Child labor is rampant in the city

Child labors are naked truth of the society. In spite of so many laws drafted by the government to help underprivileged children from not falling prey to child labor, yet a large number of them are bereft of normal childhood and are forced to work to earn their livelihood. The major cause of child labor is illiteracy, poverty and child- unfriendly mindset of the society. The Government’s incapability to effectively handle natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, droughts and famines, are other causes. According to Census 2001, there are 12.7 million working children in India (age group five to 14 years), with the state of Uttar Pradesh recording the highest numbers at 1.93 million.

The twinkling eyed jeevan prajapati, 14 years, peon in an educational institute avers, “I’m very happy that I got the job as before the job I slept many nights without meal. My father is a rickshaw puller but drinks a lot. My friend, Dinesh died two months ago as he lost his job 6 months ago and started delivering drugs for money. Later he became drug addict and lost his life. There are many like me, struggling for bread and butter. I wish to study and become a big man but dreams are just dreams.”

 The heartbreaking story of jeevan is not rare in the city as underprivileged parents see their children as a set of two working hands. Nazneen Khatoon, 35, house hold helper says, “I have three daughters and 2 sons. All of them are students of primary school as they get money and other things from there. I can’t afford to make them regular to the school as all are working and earning members of the family. We can’t stay hungry and deprived of facilities for long. Now we have TV and cooker at home.”

Bhola, 13, dhaba employee, misses his school and mother, “I have studied till second standard. My village is near Dharbhanga, Bihar. I lost my mother in flood 4 years ago and since then my father send me with my uncle to Gorakhpur for job. I work for 10 to 12 hours and sleep inside the kitchen. I was a brilliant student but flood has swallowed everything from my life.”

Anju Chowdhary, Mayor, suggests a practical solution of the problem, “We have worked a lot in this field as I was nominated member of NGO, ‘Akansha’. Poverty is the truth and we can’t go on talking without considering ground realities. As per my personal views, if a child is going to school and staying with better living conditions with a family for money then there is no harm in the practice. The administration and concerning departments should check the condition of the children regularly to ensure their safety and security.”

Awareness and literacy could be better ammunition in the fight against child labor. Jatashankar Tripathi an active member of a renowned NGO opines, “We worked in ‘Nichloul’ and most of the dwellers are of Mushar community. The percentage of literacy is very low due to this child labour promoted by their parents is very common. The awareness and literacy drive was very effective there and many parents realized the issue.”

City magistrate JP Singh agrees with the role of administration in the issue but stresses on the participation of society for the implementation of laws. He says, “Making law is easy but implementation is tough without proper participation of people especially in the laws like dowry and child labor. Child labor denies freedom, justice, dignity, equal opportunities and a fulfilled childhood. Legally child below 14 working under hazardous conditions is pure crime under the Child Labor (Prohibition & Regulation), 1986. But I am very positive that one day we will achieve 100% eradication of the evil. History is evident that around 1920’s children were frequently used for hazardous work like cleaning spinning machines in Britain but now the situation is different. We are at a different phase of economy, let’s join hands to eradicate the social evil from our society and pledge to provide a better sky to our future generation.”

Arjumand Bano