Child labor in India - An overview, causes, effects and solutions!

Abstract

Child labor has been a grave problem faced by countries across the world. It is a global issue that signifies a weak society which deprives children from their basic rights. Statistics suggest that there are 218 million children across the globe that do some or other form of work, which includes many that work on full time basis (1). These children lose their basic right to education and either dont get a chance to play or do so rarely. This kind of constant occupation has a strong impact on their physical, mental and emotional personality. Moreover, it affects the entire society by creating a large population of children that are either illiterate or damaged on mental and emotional fronts.Best put by International Labor Organization (ILO), Child Labor is defined as the work that takes away or deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development (2). It deprives them from either attending their school or compels them to leave education prematurely or forces them to be occupied long hours to complete school tasks along with the work they do.UNICEF defines child labor by adding specific age groups. It categorizes children into age groups and states that a child between the age of 5 and 11 years is considered to be doing labor work, if he or she does one hour of economic activity or minimum 28 hours of domestic activity per week. Children between 12 and 14 years would be considered child laborers if they do 14 hours of economic activity or 42 hours of domestic work per week (3).The definition of Child Labor in India is stated under