Child labour is one of the social issues which requires the immediate attention of the authorities. Child Labour refers to the working of children and teens to earn a livelihood and support their family.

As per a report, the world’s most destitute and impoverished countries comprise about 25% of children as child Labourers. The leading cause of child Labour in India is the high poverty rate, where children work to earn bread for a day.

The leading causes of Child Labour in India are social inequality, lack of education, and poverty. According to UNICEF’s report, children from the impoverished and rural parts of the world have no available alternatives such as teachers and schools.

Many rural communities lack adequate school facilities and the availability of schools. The low paying economy blooms with low cost, easy to hire, and Child Labour. Besides the unorganized Agricultural sector, child Labour exists in unorganized assembly, unorganized retail works, and unorganized trade sectors.

Other factors of child Labour include the informal economy’s size, the inability of most Indian industries to scale up, lack of modern technologies, and the structure and inflexibility of the Indian market.

Children are employed due to social obligation, or loans and debts made by the families. Usually, children are forced to employ their families in brick kilns, stone and quarries, and agricultural sectors.

The children of the migrant workers and those that belong to the marginalized sections and Dalits in the society are pledged to work in small production houses and factories in the urban areas. Child Labourers on the bond are usually subjected to physical, emotional, mental, and sexual abuse, even leading to death.

The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986. Other provisions like the factories Act,1948, the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) of Children Act-2000, and so on for prevention against child labour lacks proper implementation and enforcement.

The children are forced to work like adults at a young age; this act is called Child Labour. It simply ceases the childhood of small children. It leads to physical, social, and moral harm to little children. The number of children who are forcefully employed is undetected in India. The children are sometimes forced to work under bad working conditions and inadequate wages, food, or rest. Many children are affected physically, sexually, mentally, and emotionally.

Child labour is primarily seen in India due to the country’s poverty, which also leads to another reason, which is poor schooling opportunities. Victim of child labour constitutes of both rural and urban regions. According to the census report 2011, India’s population between the age of 5-14 years is 259.6 million. Out of these, 10.1 children are a victim of child labour. As per reports, nearly 40 percent of the children work in the field of jewelry cutting. Many industries like mining, restaurants, tea stalls, embroidery employ children. They can also be found as domestic labour in a few homes.

The government authorities and organizations should unite against child labour and free the children from the abuse and atrocities under it.

PUBLISHED BY

AMAL RAJ A