This June 12, like every year, the World Day against Child Labour would pass on peacefully and ostensibly to oblivion at least for another year when we will again observe the similar rituals of crying hoarse, holding seminars etc on the issue of Child labour. But child labour is far from eliminated.
Child labour is still prevalent in India across and so in Jammu Kashmir mainly because of two things – low income and low literacy rate. It will take a long time, but children are continuously employed at restaurants, shops, petrol pumps, industry or at many other places and even at agricultural fields and at many construction sites.
One can easily find children working at dhabas or at homes. Over and above, one often encounters young children both boys and girls begging at the main crossings where they approach and knock the window panes of the cars and two-wheeler riders amidst a short halt during traffic signal. Society and the government should take strict action against the people who engage these children in forced begging by children.
It is unfortunate that we are still, after over seven decades of free India, speak on this topic of child labour. It takes away the right to education and prevents the little ones from experiencing a balanced childhood. We need to bring awareness at the rural level where parents push their children to work.
We do all know why people still have a mindset that sons are the better? Because they believe that boys can go out and earn. In poor families, parents send their boys as labourers at a very young age. Abject poverty compels a section of the poor who could not change their mindset completely.
In remote and rural belts of Jammu & Kashmir, one can easily find young students who are also engaged in work within or after their schooling schedule. Their education is disrupted. Such students usually remain absent from school and finally ends up as drop-outs.
Generally speaking, mothers are more open and receptive to the idea of educating both their sons and daughters while the father, in many cases, was seen to be either averse or indifferent to the idea of school education.
School education of children should be made mandatory and failure to provide school education to one's children should invite some kind of punitive action against the parents.
In 2002, the International Labour Organization (ILO) launched the World Day Against Child Labour, with the objective of focusing attention on the global extent of child labour and the action and efforts needed to eliminate it. Like every year, the theme of this year's World Day Against Child Labour is “Act now: End child labour!”
We live in a country which is—of the people, for the people and by the people. Child Labour Day is an occasion to remind us that we should stop it. We should not kill the childhood of the children by putting them to work. All civilized people can end this practice by not encouraging a child for any sort of employment whatsoever. Act now, please!
