Child Labor as an Institution in India

Child Labor as an Institution in India

By: Shruti Tripathi

Child Labor as an Institution in India

Child labor is one of the demonstrated social problem attracting international agencies,

governments, activist and NGO's. India with its population explosion is experiencing the

outcomes associated with the consequences of child labor. In India child labor contributes

to 20 percent of the National Product (GNP), further India cannot find jobs for 60 million

adults but can find space for 111 million(estimated by ILO, 2005) child labor. These facts

have to be realized and considered while addressing the problem of child labor. Having

child labor, in one way or the other effects the healthy growth of human capital. This in

turn will have its own influence on potential human resources development within the

country

According to the International Labor Organization, "Child labor

includes children permanently leading adult lives, working long hours for low wages

under conditions damaging to their health and to their mental and physical development,

some times separated from their families, frequently deprived of meaningful educational

and training opportunities that could open up for them a better future."

The child labor problem may be looked at either from the

supply side or from the demand side. The supply is determined by the income of the

family at the given point of time and the cultural background of the parents. Even if the

present income does not warrant the necessity of sending children in labor market, the

children may still be sent because of the tradition in the family. The problem is

aggravated in the environment which does not offer a trade off between the present cost

of educating the child and the future benefit to be derived.

The demand for child labor may derive from the nature of the labor process which may

not require any knowledge based skill and which implies total substitutability between

adult labor and child labor. Given this child labor proves to be better for industrialist as it

turns out to be cheaper and much more pliable and controllable and moreover it cannot be

unionized.

Other factors that can be put forward as the major cause behind child labor are, illiteracy

and ignorance, high fertility rate and larger family size, unemployment, lack of

productive assets, inaccessible and unaffordable basic services, urbanization, lack of food

security, migration and caste and culture.

Magnitude and Dimensions

The problem of child labor continues it exist despite the provisions contained in Article

24 of the constitution of India that no child below the age of 14years shall be employed to

work in any factory or employed in any hazardous employment and the Directive

Principles of State Policy contained in article 39(e) along with the commitment of the

state to provide free and compulsory education to the children till the age of 14 years.

Estimated Number of Child Labor in India

If we look at the census data, the estimates of total child workers are seen to be

increasing over the recent years while it was 13.6 million in 1981 it increased to 23.16

million in 1991. However in case of National Sample Survey data though the estimates of

child workers are seen to be increasing till 1991 when it became 24.5 million, it has

declined in 2000 to 20.25 million.

Estimates of Child Labour in India , 1972-73 to