INTRODUCTION

Child means a person who has not completed his fourteen years of age. Any such person
engaged for wages whether in cash or kind, is a child worker. Child labor refers to the
employment of children at regular and sustained labor. This practice is considered exploitative
by many international organizations and is illegal in many countries. Child labor was utilized to
varying extents through most of history, but entered public dispute with the advent of universal
schooling, with changes in working conditions during the industrial revolution, and with the
emergence of the concepts of workers' and children's rights. Child labor is a hazard to a Child’s
mental, physical, social, educational, emotional and spiritual development.

The problem of child labor in the developing world has drawn considerable attention recently.
The international labor organization estimates the number of working children in the world in the
age group of 5-14 years to be 250 million with most of them being in the developing countries.
The child labor is most prevalent in Asia, with India as one of the main contributors. India is
obviously a good case to study the problem of child labor.

CHILD LABOR IN INDIA-

Child labor in India is a human right issue for the whole world. It is a serious and extensive
problem, with many children under the age of fourteen working in carpet making factories, glass
blowing units and making fireworks with bare little hands. According to the statistics given by
Indian government there are 20 million child laborers in the country, while other agencies claim
that it is 50 million. The situation of child laborers in India is desperate. Children work for eight
hours at a stretch with only a small break for meals. The meals are also frugal and the children
are ill nourished. Most of the migrant children, who cannot go home, sleep at their work place,
which is very bad for their health and development. Seventy five percent of Indian population
still resides in rural areas and are very poor. Children in rural families who are ailing with
poverty perceive their children as an income generating resource to supplement the family
income. Parents sacrifice their children’s education to the growing needs of their younger
siblings in such families and view them as wage earners for the entire clan.
Child labor is a conspicuous problem in India. Its prevalence is evident in the child work
participation rate, which is more than that of other developing countries. Poverty is the reason for
child labor in India. The meager income of child laborers is also absorbed by their families. The
paucity of organized banking in the rural areas creates a void in taking facilities, forcing poor
families to push their children in harsh labor, the harshest being bonded labor.

In India mainly following sectors are involved in child labor-

Beedi Manufacture-

In India the large number of child labor are employed in the beedi factories where the much
exploitation are done in all forms, more than 30% of the workers that are employed in beedi
industries are child, and after that survey import of beedis from that particular factory were
banned.

Diamond Industry-

Child labor is highly prevalent in the Indian diamond industry, as child laborers constitute nearly
3% of the total workforce and the percentage of child laborers is as high as 25% in the diamond
industry of Surat. Workers are often paid only a fraction of 1% of the value of the stones they
cut. The economic growth in Western India was associated with an increase in the number of
child workers over the last 15 years and that children work at simple repetitive manual tasks that
do not require long years of training or experience in low-paying hazardous works that involves
drudgery and forecloses the option of school education for most children. The use of child labor
in India’s diamond processing industry has been reduced from 0.55% in 1998 to 0.31% in 2005.

Firework Manufacture-

Fireworks manufacturers had long been criticised for their use of child labor. Although the
manufacturers declare that child labor is no longer used, estimates suggest that at least 3,000
children still work at every stage of the manufacturing process. Child labor taints fireworks
industry at Sivakasi publisher with wages as low as Rs 20 per day. Thousands of children die
each year in the fireworks business.

Domestic Labor-

Now a days large number of children from poor families are employed in domestic labor in some
or other forms for earning their one time meals. The Child Labor Prohibition and Regulation Act
had banned the employment of children as domestic workers and as workers in restaurants,
dhabas, hotels, spas and resorts effective from October 10, 2006.

Bonded Child labor In India-

The most inhuman and onerous form of child exploitation is the age old practice of bonded labor
in India. In this, the child is sold to the loaner like a commodity for a certain period of time. His
labor is treated like security or collateral security and cunning rich men procure them for small
sums at exorbitant interest rates. The practice of bonded child labor is prevalent in many parts of
rural India, but is very conspicuously in the Vellore district of Tamil Nadu. Here the bonded
child is allowed to reside with his parents, if he presents himself for work at 8 a.m. every day.
The practice of child bonded labor persists like a scourge to humanity in spite of many laws
against it. These laws although stringent and providing for imprisonment and imposition of huge
fines on those who are found guilty are literally non- functional in terms of implementation.
Hazardous And Harmful Effect Of Child Labor-

Children can be found in almost any economic sector. However, at a global level, most of them
are in agriculture (70%). Some hazards in agriculture are the exposure to pesticides, the use of
dangerous machinery or tools (like knives), carrying heavy loads, the presence of snakes, and so
on. Children working in agriculture are the ones suffering most injuries. For children working as
domestic laborers, the hazards are sometimes not that obvious. Here, it can be the psychological
hazards, like isolation, abuse, exploitation that make this form dangerous. Domestic labor is
often called “hidden” and it is often difficult to find those children. Other sectors where children
are working (although not in large proportion) are mining (1%) and construction (2%). The work
done is generally very dangerous for children.

Occupational hazards cause not only short-term health effects (mainly injuries, skin problems,
etc), but most effects are long-term and will only become evident in adulthood. Therefore, they
are difficult to measure and to quantify. Cancer, infertility, chronic back pain and IQ reduction
are some of the expected long-term outcomes.

Children who begin work at an early age have many more years to develop illness than an adult
doing the same work. A household survey of child laborers in India found that a high proportion
(greater than 90%) of children in both urban and rural areas of the country reported non-use of
protective equipment.

Prenatal exposure to toxic substances can lead to neurocognitive and other congenital changes to
the fetus. Some children begin life with an elevated lead body burden reflecting the lead body
burden of the mother.2 Thus, the development of children born to exposed mothers can be
affected, leading to a cycle of susceptibility. The intergenerational effects of child labor may
extend to lead exposure if maternal exposure to lead occurs during pregnancy. While not
specifically addressed here, this exposure may take place via several routes: mothers working
while pregnant, airborne contamination, and contamination of food and water.

Future Perspective-

Today, 72.2% of the Indian population lives in rural areas, that is, around 750 millions of people
with respect to the 2001 Census. Although it is obvious that the Millennium Development Goals
regarding education won’t be achieved in overall India and more especially in the rural segments
of this country, one notes since more than two decades a strong and increasing willingness of the
Indian government to improve the access to its schooling system, especially to its elementary
education. This is achieved by a constantly growing mobilization of resources and the succession
of important and original initiatives such as the Mid-Day meal Scheme, for instance. However,
Indian society and even more rural Indian society are still heavily characterized by specific
features such as castes, religion, gender asymmetries, household organization, and so on.
 LITERATURE REVIEW

1) By Nielsen And Dubey (2002)-

In an empirical micro-economic analysis that allows individual heterogeneity, are tested

on four main hypothesis on the basis of recent micro-economic literature on child labor:
the substitution, subsistence, capital market and parental education hypothesis. Using
four Indian data sets, they found that at most, two-thirds of the increase in school
enrolment from 1983 to 1999-2000 is explained by an increase in both household
incomes and in parental education. Hence, one third of them is left unexplained, which
leaves room for explanation related to other factors such as access to schools or traditions
and norms, an increase in the need for and value of substituting children for working
household heads exerts a small counteracting effects.

The main finding of this paper are that low household expenditure and lack of parental
human capital are the two main factors responsible for child labor and non-enrolment of
the children in schools. Hence, the reduction in child labor or rather non-enrolment from
1983 to 1999-2000 is closely associated with the increase in household incomes and
education. A small counteracting effect comes from an increse in the need for and value
of substituting children for working household heads. However, about one-third of the
changes are still left unexplained.

2) By Dowling Moreton And Wright-

This literature review was conducted by Home Office researchers and independently peer
reviewed by two external experts. This report is a summary of a longer and more detailed
review.

Aims and objectives of the review-

The aims of the review were threefold.

1. To identify what is known about trafficking to the India for the purposes of labor
exploitation (supplementing this information with international data where necessary and
available).
2 .To identify knowledge gaps in this area.
3. To make recommendations, where appropriate, as to how to address any knowledge
gaps.

The above aims will contribute to improving the evidence base and policy in this area,
both in relation to the prevention, detection and prosecution of offenders, and in the appropriate
identification and treatment of victims. Findings are intended to be of use to policy makers
and operational staff who are involved with tackling trafficking and assisting victims, as well as
researchers and academics with an interest in this area. This review does not aim to outline
or evaluate the legislation and policy changes that have been made or are currently being
formulated within Government. It will simply present the findings from current published
literature, which does not necessarily reflect current Home Office or Government thinking.
Findings from the reviewed literature are separated here into, first, adult victims and, second,
child victims. There is similarity between some of the issues discussed for both types of
victim, but differences in relation to some specific findings and recommendations drawn from
the research.

3) BY Joseph Anthony And Gathia-

Materials from Joint Women’s Programme were examined to understand the thrust and
arguments with regard to child prostitution. Surprisingly Gram Niyojan Kendra has
produced very little material for mass awareness. As they are leading research group on
prostitution they are in better position to do so.

The material on campaign against child prostitution draws the picture of small children
being sought out and exploited by the foreign tourists. The NGO literature available in
India though not necessarily produced by the Indian NGOs virtually does not refer to the
academic literature. The common themes which run in the NGO literature is that the
small girls are being sought by the foreigners for sexual exploitation. The age distinction
is not clear and they often use word ‘minor’ which may means girls below 18 years but
not necessarily below 16 years of age. The literature also lacks distinction between
various age groups. There may be small number of foreign tourists seeking sexual
pleasure with tender age girls/boys but the exploitation cannot sustain without local
customers. The NGO literature is ‘silent’ the local customers.

Estimated number 900,000 Transiction 37000 crores

Number Rs. One Day Days In A Year Total
400,000 50 20,000,000 200 4,000,000,000
300,000 100 30,000,000 200 6,000,000,000
100,000 200 20,000,000 200 4,000,000,000
50,000 500 25,000,000 200 5,000,000,000
40,000 1000 40,000,000 200 8,000,000,000
10,000 5000 50,000,000 200 10,000,000,000
Religious prostitution is practiced in various parts of India. Devadasi like cults are found
in Southern India and also practiced in other parts of the country. Pre puberty girls aged
between 5 to 9 years, from poor, low-caste homes are dedicated by an initiation to the
deity in the temple during full moon. After a girl is married to the deity by the tali rite,
she is branded with hot iron on both shoulders and her breast. She is then employed by
the temple priest. Sometimes even before menarche she is auctioned for her virginity.
 900,000 185,000,000 37,000,000,000

 Estimated Minor prostitutes (30% of the total) are 270,000.

DATA ANALYSIS
Sn
o State 1971 % of Total 1981 % of Total 1991 % of Total 2
15.1338503
1 Andhra Pradesh 1627492 8 1951312 14.304894 1661940 14.72652729 1363
2.22567727
2 Assam 239349 2 0 0 327598 2.902861046 351
9.85085063
3 Bihar 1059359 8 1101764 8.0769335 942245 8.349276571 1117
4.81738629
4 Gujarat 518061 9 616913 4.5225341 523585 4.639510927 485
1.28162722
5 Haryana 137826 9 194189 1.4235822 109691 0.97197703 253
0.66379114
6 Himachal Pradesh 71384 3 99624 0.7303346 56438 0.500099731 107
0.65546864
7 Jammu & Kashmir 70489 7 258437 1.8945786 0 0 175
7.52017972
8 Karnataka 808719 9 1131530 8.2951454 976247 8.650569867 822
1.03962391
9 Kerala 111801 6 92854 0.6807044 34800 0.308364411 26
10.3433192
10 Madhya Pradesh 1112319 4 1698597 12.452263 1352563 11.98512337 1065
9.19061166
11 Maharashtra 988357 6 1557756 11.41977 1068427 9.467381115 764
12 Chhattisgarh 0 0 0 0 0 0 364
13 Manipur 16380 0.15231563 20217 0.148209 16493 0.146145237 28
0.28305786
14 Meghalaya 30440 2 44916 0.3292752 34633 0.306884617 53
15 Jharkhand 0 0 0 0 0 0 407
16 Uttaranchal 0 0 0 0 0 0 70
0.12763640
17 Nagaland 13726 6 16235 0.1190173 16467 0.145914849 45
 4.57948379
18 Orissa 492477 1 702293 5.1484473 452394 4.00868418 377
2.16453714
19 Punjab 232774 6 216939 1.5903604 142868 1.265959963 177
5.46205894
20 Rajasthan 587389 8 819605 6.0084511 774199 6.860213184 1262
0.14562973
21 Sikkim 15661 6 8561 0.0627599 5598 0.049604137 16
6.63293653
22 Tamil Nadu 713305 5 975055 7.1480411 578889 5.129562232 418
0.16263738
23 Tripura 17490 5 24204 0.1774374 16478 0.146012321 21
12.3370638
24 Uttar Pradesh 1326726 9 1434675 10.517474 1410086 12.49483733 1927
4.75584632
25 West Bengal 511443 1 605263 4.437129 711691 6.306326902 857
Andaman & 0.00531895
26 Nicobar island 572 9 1309 0.0095962 1265 0.011209224 1
0.16668239
27 A.P. 17925 7 17950 0.1315898 12395 0.109832669 18
0.01009858
28 Chandigarh 1086 2 1986 0.0145592 1870 0.016570157 3
Dadra & Nagar 0.02884512
29 Haveli 3102 1 3615 0.0265012 4416 0.03913038 4
30 Delhi 17120 0.1591968 25717 0.188529 27351 0.242358477 41
0.06872801
31 Daman and Diu 7391 1 9378 0.0687493 941 0.008338245
32 Goa 0 0 0 0 4656 0.041257032 4
0.00090199
33 Lakshadweep 97 1 56 0.0004105 34 0.000301276
34 Mizoram 0 0 6314 0.0462874 16411 0.145418631 26
0.03463832
35 Pondicherry 3725 2 3606 0.0264353 2680 0.023747604 1
  Total 10753985   13640870   11285349   12666

GRAPHICAL ANALYSIS

For the year 1971-

Pie graph representation of percentage of child labor in the different parts of

India-
 % of Total
27 28 2926 30 31 33 35
0% 0%25 0%
0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
5% 1
24 15%
12%
2
23 2%
0%
22
7% 3
10%
21
0%
20
5% 4
5%
5
19 1%
2% 18
17 5%
0% 6
8 1%
14 11 8%
0% 9% 7
10 1%
10%
13 9
0% 1%

By doing our analysis we found that the highest percentage of child labor exists in
Andhra Pradesh which is calculated as 15% for the year 1971 and Kerala has the
lowest percentage of child labor which is calculated as 1%.

For the year 1981-

Pie graph representation of percentage of child labor in the different parts of

India-
 % of Total
26 27 28 29 30 31 33 34 35
0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
0% 0% 0% 25
4% 1
24 14%
11%
23
0%
3
22 8%
7%

21
0% 4
20 5%
6% 5
1%
6
19 1%
2% 18
17 5% 8 7
0% 8% 2%
14
0% 11
11% 10
13 9
12% 1%
0%

By doing our analysis we found that the highest percentage of child labor exists in
Andhra Pradesh which is calculated as 14% for the year 1981 but there is a decrease
of 1% from the previous decade which shows that suitable measures have been taken
by the government against the child labor, and Kerala has the lowest percentage of
child labor which is calculated as 1% that is constant.

For the year 1991-

Pie graph representation of percentage of child labor in the different parts of

India-
 % of Total
26 27 30 31 32 33 34 35
29 28
25 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
0%
0% 0% 0%
6% 1
15%
24
12%
2
3%
23
0%
22 3
5% 8%

21
0%
20 4
7% 5%
5
1%
19 18
17
1% 4% 8 6
0% 9% 1%
14 11
0% 9% 10
12% 9
13 0%
0%

By doing our analysis we found that the highest percentage of child labor exists in
Andhra Pradesh which is calculated as 14% for the year 1991 and Himachal pradesh
has the lowest percentage of child labor which is calculated as 1%.

For the year 2001-

Pie graph representation of percentage of child labor in the different parts of

India-
 % of Total
26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35
25 0%0%0%
0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
1
7% 11%
2
3%
24
15% 3
9%
23
0%
4
22 4%
3% 5
21 2%
0% 6
20 1%
10%
8
6% 7
1%
19
1% 10 9
18 15 8%
3% 12 11 0%
3%
17 3% 6%
0% 14
13
0%
16 0%
1%

By doing our analysis we found that the highest percentage of child labor exists in
Uttar Pradesh which is calculated as 15% and the child labor figure in Andhra
Pradesh has decreased by a considerable margin of 5% for the year 2001 and Jammu
Kashmir has the lowest percentage of child labor which is calculated as 1%.