Peer-reviewed article
Child Labour In India: A Stigma On The Face Of Society
Ashish Verma ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This paper examines child labour in India, describing it as a major social problem affecting millions of children. The document notes that India ranks among countries with high rates of child labour, with over 11.24 million children engaged in various forms of work instead of attending school. Although India has enacted laws including the Child Labour Act 1986 and launched the National Child Labour Project, the reality on the ground remains dire. The paper discusses how child labour arises from complex socio-economic factors and emphasizes the importance of childhood for personality development and a nation's future.
Key points
- Over 11.24 million children in India are engaged in child labour including carpet-weaving, beedi-rolling, family labour, and agriculture
- India ranks among the top countries with high percentages of child labour in its labour force
- Child labour in India is addressed by the Child Labour Act 1986 and the National Child Labour Project
- Child labour originates from multidimensional complex processes of socio-economic retardation
- Many children work in abusive, unequal, and dangerous conditions
Limitations
The document provides general discussion and statistics but does not present detailed empirical research, data analysis, or evaluation of specific interventions. It reads more as a policy overview or position paper than a rigorous research study.
Abstract
When there is no confidence in the future of a child in a nation, then surely that nation also has no future. As in Indian society children have always been the subjects of discussion due to less vocal or country’s past or socio–cultural background. Speculation among children is the outlay in the future of a nation, which forms ideas. Childhood is important because their personality is formed in the process of socialization. The origin of child labour lies in a multidimensional complex process of self–sustaining socio–economic retardation. “Child labour” is defined as the employment of children in any physical work. Whether or not work done by children is defined as child labour depends on the child’s age, hours and type of work, and working conditions. But many millions of children work in abusive and unequal conditions that are clearly dangerous to them. India is no exception. According to the report, India ranks among the top countries where the percentage of labour force making up “child labour” is very high. Like others, India too, from its inception as an independent nation, has enacted laws to reform and eliminate all forms of child labour, but the ground reality is still very depressing in nature. Child labour in India is addressed by the Child Labour Act 1986 and the National Child Labour Project. Today there are more than 11.24 million children in India who are spending their childhood in learning, carpet–weaving, beedi–rolling, family labour, agriculture and countless other occupations instead of going to school. Finally, as planning and strategies identify, the research paper identifies policies and attempts have been made to actually address and determine the problem as needed.