Child labor by definition is the practice of sending children to work part-time or full-time for economic gain, which deprives them of a normal childhood. It hampers with their physical, mental, intellectual, emotional, moral and social growth. It prevents them from reaching their potential due to being deprived of an education.
In India, millions of children from the age of four onwards are employed in various industries and occupations. These children invariably belong to the economically poor strata of society and are forced or coerced by parents or other family members to contribute to the family income. Instead of playing and enjoying their childhood, they have to become as responsible as their elders.
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A child working in a tea stall is a common sight in India. His day starts at the crack of dawn when he helps his employer set up the stall. He spends the day in making and serving tea, exposed to the smoke from the stove and roadside pollution. If he is lucky, he will be fed and will be paid paltry wages.
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Many children are employed on construction sites. They do odd jobs like carrying and setting up bricks. They work with their parents or other adults during the day, which does not allow them any time for play or school.
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Silk looms are notorious for employing child labor from as early an age as four, when children can learn the trade easily. The bonded labor system has moved out from factories to rural areas where families with children are bought looms and the end product is sold to pay off debts.
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A child selling fruits on the streets. While children of his age are preparing for examinations, this child is earning his livelihood by selling fruits. He has to negotiate the many hassles of his occupation just as well as an adult, to make a profit.
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This little boy, who would be known as a “tween” in affluent society, is a world away, selling his “churumuri” on the beach. He works long hours from morning till night, for the sake of survival, his own and that his family’s. He will earn only a little bit of money for about 18 hours of work.
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Many children are employed illegally as household helps. Mostly they have to take care of children their own age. They are ill-treated, paid poorly and given hardly anything to eat while working from morning till night. They face verbal, physical and sexual abuse. They are never sent to schools and denied the most basic skills.
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This girl is taking on the role of her mother by looking after her younger sibling. This sight is common throughout India where extreme poverty forces the parents to work as laborers and the older children either work with their parents or babysit their younger brothers and sisters.
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A rough loom set up for this very young girl to weave rugs and mats. She has lost her childhood forever and all opportunity of going to school seems bleak. Her future is uncertain as she will not have any education to better herself. No dolls and play either for this little girl.
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You can spot the boy among the adults working equally hard grinding marble. He is exposed to marble dust which can damage his lungs. It is one of those hazardous occupations that children should be kept away from.
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Children on the street instead of being in school. This is the plight of hundreds of thousands of children in India. Many do go to government funded schools only to drop out and many simply are left on the streets, mostly near their parents’ place of employment.
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A child splitting wood, definitely something a child should not be doing. Putting a sharp instrument in the hand of a child is highly dangerous for him.
Summary: The problem of child labor in India is due to poor economic conditionsand lack of awareness of the benefits of education. It will continue till the time more people are helped to step out of poverty and people stop employing children as “cheap labor”.