ASSESSMENT OF

SPEAKING AND
LISTENING
PROJECT 2022-23
PLIGHT OF CHILD LABOUR IN
INDIA
(Lost Spring)

NAME- Akshaj Singhmar

CLASS- 12th Super-30 B
SUBJECT- English
SCHOOL- MDPS, Sec-87
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to extend my sincere and heartfelt

obligation towards all those who have helped me
in making this project. Without their active
guidance, help, cooperation and encouragement,
I would not have been able to present the
project on time.
I am extremely thankful and pay my sincere
gratitude to my teacher Ms Geeta Sharma for
her valuable guidance and support for
completion of this project.
I also acknowledge with deep sense of
reverence, my gratitude towards other faculty
members, my parents and my friends for their
valuable suggestions given to me in completing
this project.

Date: 28th October, 2022

Place: Modern Delhi Public School, Sec-87
 CERTIFICATE OF
COMPLETION

This is to certify that the project work on

Plight of the child labour based on the
curriculum of CBSE has been completed by
Akshaj Singhmar of Class XII, Section Super
30-B of Modern Delhi Public School, Faridabad.

The above-mentioned project work has been

completed under my guidance during the
academic year 2022–23.
Signature of Teacher

INDEX

S.no Topic Page no.

1 Acknowledgement 01

2 Certificate of completion 02

3 Summary of lost spring 04-05

4 Lives of children like Saheb and 06

Mukesh

5 Seemapuri and Firozabaad 07

6 Ways to eliminate child labour 08

 SUMMARY
(Lost Spring)

Part 1
(Sometimes I find a rupee in the garbage)

The story describes the author’s impressions regarding the

life of poor rag pickers. They have come from Dhaka and
their settlement is in Seemapuri. Their fields and homes
were decimated due to the storms. Hence, they had come to
the big city in hopes of finding livelihood and earning a
living. However, the reality was, in fact, painful for them as
they had to face many hardships.

The word garbage has a different meaning for their parents

and these children. To their parents, it's their means of
survival and for the children, it is wrapped in wonder. Saheb
gets really fascinated when he tells the narrator that
sometimes he even finds a ten rupee note in the garbage.
These children have dreams and desires but no means to
achieve them. They lack basic amenities like shoes and try
to be happy by justifying that it is a tradition to remain or
stay barefoot. They are caught in a web of poverty and are
burdened by the blemishes of caste in which they are
caught.
 Part-2
(I want to drive a car)

The story deals with the life of Mukesh who belongs to the
family of bangle makers. Approximately 20,000 children are
engaged in this business of bangle making unaware of the
law that forbids them to do so. Moreover, the living
condition, as well as the working environment, are both
horrendously inhumane.
These children live in dreary cells which are cramped,
unhygienic and suffocating and have to work close to hot
furnaces. In fact, their eyes are more adjusted to the dark
than to the light. Mukesh's grandmother has accepted this
lifestyle and says that it is her husband's 'karma', his
destiny that he has gone blind with the dust from polishing
the bangles. On being asked by the narrator that why don't
they organize themselves into cooperatives they reply that
even if they get organized, they will be the one who will be
mistreated, beaten and jailed by the police for doing
something illegal. Because there is no leader among them,
they do not look things differently. The policemen,
bureaucrats, middlemen, and politicians all hinder their way
to progress and prosperity. However, Mukesh is different
from the rest of the folk there. This is because Mukesh has
big dreams. He has a desire to become a motor mechanic in
future. Although the garage is far away from where he
lives, he still has the determination to walk.
LIVES OF CHILDREN LIKE
MUKESH AND SAHEB
The poet considers these children whose spring (childhood)
has been lost as they don't enjoy the privileges of childhood
that the children of affluent families enjoy.

Children living in poverty are neglected, undervalued, and

denied basic rights. They often do not have access to
education or vocational training either. This negatively
influences how they feel about themselves, makes it
difficult to have healthy relationships with others, and
makes it almost impossible to take care of themselves and
their families when they are adults properly

Children growing up in poverty or in the most deprived areas

are at greater risk of poorer health outcomes than children
from better off families or from more affluent areas. The
best example of this is the story of the bangle makers who
lived in Firozabad.
Children who are not from well-to-do families often skip the
school in order to help their families. Children like Saheb
wandered on the street the whole day in search of some
‘gold’ and thus they often do not have time for good
schooling and even if they do, they face discrimination of
every kind which hampers the child’s self-esteem and self-
confidence.
 SEEMAPURI AND
FIROZABAD
The houses of the ragpickers in Seemapuri and those of the
bangle-makers of Firozabad are both of mud with either tin
or tarpaulin roofs. They have broken walls, no windows,
wobbly doors while animals and humans co-exist with each
other. The streets in both places are foul smelling and
unhygienic.

The poverty-stricken families of Firozabad are compelled to

undergo the generational trauma of being forced into bangle
making under the oppression of “responsible” officers in
connivance with the middlemen and the sahukars. Together
they impose this illegal and hazardous work on the shoulders
of the children which they can’t put down. On the other
hand, in Seemapuri, there are the families of the migrants,
who have been grounded under poverty and customs
continuously. The storms rose against the families of the
ragpickers once, causing them to leave their livelihood and
come to the bigger cities for finding jobs. But instead, all
they got was the job of scavenging for precious waste.

The families in both the places are living in hellish situations

and are shown struggling for survival. The vicious circle of
middlemen who trapped the fathers and forefathers of the
bangle-makers, are still at work against them. The grinding
poverty and the traditions at both the places ‘condemn
their’ children to a life of continuous exploitation.

WAYS TO ELIMINATE
CHILD LABOUR
Child labour is a systematic issue which has persisted due to
the rampant corruption, and still prevalent caste system in
our country. Resolving it requires a massive commitment,
both from the system as well as the society.

The World Day Against Child Labour, which is held every

year on June 12, is intended to foster the worldwide
movement against child labour in all of its forms. This year’s
theme looks to shine a spotlight on the global need to
improve the safety and health of young workers and end
child labour.

Some ways in which we can eliminate child labour are-

 As per the Constitution of India, no child is permitted

to work, except if the child is an artiste or works in a
family business or enterprise, provided the working
conditions are safe for the child, and their studies are
affected. As responsible citizens, we must stay
vigilant. If you find a child working as a laborer, we
must immediately dial CHILD HELPLINE 1098.
 The government on its part, must expand the Pradhan
Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, and open children’s bank
accounts through it, and transfer them funds for their
education.