48

Chapter-2

Child Labour Problem in India-

An Overview

2.1 INTRO DUCT ION

Child Labou r is a· pe_rvasiv e proble m throug hout the world,

especi ally in d evelop ing countr ies. Africa and Asia togeth er accou nt
for over 90 per cent of total child emplo yment . Child Labou r is
especi ally preval ent in rural areas where the capaci ty to enforc e
minim um age requir ement s for sch ooling and work is lacking.
Childr en work for a variety of reason s, the most impor tant being
povert y and the induc ed pressu re u p on them to escape from this
plight. Thoug h childr en are not well p aid, they still serve as major
contri bu tors to family incom e in develo ping countr ies. Schoo ling
proble ms also con1:ribute to child Labou r, wheth er it be the
inacce ssibility of schoo ls or the lack of qualit y educa tion which
spurs paren ts to enter their childr en in more profita ble pursu its.
Tra dition al factor s such a s rigid cultur al and social roles in certai n
I

countr ies furthe r limit educa tional attain ment and increa se child
Labou r.
 49

Working chilaren are the objects of extreme exploitation in terms of

toiling for long hours for minimal pay. Their work conditions are
especially severe, often not providing the stimulation for proper
physical and mental development. Many of these children endure
liv.es of pure deprivation. However, there are problems with the
intuitive solution of immediately abolishing child Labour to prevent
such abuse. First, there is no international agreement defining
child Labour, making it. hard to isolate cases of abuse, let alone
abolish them. Second, many children may have to work in order to
attend scho9l so abolishing child Labour may only hinder their
education. Any plan of abolishment depends on schooling. The
state could help by making it worthwhile for a child to attend
school, whether it be by providing students with nutritional
supplements or increasing the quality and usefulness of obtaining
an education. There must be an economic change in the condition
of a struggling family to free a child from the responsibility of
.
working. Family subsidies can help provide this support.

This analysis leads to certain implications for the international

'
community. Further investigation into this subject is required
before calls are made for banning child Labour across the board.
By establishing partnerships with humanitarian organizations, the
international community can focus on immediately solving the
remediable problems of working children.

Magnit ude of Child Labour in India

The estimates on the' magnitude of child labour in India vary:
• 1.3. c mifo.0n - Tht=: l 981 Cen::-;us
 50

• 17.36 millio n - The Planni ng Comm ission , 1983

• 44 millio n - Th~ Opera tion Resea rch Group , Barod a, 1983.
• 20 millio n - Labou r Minist er, Augus t 1994, when he
annou nced a plan to liberat e 20 millio n childr en worki ng in
hazard ous emplo yment .

All these estima tes fall short of the actual figure for a numb er of
reason s like multip licity of defini tions, differe nt metho ds of
compu tation, divers e source s of data, lack of inform ation on the
vast unorg anised sector of the econo my which , in fact, emplo ys
most childr en and non inclus ion of domes tic worke rs.

Estim ates of Child Labou r In India

There are some recent estima tes, which are based on the numb er of
'
famili es living below the povert y line:
• 111 millio n - The Balai Data Bank, Manila . If nearly half of
the India's over 800 millio n popul ation lives in povert y, the
numb er of workin g childr en in India is likely to be over 100
million .
• 77 millio n - Comm ission on Labou r Stand ards and
Intern ationa l Trade, Gover nment of India, 1995. Estim ate
compu ted on the basis of famili es living below the povert y
line. Can1p aign Again st Child Labou r, based on the numb er of
non schoo l going childr en and famili es living in destitu tion.
• 70-80 millio n - Camp aign Again st Child Labou r, based on
the num.b er of non-sc hool going childr en and famili es living in
destitu tion.
 51

2.2 NA TIO AL CHILD LABOUR POLICY

In~reasing attention is now being paid to strengthening the

enforcement machinery related to child Labour. Soon after the
enactment of the comprehensive Child Labour (Prohibition &
'
Regulation) Act, 1986, tlie Government of India adopted a National
Child Labour policy in 1987, in accordance with the constitutional
provisions fl!ld various legislation on child Labour. The idea of
adopting a separate policy on child Labour was not only to place
the issue on the nation's agenda, but also to formulate a specific
program of a ction to initiate the process of progressive elimination
of child Labour. The policy consists of three complementary
measures:
• Legal action plan: This policy envisages strict enforcement of
the provisions of the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation)
Act, 1986 and other child-related legislation.
• Focus on general development programs benefiting
childr~n wherever possible: The policy envisages the
development of an extensive system of non-formal education
for working children withdrawn from work and increasing the
provision for employment and income generating s chemes
meant for their parents. A special cell - Child Labour Cell -
was constituted to encourage voluntary organizations to take
up activiti es like non-formal education,- vocational training,
provisions of h ealth care, nutrition and education for working
children.
 52

• Area specific projects: To focus on areas known to have high

concentration of child Labour and to adopt a project approach
.
for identification , withdrawal and rehabilitation of working
children.

Central Advisory Board on Child Labour

The Central Advisory Board on Child Labour was constituted on
March 4, 1981. The following are the terms of reference of the
Board:

• Review the implementation of the existing legislation

administered by the Central Government.
• Suggest legislative measures as well as welfare measures for
the welfare of working children.
• Review the progress of welfare measures for working children.
• Recommend the industries and areas where there must be a
progressive elin1ination of child Labour.

The Board was reco1;stituted last on November 2, 1994. The Union

Labour Minister is the Chairman of the Board. The other Members
of the Board include representatives from the various sister
ministries, Mem b ers of Parliament, non-governmental
organizations, representatives of major trade unions and employers'
organizations. The last meeting of the Board was held on December
27, 1995.

Child Labour Technical Advisory Committee:

Under Section S of the Child La bour (P&R) Act 1986, the
 53

Technical Advisory Committee for the purpose of addition of

occupation and processes in the Schedule to the Act. The
Comm ittee consists Qf a Chairman and members not exceeding ten.
The Committee has been reconstituted on February 5,, 1996 under
the chairmanship of Director General of Indian Council of Medical
Research.

National Child Labour Proje cts (NCLP)

Under the action plan of the National Policy on Child Labour, there
have been National Child Labour Projects (NCLP) set up in different
areas to rehabilitate child Labour. A major activity undertaken
under the NCLP is the establishment of special schools to provide
'
non-formal education, v0cational training, supplementary nutrition
etc. to children withdrawn from employment. Under the project
based action plan of the policy, 12 NCLPs were started in the States
of:
• Andhra Pradesh (Jaggampet and Markapur),
• Bihar (Garwah),
• Madhya Pradesh (Mandsaur),
• Maharashtra (Thane),
• Orissa (Sambalpur),
r • Rajasth an (Jaipurt
• Tamil Nadu (Sivakasi) and
• Uttar Pradesh (Varanasi-Mirzapur-Bhadohi,, Moradabad,
Aligarh' and Ferozabad).
 54

Rehabilitation of Children Working in Hazardous Occupations

A major program was launched on 15th August 1994 for
withdrawing child Labour working in hazardous occupations and
fo~ rehabilitating them through special schools. Under the program
a total of two million children are sought to be brought out of work
and put in special schools where they will be provided with
<

education, vocational training, monthly stipends, nutrition and

health-checks. As a follow-up, a high powered body, the National
➔
Authority for the Elimination of Child Labour (NAECL) was
constituted on 26th September, 1994 under the Chairmanship of
the Minister for Labour, Government of India. The functions of
NAECL are:
• to lay down policies and programs for the elimination of child
Labour , particularly in hazardous employment
• to monitor the progress of the implementation of programs,
projects and schemes for the elimination of child Labour;
• to coordinate the implementation of child Labour related
projects of the various sister Ministries of the Government of
India (to ensure convergen ce of services for the benefit of the
families of child Labour)

Secretaries to Government of India in the Ministries of Labour,

Information & Broadcasting, Welfare, Rural Development, Textiles
and the Departments of Expenditure, Education, Health, Family
Welfare and Women & Child Development are mem hers of the
National Authority for th e Elimination of Child Labour. The NAECL
has already m et five times on October 1, 1994, November 1, 1994,
Jc1nu;-tfy 1; 199S , .J, Jl_y lfi,199 S Ri1.d. L,r,:embe, 3 1, 19q6.
 55

Present Coverag e Under Nationa l Child Labour Project:

So far 76 child Labour projects have been sanction ed under the
'
National Child Labour Project Scheme for covering 150,000
children . Around 105,000 children are already enrolled in the
special schools. The next table gives the figures of the state-wis e
coverage of cruldren under the National Child Labour Project.
TABLE-2. 1
Cove rag e under Nationa l Child Labour Project

t',l'W,:.t:+t Actual t.cove~e

sf.~~,;; i,1~~
;a. ,·~ ,,,-. 'l'•
Distric Sa~ctione d
ts Schools
Coverage
Children lp,~ o o ~
~- ~ ~ "u;i:::~~'
,■--
' - .. 't i'

Andhra Pradesh j 20 807 43550 610 36249

Bihar
Gujarat
'
I 08 174 12200 173 10094

I 021 040 2000 023 1254

Karnatak a
I
Madhya Pradesh I
03 100 5000 024 1200
05 138 9800 087 6524
Maharash ta

Orissa
I 021 074 3700 024 1200

I 16 430 33000 239 14972

~
IRajasthan 060 3000 054 2700
Tamil Nadu 8 379 19500 307 14684
Uttar Pradesh
I 041 150 11500 105 7488
West Bengal
I 04 2 19 12000 164 8250
Total
I
I
76 2 5 71 155250 - 1s10 104615
i . • ~ ·J ~ ·~· i -~ ,-.~ ·' • • ;:i"!;.'..

Assistan ce to Voluntary Organiz ations

Under the grant-in- afrl scheme, voluntar y organiza tions are being
financial ly assisted to the extent of 75°/o of the project cost for
taking up w lf;u-c r,rnje, ~t5 for working childr~n ·.,..;here the childl-er~
 56

are provided with educatio n, supplem entary nutrition , health care

at1;d vocation al/ skill training. The voluntar y organiza tions, which
were extended assistan ce under the scheme during 1996-97 (up to
Decembe r 1996), are:
.
1. The Congreg ation of the Sisters of the Cross of
Chavana cl, Tiruchira palli, Tamil Nadu
2. Indian Council for Child Welfare, New Delhi
'
3. Karnata ka State Council for Child Welfare, Bangalo re,
Karnata ka
4. India Internati onal Rural _Centre, New Delhi
5. Vivekana nda Educatio n Society, Calcutta , West Bengal
6. Shramik Vikas S ewa Ashram, Allahaba d,, Uttar Pradesh
7. Gram.in Sansadh ~n Vikas Parishad , Buxur,, Bihar
8. United Cl'u b, _U jini , Orissa
9. Jibaram jec Club , Orissa
10. Gram Vikas Seva Samity, Allahaba d, Uttar Pradesh
11. Karimpu r ociaJ Welfare Society, District Nadia, West
Bengal
12. Indian Council for Child Welfare, Tamil Nadu
13. ViJayap u ram Praja Seva Samithi, Chittoor, Andhra
Pradesh
14. Bandhuw a Mukti Morcha, New Delhi
15. Rafi Ahllled Kid wai Shiksha Samiti, Khurda, Bhopal,
Madhya Pradesh
16. Gram Swaraj Ahhiyan Sanstha n, Baishali , Bihar
17. Mahatm a GRndhi Khadi & Gramody og Samity, Khurda,
Orissa
 57

19. Mithila Gram Vikas Parishad,, Darbhangha, Bihar

I

20. Navachaitanya Academy for Youth Advancement,

Vishakapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
21. All India San.than Welfare & Cultural Society, New Delhi
22. Unemployed Young Workers' Society, Burdwan, West
·Bengal
23. Village Reconstruction & Development Project, Salem,
Tamil Nadu
24. Daroga Prasa d Roy Mahila Prashikshan Avam Audogik
Kendra, Distric t Snran, Bihar
25. Manab S eva Sadan, Dhenkanal, Orissa
26. Bagmari Youth Progressive Association, Calcutta
27. Bhagra Diamond Club, Burdwan, West Bengal
28. Social Environm ental and Rural Technology Council,
> Pallel, Mc1nipur
29. Manorama Mahi.la Mandal, Vaishali

Budgetary Support to Child Labour Program

A plan provision of Rs. J SO million was made for child Labour
elimination program in India's Eighth Five-Year Plan (1992-93 and
1996-97). The budge1ary ::i llocation was substantially stepped up
after the launching of program in August 1994 for the
rehabilitation of child Labour working in hazardous occupations.
The allocation during J 99 5-9 6 and 1996-97 was of the order of
Rs.344 million and Rs.560 million. As a gainst this, the actual
expenditure for these two _ve.i rs was of the order of Rs.343 million
 58

and Rs.338 million respecLively. The allocation for 1997-98 1s

Rs.784 million. 1

Status of Free and Compuls ory Education

India's Nati.opal Policy on Education, 1986 gives the highest priority
to the program of universal elementary education, and recommends
that free and c01npuls01y edu ca tion of sufficient quality be provided
)
to all children up to the c1gc of 14 years before we enter the 21st
'1
century. The presen1 thrust is on three aspects, namely, universal
access and enrollmen t, u niversal retention of children up to 14
years of age, and suhstr1ntial improvement in the quality of
'
education to enabk an ch ildren to achieve essential levels of
learning. All these .-1spects hnve b een incorporated in the various
initiatives taken up bv t he Ministry of Human Resource
'
Development.

All the State Gov<---rnmcnts have a bolished tuition fees m

government schools up to rhe upper primary level Education. In
schools r un by local bodies and private-aided institutions is almost
free. However, unaided in st itutions (3 to 7%) do charge fees.
Compulsory Education Acts have been enacted in 14 states and 4
Union Territories ,·iz . /\ss~im, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi,
Gujarat, Haryana, ,J,un 111t 1 & Kashmir, Karnataka, Madhya
Pradesh, Maharashtrn , Pun_jab , Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Kerala,
West Bengal, Chancljga rh , Pondicherry and Andaman and Nicobar

1
Tn 1995-96 and 1 gq6 -9 7, $J = Rs .35 approximately. In 1997-98, $1 = Rs. 37
:.:i pp1-QXU•1a~e;_y.
 59

Islands.

SUPREME COURT DfRECTIONS ON CHILD LABOUR

The Supreme Court of India, in its judgment dated 10th December,
1996 in Writ Petition (Civil) Number 465 / 1986, has given certain
directions regarding •the rn ;:-111ner in which children working in the
hazardous occupations ,:ire to be withdrawn from work and
rehabilitated, and the n1r1 nne r in which the working conditions of
children working in non -hr1 z:irdous occupations are to be regulated
and improved. The judgm ent of the Supreme Court envisages:

(a) Simultaneous ciction in all districts of the country;

(b) Survey for identification of working children (to b e

completed by J une 10, 1997)

(c} Withdrawa,l of children working m hazardous

industries and f·ns urin g their education in appropriate
institutions;

(d) Contribution or Rs. 2t>, OOO per child to be paid by the

offending employers or c hildren to a welfare fund to be
established for this purpose;

(e) Employmen t to on e :-1cl ult member of the family of the

child so withdr aw11 l'rom. work, and if that is not
possible a contribution of Rs.5000 to the welfare fund to
be made by the' S t~tc C11vernment;

(f) Financial a ssist a.nee Lo the families of the children so

withdr~nvn to be paid o u t of the interest earnings on the
 59

Islands.

SUPREME COURT DIRECTIONS ON CHILD LABOUR

The Supreme Court of India, in its ju dgment dated 10th December,
1996 in Writ Petition (Civil) Number 465 / 1986, has given certain
directions regarding the manner in which children working in the
hazardous occupations are to be withdrawn from work and
rehabilitated, and the manner in which the working conditions of
children working in non-hazardous occupations are to be regulated
and improved. The judgment of the Supreme Court envisages:

(a) Simultaneous action in all districts of the country;

(b) Survey for identification of working children (to be

completed by June 10, 1997)

(c) Withdrawal of children working in hazardous

industries and ensuring their education in appropriate
institutions;

(d) Contribution of Rs.20,000 per child to be paid by the

offending em players of children to a welfare fund to be
established for this purpose;

(e) Employment to one adult m ember of the family of the

child so withdrawn from work, and if that is not
possible a contribution of Rs.5000 to the welfare fund to
be made by the State Government;

(f) Financial assistance to the families of the children so

withdrawn to be paid out of the interest earnings on the
 60

corpus of Rs.20,,000 /25,000.00 deposited in the welfare

fund as long as the child is actu ally sent to the schools;

(g) Regulating hours of work for children working in

non-hazardous occupations so that their working hours
do not exceed six hours per day and education for at
least two hours is ensured. The entire expenditure on
education is to be borne by the concerned employer;

(h) Planning and prep aredness on the part of Central

and State Governments in terms of strengthening of the
existing administrative/ regulatory/ enforcement frame-
work (covering cost of addition al manpower, training,
mobility, compu terization etc.) implying additional
requirement of funds.

Follow up Action on the Directions of the Supreme Court

As a follow up of the directions of the Supreme Court, all the State
Governments_were sent detailed guidelines on December 26, 1996
indicating the manner in which the directions of the Supreme
Court were to be implemented. A meeting of the NAECL was
convened on 31st December 1996 to discuss the directions of the
Supreme Court on child La bour. It was d ecided in the meeting that
the Ministry of Labour should immediately release funds to the
State Governments so as to enable them to conduct surveys of
working children before June 10, 1997. A conferen ce of the Lab6r
Ministers of State/ Union Territories was convened on January
22, 1997 to finalize an action plan for the implementation of the
c!ire(:tions of the Suprem e Court on withdrawai and rehabliit.~tion
 61

of working children. In the conference, all the participating States

and Union Territories welcomed the judgment and demonstrated
their political will to eliminate child Labour. However, all the States
pleaded for additional and liberal financial assistance from the
Central Government for implementing the judgment of the Supreme
Court. The following significant recommendations were made in the
Conference:
• The survey envisaged in the judgment of the Suprem e Court
would be in two phases. In the first phase the survey would
be conducted in all industries, establishments, shops, work
places in urban and semi-urban catchment's areas, where
hazardous processes vJill be identified. In the event of any
child Labour being found employed in any such process,
simultaneous action would be taken to recover an amount of
R.20, 000 / from the offending employer. Hazardous
establishments in the rural areas would also be fully covered
by the survey in the first phase. The door-to-door survey for
the purpose of identification and enumeration of working
children will be taken up in the second phase.
• While primarily it is the responsibility of the State
Governments to provide necessary funds for taking up
activities in compliance of the directions of the Supreme
Court, funds for conducting the survey will be released by the
Central Government to the agencies at the district level
immediately. If the funds released for the first phase of survey
fall short of the actual requirement in any district, the State
Governments will provide the a dditional funds for this
 62

on indus trial estab lishm ents, the requi reme nt of funds would
be work ed out by the Centr al Gove rnme nt and the same
would be releas ed imme diatel y.
• Imme diate action will be initia ted by the State Gove rnme nts
for stren gthen ing the enfor ceme nt mach inery at vario us levels
and for creati on of a separ ate cell at the State level to moni tor
and coord inate the activi ties to be taken up in comp liance of
the direct ions of the Supre me Court . They will also send their
requi reme nts of funds in this regar d, if any, to the Plann ing
Comm ission at the earlie st.
• If the State Gove rnme nts are not in a positi on to comp lete the
surve y by 10 th June , they will appri se the Hon'b le Supre me
Cour t abou t the reaso ns for delay and seek exten sion of time
from the Hon'b le Supre me Court well in advan ce.
• If for some reaso n, the State Gove rnme nts find it diffic ult to
give effect to any one or more direct ions of the Supre me
Court , they will seek neces sary clarif icatio n/ direc tions from
the Hon'b le Supre me Cour t well in time.

As a follow -up of the decis ion taken in the State Labo ur Minis ters'
Confe rence , the Chief Secre taries of State and Union Terri tories
have been s ent detail ed guide lines for carrying out the surve y as
per the direc tions of the Supre me Cour t. A copy of the child Labo
ur
surve y form has also been sent to the Gove rnme nts of State and
Union Territ ories. Fund s have been releas ed to all the State and
Union Territ ories gover nmen ts for the purpo se of condu cting the
su rveys . The Chief Secre taries were specif ically in.stru cted that
if
the Si:c:.L~ Gove r:nnen ts C• ,uid not co1up le tt the ~1.tr :1~y~ ii:1 Ul!.J.r--' ,
 63

they shoul d appri se the Supre me Cour t throu gh an affida vit abou t
the reaso ns for delay and seek exten sion of time from the Supre me
Cour t well in advan ce.

INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM FOR THE ELIMINATION OF CHILD

LABOUR (IPEC)
The Intern ation al Progr am on the Elimi nation of Child Labou r is a
globa l progr am launc hed by the Intern ation al Labo ur Organ izatio n
in Decem ber 1991. India was the first count ry to join it in 1992
when it signe d a Mem orand um of Unde rstand ing with the ILO. The
long-term objec tive of IPEC is to contr ibute to the effect ive abolit ion
of child Labou r. Its imme diate objectives are:

• Elimi nation of the capab ility of ILO const ituen ts and Non-
Gove rnme nt Organ izatio ns to desig n, imple ment and
evalu ate progr ams for Child Labo ur Elimi nation ;

• To identi ty interv ention s at comm unity and n ation al levels

which could serve as mode ls for replic ation; and

• Creat ion of aware ness and social mobil izatio n for secur ing
elimi natio n of child Labou r.

At the intern ationa l level, IPEC has a Progr am Steer ing Comm ittee
consi sting of repre senta tives of the ILO , the dono rs and
partic ipatin g count ries. At the n a tiona l level in India, , there 1s a
Natio nal Steer ing Comm ittee of which the Labo ur Secre tary is the
Chair man. This is tripar tite in its comp ositio n with repre senta tion
from NGO s as well.
 64

There is a National Program Coordinator based at New Delhi who

coordinates IPEC work between the Ministry of Labour, the
agencies receiving assistance and ILO Headquarters. ILO has made
an allocation of $4.15 million between 1992 and 1996 for the IPEC
program in India:
TABLE-2.2
State-wise projects under IPEC and number of children covered
(1992-97)
·u
State Projects approved No. of Children
·~, -·· I

lA.ndhra Pradesh 15 15455

Bihar 3 1340

!Delhi 6 4200
Gujarat 5 1350
Haryana 1 300
Karnataka 2 1320
Kerala
jMadhya Pr adesh
I 6
2 2000
2050
Manipur 1 500
Maharashtra 7 1750
Orissa 4 1500
Rajasthan 7 5800
trarnil Nadu 17 6710
Uttar Pradesh 11 13939
1West Bengal 19 22890
Regional 2 NA

lAll India Institutions 11 NA

'. .
!Total 120 81154
I
. ·- '
~
I
_.,
 65

As per the Memora ndum of Understa nding between the

Governm ent of India and the ILO, the IPEC program was to
continue till Decembe r 3 1, 1996. The MOU was extended on
January 28, 1997, until Decembe r 31, 1997 in the first instance .
Th ereafter, the MOU continue s with mutual agreeme nt.

2.3 SOCIO-ECONOM IC CONDITIONS OF CHILD LABOUR

In order to have an overview of the socio-eco nomic conditio ns of

child labour in India, the survey carried out by Dr. Sanjeev Kumar2
in the brass industry at Moradab ad, glass industry at Ferozaba d,
gem-pol ishing industry at Jaipur, lock-ind ustry at Aligarh and
carpet indu stry at Mirzapu r and Bhadohi is of great relevanc e, as it
has covered a wide range of industri es of northern India. The
results of the survey are summar ised h erein briefly:

Charact eristics of Child Labour Employ me nt

Most of the labou r-force in the large towns hails, basically, from
villages. The workers flock ed to the cities from distant villages m
search of livelihoo d. Many of them have now become resident s of
the city, h aving no ties with their n ative villages, while a large
populati on of the migrant labour still has tie with their villages,
where they often go during harvest season, during festivals or in
the family function s. Th ese families often carry load of economi c
subsiste nce to their village home, while the cost of living in the
cities was still high . This led the women of workers' family to open
hands and come forward to become wage earn ers. Later, came

i Stumnarised from Thesis: Socio Economic Conditions of Child Labour in India By Dr.Sanjecv Kunrnr.
 66

the role of children to further contribute to the family income

and this gave birth to the child labour in the cities.

The number of children at work m India 1s increasing.

Children are engaged both as main workers as well as
marginal workers. The sector-wise and Industry wise statistics
of the child workers reveals that the incidence of child labour has
increased in the Industry. Similarly, the analysis of the Labour
Force Participation Rate (LFPR) indicates that the employment
of female child labour has increased both in rural as well as
urban sector. A few major child labour Intensive industries have
been identified viz. Fire & Match Works, Carpet, Slate, Glass
and Bangles, Lock making, Coir, Beedi, Gems, Stones Diamond
polishing ru1.d Brasswar e Industry in various regions of the
Countries.

According to the Census data more than 80% of the total child
labour force is em ployed in agricultural and allied sector. In the
industrial sector, employment of child la bour has increased in
unorganised urban sector as compared to organised sector,
where it is vanishing. Child labour is engaged both in s killed ru1d
unskilled operations. However, the percen tage of child labour
is higher in the unskilled operations and lower age child workers
are engaged in unskilled jobs only.

Most of the child worker engaged in the workshops have their

native places either in villages or in small towns and most of them
ar~ either mar~in::11 or sub-m::rrginal cultivarors. Majority of then1
 67

have migrated to the city long back for job. A few cases of inter
state migratio ns were also noted. There were cases of children
who migrated due to neglect by parents. Certain families were
victims of mahajan s and landlord s in villages.

Poverty is the root cause of child labour. Failure in Educatio n

System is another reason for engagem ent of children at work.
Illiteracy of parents has also proved to be major contribu tory
factor. The phenom enon took a new shape since after rapid
industria lisation and urbanisa tion. Lack of opportunity of
employm ent in rural sector due to unbalan ced growth has
contribu ted to the engagem ent of children on gainful
occupati ons. Employe rs find child labour a s a cheap sources &
easy to control, since the bargaini ng power of the children is very
poor.

Child workers have been found engaged in all category of jobs

whether skilled, semiskil led or unskille d. The employe rs do allow
children to learn new jobs, if they find them intereste d and
devoting . 69 .4% children agreed tha t they are allowed to learn
new skills. Employe rs were motivate d mainly due to future cost
saving and reducing depende nce on adult workers.

The child labour in most of the cases is recruited from the local
areas or nearby villages. Majority of them are engaged by their
parents while contractor do play an importa nt source of
recruitm ent. In some cases the relatives also assist children in
 68

The stability in the employment of child labour is not s een. The

Child labour is mostly of migrating nature. Excepting such
children who are working within family shops, most of the
children migrate from one workplace to another. The reasons for
their movement also include several beyond the control of the
child workers.

Wages and Earnings of Child Workers

The Constitution of India provides for equal pay for men and
women but no mention is found for the child labour. There are
vanous legislation in India dealing ,vith the wages and
earnmgs of workers viz - Payment of wages Act 1936, Minimum
Wages Act 1948, Employees State Insurance Act 1948,
Employees Provident Fund & Miscellaneous Provisions Act 19~2,
Payment of Bonus Act 1965 and Payment of Gratuity Act. The
legislative provisions of special status for child labour mainly
aim to regulate the age of employment and to regulate the working
conditions. The Government has, of course, formulated policy to
eradicate the child labour completely, but tha t is practically a
difficult task. Hence, legislative support to child labour in
a dequate manner 1s almost essential, in particular, regarding
payment of wages and provision of facilities.

The system of wage payment to child workers includes

p ayment according to time worked as well as pieces produced. A
combination of both 1s also found prevalent in the sampled
:µn,ject a::e:::..~. Tl1e.::e is !1 0 u:r-.:.iform system of payrr.ent of ~·.r~ge~.
 69

The workers are paid very low wages almost everywhere,

which is nothing but exploitation. The wages are as low as Rs.
25 / - per month for a 10 hour day working. The children work
for 20-36 hours at a stretch and are paid 60 paise to one rupee
an hour for overtime. The attendance system is crude and no
proper records are maintained by any · employer. Wage
disbursement is more in an adhoc manner, based on the whims
of the employers.

The wage period is also different everywhere ranging from daily

to monthly. Majority of workers get their wages monthly, followed
by fortnightly method. No wages are paid to the child workers for
the days of absence or holidays. The advances against salary
were adjusted within the same wage period in full. The records of
payment of wages, · advances and or deductions were not
maintained properly by any employer.

The average daily wages of child workers were ranging between

Rs. 1.00 per day to Rs. 10.00 per day. The higher incidence of
daily wages was noticed in Ferozabad, where it is based on piece-
rates. The younger children who worked as helpers or coolie or
learners were getting a meager wage payment. None of the child
workers was given any fringe benefits or perquisite. Payment for
leaves and holidays were also not given. The wage structure
was, however, better in Jaipur as compared to the lowest in
Aligarh.
 70

The overall daily earning of the child workers were very poor m
all the regions. 116 child workers were employed as unpaid
family labour constituting 23.2% of the sample force. 6.4%
workers were getting a low wages of less than Rs. 2 / - per day
while 53% of the child workers were earners of over Rs. 5 /- per
day. There is apparently no control over minimum wages and
the child workers are badly exploited not only by payment of
less wages but also by improper deductions.

The Payment of Wages Act has prescribed the various category of

the deductions, which can be made from wages of a worker in the
prescribed manner and the limits of deduction during one wage
period. However, in case of child workers, the . employers have
deducted wages in respect of fines, advances, given to parents,
absence from duty, damages or loss incur:r:ed due to the
negligence of the child worker. The limit of total deductions have
been found as high as upto 100% irrespective of the legislative
provisions of the Payment of Wages Act.

The incentives and bonus work as moral booster to the workers

and also improve efficiency. In case of child workers, there are
found no incentives or bonus of any kind provided by the
employers. The employment of child workers is mainly with the
view to procure cheap labour with easy control. Hence, the
question of paying incentives and bonus does not arise, said the
employers.
 71

Perquisites are fringe benefits which are given over and above the
normal wages. The child workers were not getting any
perquisites. Even the overtime payment is not standard and
varies at the wish of the employer. The employers do provide free
tea once or twice a day in some workplaces. The child workers
are also not given any leave with wages. Long leaves taken by
child workers do result in termination of their employment.

Work ing Conditions and Welfare Amenities

The working conditions of child workers are highly unsatisfactory,
despite the fact that many labou r legislations have been made. The
working processes in Lock Indu stry in Aligarh, Gem polishing
Industry in Jaipur, Brassware Industry in Moradabad, Carpet
Industry in Bhadohi & Mirzapur & Glass Industry in Ferozabad
are found to full of hazards and dan.gers to the working children
in these processes. The health and safety measures are not
found to have been adopted even at the minimal standard by the
employers in these work areas.

The employment of children in the unorganised units is largely

uncontrolled and unregulated. The working hours of children vary
• upto 12 to 14 hours a day irrespective of their age and physical
cap a bilities. The instances have been found where a sleepy boy
aged around 8 years was rotating the wheel of a blower of the
furnace for over 10 hours. This shows the inhumane exploitation
by the employers. The working hours in Jaipur region were rather
satisfactory as com pared to the other areas.
 72

Health should be very importa nt area of concern for the state for
the well being of the child workers. The Child Workers should not
be employe d in the hazardou s, dangero us processe s and
occupati ons. However , legislativ e provisio ns have been made in
the Factorie s Act for protectio n of the health of the workers, but in
case of child workers, nothing has been done, specially for
regulatio n of working conditio ns in the unorgan ised sector,
wh er e m fact, theyare employe d in large number. There 1s
taken shelter by the employe rs a s to the non-app licability of
these provisio ns on their small units but at t..l-i.eir own they
maintain highly unsatisfa ctory working conditio ns detrimen tal to
the health of the child workers.

Safety from occupati onal hazards and machine ry is another area,

specially in case of child workers. Compreh ensive safety norms
have been prescrib ed in the Factorie s Act 1948. The complian ce of
these provisio ns can more or less be observed in the organise d
sector but in the unorgan ised sector there is no attention paid
by the employe rs towards occupati onal safety of the child
workers. They are exposed to highly dangero us chemica ls, fuels,
smoke and substances . They have to work in unhygie nic
condition s in overcrow ded rooms and suffer with malnutri tion.
Carrying of heavy loads, sitting in a posture vulnerab le to
deforma tions and physical disorder s can be seen everywh ere.

The prov1s10ns made in the Factorie s Act, with respect to welfare

amenitie s for the workers are also violated complete ly in these
 73

any welfare facilities. No proper washing facilities are

available in any workshops. No drinking water is provided in
several small workshops. The children have to work with improper
or weak growth of limbs etc .. The employers were also not
maintaining first aid facilities in the work places. It was found
that crude and dangerous methods were adopted for first aid in
case of any injury caused to the child workers.

In all the project areas, it was noticed that the child workers who
are the real wage earners are paid for the days they actually
worked. They are not entitled to the leave with wages or holidays.
They are not paid for the days, when they are either not
provided with the work or when they themselves could not
report for work due to illness etc. . Most of the employers were
not paying wages to the child workers even for the festival or
national holidays. In case of festival days also only a few employers
were found paying wages. Several employers continue working
even on the national and important festival holidays.

Most of the employers are not providing any recreation

facilities to the child workers. They have their recreation in the
work only. In some work shops Radio transistors were found as
the means of recreation while working. The children usually
watch movies in theater or at video-visions. They were not
having any other means of recreation which could be conducive
to their growth and development of physical or mental faculties
even during leisure time.
 74

Socio-Demographic Characteristics
The social and demographic characteristic are equally influential on
the life of a person as the economic characteristics. These include
age, caste, sex, literacy, education, family characteristics, marital
status, work life and leisure time, collective bargaining and
awareness etc.

It is found practically difficult to ascertain the real age of a child

- ~
worker found on work. However, 32% child workers belonged to the
age group of 12- 14 years, 28.8% to the age group of 8- 11 y ears,
22.60%> to the age group above 14 years and 16.60% below 7
years.

The employment of female child workers was a common feature in

all the project areas. Out of 500 sampled child workers 21.80%
were females comprising mostly from the age group of 4-7 years. In
the age group of above 14 years only 23.89% female child worker s
were found. The incidence of female child workers was more in
bangle industry in Ferozabad, brassware industry in Morada b ad
followed by Jaipur and Bhadohi-Mirzapur. In Aligarh the inciden ce
was pretty n egligible.

The castewise distribution reveals that most of the child workers

come from lower class families. This comprises 26.40% from
backward communities, 25.80% from minority casts, 19 .20%
scheduled ca sts , and 8.6% from scheduled tribes. However, 17% of
the child workers belonged to upper casts as well.
 75

Most of the child workers belong to the rural areas and have
migrated alongwith the family. This has happened probably due to
increasing pressure of population on agriculture and accelerating
unemployment in rural sector leading the families to come to the
cities in search of economic survival. 40.6% child workers come
from remote villages, 23.40% from town areas and only 36%
belonged to the urban area, including even those who had migrated
in the past and have almost settled in the city.

In India child marriage is also popular. 8% of the child workers

were married, majority of which were in Bhadohi & Mirzapur (42%)
and Jaipu r (32%). In these reg10ns the child marriage 1s,
otherwisely also prevalent.

Majority of the child workers (52.6%) were illiterate. Out of this,

majority comprises of female child workers being as high as
70.64%. This speaks of the standard of education in spite of our
efforts during the last 5 decades. Amongst the literate child workers
only 3.80% were matric 16.03% non matric and 45.15% received
only primary education. As much as 35.02% children could not
complete primary education. Economic problems were the major
r eason, in case of 50.57% children, for not going to school. It was
interesting to note that 69 .58% of the illiterate child workers
belonged to dropout from school due to economic problems
(37 . 15%) or due to worthless education (27 .32%). However 63.60%
of them were still interested to go to school.
 76

Lookin g to the physica l growth and capabil ities, the workin g life of
child worker s is very h ard. In case of girls, it is still more difficul t;
because they have to attend to various househ old chorus after their
n or mal working time. About 4 5% of the childre n h ave to have 1 to 2
hours househ old work of any kind followe d by 30 .40% childre n
attendi ng upto 1 hour. About 20% of the worker s have to attend
upto 4 hours work. Child worker s do n ot u s u ally find leisure time
except 35% , among st whom predom inant were the male child
worker s. The leisure time is normal ly u tilised by childre n with their
family or in viewing cinem a.

The family characteristic s of the child worker s reveale d that the

a verage size of the family in these areas was 4 .15 person s. Males
and females constit u te 56.53% and 43.47% respect ively of the total
numbe r of persons. Childre n b elow 15 years of age compri sed
41.84% and the proport ion of the p ersons steadily declini ng as the
age a dvance d . In the a ge group of 3 5-44 years, males formed about
63% of the total numbe r and females about 37%.

Taking m embers even aged 5 years and below into accoun t, about
35% were illiterat e and about 26% h ad receive d educat ion upto
below primar y standa rd .

About 39% of the family worker s, includi ng 6.45% woman , had

activity s tatus of employ ee. Of the person s not in labour force
constituting 48 .54% of the family membe rs, 61.31% were woman
and 5.50% wer e unpaid worker s in th e family worksh ops. Among st
 77

self employed child workers, constituting 4.91%, 78.43% were

females.

Of the other family members abou t 45% were married and a little
less than 4% were widowed and abou t 51 % were unmarried.

The child workers do not receive any formal job- training. They
learn the job while working with their ustads. It was noticed that
69.4% of the child workers were allowed to learn new job by their
employers.

The child workers are employed in gainful occupation, mainly, due

to economic reasons. Their collective strength with their employers
is found extremely poor. The shrewd employers are exploiting these
poor child workers knowing their weakness.

The child workers are largely unaware that they can unionise to
bargain with their employers. They have a feeling of job insecurity
all the times. What is a labour union ? - only 24.6% child workers
were having knowledge. They know that the union is made by the
adult labourers and not by the children.

More than 78.4% of the child workers were not aware that there
are certain legal restrictions on the maximum hours of work by
them. In case of female child workers, the ignorance was as high
as 88.99%. Similarly, 48.2% children did not know of law relating
to a weekly holiday, 82% children were not aware of the law
 78

relating to minimum wages and 83.20% children were unaware of

law r elating to working conditions.

Economic And Living Conditions

The root cause of the evil of child labour, since inception, was the
poor economic conditions of the family. The study includes
occupational structure of the family members, family income,
expenditure and budget, indebtedness, housing and living
conditions etc.

The family has been conceptualised t o consist of the persons

generally related by blood, marriage or a doption; usually living
together and pooling a major part of their income for a major part
of the family expenditure.

The average family size of the families of child labour in the project
areas was 4 . 15 persons. Single member families represent child
labour living singly, out of which 46 children were absconded and
having no ties with their families.

About 39% of the family members including 6.45% women had

activity status of employees. Of the persons not in labour force,
constituting 48.54% of the family m embers, 61.31% were woman.
Unemployed p ersons, according to activity status, formed a
negligible p ercentage i.e. about 1% out of the family members. 116
persons being 5.58% of the total number were u npaid family labour
& out of them 59.48% were girls, engaged in family workshops but
not p aid any w8g~s. /\mong~t self ~r.iployP-ci , .~onstituti.."'1g 4 .91%,:
 79

78.43% were females, who undertake contractual jobs. Such

number was significant in Ferozabad, Jaipur and Moradabad.

The average family income per family of child labour was Rs.
1224.50 per month. The largest number of families being about
22%, had monthly income ranging from Rs. 1000 to Rs. 1250 and
another 18.40% had monthly income ranging from Rs. 1250 to Rs.
1500. Only 0.60% families were having a monthly income of below
Rs. 250 / - and all such families were single member families, in
which the child worker was living alone with his fellow workers.
4.2% families were having an income above Rs.2000 / - per month,
although these families were large and per capita income wa s much
less than those of lower income groups.

The average p er capita income in the families surveyed in the five

cities comes out to Rs. 291.78 per month and Rs. 9.83 p er day.
There were 116 families with single persons and 111 families with
two or three persons comprising of 45.4% of the sample size .
Hence, the average per capita income has been analysed further by
study of the economic status from different view points.

The highest rncome class i.e. Rs. 2000 & a bove, the a verage
earners were maximum i.e. 2.33. The average number of non -
earning defendants was also higher in this group i.e. 8.90.

6.7. The major expenditure in the families is on food , accoun ting

for 55.92% and second highest on house rent , accounting for
J 1.85%) . The expf'11di..l,re on cduca.iion and r eadjng arc ,1cgligible
 80

1.63% and on recreation and amusement meager 0.78%. Other

consumption expenditure, which mainly consists of litigation,
interest, chance game and lotteries, are as high as 4.62%.

The budgetary deficit or net balancing difference is positive or

negligible in the lower income group since .average earners per
family are higher than the non earning dependents. However, the
deficit is larger in the highest income group. It is natural since
number of persons of non earning category is fairly high in such
families. Such families are resorting to the debts and borrowings
from various sources, which are paid off by casual and non recur-
ring types of income like bonus, withdrawals from provident fund,
advance from employers, agricultural proceeds on crops sale or
even sale of assets.

A majority of the families have taken Loans on festivals and

marriages and 25.4% families, on average 25 times during the last
five years, have resorted to borrowing to meet current consumption
deficit. 22.4% families have also procured loans to meet
agriculture expenses. Out of 500 sampled families of Child workers
96.8% of the families are on an average indebted. A majority of the
debts are sourced from Shop keepers, where the loans are taken in
kinds at various occasions including monthly consumption,
festivals, marriages, sickness and even on pur cha se of assets.

A majority of workers h ave their independent house, either kutcha

or pucca in their colony/ area. The floor area does vary from case to
 81

like garages, outhouses etc. in pucca colonies. Independent Child

Labourers are even found sleeping in the Railway sheds or Rain
Baseras. 6.40% workers live in kutcha jhuggis having tin and
hession walls and a shed of tin sheet-parts or polyethylene sheets
or chhapar.

The amenities available to the families are pretty poor. only

22.40% families have a separate kitchen. Only 10.20% families
have a latrine within the dwelling and 30% outside the dwelling
unit; while 59.80% families are going at distance in open yards,
alongside the road and railway barracks and in a few cases to
"Sulabli' centers for their daily needs.

A meager 15.80% families have a separate bath room otherwise

even the females are taking both in open places beneath the sky.
The facilities of drinking water are also not adequate . Only 18.60%
families have tap water within the dwelling and 47 .6% outside the
dwelling, normally on the street. 7.20% families are bound to bring
drinking water from distances with water difficulties.

On all the aspects of health & hygiene, except cleanliness, the

knowledge of the child workers is poor and critical. About
cleanliness also, they know, but it is difficult to practice by them. A
care is needed in this direction as well.

The interesting feature has been found that about 24% children are
victims of their parents or guardians beating them or resorting to
-h,.
1' r· s;,,,.,i
.&.\..,....U.
C""<- 1h • ; , -, r,..-. .o
'-A. ~ ....... ,
... .LI.A ....... ...... ' - '
f°A•·m r.r
..LV.&.v tl.-.e
~1 r,th('~
- - ·1,e anoth.,0, .... 24%·
_ . , wh1. "'"''"'ve
, , 1...__
 82

to engage in working due to their father being alcoholic or drug

a ddict. The unfortunate 20% have lost their parents and have to
engage to earn their livelihood. On the contrary, another lot of 20%
is working since their parents forced them to work. Although the
force to work has been evident during discussion in case of several
child workers, but 9 children were perhaps more sentimental and
felt that they are neglected by their parents and forced them to
engage on labour. They feel it was the duty of the parents to help
them getting education to grow instead of getting on to work.

2.4 SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES OF CHILD LABOUR LAWS

The fundamentals of laws pertaining to child Jabour have not

undergone any drastic change since 1881 when the prov1s10n
regarding child labour had been added to the Factories Act for the
first time in India. Instead of merely enumerating the legislative
measures on child labour, it will also be required to show what has
been achieved in the field over the years. This would help to widen
the scope of existing legislation as well as in formulating new ones.

The opnnon of parliamentarians, legislators, employers, trade

unionists and others on child labour underwent a remarkable
change towards the turn of the 19 t h century as is obvious from the
discussion on the evolution of child labour legislation in India.

It was around the early 1880s, when political decision making and
administration at higher levels were entirely the privilege of the
Europeans who manned all but 16 of the 900 odd posts in the
 83

Indian Civil Service3 that child labour first became an issue in the
political arena. Evidence that the youngest and most vulnerable
members of the labour force were suffering from abuses in the
textile mills of Bombay, Calcutta, Ahmedabad, Surat, Madras,
Coimbatore, Wardha and so on began to accumulate in the minds
of philanthropists as early as the 1870s. The mushrooming growth
of the textile industry was responsible for the imposition of
excessively long hours and a gruelling pace of work on a large
number of women and children.

Reformers made several attempts to improve the condition of

workers. In 1870s, Sasipada Banerjee, Brahmo social reformer
from Bengal, set up a working men's club and brought out a
monthly journal called Bharat Sramjeebi (Indian Labour) with the
primary aim of educating the workers. In 1878, Sorabjee Shapoorji
Bengalee tried unsuccessfully to introduce a bill in the Born bay
Legislative Council to limit the working hours for labour. In
Bombay, Narayan Meghajee Lokhanday brought out an anglo-
Marathi weekly called Dina-Bandhu (Friend of the poor) in 1880 . 4
The early nationalists, however, paid little attention to the
equestion of child labour despite the wretched conditions under
which they existed at that time.

Th e need for government legislation to regulate working conditions

was denied by most of the leading nationalists and social reform
newspapers, for example, Indu Prakash (22 March 1880, 21 March
1881 and 4 August 1884), Gujarati (28 March 1880 and 27 March

J Sulll.it Sarkar, r,'!cd.~111 India, 1885-i~4l, Ec.n. i9~.1

 84

1881) and Gnyan Prakash (30 June 1881). They actively opposed
the Factories Act of 1881 and 1891. It was rightly assessed by the
n a tionalists that the government initiatives on labour legislation as
dictated by British manufacturing interests was mainly to curtail
the growth of industry in India which, in turn, was shrinking the
Indian market for British products.

At the turn of the century with the growth of the child labour force ,
there emerged an unprecendented discussion of various problems
associated with child labour in the legislature. Politicians, trade
unionists as well as employers became drawn into discussion on
this issue. For this was a period when the working class had its
own national level organization to defend its class rights. This is
evident from an official communique .

In July 1919, A.H. Ley, Secretary in the Department of Commerce

and Industry , government of India sent out a warning to local
governm ents. "Labour is growing more conscious of its own wants
and powers; it is showing signs of a capacity for organization; and
it is generally unsettled ," his memorandum noted ."

In the colonial situation of dominance-depedence, the English

society had the power to develop laws and these legal tools were
naturally adopted to their own soci-economic n eeds. Moreover, the
english law makers valued the individual over" artificial" groups
whereas the Indian law makers valued the natural associations

+ (family and casts) over the individual.

- - - - --- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --- -- --
4 Bipin Chandra, India Struggles for Independen ce rn57- l 9 4 7 , Edn. 199 i
 85

When the resolution regarding the minimum age of admission of

children in industrial employment was moved in the Legislative
Assembly on 19 Febru ary 1921, there was considerable resistance
to the proposal to raise the minimum age from nine to 12.
Employers urged the retention the old m1I111D.um of nine.
Authorities suggested a lower minimum for children, bearing in
mind children who succeed m passmg and educational
qualifications along the lines accepted for Japan. This suggestion
was objected to with the view that the admission to a factory
should depend on physical maturity rather than precocity.

Some of the m embers of the Legis lative Assembly were of the

opinion that, very often, the proportion of children employed in
factories was so great that any real change in the minimum age
would upset the organization of the factory and, in some cases,
throw out of action a considerable amount of machinery then
adapted to children's use, in textile factories especially. According
to a return prepared by the Legislative Assembly in 1920, 59% of
the working children were between the ages of nine and 11, a bout
20% p er cent between the ages of 11 and 12 and 21% between the
ages of 12 and 14. If an 11 year minimum was adopted,
Ahmedab ad would loose half its child la bour whereas it would loose
roughly 80% of its child labour if the minimum age for child
employment was fixed at 12.

In 19 18, five acts were passed in provincial councils for adopting

:illlc'..ry- t·d,~c;;~J;Ot-: ~-· ·~~,.,, ,..,
C,1,. ,Th()r1·r1·~~ 'uu1· ,.;.-J-tl1 V-r·.1;.,..;~~ .,..,.....,..,..._,
,,,..._'°'
P ~1.,..;.. _._ -....,.,;., J.\...1 \....•...J 1,.;...J..L _. '- ' , ••' ll\J"-..,
 86

hesitant to use the powers at their disposal. Members of the

Legisla tive Assembly also concluded that employers would nut be
keen to pay for the education of children and, thereby, have their
cheapest labour stolen. Instead of arguing that children are better
off in the mills until education is provided, the argument should
actually h ave been that, unless the children are turned out of the
mills, they would not be able to get e ducated.

The main cause for proposing an increase in the minimum age was
the prevalence of very inaccurate certification then. Since surgeons
apparently were liable to err like other human beings, it was
expected that errors made in dealing with nine-year-olds would be
far more serious then errors made in dealing with children of 12
years. It was also suggested that the certifying surgeons should
have fewer children to deal with. In a ddition, it was p oi.J::ited out
that no line could be drawn between the age limits in India and
other countries b ecause conditions generally in India are so
dissimilar. According to Thoma s Holland, Indian boys from nine to
14 exhibited extraordinary intelligence were quick to pick up work,
and lea rn with rapidity. After 14 years, possibly when they
married, there was a period of slackness and a lack of interest.

The then Government of India, in a despatch dated 15 November

1920 to Britain's Secretary of State for India, indicated that they
proposed raising the age to 11 and then to 12 as they expected
strong opposition to the adoption of 12 as the minimum age .
Moreover, the opinion collected by the local government was
 87

It was also felt that, in the absenc e of compul sory educati on in the
country under which childre n could be forced to attend school up
to the age of 12, it would be a very great mistak e to close the
avenue of employ ment to childre n above 11 years of age. British
legislat ors were of the view that childre n of this age were more fully
develop ed in India than those of similar age in most other
countri es. It was also stresse d that, in other countri es, childre n
had every opportu nity to attend school and were, in fact, compel led
to do so.

Since educati onal facilitie s for dealing with childre n in India were
serious ly lacking , Sir Thoma s Holland mainta ined that, in doing
anythin g, which would preven t childre n from finding suitabl e
employ ment, govern ment was not acting in the interes ts of the
childre n, the people, or the country . Accord ing to him the ILO
conven tion could, therefo re, be applied only on the unders tanding
that it would refer to childre n under 11 years of age, and that
transiti onal regulat ions would be made regardi ng childre n betwee n
the ages of nine and 11 who were already lawfully employ ed in
factorie s.

Anothe r legislat or, Rahimt oola Currim bhoy, held that conditi ons
prevail ing in India were differen t from those elsewh ere and, in that
connec tion, the questio n of educati on was closely linked to fixing
the age limit. Giving the employ ers' opinion on the issue, he
mentio ned that large employ ers of labour were not oppose d to
 88

employers of labou r to see that compulsory education was

introduced in this country. He also adde d that at the same time
employers of labour did not wish to be told that they should not
engage children under 12 and thus force the pace of compulsory
education. He wished that the compulsory education be
introduced and Factories Act amended after that. He wanted the
Assembly to fix the age limit at 11 for the time being.

After visited Kakinara, I<han Bhadur Zahir-ud-Din Ahmed pointed

out that parents of working children opposed the change in the age
and looked up on it with horror a s it would amount to taking away
income from them at a time wh en they were suffering from
economic troubles. He h eld that the workers themselves did not
want any change and preferred to keep the age at nine years.
According to him, they got benefits like houses and free medical
attendance. Because the children played abou t for hours inside
the mills and h a d very light working hours, he opposed the raising
of age.

Ch audhari Wagid Hussain, Member, Legislative Assembly,

challenged the amendment lowering the age and was of the opinion
that heeding to the opposition of Indian parents could result in the
country becoming backward m e ducation, sanitation an.d
everything else. He also felt that, while one cannot throw a
measure out simply beca use parents were likely to oppose it, it was
to be seen whether in the interests of children and the country, it
was desirable. Stressing the s ignificance of fixing the age limit at
12 , he po1!1.ted 0 1_'!.t thar., iP ih~ i11rli;-1u PenRi code , c .. .illlin.ai liabilit·.:
 89

does not arise before the age of 12 in certain cases. In many cases,
a boy of 12 was not supposed to have attained maturity of
understan.ding and is not presumed to be able to discriminate
between right and wrong, at that age. His physical capabilities,
too, are not fully developed at the age of 11 .

Chau dhary Hussain was also of the view that the factories system
was foreign to Indian conditions and, unless proper safeguards
were adopted, he feared it would eventually result in the
deterioration of the national physique. Talcing a bold stand, he
stated, "If I were to fix it, I would fix it at 16, and added, ""if the
conditions in India are different, as they r eally are, that is the
reason for fixing the age limit higher rather than fixing it lower than
what it is in a country like England where 77% of other population
live in cities and only 23% live in the villages. In those cold
countries, a large proportion being for centuries accustomed to
living in cities and working in factories under conditions regulated
by the laws of sanitation and h ygiene, the fact of a large number of
people being collected in factories does not result in as may deaths
as it would in India. In the hot climate of India, where
urbanisation of the population is already resulting in senous loss of
life, we should be very careful in fixing the age limit for admission
to factories".

Talcing a less optimistic view, Bhai Man Singh convinced the

Assembly that it is in the interest of the parents that the age lin1it
should not be low. If extreme poverty forces parents to send their
children to factor-ies.. it is i...'1. the interest of the -parents tl1at the cigt>
,
 90

limit should not be raised above 11. Besides, if a child started his
primary education at the age of 11. So, for the purpose of
compulsory education, there was absolutely no necessity for raising
the age limit of the boy above 11 years.

When the question of amendments to be made arose, 32 m embers

(one third of then British) voted for the amendment and 40 (one-
fourth British) voted against it.

The resolution on the minimum age for the admission of children

into employment at sea was moved by the Commerce and
Industrial Member, C.A. Innes on 26 September 1921 in the
Legislative Assembly C.A. Innes was of the opinion that the
government of India should ratify the draft convention which
prohibits the employment of children under 14 years of age at sea
with the reservations that, if it is ratified , should apply only to
foreign-going ships and to home-trade ships of a burden exceeding
300 tons. In such ships, agreements with seamen were obligatory
and agreements were signed in the presence of the shipping
master. It was assumed tha t the convention could be enforced
during that time. In sailing ships engaged in the coastal trade of
India, the convention could not be enforced as such agreements
were not n ecessary. It was opined that it was wrong in principle to
ratify the draft convention in a form which the Indian government
could not fully undertake to enforce. The other reservation was not
to interfere with the practice of taking young boys who served as
dick hands at nominal wages, which is a form of apprenticeship.
 91

This practice was regarded by Indian seamen as a great concession

and privilege.

Contesting Inne's view, K B L Agnihotri stated that, by employing

children on board ship, their growth would be stunted, their
development impaired, and their physique and health suffer,
besides depriving them of the opportunity t o receive proper
education so that, when they grew up, their efficiency would be
below normal. He also pointed out that, despite the Apprentices
Act, 1850, under which apprentices were permitted to be employed
from the age of 10, and the instructions issued by the Government
of India not to employ children below the age of 16, boys of tender
years were being hired on ships as was evident from the report of
the Madras Government. Clearly, in spite of the executive
instruction, the vice of child employment still remained and it was,
therefore n ecessary to restrict the age and ratify the draft
convention.

On the issue of restriction of employment of children in the ships

below 100 tons or below 300 tons causing great hardship to poor
people, Agnihotri held the view that, in practice, ships of over 100
tons were generally owned by well-to-do persons, individually or in
partnership with others and who were not under any pressure to
employ children on the ships they owned. Therefore, not ratifying
the convention would pave the way for traders and foreigners to
e>-.l)loit the children. He proposed that restrictions should also be
extended to s hips propelled by e lectricity or any other motor power.
 92

Commenting on the second reservation (Clause b), that the

convention should not interfere with children employed on ships
that are in the charge of fathers or relatives, Agnihotri was of the
opinion that India had not yet so far advanced so that fathers in
poor circumstances would take proper care of their children. He
narrated instances where fathers even went against the interests of
their children liked to live on their wages and earnings and some
even sell those children. Because of these reasons and out of
ignorance, some fathers often employed their own children on ships
to increase their incomes. The provision, instead of being a
salutary one, would thus be more liable to be abused. He also felt
that the word 'relatives' in the provision would give an opportunity
to every person coming from the same village, no matter how
distantly connected to the children whose interests were to be
protected by the resolution, to exploit the proposed beneficiaries.
However, at the end of the resolution, the matter was diluted by
adding the word 'near' before relatives, and the motion was
adopted.

On the resolution regarding the employment of young persons as

trimmers and stokers, Innes moved to ratify the draft conventions
adopted by the General Conference of the ILO and the League of
Nations convened at Geneva on the 25th October 1921. He
explained that the draft convention regarding trimmers and stokers
h ad prescribed that young persons under the age of 18 years would
not be employed for working on vessels as trimmers and stokers,
but this did not apply to persons of not less than 16 years of age
,,. .... ,.-t fn" -1...••1
c......L. .......... -vi.AL
-.~.-.h,;:::1
-..... , _, ·c ~,:, h,
1
-1 fii· ~fr,--1·
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- medir::;1 c-xamm·au·on Tht".v
_ ...., _ _ ...., • - J C'.O'U ]d bF-
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 93

employe d as trimmer s and stokers on vessels exclusiv ely engaged

in the coastal trade of India and Japan. The draft conventi on
regardin g compuls ory medical examina tion of children and young
persons employe d at sea specified that the employm ent of any child
or young person under 18 years of age on any vessel, other than
the vessel upon which only the member s of the same family are
employe d, would b e conditio nal to the producti on of a medical
certificat e. Innes wanted both the conventi ons to b e ratified as
they merely conform ed to the existing practice of the governm ent of
India in force since 19 11. He also felt the difficulty of fixing the
minimum age of employm ent for trimmer s and stokers as those
who wanted to b e employe d, usually did not carry birth certifica tes.

Followin g up the discussi on, N N Joshi (nomina ted member :

Labour interests ) said that, the conventi on that had b een adopted
for the non-Asia tic world fixed the minimum age at 18 but , at the
suggestion of the governm ents of India and Japan, the m inimum
age for employm ent of boys as trimmer s and stokers in these two
countrie s had b een fixed at 16. The then Governm ent of India
seemed to him to believe that boy s of 16 in India were as strong as,
if not stronger than, boys of 18 in Europe. He did not approve of
the distincti on which h ad been made between the young boys of
India and other countrie s.

Sir Frank Noyce, Member for Industri es and Labour, while moving
(regardin g draft conventi on and recomm endation concerni ng the
age for admissio n of children to non-indu strial employm ent)
r ec:omn:ic n ri.r.d to the Governo r General in Council 0n behalf of the
 94

Assembly, that he should n either ratify the draft convention n or

accept the recommendation. He reasoned that the age limit
contemplated in the convention should be reduced to 10 when the
International Labour Conference was contemplating an age limit of
14 years below which the employment of children in non-industrial
occupations should b e prohibited. Representatives from India for
the conference had suggested that, in the special circumstances of
India, it should be reduced to 10. This convention would apply
solely to the employment of children in non-industrial occupations.
A second suggestion was that, as far as India was concerned, the
convention should only apply to certain specified occupations. In
article 9, it was proposed that three provisos be made:
i) All children below 10 should b e excluded from non-
industrial employment.
ii) Older children s hould be excluded from certain street
occupations
iii) Children should b e excluded from occupations involving
certain dangers t o life, health and morals.

It was considered that children below 10 were likely to be em ployed

only in domestic service and it was absolutely out of the question to
enforce the convention in the houses where they were employed .

Reasons given for not ratifying the convention were, firstly, it would
be difficult to enforce the convention in domestic service where a
large number of children were employed; secondly, there was a
more urgent need to deal with children in industrial employment in
 95

employment; and, thirdly, in the absence of compulsory education,

by ratifying the conven tion, the children would be forced to spend
their time in unhealthy su rroundings and idleness, thereby
becoming bad citizen s of the country.

2 .5 RIGHTS OF CHILDREN

The rights of Children can be divided into five sets of basic rights,
namely;
• Civil and political;
• Social and economic;
• Cultural;
• Rights in abnormal or dangerous situations; and
• Right to due process of law.

These sets of rights are based on certain guiding principles

enshrined in our Constitution namely:
• Principle of equality and non-discrimination (Article 2) ;
• Principle of best interests of the child (Article 3);
• Principle of obligation to protect all the rights of the child
(Article 4); and
• Principle of State's obligation to respect parental
responsibilities and rights (Article 5).

Most of the above ' Rights of the Child' find prominent place in the
char ter of rights guaranteed under the Indian Constitution. J\n
Indian citizen enjoys today man.y more fundamental rights than
 96

those, which were believed to have been available at the time when
the Constitution was enacted.

The Constitutional treatment of rights is two-fold :

(i) Fundamental Rights

On the one hand, certain rights and freedoms, mostly civil, political
and cu ltural in nature, are secured as Fundamental Rights
enforceable against the State through Constitutionally guaranteed
.. remedies including writs. Though these rights are couched in
negative language, they are capable of assuming the character of
rights enforceable through affirmative action on the part of the
State and its agencies. These set of rights include:
• Right to Equality (Articles 14-18);
• Right to Freedom (Articles 19-22) ;
• Right against exploitation (Articles 23-24) ;
• Right to Freedom of religion (Articles 25-28) ;
• Cultural and Educational rights (Articles 29-30);
• Right to Constitutional Remedies (Article 32).

Directive Principles o f S t at e Policy

On the other hand certain rights, largely social and economic m
nature have been listed as Directive Principles of State Policy.

These rights though not justifiable yet are fundam ental t o

governance and are considered a necessary supplement to
Fundamental Rights in achieving the objective of the Welfare' State.
 97

Legislations intended to implement the rights involved in the

Directives have to be held Constitutionally valid as far as possible.
This recognition of indivisibility and inviolability of rights included
in the Directive Principles (social and economic rights) and the
harmonious interpretation of other provisions in the Constitution to
advance the content of the rights in Part IV (Directive Principles of
State Policy) is a major accomplishment in human rights protection
under Indian constitutional law.

Civil Rights and Freedom

The Constitution presents an impressive list of rights for children.

While the right of equality before the law and the equal protection
of the laws is available to any person (including children),

Article 15(3) empowers the State to have special laws for children,
only intended to en a ble them to enjoy the fruits of the equality
guarantee. Thus the Child Labour Prohibition laws, the Juvenile
J u stice Act and the Children's Act, though class legisla tions are n ot
only constitutionally permissible but also c onstitutionally
mandated.

Talcing note of the then prevailing exploitative practice of trafficking

in human beings, particularly children, Article 23 of t h e
Constitution has put a total ban on forced labour and made such
practices punis hable under law.

The Constitution in Article 24 has prohibited the employment of

children below che age of l ,,,t year0 in. aGY factory, ruu ,c (;!' ii.:. a t:;:y·
 98

other hazardous activity. Besides, all the seven sets of

Fundamental Rights in the Constitution are available to children
with as much authority and accessibility as that with adult
citizens.

There is a large body of case law which has not only developed the
application of these rights to children but have also expanded their
scope in order to make them meaningful.

This was accomplished by the judiciary by using the technique of

harmonious construction of Part-II (Fundamental Rights) and Part
IV (Directive Principles of State Policy) of the Constitution side by
side with India's Treaty obligations and obligations under the U.N.
Convention on the Rights of the Child. In this regard, the
performance of the Indian judiciary stands out as single
contribution for the universal development of human rights
generally, and of child rights in particular.

Th e provisions in Part-IV of the Indian Constitution, which enabled

the judiciary to promote the jurisprudence of child rights are
Articles 39(e), (f), 42,45 and 47.

Article 3 9 . The State shall, in particular, direct its policy towards

secunng-
(e) that the health and strength of workers and the tender
age of children are not abused and that citizens are not
involved by economic necessity to enter avocations
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·
L.t .1. V
,., ,..t:
<At,, or "~ r pr.rrth
.._,....,. _..._..._,.., .._... ,_,·
 99

(f) that childre n are given opportu nities and facilitie s to

develop in a healthy manne r and in conditi ons of
freedom and dignity and that childho od and youth are
protect ed against exploita tion and agains t moral and
materia l abando nment.

Article 42 - The State shall make provisi on for securin g just and
human e conditi ons of work and for matern ity relief.

Article 45 - The State shall endeav our to provide , within a period

of ten years from the comme ncemen t of this Constit ution, free and
compulsory educat ion for all childre n until they comple te the age of
fourtee n years.

Article 4 7 - The State shall regard the raising of the level of

nutritio n and the standa rd of living of its. people and the
improv ement of public health as among its primar y duties and, in
particu lar, the State shall endeav our to bring about prohibi tion of
the consum ption except for medici nal purpos es of intoxic ating
drinks and of drugs which are injurio us to health.

These rights, at present , may not be treated as positiv e rights partly

becaus e they are expres sly made non-en forceab le throug h courts
(Article 37) and partly becaus e they are meant to be only
progres sively realizab le, subject to the econom ic resourc es of the
State. Howeve r, they are import ant provisi ons as Article 37 has
stipula ted in unequi vocal terms that "these princip les are
 100

fundamental in the governance of the country and it shall be the

duty of the State to apply these principles in making laws".

The Supreme Court, as part of the system of governance of the

country has been involving these principles in interpretation of
statutes and in implem entation of fundam ental human rights.

For instance, the inability of the State to provide free compulsory

education for all children within a period of ten years from the
commencement of the Constitution h as compelled the Supreme
Court to declare right to education as part of the fundamental right
to personal liberty {Article 21), as without education, life cannot be
lived with dignity. This health trend to increasingly... ...... read the
rights contained in Directive Principles (Part IV) into the
Fundamental Rights in Part III of the Constitution is towards
progressive realization of the
 - ------

101

conce rn into concre te action s, availab ility of traine d person nel and
greate r accou ntabil ity to legal obliga tions are being Attem pted. The
Court s have taken child rights and princi ples govern ing them very
seriou sly and have gone to the farthe st limits to give every child,
partic ularly the neglec ted and the delinq uent, an oppor tunity to
enjoy the minim um guara ntees of law.

)I
India is a Union of States , and under the schem e of govern ance
envisa ged by the Indian Const itution all legisla tive power s are
organi zed under three lists given in the Seven th Sched ule. List I
(Union List) contai n matte rs in which the Union Parlia ment has
exclus ive power to make laws. Simila rly in respec t of items in List II
(State list) the State Assem blies have exclus ive power to make laws.
List III, titled Concu rrent List contai ns matte rs in which both
Parlia ment and State Assem blies have power to legisla te. On
matte rs not enume rated in List II or III, Parlia ment has residu ary
power s of legisla tion. (Artic les 246 and 2 48).

While public order, police, pnson s, reform atorie s, borsta l

institu tion, relief of the disabl ed, etc., are subjec ts of List II, a
numb er of relate d matte rs like crimin al law and proced ure, family
law, civil proced ure, vagran cy, econo mic and social planni ng, social
securi ty, welfar e of labour , educa tion etc. are items in List III. Many
of these items relate to the rights of childr en. As such the status of
legisla tive protec tion availa ble to childr en and the extent of
enforc ement of availa ble laws affecti ng their entitle ments are
depen dent upon State Gover nment s.
 102

There have been instances of relative neglect of children's welfare

and uneven enforcement of laws in some parts of the country.
Consequently any generalization on the status of children's rights
in the whole of India is risky, unfair and contrary to realities on the
ground. The performance of higher judiciary is more, likely to
reflect the general state of affairs. It is here that children got access
to justice through what came to b e known as Public Interest

..,,.
Litigation (PIL). It is through the High Courts and the Supreme
Court that judicial remedies and procedural standards have
evolved and accountability established on issues of human right.

Keeping in view the fact that operational problems in dispensing

justice in some areas would have adverse effects in securing Rights
of the Child, a number of steps are being initiated to strengthen the
syst~m, under the juvenile Justice Act. Many juvenile courts do not
h ave presiding officers, there is inordina te delay in disposal of
cases proceedings, unimaginative disposition of juvenile
delinquents and lack of infra-structural support. These have made
the whole system counter-productive, a uthor itarian and inimical to
child rights.

+ There have b een some positive d evelopments in the period following

the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Following an international conference on the subject in March,
1994, an "Alliance for the Child" has been formed at the national
level with the Chief Justice of India as its chairperson. This body
has inspired an active interest in the problems of children viewed in
th~ _rer-s}_1ective 0f the child rights. Senior judicial officers, lawyers
 103

and police person nel have attemp ted to addres s the problem s of
childre n, particu larly in the contex t of the implem entatio n of the
juvenil e Justice Act.

Legisla tive Suppor t to Rights o f Ch ildren

The union Parliam ent and the State Assemb lies have been playing
an effectiv e role in bringing forward approp riate legislat ion to
suppor t the status and welfare of childre n. A long list of benefic ial
laws has been put in the Statute Book transla ting Constit utional
Directives into legislat ive policies . Gaps distorti ons in legislat ions
resultin g in uninten ded conseq uences in legislat ive policies
goverru ng child rights are r en ewed on a regular basis to take
remedi al measu res.

The area of concer n in Indian law today is in the one relating to

family relation s, which are still govern ed by a bewilde ring variety of
custom ary, religion -based and feudali stic person al laws applica ble
to person s depend ing on their birth into one or other religion . There
are gaps in laws relating to health, edu cation, housin g and
employ ment where compro mises have been made which someti mes
+ do not always mainta in the highes t princip les of the dignity of
childho od , human rights and the princip les of the Consti tution and
the Conven tion. On child prostitu tion, on the status of disable d
childre n and on the neglect of the street childre n there are serious
inadeq uacies and shortco mings in the law when compa red to the
princip les and standa rds of the Con vention , which are being
!?.t~~r.:.:.led. tc thro ~ g h ·.,'J..ric us ~tratcg 1cs.
 104

Continuous efforts are being made at the governmental and non-

governmental levels to bring forward legislations to fill in the gaps
and to repeal laws and practices in respect of children with a view
to provide them greater space.

Right to Participate and Freedom of Expression

In a patriarchal society like India, discrimination on the basis of

sex and age has been a historical fact. Women and children,
particularly the girl child, are the most vulnerable groups of the
society, all victims of a variety of discriminations, many of which
have, over the years, been legitimized by custom and by religions.
Therefore the right to communicate and the right to participate
have limited scope in actual life. Despite Article 13 and 19 the
child's right to information and to expression are arbitrarily
determined by parent, teachers or other adults thereby reducing
the choice and limiting the frontiers of knowledge, ideas and
information. A variety of issues of law, policy, ethics and morals are
often advanced by adults, again in the best interests of the child to
prevent such free access to all types of ideas and information.

Freedom of expression is a fundamental need for the child. The fact

that this freedom has not made available to the desired extent and
needs to be acknowledged and valued. However, there are
prov1s10ns m the law in adoption matters, m cases of custody
(Section 2b of Hindu Marriage Act), m fixing criminal
responsibility (Section 83 and 90 of Indian Penal Code), in giving
evidence in Court (Sections 118 Evide:.;ce Act) etc. where r..ne
 105

child's views are taken into consideration before a decision affecting

them is taken.

Right to Personal Liberty, Bo dily Integrity and Pdvacy

Bodily integrity and privacy are basic rights provided for in Articles
16 and 37 of the Convention. While personal liberty (right to life) is
guaranteed by Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, freedom from
self-incrimination, double jeopardy, unlawful arrest and detention
are provided for by Articles 20 and 22.

Traffic in human beings is prohibited under Article 23 and all

forms of forced labou r are outlawed . The Court has developed PIL
as a strategy to provide wide access to aggrieved persons even
through total strangers. Judicial remedies have come to be
democratized through introduction of interim reliefs appropriate to
the occas10n. Thus medical justice, rehabilitative Justice,
compensatory justice etc., have becon1e part of human rights
jurisprudence in India giving meaning and content to the right to
life and liberty. One of the important set of beneficiaries of this
judicial activism on the right to bodily integrity has been children.
- Children in bondage have been released and rehabilitated
under Court orders made at the instance of NGOs and
journalists.
- Conditions of custodial institutions where delinquent and.
destitute children were kept h ave been improved to tl1e
advantage of inmates in a series of cases taken to the
court.
 106

- Humane approaches towards children in conflict with the

law were adopted under strict directions of the Court.

While such refinements in the rights of the child were taking place
mainly through the judicial process, there have been reports of
increasing victimization of children through rape and related sexual
offenses and through forced prostitution. One explanation of this
increased menace could be greater awareness and openness due to
effective advocacy for children's rights. Even then, all efforts are
being taken to arrest this menace through effective and senesitised
enforced machinery, a speedier trial and justice. A Central
Advisory Committee on Child Prostitution has been set up to
make suggestions for eradicating child prostitution. It has
submitted its report. Suitable machinery shall soon be set up for
implementing the reco~mendations.

An issue of great importance in this regard is the relevance of

consent of the child or young adult in medical treatment. Usually,
information on the child is gathered from the parent and decision
on treatment is made with consent of parents or guardians.
However there are situation in which conflict of interests may arise
and the parent's consent may not be in the best interest of the
child. Greater awareness on this aspect is b eing build in awareness
campaign .

The right t o priv a cy implies that there should be in camera trials

for all cases, involving juveniles. The present system provides this
protection and report::i.ge of cases involving juveniles or rape victims
 107

has to skip the mentio n of the name or addres s of the victim.

However, this protect ion has not been extend ed to include law
jou rnals or pu blicatio n of photog raphs of the victim,

The right to adequa te housin g is implied in every child's right to

privacy . This right is especia lly import ant for girl childre n and
childre n living in urban slums who often have to share a one room
hutmen t with sibling s and parents . Govern ment's effectiv e steps
toward s providi ng Shelter for the Homele ss can go a long way in
meetin g this provisi on of the Conven tion. Althou gh housin g is a
State subject but the Union Govern ment has formul ation of
Housin g Policy with regard to program mes and approa ches for
effectiv e implem entatio n of the social housin g scheme s, particu larly
those pertain ing to the weaker section s of society to accomp lish the
goal of Shelter for all.

The Prime Ministe r's 20 Point' Program me laid special empha sis on
the housin g needs of the disadva ntaged section of society .
Curren tly, four social housin g scheme s-Sche me for the
Econom ically Weake r Section s of the Society ; Low Income Group,
Middle Income Group, and Rental Housin g Scheme ; Rural House-
site-cum -House - Constru ction Schem e; and Indira Awas Youjana
are being implem ented throug h the State Govern ments and Union
Territo ry admini stration s.

Right o f No n-Disc rimina tion

Anothe r import ant civil right 1s that of equalit y of status and of

 108

Article 2 of the Conven tion. This right is in theory guaran teed by

the Constit ution (Article 14). In practic e there are wide-ra nging
instanc es of discrim ination s based on caste, religion , sex, region,
languag e, parenta ge or econom ic status. Many such discrim inatory
practic es are sought to be justifie d .u nder religion , custom or social
policy. some of them are inherit ed from the feudal, colonia l past
and the Laws designe d thereun der.

Religio n-based legal system s in India have discrim ina tion based
on s ex. This is evident in legislat ions relating to marriag e
separat ion, propert y rights and custody of childre n. The girl child
does not always enjoy the rights of childho od for reason s
extraneous to her fault or incapacity. Till recentl y educat ion and
health were almost denied to her and she was confine d to
househ old work. In fact the discrim ination has gone to such an
extent as to abort the female child while in the womb and not allow
her even to be born. Very recently , Parliam ent as well as certain
States have come forward with prohibi tion of sex determ ination
tests with a view to curb female foeticid e.

Gaps in Person al Law which are not conduc ive to the best
interes ts of the child include the length of mainte nance {Muslim
Law), custod ianship of the mother (Hindu Law), caste-r elated
identity (Hindu Law) and denial of adoptio n to non-Hi ndus. These
would need to be addres sed.

The con c e pt of ille gitimac y of childre n and disabil ities impose d

nn ~~ . .....,._
r~ /-.._. h_<:.-4
•J<;~C ;<' ,•,:,.µr"'ll"" ...•lSl·1,.l.
- l,3 t.._._
r. t~.:.e · c1'plc of p:-;11 ~ ~~U.!.
·...; _..._ .._.. .._ _ _ ..._, •~ ,. - VA '-, - ......, prm A. -i_ -
-.. - 1~:y•
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-
 109

dignity of childre n. Discrim ination based on econom ic or social

status has been an inheren t charac ter of Indian Society . Laws
prohibi ting the practic e of untouc hability and providi ng for
reserva tion in jobs and educati on to erstwhi le untouc hables have to
a large extent improv e the status of these classes though it would
take some more time before this practic e gets eradica ted
comple tely.

The right to educat ion of every child is the founda tion on which
the right to equal treatme nt and non-dis crimina tion is based. The
right to educati on also presup poses that other rights to health and
nutritio n and the right to privacy are provide d to every child. The
light to educati on is thus of particu lar signific ance to all
discrim inated childre n, especia lly girl childre n and childre n with
special needs who are sufferin g from mental , physica l or econom ic
disabili ties. Compu lsory educati on for all childre n 1s the basis of all
civil rights for all childre n.

Childr en in Conflic t with Law

It is the social and legal system s, which deny innoce nt childre n

their right to develop ment and lead them to antisoc ial acts and
delinqu ency. Crimin al law and proced ure have for long made
con cession s to childre n in numbe r of areas. These include :
• immun ity from crimina l respons ibility (Sectio n 82 and 83 of
India Penal Code),
• consen t of child not b eing treated as proper consen t for
exempt ion from guilt (Sectio n 90 of Indian Penal Code),
 1 IO

• creation of special offenses for misuse and exploitation of

children,
• diversion to non- criminal courts in cases of juvenile crime,
• disposition (sentencing) to non-criminal sanctions and
reformatory sentences on finding guilty,
• non-application of death penalty to child convicts,
• institution of separate custodial and correctional institutions
and removal of any kind of stigma against them.

All these have been part of Indian criminal jurisprudence for more
than a century. During the last decade the approach of law towards
neglected, destitute and delinquent children was further liberalized
and rationalized with the enactment of the Children Act in 1960
and later' The Juvenile Justice Act in 1986 .

The mixing up of delinquent with non-delinquent children m the

judicial process was put an end to and Child Welfare Boards with
quasi-judicial powers were set up for children who needed care and
protection. A uniform legisla tion a pplicable to the whole of India
covering all aspects of children in trouble supported by a National
Policy on Children did h erald a new era in the criminal judicial
process so far as children are concerned. The Juvenile Justice Act
is a progressive legislation in tune with the current thinking on the
subject and the U.N. Convention. The need for further improvement
both in structure and in procedures has been felt. A clear
statement of policy and a flexible legal framework to enable
individualized and humane treatment of children in difficulties
 111

promot ed under the law will go a long way in providi ng the childre n
their civil rights.

It may be conclud ed that under the Civil Rights and Freedo ms:
Prioriti es for follow up action are:
1. Review ing and revising of laws, particu larly those
relating to childre n to enable and facilita te affirma tive
actions by State and addres s existing lacuna e.
u. Strengt hening enforce ment machin ery to ensure
transla tion of rights into reality.
m. Making the existing Constit utional right to educat ion a
functio nal reality for all childre n.
1v. Compr ehensiv e review of juvenil e Justice Act to make it
more effectiv e and child friendly .
v. Sensiti zation of the Judicia ry and the law enforcem ent
machin ery to the special needs of childre n.
v1. Promot ing affirma tive action by the State, commu nities
and all concer ned section s of society .

2.6 A CRITICAL OV ERVIEW

The child labour is the outcom e of various factors , so far as India is

concern ed. Some of the causes can be stated as under:

1. Stagna tion of Agricu lture:

Increas ing landles sn ess and the destruc tion of the village econom y,
withou t the generat ion of alterna tive channe ls of employ ment has
le d to the m assive pauper ization of the rural fam ilies forcing quite a
 112

their child ren to work . The bulk of the urba n poor from
who m the
majo rity of the urba n child labo urer s com e are all land
less or land-
poor migr ants .

The majo rity of the child ren both in the rura l and urba
n area s have
to work to help mee t the surv ival n eeds of the
fami ly. The enor mity
of the prob lem can be gaug ed from the fact that over
50.2 per cent
of the Indi an peop le live belo w the Gov ernm ent-d efine
d pove rty
norm , whic h is itsel f low by any civil ized stan dard s.
The situa tion
of work ing child ren in Siva kasi and Mirz apur refle cts
the proc esse s
at work . Mos t of the child ren work ing thes e area
s com e from
regio ns, whic h are econ omic ally back ward a:1d drou
ght- pron e.
Stud ies reve al that a child 's inco me is a criti cal inpu
t to fami ly
surv ival. In the tea gard ens of Assa m and Wes t Beng
al, child ren
cont ribu te 33 per cent of the h(?u seho ld inco me. The
follo wing table
illus trate s this poin t.
TAB LE-2 .4
Rea sons for send ing child ren to wor k
Kame of projec t Total No. Total No. of Need for Acqui sition of
of HHS childr en worktn g supplem e ntaiy skills
in HHS incom e
Gem polish ing 410 367 258 (70.2) 67 (18.2)
lndust iy, Jaipu r
Glass lndust iy 500 '
639 464 (72.6) 14 (2.1)
Feroza bad
Carpe t
Mll"zaptu·
lndust iy I 492 608 480 (78.9) 5 (0.8)
Diamo nd lndus uy 153 185 142 (76.7) l (0.5)
Surat
Slate Indus uy 495 660 464 (70.3) 1 (0.1)
Mai·ka pur
Lock Makin g lndust Jy 467 789 675 (85.5) 72 (9.1)
Aligar h
Brassw are lndus ny 489 755 689 (91.2) 22 (2.9)
Morad abad
Slate Pe ncil lndus ny 460 892 372 (41.7)
, Mz.nds:-.~:r
!
-- - --- -- - -L - -·-- I
 113

Note: Figures in parentheses re present p ercen tage in relation to total number of

Working Children .
S ource: Operations Research Grou p . "Child Lab ou r in Different Industries -
Con s olidated Report." Madras, J u ly 1993.

Significantly in Sivaka si, in about 60 per cent of the h ouseholds

with working children, one-third t.o two-thirds of the total
household income is contributed by children. Without the income
from the children working full-time, h alf of these families would
sink below the poverty line .

2. Presence of a Huge Informal Sector

Presence of a huge informal sector in India implies the presen ce of
a huge work force and cheap wage la bour. Working children ,
because they are unorganised and lack any bargaining power, are
on e of the source s of ch eap la bour. (20 per cent of labour in the tea
gard ens comprise of child workers, 25 per cent in gem polishing,
and 30 per cent in Mirzapuri carp ets

3 . Traditional Occupation of Children's Family

Children coming from families having a tra ditional occupa tion (as
artisans , etc .) belong to a high -risk group, likely to b e inducted as
child worker s in their family occupation at a tender age.

4. Socially and Economica lly Backward Classes

As wa s m entioned earlier, the m ajority of the child workers are
from the s ocially and economically ba ckward classes.
Discr imina tion based on caste and religion , leaves ch ildren coming
from the lower rungs of the social hierarch y with exceedingly
lim ited op p or t u nities. Thi~ is true i."l the case of net onlv t..½.e
 114

informal sector bu t also the formal sector. Workers in the tea

gardens of Assam and West Bengal (a formal industry) find
themselves imprisoned in an enclave that is defined by ethnic
segregation.
TABLE-2.S
Occupation & Ethnic Composition of Working Children
Industry Religion Caste
Brassware M - 83.44%, H - 16.54% SC - 3.68%
(Moradabad) OBC - 75.66%
UC - 20.65%
Lock Making M - 62.1 % BC - 63.1 %
(Aligarh) H - 37.7..%* UC - 36.9%
*SC-87.5%
Carpet M - 13.8% SC - 38.01%
(Mirzapur) H - 86.2% ST- 1.02%
BC - 45.93%
UC - 2 .35%
Glass SC - 45. 17%
(Ferozabad) BC - 30.35%
UC - 9.86%
MC - 14.62%
Match &Fire Work H-98°/c, SC - 40.8%
(Sivakasi) ST-0.6%
Tea Plantation SC/OBC - 50.9%
(Assam & N.B.) ST-46.8%,
UC-0.4%
Slate SC - 37.c:1% ST -
(Markapur) 1.0%
BC-42. 00/oOC -
18.00/o
Diamond Mostly Patel
(Surat) Community Gujarat
Gem Polishing M - 97.5%, H - 2 .7% No SC/ ST
(Jaipur)
Slate Pencil M - 66.6%, H - 33.3°/., SC - 35.4%ST -
(Mandsaur) 26.3%
BC - 38.3%,

Note: M-Muslim. MC-Minority Community, H- Hindu SC - Schedule Castes. ST -

Schedule Tribes, UC- Upper Caste OBC - Other backward, OC - Other Classes

Sou rces:
(!) Operations Research Group, Child Labour zn Different Industn'es: Consolidated
Report, Madras 1993.
(2) For Tea Industry, see Vasanthi Raman's study on "Child Labour m the Tea
Plr::~tntinn"' of l'.10>1.h. h~ia. "M"ir:.istrz.' of Lr.bour, Gout. of!w-1.ia. 1,m;''' '1!:sl,cd, 1992.
 115

In the above Table, unless otherwise stated, the caste breakup

includes all religious groups. In other unorganised sectors such as
agriculture, construction, tea stalls, domestic workers, coolies and
shoe shiners - no statistics are available.

5 . Lost Faith in the Education System

Families have lost faith in the present day education system , which
is not cognizant of the structural patterns existing in Indian
society. It is inaccessible and irrelevant for a large section of the
society. Fu rther, they feel that it is better for the child to become a
wage earner and to gain experience toward becoming a skilled
labourer.

The Governmental Approach

The Union Labour Minister has said in his Inaugural address on
the occasion of National Child Labour Conference on 22nd
January, 2001 at Vigyan Bhawan

The Government has taken several positive steps for the

progressive elimination of child labour problem being faced by the
country. After the enactment of Child Labour Act, 1986 , National
Child Labour Policy was declared in 1987. The policy c onceives that
the problem of elimination of child labour depends not only on the
enforcement of different labour legislations, but on other factors as
well.
 116

The solution to the child labour problem is primarily linked with

social and economic development. Although awareness is being
created among different sections of the society about the ill effects
of child labour, still the problem remains that the guardians of the
children are neither aware of the seriousness of the problem nor
they are prepared to accept it. The idea of increasing the income of
parents by converging various development schemes at economic
level is a pragmatic step. Today, while National Child Labour
Projects (NCLPs) are being run in 96 districts of the country and
the children withdrawn from jobs are being rehabilitated, yet there
is a need to implement the idea of convergence of NCLPs. Efforts
are to be made to establish proper coordination m the
implementation of different programmes being run by various units
and departments of the government. This is why efforts have been
made to bring implementation of 8;11 these development schemes
under "Swaran Jayanti Samridhi Yojana" announced by the
Hon'ble Prime Minister. These concerted efforts will bring success
to the campaign launched against child labour at economic level. In
order to achieve this objective, different government departments
are now required to establish proper coordination m the
implementation of this scheme at the earliest.

Presently there are more than 3,500 schools in which more than 2
lakh children are being rehabilitated. As compared to Rupees 15
crore allocated in the Eighth Five Year Plan, an amount of Rs. 250
crore approximately has been allocated in the Ninth Five Year Plan
to further strengthen child labour projects. With these funds, there
i:, ;:; need to erLl-iar..se the covera2:e by in.cr~a sing th~se projects in
 117

other child labour endemic districts so that more and more

children are benefited. This will help in strengthening the economic
condition of the families of these children engaged in labour
activities. The number of these 96 projects should be increased to
100 as it has already been sanctioned in principle. We have to
decide about the districts where these four new projects are to be
started.

In the recent past, the Government had increased the number of

prohibited processes from 18 to 51. Now this number is being
increased to 57 so that more and more processes could be brought
under the prohibited category. It will help in making these NCLPs
more comprehensive. The Technical Advisory Committee
constituted under the Child Labour Act is also assigned with the
responsibility to help the Government m its objective of
withdrawing 20 lakh children from hazardous occupations and
processes by the year 2005. Other such employments and
processes should be identified where employment of children may
be prohibited. There is a need to bring more and more occupations
and processes under the Child Labour Act.

As far as the effective enforcement of child labour laws is

concerned, it is necessary to make law enforcement officers, labour
inspectors and factory inspectors more capable and efficient by
imparting n ecessary training to them . Attempt should be made to
expand the field of such training and prepare a group of inspectors
so that more and more enforcement officers, labour and factories
inspectors could be c:over~d Llnder this tra1ning programme. V.V.
 118

Giri National Labour Institute is engaged in this important task for

the last few years. The Institute has introduced several training
programmes in different states with the help of International
Labour Organisation (ILO) and International Programme for
Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) . There is a need to make it more
comprehensive. Project Directors should also be included m this
task and properly trained to give a practical shape to the
importance of convergence.

Various international agencies engaged in the elimination of child

labour have also rendered their assistance to supplement the
various efforts of the Government. UNICEF is working for the cause
of childrens' rights. ILO assisted area-specific projects should be
given a wider scope. ILO assistance may also be sought for running
residential schools. These institutions have done a commendable
work in this field. We have set a target of withdrawing 20 lakh
working children from hazardous occupations and processes. So
far 2 lakh children have already been rehabilitated through
different NCLPs. In the ensuing technical sessions, you will be
discussing as to how these remaining 18 lakh children will be s et
free from such employments and what will be our plan of action

• and programme for it.Our resources are limited , but we n eed n ot be

discouraged as all the sections of the society are with the
Government in this great task.

Gaps in the Provisions for Children's Right

A careful s crutiny is likely to reflect that there are gaps in
prov1srnns available to the Indian Child under almost all Articles .
 119

However, the redeeming feature is that - India presently has an

infrastructure available , which has rmmense potential of
translating Conventions Provisions m to reality in a phased
manner. we are well aware that no society in the long run can
sustain the welfare of its people without economic and social
development. The basic strategy of development therefore is optimal
utilization and mobilization of both material and human resources.
The national planning process thus is a lso focussed at different
aspects of economic development to achieve optimal human
resour ce development.

The impact of this process is already visible. Most of the villages

have access to electricity and are within the reach of modern
telecommunication net-work. Income and consumption levels have
risen. The consumption basket has diversified. The incidence of
poverty has declined. The average life exp ectancy has gone up. The
death and birth rates h a ve declined. Literacy h as improved and the
educational base has widened. India has a robust and resilient
agricultural economy with near self-sufficiency in food production.
India has a large pool of skilled manpower and ample
entrepreneurial r esources. But there are considerable disparities
across States, between, urban and rural areas; males and females,
and in various social groups. In the perspective of the next 10 to 15
years, India has to concentrate on reducing these disparities and to
improve the quality of life of the average Indian citizen.

Most of the rights detailed are guaranteed in the Constitution of

India since J 950, these rights have been enlarged through process
 120

of judicia l interpr etation and review. It is a testimo ny to the

govern ment of India's commi tment to the cause of childre n. These
manda tes have resulte d in plannin g of approp riate actions aimed at
child-c entered develop ment. Childre n already are at the base of
nationa l develop ment-n ot just as recipie nts of benefit s of service s
and program mes but are the focus of develop ment itself. The
ratifica tion of the conven tion has made efforts more coordin ated
and sustain ed. The provisi ons in the Conven tion call for a chain of
interve ntions in the civil, politica l, social, econom ic and cultura l
sphere s of the nation' s life. The status of the child which is likely to
transfo rm from a depend ent identity to an indepe ndent
autono mous individ ual-ent itled to rights and able to articul ate and
particip ate in his own develop ment.

Nation al Plan o f Action is an import ant tool with the govern ment
to monito r the progres s of its own commi tment. Bridgin g the gap
betwee n p erforma nce and expecte d target is receivin g high priority .
Concer ted measur es are being taken to achieve targets within the
stipula ted time frame. Some of the goals are well within reach,
while in case of others much more needs to be done. Resour ce
scarcity is going to impose a serious constra int in achievi ng goals.
Optima l utilizat ion and mobiliz ation of interna l and externa l
resourc es, thus, is being attemp ted.

The measur es to be adopte d for promot ing child's rights require

multi-p ronged strateg ies to be initiate d simulta neously . The
process has already begun. It include s promot ing pro-chi ldren
develop ment strat~g ies, formul ation of ne,v legis]at ions conform ing
 121

to the conve ntion, revisio n and enforc ement of existin g laws, taking
of affirm ative action to elimin ate discrim inatio n agains t the girl
child, promo ting people s partic ipatio n and encou raging partne rship
with NGOs, advoc ating child's rights throug h dissem inatio n and
media and develo ping releva nt set of indica tors to illustr ate and
assess the progre ss of child rights in the Indian contex t.

The priori ty areas of actio n identif ied in each sectio n of the

Count ry Repor t presen t a long and s erious agend a for govern ment,
its depart ments , NGOs and society in genera l.

Tradit ionally , the care of childr en is the respon sibility of the family
alone, state and societ y are expect ed to have a posture of restra int
and non- interfe rence. The legal and moral dimen sions to child's
rights and need to fulfil his basic needs are covere d. Trans gressi on
of the Provis ions contai ned in the variou s Article s may result in
conflic ts as well as confro ntatio n betwe en the family and the state.
Rights can b e d eclare d, policie s can be formu lated to expre ss our
collect ive liberal and human istic con cern, but unless the life of the
child in the family and comm unity gets impro ved all efforts may
becom e meani ngless . There is a need to raise aware ness and create
an ethos of r espect ing the rights of the child in the society .
Advoc acy and social mobilization are two crucia l proces ses to
achiev e this, end . India n eed to empow er the y ounge r genera tion to
assert their basic rights and be able to realize their full potent ial. It
is going to b e a challenge for India as the task is stupen dous.