CHILD LABOUR A COLOSSAL MISUSE OF HUMANITY:
A HUMAN RIGHTS PERSPECTIVE ,
Practice of child labour in India
INTRODUCTION
Children are the future of the country. The welfare of the entire community, its
growth and development, depend on the health and well being of children.
They need special protection because of their age, physical and mental acuities.
Recognizing this fact, the Government has taken various executive as wells
legislative steps to protect them. The employers take benefit of many loopholes
in the law and exploit children.
They cannot develop as responsible and productive members of
tomorrow’s society unless in environment which is conductive to their social
and physical health is assured. Every nation, developed or developing, links its
future with the status of children. Childhood holds the potential and also sets
the limit to the future development of the society.
If the children are better equipped with a broader human output, the
society will feel happy with them. Neglecting the children means loss to the
society as a whole. If children are deprived of their childhood – socially,
economically, physically and mentally-the nation gets deprived of the potential
human resources for social progress, economic empowerment and peace and
order, the social stability and good citizenry.
In the early 21st century, child labour remains a serious problem in many
parts of world. Studies carried out in 1979, the International year of the child,
shows that more than 50 million children blow the age of 15 years were
working in various jobs often under hazardous conditions. Many of these
children live in underdeveloped countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia.
The term “Child Labour” as defined by International Labour
Organisation (ILO) generally refers to any economic activity performed by a
person under the age of 15 years. ILO establishes a general minimum age of 15
years, provided that is not less than the age of compulsory schooling. However
section 2 (ii) of Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 defines
‘Child’ as a person who has not completed his 14 years age. The complex issue
of child labour is a development issue worth investigating. The notion that
children are being exploit and forced into labour, while not receiving education
crucial to development , concerns many people. India has one third of Asia’s
child labour and one-fourth of the world’s working children. According to
World health Organisation Office of Occupational Health, Geneva, out of the
150 million children throughout the world, one of every four children works in
India, Thailand and Turkey. There are more children under the age of 14 years
in India than the entire population of the United States. The great challenge of
India, as a developing country, is to provide nutrition, education and health
care to these children.
Practice of child labour in India is very old. It has been in existence in
our country since time immemorial in one form or the other. Who does not
know the existence of the practice of child labour in carpet Industry ,Match and
fireworks Industry in sivakashi, stone quarrying, Bras Work in Moradabad,
Glass Bangle Industry in Firozabad, Zari making work in Lucknow, Lock
making industry in Aligarh?
The world’s largest child labour elimination program is being
implemented at the grass roots level in India, with primary education targeted
for nearly 250 million. In this a large number of no-governmental and
voluntary organizations are involved. Special investigation cells have been set
up in states to enforce existing laws banning employment of children in
hazardous industries. The allocation of the Government of India for the
elimination of child labour was $ 10million in 1995-96 and $ 16 million in
1996-97. The allocation for the current year is $ 21 million.
India is the largest example of a nation plagued by the problem of child
labour. Estimates cite figures of between 60and 115 million working children
in India – the highest number in the world1. Children under the age of 14 years
continue around 3.6% of the total labour force in India. Of these children, nine
out of every ten work in their own rural family setting. Nearly 85% are
engaged in traditional agricultural activities. Less than 9% work in
manufacturing, services and repairs only about 0.8% work in factories.
The Government of India is determined to eradicate child labour in the
country. What are the causes of child labour in India? How do Governmental
policies affect it? What role does education play in regard to child labour in
India? A critical analysis of the answer to these questions may lead in the
direction of a possible solution. These questions will be answered through an
analyses of the problem of child labour as it is now, investigating how
prevalent it is and what types of child labour exist. The necessity of child
labour to poor families, and the role of poverty as a determinant will be
examined. Governmental policies concerning child labour will be investigated.
The current state of education in India will be examined and compared with
other developing countries. Compulsory education policies and their
relationship to child labour will be investigated using Sri Lanka and the Indian
State of Kerala as examples of where these policies have worked. Finally,
India’s policies concerning compulsory education will be assessed.
India has all along followed a proactive policy with respect to the
problem of child labour, and has stood for constitutional, statutory and
developmental measures to combat child labour. Six ILO conventions relating
to child labour have been ratified, three of these as early as the first quarter of
The first Act in India relating to child labour was the enactment of
children (Pleading of labour) Act, of February 1933. Since then there have
been more than twelve deferent Indian legislations relating to child labour. The
strategy of progressive elimination of child labour underscores India’s
legislative intent, and takes cognizance of the fact that child labour is not an
isolated phenomenon that can be tackled without simultaneously taking into
account the socio-economic milieu that is at the root of the problem.
The founding Fathers of the constitution have emphasized the
importance of the role of the children and the need of their best development.
Having these objectives in mind they have incorporated future policies in the
directive principles of state policies regarding the protection of childhood of
the children and protection of their all-round development.
“The Right Place for the child is school, not workplace “Child labour is
universally recognized as the gravest violation of child right. Several measures
both at the national and international level seek to curb it. Article 24 of our
constitution prohibits child labour in factories, mines and other hazardous
Indian judiciary is the greatest unifying and integrating force of our
country. The Supreme Court is the ultimate interpreter of the constitution. The
constitution puts an obligation on every organ of the state; including the
judiciary, to usher in a new social order- in which justice- social, economic and
political and equality of status and opportunity prevail. The final burden of
interpreting these elastic provisions is upon the court. The judiciary has taken a
realistic view of the position of children and agreed that so long as there is
poverty and destitution of this country, it is difficult to eradicate child labour.
The Supreme Court in M.C. Mehta vs. State of Tamilnadu has held that
the children are means, under Article 45 of the constitution, to be subjected to
free and compulsory education until they completed the age of 14 years. The
court has however observed the directive principles of state policy has still
remained and thought according to these provisions all children up to the age of
14 years are supposed to be in school, economic necessity forces grown up
children to seek employment.
The liberalization of the concept of locus standi to make access to the
court easy is an example of changing attitudes of the court. Taking this view in
Bandhua Muktimorcha vs. Union of India. In People’s Union for Democratic
Rights vs. Union of India the Supreme Court ruled that Article 24 is
enforceable against everyone and by reason of its compulsive mandate no one
can employ child below 14 years in a hazardous employment.
To curb the violation of these rights powers have been given to National
Human Rights Commission. Besides taking up individual complaints, the
National Human Rights Commission has been reviewing elimination of child
labour in different states. Based upon the recommendation of the Commission,
conduct rules have been amended by the center and state Governments to
prohibit the employment of children below the age of 14 years as domestic
servants by Government servants. Subsequently, vide their notification dated
10 October 2006; the Central Government has banned employment of children
as domestic workers or as servant and also employment of children in dhabas
{roadside eateries} , restaurants, hotels, motels, tea shops, spas and other
recreational centers including hazardous occupations.
The existing legislations allow child labour in some forms by making in
artificial distinction between ‘Hazardous’ and non –Hazardous’ employment.
The term ‘Hazardous’ needs to be interpreted with reference to what is
Hazardous for the development and health of the child and not merely in
relation to processes or occupation being categorized as hazardous. Child
labour not only leads to denial of childhood joys and toys but also becomes a
reason for child illiteracy. Notwithstanding, in most of the cases child labour is
associated with the pernicious practice of child trafficking and other forms of
But instead we daily come across in existence of practices in certain
sectors such as restaurants, dhabas, domestic servants, coolies, etc. in which
working conditions of such labour are pitiable. Most of them are children,
belonging to illiterate ignorant, poor, weaker and oppressed section of the
society. The most problematic issue relating to child labour is to give a
universally acceptable definition of child labour because it encompasses three
difficult concepts to define viz; ‘Child Labour’ and ‘Workplace’. These
concepts have difficult connotations in different societies. Therefore child
labour could mean different things in different contexts.
Various child labour laws and regulations have defined such concepts as
‘Child Labour’ and ‘Workplace’ to reflect a number of situations and
assumptions. They assume for instance, that working for one’s parent, inside
the home, or without pay or more acceptable than working for others, outside
the home, or for money. Moreover, children’s work in small-scale enterprise4s
is less harmful than their work in large –scale enterprises; and that work in
closed spaces is more harmful than work in the open air. However, whatever
may be the arguments and assumptions about child labour, the important aspect
about child labour is that the intervention agencies or departments never go for
the opinions of the children at work to define the concept of child labour.
The problems relating to child labour are required to be dealt with in a
manifold manner encompassing legislatives efforts, judicial approach, and the
role of NGOs, IGOs, NHRC and the Government Due to paucity of time and
limited resources an attempt has been made to touch some of the important
issues relating to the topic.
