By

Suchismita Barua
214124
Economics I Monsoon Semester Project

Child Labour in
India An
Empirical
Scenario

CONTENTS

Abstract

Introduction

Child Labour In India

The Current Scenario - Statistics

Legal Provisions For Child Labour In India

Objective of the study

10

Theoretical framework

10

Roots Of Child Labour Causes and Underlying Issues

10

Governmental Interventions

12

PROPOSITION

13

Conclusion

14

BIBLIOGRAPHY

14

ABSTRACT

The paper talks about the empirical scenario of child labour in India. It maps out the current
situation using statistics and data from Census. It also highlights the legal provisions in India for
child labour. The main objective of this paper is to analyze the root causes of child labour in
India. The paper also touches upon the governmental interventions in regards to child labour. In
the end, opinion is given in the proposition section and ended by a conclusion
JEL Classification

J8

Labor Standards: National and International

J80

General

J81

Working Conditions

J82

Labor Force Composition

J83

Workers' Rights

J88

Public Policy

J89

Other

J7

Labor Discrimination

J70

General

J71

Discrimination

J78

Public Policy

J79

Other

INTRODUCTION
Childhood is a time for learning, and nurturing and development. It is the time when a child
gains education, learns, plays and grows. But not everyone is lucky to get that kind of a
privilege. Poverty, lack of educational facilities and poor quality of schooling, capital market
imperfection, parental attitudes including the objectives to maximise present income, reflecting
cultural norms and social values compel these children to fall into the vicious traps of child
labour.
A child is defined as an individual under the age of eighteen years, based on the 1989 United
Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child and the ILO Convention in the Worst Forms of
Child Labour, 1999 (No.182). Child labour is the employment of children under an age
determined by law or custom which is a practice that is considered exploitative by international
organizations, such as United Nations, and the International Labour Organization .The UN has
stipulated, in article 32 of the Convention of Child Rights that:
State Parties recognize the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and
from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the childs education,
or to be harmful to the childs health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.
ILO defines child labour1 as
work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is
harmful to physical and mental development.
It refers to work that:
1. is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children; and
2. interferes with their schooling by:
3. depriving them of the opportunity to attend school;

1 International Labour Organization, What is Child Labour, available at

http://www.ilo.org/ipec/facts/lang--en/index.htm

4. obliging them to leave school prematurely; or

5. requiring them to attempt to combine school attendance with excessively long and heavy
work.
Child labour, centuries old phenomena, which essentially denies children having the right to
education and childhood, is a widespread evil. It is pervasive mostly in the transitional societies
of the developing economies where multi-class social structures exist and a complex of
traditional and pre-capitalist production relations are operative in an articulated capitalist mode
of production and exploitation. n. Working children in these countries in general are subjected to
a process of implacable exploitation characterized by low wages, long hours of work, unclean,
unhygienic, and unsafe working and living conditions and, more importantly, denial of education
which hamper their physical and mental development.2 Child labour more truly mirrors a
process of dehumanisation. Marx proclaims that the result of purchasing children at an immature
age by the capitalists is not only a physical deterioration, but a social degeneration as well.
Though employment of children is more or less a global phenomenon, the incidence is heaviest
in South Asia (including India). In these countries, employment of children has become a
conspicuous problem (U.N. 1981). Whether it is due to the need of assistance in the struggle
of survival of the poor families, or inclination of employers due to comparative cheapness, or
other various reasons including less effective application of the preventive legal measures,
children in a large number are forced to sell their prospects for petty gains.
CHILD LABOUR IN INDIA
THE CURRENT SCENARIO - STATISTICS

The child labour problem in India is quite disturbing. According to UNICEF 1984, India has the
largest number of worlds working children. It is said that roughly out of 5 children below the
age of 14 years, one child is labourer which means 20 per cent children are labourers (out of the
total number of child population in the country.) In fact, there is no proper source of regular

2 Sarbajit Chaudhuri, Incidence of Child Labour, Free Education Policy, and Economic
Liberalisation in a Developing Economy 1 (The Pakistan Development Review, Vol. 43,
No.1 (Spring 2004))

collection of statistics on child labour. The only authentic source of collection of data on child
labour is the Census conducted by the Government of India after every 10 years in the country.
As per the Census 1971, the total number of working children in India was reported to be of the
order of 10.7 million. The number of working children swell to 13.6 million in India as reflected
in the 1981 Census. Children swell to 13.6 million in India as reflected in the 1981 Census.
Between 1981 and 1991, the National Sample Survey Organisation conducted its 43rd round of
surveys which revealed that the estimated number of working children in India was to the time of
17.02 million in 1987-88. However, the information available as per 1991 Census revealed that
the number of working children in India was 11.28 million in 1991, showing a decline to the tune
of around 2.22 million as compared to the total number of working children reflected by 1981
Census. A close analysis of the state-wise data further revealed that Andhra Pradesh had highest
number of 1.66 million working children in 1991, followed by 1.41 million in Uttar Pradesh,
1.35 million in Madhya Pradesh and 1.06 million in Maharashtra. Of all the States and UTs,
Lakshadweep was found to have the smallest number of 34 working children in 1991. As per
2001 Census, children swell to 12.66 million in India (1991-2001), showing an increase by 1.38
million as compared with 1991 census. Children employed were 4.35 million, as reflected by the
2011 Census coming down by 8.31 million as compared to 1991 Census. On a close analysis it
was found that
1. Maharashtra had the highest number of child labourers (.496 million) followed by Bihar
(.451 million) and Andhra Pradesh (.404 million).
2. Lakshadweep had the lowest number of child labourers (28).3
NSSO (66th Round of Survey) on Child Labour on Major Indian States, 2009-10 (Age Group 514)4
States
Andhra Pradesh

Male
108923

Female
125739

All
234662

3 Ministry of Labour and Employment, Census Data on Child Labour, 08 September

2015 10:31:02, available at http://labour.gov.in/content/division/census-data-on-childlabour.php
4 Ibid, NSSO Data on Child Labour, 08 September 2015 10:31:02, available at
http://labour.gov.in/content/division/nsso-data-on-child-labour.php

% of Child Labour
4.71

Assam
Bihar
Chhattisgarh
Delhi
Gujarat
Haryana
Himachal Pradesh
Jammu & Kashmir
Jharkhand
Karnataka
Kerala
Madhya Pradesh
Maharashtra
Orissa
Punjab
Rajasthan
Tamil Nadu
Uttar Pradesh
Uttarakhand
West Bengal
All India

156488
235309
4305
18576
166432
50737
4456
12413
67807
110589
1182
149142
120600
90912
32466
136239
3471
18029
1160114
389211
3057998

32666
41213
7321
0
224255
21459
2942
16872
14661
115908
1583
41875
140073
43651
16370
269697
13880
9342
615219
162373
1925873

189154
276522
11626
18576
390687
72196
7398
29285
82468
226497
2765
191017
260673
134563
48836
405936
17351
27371
1775333
551584
4983871

3.80
5.55
0.23
0.37
3.84
7.84
0.15
0.59
1.65
4.54
0.06
3.83
5.23
2.70
0.98
8.14
0.35
0.55
35.62
11.07
100.00

LEGAL PROVISIONS FOR CHILD LABOUR IN INDIA

(1) CONSTITUTIONAL MANDATE

(a) Article 23 Article 23 provides that
1. Traffic in human beings and began and other similar forms of forced labour are
prohibited and any contravention of this provision shall be an offence
punishable in accordance with law.
2. Nothing in this Article shall prevent the State from imposing compulsory
service for public purposes and in imposing such service the State shall not
make any discrimination on the grounds only of religion, race, caste, or class
or any of them.
This Article prohibits
(a) Traffic in human beings ;
(b) began, and
(c) other similar forms of forced labour,

(b) Article 24 Article 24 bars employment of children below the age of 14 years in
factory, mine or any other hazardous works.
Article 24 prohibition the employment of children below the age of 14 years in any
(a) Factory
(b) Mine, or
(c) Other hazardous employment.
The Employment of Children Act, 1938, and the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act,
1986. The Factories Act, 1948, and the Mines Act, 1953, and similar other Acts prohibits the
employment of Children below a certain age.
Prohibited Industries in M.C. Mehta v. Union of India5 , the Court gave the

(i)

directions that no child be employed in match industries. Further, it laid down

exhaustive guidelines for the education of children and for setting up a Child
Labour Rehabilitation Welfare Fund. Other industries in respect of which the
directions were given are diamond polishing, precious stone polishing, glass
industry, brass-ware industry, carpet industry, lock-making industry and State
(ii)

industry.
Construction Work Hazardous Work Construction work is a hazardous
employment and no child below the age of 14 years can be therefore allowed to
be employed in construction work by reason of the prohibition enacted in Article
24, and this Constitutional prohibition must be enforced by the Central

Government.
(c) Salt mines employing minors as labourers Regarding child labour, the State
Government issued notice to complain action taken against owner of salt mines and
also directed to inform steps taken to ensure extension of facility of basic amenities to
workers like grooves, gun boots, educational facilities and sufficient mobile Health
Units.6

5 (1996) 6 SCC 756

6 Narender Malar v. State of Gujarat, 2003 (7) Scale 474

(d) Article 39 Clauses (e) and (f) envisages that tender age of the children are not
abused and must not be forced by economic necessity to enter avocations unsuited to
their age or strength and their childhood must be protected.
(e) Article 45 Envisages free and compulsory education for all children until they
complete the age of 14 years.
(2) EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN ACT, 1938 [Repealed by Act 61 of 1986]. Even
before the constitution, the aforesaid Act ensured protection to children from being
employed and exploited.
(i)

Prohibition against employment of Children under 1938 Act. Prohibition

against employment of children under Act 26 of 1938, did not apply to
employment in construction industry. However, construction work being
hazardous employment within of Article 24, children below 14 years cannot be
employed in construction in the Schedule. [State Governments advised to take

(ii)

immediate steps for incursion of construction work in the Schedule of the Act.]
Employment in construction industry Construction industry is not a process
specified in the Schedule attached to the Employment of Children Act, 1938.
Prohibition against employment under the Act 26 of 1938, does not apply to
employment in construction industry.

(3) CHILD LABOUR (PROTECTION AND REGULATION) ACT, 1933 - The Act
prohibition employment of children below age of 14 years in various specified
occupations. However, the workshops where any process is carried on by occupier with
the aid of his family and own schools which are established by or receiving assistance or
recognition from the Government are exempted from the application of the Act.
(4) CHILDREN (PLEDGING OF LABOUR) ACT, 1933 The Act prohibition the pledging
the labour of children by agreement. The Royal Commission of Labour found evidence in
such widely separated areas as Amritsar, Ahmedabad and Madras of the practice of
pledging child labour, that is, the taking of advances by parents or guardians on
agreements, written or oral, pledging the labour of their children. In some situations, the
children so pledged were subjected to particularly unsatisfactory working conditions. The
commission considered that the State would be justified in adopting strong measures to

eradicate the evil, and this Act, was brought to do so by imposing penalties on parents by
agreements pledging the labour of children and of persons knowingly employing children
whose labour is so pledged.
(5) FACTORIES ACT, 1948 Young persons under section 29 of the Act means a person
who is either a child or an adolescent. Section 22 (2) prohibits employment of children to
be allowed to do certain works. The Act provides for Prohibition of employment of
young persons to a dangerous machine 7, prohibition of employment of women and
children near cotton openers8, prohibition of employment of young children 9, working
hours for children10, notice of periods of work for children 11, register of children to be
maintained12.
(6) MINES ACT, 1952 The Act governs the regulation of labourers employed in mines. In
context of child labour, following provisions are provided in the Act provides for
penalty for double employment of young person13, empowers Inspector to conduct

7Section 23, Factories Act, 1948,

8 Ibid, Section 27
9 Ibid, Section 67; Young children meaning under 14 years of age.
10 Ibid, Section 71
11 Ibid, Section 72
12 Ibid, Section 73
13 Mines Act, 1952, Section 68

medical examinations of a person employed in a mine of child or adolescent 14, provides

for working hours for young person15, prohibits employment of children16.

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

Research Question - What are the roots of the problem of Child Labour in India? What
Government interventions been implemented in eradicating child labour?
The objective of this study is to analyze the current child labour scenario in India and find out
the roots causes of child labour. The paper will also touch upon Governmental interventions
implemented against child labour in India.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
ROOTS OF CHILD LABOUR CAUSES AND UNDERLYING ISSUES

It is always regarded that the stage of childhood is the best time to learn, grow and develop. This
time is also viewed as lovable and a stage of protection with care and warmth. . Ostensibly the
child is regarded as a 'national asset' for nation and capital building. Ironically in under-

14 Ibid, Section 43
15 Ibid, Section 44
16 Ibid, Section 45

10

developed countries like India most children can hardly dream of childhood let alone realise the
promises of adulthood. The reasons are inbuilt and multi-variant. . It is precisely because of
conspicuous structural variations in terms of organisation of production and recent trends
towards capitalist development in both industry and agriculture which paves the way for the
perpetuation and use of child labour force. The common explanations in terms of poverty,
illiteracy, unemployment, and above all governmental apathy, though they indicate certain
dimensions of its existence, convey little about the structure of its reproduction. Moreover, the
treatment of the phenomenon in isolation from historicity and political economy stands in the
way of a comprehensive understanding of the issue.17
The state indirectly aids to the perpetuation of child labour to cater to the interests of the minor
capitalist class. It is believed that small scale industries play a vital role in curbing the problem
of unemployment and contributes to the national economy in diverse fields. Small scale
industries are the highest recruiters of child labourers. Government encourage small scale
industries by protecting them from the competition from large scale industries. Large scale
industries using middleman and market, etc., corner the incentives, concessions and exemptions
from the administrative regulations available to small scale sectors and expropriate the maximum
from the un-organised working force including child labour. All of this has been to the detriment
of genuine small scale units. Ultimately the in- formal sector finds no other way than to rely on
cheap labour including child labour in order to extract more profit. The state re- mains by and
large a silent spectator, occasionally formulating a few odd legislations to prohibit child labour.
Poverty has been regarded as the main cause of child labour. Parents from poverty-stricken
families encourage/ force children to give up education and take up employment to earn more
money. Income earned by a child, even though less in quantity plays a decisive role in saving the
family from starvation. ILO considers poverty the sole reason of child labour. According to ILO,
when the economic condition of a household improves, children start going to schools, and the
problem of labour is automatically solved. The state always claims that child labour is a "harsh
reality" resulting from poverty as a result of which many families are forced to send their

17 Umesh Ch. Sahoo, Child Labour and Legislation, 1 Economic and Political Weekly,
Vol. 25, No. 46 (Nov. 17, 1990)

11

children to work to ensure survival. Undoubtedly this is partly correct but the main reason is the
vested interests of the state.
Even though the constitution provides for free and compulsory primary education, the same does
not reflect in reality. Many a times, due to unavailability of proper educational facilities, children
are compelled to take up employment. Lack of resources, proper schools in rural and slums areas
of urban cities lead to easy exploitation of children by industries.
GOVERNMENTAL INTERVENTIONS

(i)

Legislative Action: The Central and the State Governments are required to ensure on
continuous basis that the provisions of the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation)
Act, 1986, Factories Act, 1948 and Mines Act, 1952 are enforced in relation to child
labour. A Child Labour Technical Advisory Committee has been constituted by the
Union Ministry of Labour to advise the Central Government on addition of
occupations and processes to the schedule contained in the Child Labour (Prohibition
and Regulation) Act, 1986. In order to protect the interests of child labour, State

(ii)

Governments in the country have been authorized to frame rules under this Act.
Action on Development Programmes Meant for Benefiting Child Labour: The
Government agencies implement the national development programmes formulated
with wide coverage in areas on education, health, nutrition, integrated child
development and employment and income generation for the poor in the country. It is
necessary for the implementing agencies under the NCLP to focus these programmes,
wherever possible, to the benefit of child labour so that they may be encouraged to

(iii)

attend schools.
Project-based Action Plan: Projects in the areas where concentration of child labour
is immensely sought for have been proposed to be implemented. While such projects
are area specific and are required to be implemented at micro level, some projects
which provide non-formal education to child labour extracted from hazardous
occupations are certainly encouraged by the Government. This is precisely so because
the intention of the Government of India is to attract working children to attend
schools rather than to let them go in for employment at such a tender age. Projects

12

imparting vocational training to child labour are also encouraged and there is a
provision to pay stipend to the children receiving such training. Compensation to
parents whose children have been extracted from hazardous occupations for the
purpose of providing them non-formal education or vocational training is also paid
for.
National Child Labour Project (NCLP) - The Government is implementing National Child
Labour Project Scheme (NCLP) in 266 Child Labour endemic districts in 20 States. Presently
about 7311 special schools are in operation with enrolment of 3.2 lakh children. Under the
Scheme, about 8.95 lakh children have been mainstreamed into formal system since inception.
The NCLP Scheme was started in 1988 to rehabilitate Child Labour in pursuance of National
Child Labour Policy. The Scheme seeks to adopt a sequential approach with focus on
rehabilitation of children working in hazardous occupations & processes in the first instance.
Under the Scheme, after a survey of Child Labour engaged in hazardous occupations &
processes has been conducted, children are to be withdrawn from these occupations & processes
and then put into special schools in order to enable them to be mainstreamed into formal
schooling system.
PROPOSITION

In my opinion, the problem of child labour cannot be just attributed to poverty. Attributes like
illiteracy among parents, social, cultural and caste forces play an active role in this regard. A
childs and his parents attitude matter in deciding whether a child would take up education or
work as a child labourer. There are instances where parents from poverty stricken families earn
hard to educate their children, but the children show no interest whatsoever in educating
themselves, leading to them missing schools, and ultimately getting involved in child labour.
Todays technology and media oriented world influence these young minds where they see kids
from well to do families indulging in luxuries like owning a smartphone or going to an expensive
restaurant. This triggers inferiority complex in the childs minds compelling them to earn for
themselves and provide for such luxuries, which generally cannot be provided by their parents.
Also TV, media and films extensively influence young minds to divert from education and to
take up child labour.

13

There are numerous constitutional and legislative measures guaranteeing welfare measures
banning or prohibiting their employment in hazardous occupations. Ironically total laxity
prevails in enforcement of these provisions with not even a single evidence of conviction during
the last forty years of independence. For instance Article 24 of the Indian Constitution provides
that "No child below the age of fourteen years shall be employed to work in any factory or mine
or engaged in any other hazardous employment' Likewise Article 45 (directive principle of state
policy) states that "the state shall endeavour to provide within a period of ten years from the
commencement of this constitution for free and compulsory education for all children until they
complete the age of fourteen years". Suffice it to say that in absolute terms illiteracy is
accelerating. For instance it was 437 million in 1981 as against 300 million at the time of
independence. The growth rate of primary education has been falling from about 6 per cent at the
beginning to a mere 2 per cent today. Expenditure on elementary education has declined from 56
per cent to 36 per cent of the total educational expenditure between the first and sixth plans.
Small wonder that 40 per cent of the schools have no black board, 80 per cent have no bench or
mat, 72 per cent have no books and 90 per cent have no building whatsoever. The Government
interventions are in no way helping the situation and the legal provisions and policies are not
being implemented properly.
CONCLUSION

Poverty, unemployment, illiteracy and rising population are the main bottlenecks in the
elimination of child labour in India. They are actually both the cause and the effect of child
labour. These bottlenecks must be removed by a multiplicity of actions both by the government
and the public at social and individual levels. Universalization of elementary education is the
only way through which we can liberate the child from the clutches of exploiters. Hope for the
better future of these deprived children lies on how the government is in making the elementary
education a fundamental right and enacting a new law that bans child labour in all occupations.
BIBLIOGRAPHY

14

Dr. Y.S. Reddy, Child Labour, Anmol Publications (1999)

V.K. Dewan, Child Labour: A Socio-Legal Perspective, Pentagon Press (2009)
Constitution of India
Child Labour (Prohibition and Prevention) Act, 1933

15