I found a study carried out by Sabah Saeed in 2002. I've pasted the text below from the webpage http://www.boloji.com/society/0035.htm. You may like to go through.
According to a 1996 report (quoting UNICEF and ILO as sources), the number of child laborers in India can be anywhere between 14 to 100 million children! Most of these children work in homes as domestic help. The rest in industries such as bidi making, carpet weaving, football sewing, cracker making to name a few.
- For the year 2000 the ILO projected the number of economically active children in India to be 13,157,000 out of which 5,992,000 were girls between the ages of ten to fourteen.
(ILO, International Labor Office - Bureau of Statistics, Economically Active Population 1950-2010, STAT Working Paper, ILO 1997) - Based on the number of non-school going children and families living in destitution CACL estimated that there are between 70 and 80 million child laborers in India. (CACL, "An Alternative Report on the Status of Child Labor in India", submission to the UN CRC, September-October 1999)
- In 1998 South Asian Coalition on Child Servitude (SACCS) estimated the number of child laborers in India to be 60 million while the ILO estimated it to be 44 million.
(SACCS, Kailash Satyarthi, personal communication, 1998)
(US Dept of State, Human Rights Report, 1998) - As many as 100 million boys and girls are believed to be working in homes and factories across India, many in conditions akin to slavery.
(ECPAT, "Child Labor Ruling Provokes Scorn", Bulletin, Vol. 4/1, 1996-97) - Most of the 87 million children, not in school, do housework, work on family farms, work along side their parents as paid agricultural labor, work as domestic servants, or are employed in industries which utilize child labor such as hand-knotted carpets, gemstone polishing, brass and brass metal articles, glass and glassware, footwear, textiles, silk and fireworks.
(EI, EI Barometer on Human and Trade Union Rights in the Education Sector, 1998)
After these hard facts, a little of introspection.
Imagine a nice Sunday evening.
The kid has just finished the exhaustive homework.
Ideal scene for a nice family dinner in a lavish restaurant followed by a McSwirl in McDonalds.
Dinner and ice cream are over.
The family comes out and opens the doors of the car.
At the same time the kid asks the parents to buy him a balloon.
There is a balloon vendor on the road, almost of the same age as the kid in our story.
What happens next, depends on us. Put yourself in the condition of the kid's father/mother, what will you do?
The obvious answer will be buy a balloon.
Friends, spend a moment of silence, a moment of purity with you alone. What will you lose if you talk a few words of wisdom with the poor kid, if you motivate him/her to study, and finally, help him/her to study?
Kids are the future of the society, as funnily said in a proverb, they are the banks, where we can deposit our goodwill, and get it back with interest when we need.
I would request everyone to go through my post on Distribute Luck. http://ashutoshjani.blogspot.com/2009/08/distribute-luck-rather-share-luck.html
What is the fault on the kid's part to have been born in a poor family?
No fault.
Then why should he/she suffer?
By taking the responsibility of educational expenses of a child, you will merely lose 1% of your monthly salary or even less, but that will boost up someone's whole life.
Poor and illiterate parents will never send their kids to schools, because they do not understand the importance of education. It is we people who should take it up, because if we don't, these kids will grow up and will not let their kids go to the school.
Misfortune, illiteracy or poverty should not be hereditary. The vicious cycle can be broken by us only, by the very few privileged people in the country who have access to various resources, and that too, in excess.
You may not have an inclination towards philanthropy, but you can at least refrain yourself from encouraging child labour.
Please do not employ young boys or girls as domestic servants, explain the importance of education to their parents, and if possible help them out.
Poor parents will never be ready to spend something for education along with bearing a loss in income by the kids not working. All preachings and suggestions will go in vain. Someone needs to help the family financially and help the kids morally.
P.S. I doubt, there are a few kids working in the mess, canteen and various cafeterias in IIT Madras. I've written to the dean, and intend to ensure proper quality school education for these kids. Will keep you updated.
Nice Job Ashu
ReplyDeleteHats off to you for this.
Specially for the last paragraph.
I believe in you, only you could do that.
Thanks a lot.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to say that despite my deliberate efforts, I've failed to arrange any educational facilities for these kids, as they presented fake age proofs and even the authorities couldn't do anything. The children are not ready to understand the importance of education and I'm finding administrative difficulties in organizing anything.
I'm doing nothing, but going gloomy by seeing these kids serve the prospective leaders of the country...
I could guess that anyway.
ReplyDeleteThere are only two options... CHange the System or Leave the system.
Before anything if I'd suggest...
I would wish if our National Anthem is in a language that normal people can understand it.
If I take myself as an example being a Medical Doctor I don't know the meanings.
The anthem has to be in a language the kids can understand. So we can grow our kids in an environment, when they are singing a song they can know what they are singing and they can make themselves believe in it.
For the Child Labor System is respomsible and for system all Indian population is responsible.
Me or you alone are not Indian Population.
It has to include all. Change is not gonna come if you or me want it.
Change will happen when all will want it.
I'd keep on trying to change the system instead of getting tired.
ReplyDeleteI'd request you not to randomly post comments. A thread has already been initiated in Ayodhya post about National Anthem and Song, better post the comment there.
Since you've written it here, let me reply.
National anthem and song were selected when probably the whole country was burning with independence movement. They're written in Sanskrit mixed Bengali language.
I get your point, it would have been better, had they been in Hindi; but these pieces of work do make me feel proud. After 60 years, national song and anthem have been an integral part of India. They can't be change now.
The same way Constitution and Supremne Court Shouldn't be the Integral part of India.???? You want to change them because it doesn't FIT in your way of thinking. How Bias ideas you have....!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI say Constitution won't be changed either.... It's up since that time only.
I don't want to change constitution because it doesn't fit my ideas of thinking, I want to review it because it needs to be reviewed. With changing times, you need to keep a check on what you are doing. A relevant example can be seen in the following thread.
ReplyDeletehttp://ashutoshjani.blogspot.com/2009/06/reservation.html
Hey Ashutosh,
ReplyDeleteReally nice effort. I'm happy there's someone who really cares to know what's really going around, though i know it's difficult to actually change the system while being a part of the same. But i guess you're trying whatever possible towards educating minors.
Apart from that, i went through the comments(or should i say arguments, lol). Jokes apart, i feel there's no point arguing over constitution or language of national anthem. Anyways, I was looking for some information online, and i came across free help-line for child labour and related issues, the toll-free # is 1098. I have no idea if it really works, but we can consider it whenever we come across such cases.
Running short of time for now.. I'll post other things soon. :)
Well, thanks Mansi, especially for 1098, I've saved it in my cell.
ReplyDeleteYour comments are most welcome.