Child Labour- a blot on civil society

By Shivani Painuli,

Convent Of Jesus & MaryChildren constitute about 36 percent of India’s population and it is national shape that bulks of them still suffer from malnutrition, poverty, diseases, cruel exploitation through forced child labour and beggary. Illiteracy is another curse. It is a shame that out of 30 million street children worldwide, 11 million are Indian children, leading a wretched life, are ill clad and hungry, sleeping on pavement, picking rags, begging or allowing themselves in different trade and occupations.One of the worst forms of exploitation of children is child labour. India has the largest number of child laborers in the world, one third of those under 11 are forced to work, often in dreadful and inhuman condition.Child labour creates a face which is ill equipped in terms of skills to compete in today’s globalised economy.Nearly 87 percent of the child workers are in rural areas working on farm, plantations, fisheries and cottage industries. Though primary education is free and compulsory, a large number of children do not go to school because rural India is caught in vicious circle of poverty. The rural families’ have more children. They don’t feel the pinch of feeding many mouths since more children means more labourers to work.The country’s prevailing scenario of over population, unemployment and poverty, there is no harm if children take to their family vocation. It can be done under their parent’s guidance or adopt non hazardous work. Otherwise they may be exploited by anti social elements for begging and other evil activities.