics in the production of their goods and services. Child labor results in the creation of a tradition that relies solely on unskilled labor for economic development. It is hard for a nation that relies on unskilled jobs to grow. Child labor results in exploitative wages. The cases of poor and unequal payment are a normal occurrence in most cities in India. The payment patterns implemented in paying young children bases on exploitation. Children receive a lower payment in comparison with their adult colleagues. The physical effects of child labor contribute to the early derailment of individuals, an occurrence that leads to economic insecurities. Economic insecurities affect the quality of life of the civilians and in turn lead to the perpetuation of poverty.  

Solutions to child labor

            The main contributory factor to child labor is poverty. In spite of the lower payments given to children, it is usually enough to sustain the low-income families. Parents feel insecure of education because it does not offer ready skills for the market. Families at times fail to afford the expenses entailed in education. This drives the children into child labor. Consequently, to resolve the issue, governmental institutions ought to focus on tackling the issues of poverty. The governmental expenditure allocated for children projects should also ascertain the comfort of children in their respective homes. The Constitution of India needs to be [G30] stricter in the implementation process of constitutional clauses on the protection of the welfare of children (Rosenberg 208). This will help in the abolition of child labor. However, a stricter motive from the government to abolish child labor should put the needs of the poor into consideration. This helps in the promulgation of justice while[G31]  eradicating the cases of child labor. The Indian government needs to emphasize the need for lunch education initiatives that emphasize the need for education.    [G32]    [G33] [G34] [G35] [G36] 

Conclusion

Child labor is a widely acknowledged catastrophe in India based on different research studies conducted and findings of reports by diverse agencies. The rate at which the activity occurs is extremely high. Efforts to eradicate the detrimental action are exceptionally low. The formulation of policies to preserve the innocence and dignity of young children in India for all the years has been successful. However, extreme laxity is evident in the government in monitoring the execution of the formulated policies. The plan of tackling cases of child labor in India is poor. The government institutes laws without a performing a proper study to determine the root causes of the problem. The government should strive to tackle the forms of child labor to ensure that the companies offers the tasks to mature individuals. In a bid to change the instances of child labor, the government should also focus on the provision of rehabilitation services to affected children. This move will help in [G37] accommodating and showing concern to children who are already suffering from the impacts of child labor.

Rehabilitation programs can help in shifting their mindset from finance to education. Psychological experts will be helpful in reconstructing the psychological and mental damage inflicted by the adverse effects of the condition. Recommendations offered need implementation to reconstruct to protect the children. The economy of a nation relies on young people. All citizens would like to be in a strong economical nation and lead a good life. The move to abolish child labor needs effort from all individuals to realize success. Abolition of child labor increases the chances of child education. Education of children enhances their viability for skilled jobs. Good jobs guarantee a sustainable income to the workers, and this increases the instances of higher adult employment. This results in an economically sustainable community and thus [G38] enhancing the quality of lives. The overall result will be an economic advancement. [G39]  

Works Cited

Bagchi, Subrata Sankar. Child Labor and the Urban Third World: Toward a New Understanding of the Problem. Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America, 2010. Print.

Deb, Sibnath. Child Safety, Welfare, and Well-Being: Issues and Challenges. New York: Springer India, 2015. Print.

Dillon, Sara. International Children’s Rights. North Carolina: Carolina Academic Press, 2010. Print.

Kara, Siddharth. Bonded labor: tackling the system of slavery in South Asia. New York: Columbia University Press, 2014. Print.

Rosenberg, Chaim. Child Labor in America: A History. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2013. Print.

Sharma, Usha. Female Labor in India. New Delhi: Mittal Publications, 2006. Print. 

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