Problem of Child Labour in Haryana: A Comparative Study of Haryana and India

INTRODUCTION

Child Labour is a problem for many countries in the world. The world recognizes it as a burning problem seeking international attention. This increased attention is due to the fact that child labour has serious social, moral, economics and demographic implication for children, household, societies and the world.The issue of child labour has also engaged the mind of jurists, legislators, social-thinkers,politicians, economists and philanthropists from ages. The problem has changed its venues and from public platforms, it has reached the inner circle of legislative, executive and judicial chambers.Due to poverty, illiteracy and unemployment parents are unable to bear the burden of feeding their children and to run their families. So, poor parents send their children for work in inhuman conditions at lower wages.It is universally known that children are the blooming flowers in the garden of society. They are the most valuable assets of the nation and their importance in nation-building process can‘t be undermined. Children of today are citizens of tomorrow. The quality of life they have today would ultimately determine the quality of future population of the nation. The children have right same as other human beings to be respected with regard to their integrity, dignity, interest and opinions. Unfortunately many children in India are deprived of even the basic human rights guaranteed to them, in a civilized society.The Second National Commission on labour in India (2001) also noted that children are the future

In India the problem of child labour is quit alarming. It is observed that out of five children below the age of fourteen years, one child is labour. In India, twenty percent of children are labour out of the total population. As per an analysis report of the International labour organisation the number of working children in the 5-14 age groups in the developing countries is 250 million. Out of 250 million, 120 million children are working on full time basis. The magnitude of child labour is as high as 61 percent in Asian countries, followed by 32 percent in African countries and a

A UNICEF report World‘s Children 2006 state that in India seventeen percent working children are under the age of 15 and girls in the 12-15 age bracket are the preferred choice of 90 percent house hold to work as domestic help. Children are found commonly in road side restaurants, small hotels and other east-outs, cotton ginning and weaving, match-making, stone-breaking, brick-kiln, handicrafts, automobiles and mental workshop. Issue of child labour has constantly disturbed the mind of social thinkers and it is so acute, particular in under developed and developing countries that there is no each and short cut solution in sight. Karl Marx had observed that the result of buying children and young person by capitalist was physical deterioration unequivocally prohibits the employment of children in a factories mine or any other hazardous place of work.

The child labour in the Haryana is generally found in the establishment of eat-outs, tea-stalls, restaurants and automobile repair workshop also. It has been the endeavour of the Haryana state has also prepared a ‗State Plan of Action‘ for the children which is a very comprehensive document encompassing the various critical area like health, nutrition, education and environment with issue like girl child, child labour and children especially in difficult circumstances. The other state government departments which are involved in the task of rehabilitation of child labour are health, education and social welfare departments. The health department has been instructed to get the child labour medically examined and issued health cards in the districts. The project director and Director Primary education have also been requested to enrol the child labour in schools. The child labour was found in non-hazardous occupations are also being got enrolled in the primary schools and non-formal education centres. No doubts, Haryana state is not having any child labour endemic area as per government of India norms, yet the states government is fully cognizant of its responsibility for undertaking of the programme of progressive elimination of child labour. The state government is not only trying to fulfil the constitutional and statutory obligation to lift up and rehabilitate the child labour family but also trying to bring them in the main stream of the society.

Source- Ministry of Labour & Employment Census, 2011. The above table shows the comparison of the child labour between India and Haryana. It is shows that in 1971 the child labour in Haryana were 1,37,826 children and 1,07,53,985 children in India and the percentage of child labour in Haryana was 1.28 per cent of India‘s total child labour. The table reveals that in 1991 the child labour in Haryana was 0.971 per cent of total child labour of India. And after this year in 2011 the child labour in Haryana was 53,492 children and the per cent of child labour in Haryana was 1.228 of total child labour in India.

Source- Ministry of Labour & Employment Census, 2011.

The main reasons of child labour are poverty and illiteracy. Children from poor and illiterate families work to earn their living. Poverty is one of the main reasons for discrimination, affecting people‘s access to equal treatment including services such as health and education. It leads to a vicious circle of discrimination, poverty and social exclusion. Uneducated parents remain unable to understand

► Poverty. ► Illiteracy. ► Big families. ► Inadequate school facilities. ► Child Labour as a source of labour. ► Gender discrimination. ► Religion, ideology and culture. ► Parents ignorance. ► Absence of strict implementation of compulsory education.

► Low wages of adult workers. ► Low living standard. ► School drop outs. ► Legal state and nationality.

► Seasonal employment. ► Discrimination. ► Poor performance in studies. ► Unsafe school environment. ► Unemployment of adult workers. ► Illness or death of the parents. ► Migration of families. ► Costly education. ► Corrupt employers.

1. Employment opportunities for adults can be slightly increased due to abolition of child labour. Hence, irrespective of the sector, child labour must be totally banned with immediate effect. The entry of children below the age of 14 years should be avoided in 2. Lack of awareness regarding the usefulness of education is another key reason for reading the children to workplace instead of school. In general way poor people do not have any faith regarding government school. If we want to create confidence in the minds of parents we should have to re-orient the primary, upper primary and secondary education especially in village. Free and compulsory education up 10th class should be enforced. Improved legislation, supported by better enforcement machinery will yield positive results in this respect. 3. If the training in mechanical walk will be provided in the school, their large number of child labour is weekly attending the school. 4. In India the problem of child labour is directly connected with the poverty and illiteracy. There should be ever possible efforts on the part of government and NGO‘s. 5. Most of the working children are living in slum-areas because of parent‘s poverty. The working conditions of the child workers in the different sector like organised and unorganised sector not satisfactory. Effective implementation of urban slum development programmes would certainly have some positive effect on the living conditions of the child labours. 6. Any legislation for totally prohibiting child labour amount to hardship to the poor parents and their children unless they are rehabilitated or their families are provided alternative source of income.

It is universally known that children are the blooming flowers in the garden of society. They are the most valuable assets of the nation and their importance in nation-building process can‘t be undermined. Children of today are citizens of tomorrow. Child labour can be checked only when we people have little concern about the physical, mental and educational development of children around us. It is the duty of civil society not to physical help from them but provide them their childhood.

1. AnsKolk and Rob van Tulder (2002): ―Child Labour and Multinational Conduct: A Comparison of International Business and

2. A.Hjern, B. Vinnerljung and F. Lindblad (2004): ―A voidable Mortality among Child Welfare Recipients and Intercountry Adoptees: A National Cohort Study”, Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, Vol. 58, No. 5-2004, pp. 412-417. 3. Daniel R. Meyer and Mei-Chen Hu (1999):―A note on the Antipoverty Effectiveness of Child Support among Mother-Only Families‖, The Journal of Human Resources, Vol. 34, No. 1, pp. 225-234. 4. Diane Elias Alperin (1998): ―Factors Related To Student Satisfaction With Child Welfare Field Placements‖, Journal of Social Work Education, 34(1): pp. 43-54. 5. Dimeji R. Togunde and EMILY WEBER (2007):―Parents‘ Views, Children‘s Voices: Intergenerational Analysis of Child Labour Persistence in Urban Nigeria‖, International Journals of Sociology of the Family, vol. 33, No.2/2007, pp. 285-301. 6. Dr.Meenu (2013):―Implementation Child Labour Laws: Obstacles and Efforts‖, Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing & Management Review, Vol. 2(9).

L.L.M., University of Delhi