Child Labour: A Sociological Study
ABSTRACT
Child labour is a threatening problem of the world, due to this problem the
future of the children goes into the lurch. All legislative and constitutional
provisions have been adopted for the eradication of the child labour, due to
which the number of child labour is continuously declining.
KEYWORDS
Child Labour, Legislative Provision, NCLP Scheme.
INTRODUCTION
Child labour is a great concern not only for India but for all over the world.
Child labour is stigma for any country. Nobel Laureate for peace Kailash
Satyarthi says “I dream of a world full of safe children and safe childhoods;
dream of world where every child enjoys freedom to be a child.” Child labour
(prohibition and regulation) act was first passed in 1986 to protect the rights of
children. From then many amendments have taken place in this act.
Now recently amendments have been done in this act in 2016. In this
amendment name of this act was changed and new name of this act is Child
and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and regulation) Act 2016. Some new lists
of works have been added which is prohibited for the child and adolescent.
Article 24 of part 3 of Indian constitution states that any child below the age of
14 will not work in the factories or in any hazardous employment. Article 45 of
, part four of our constitution provides that free and compulsory education
should be provided to children up to the age of 14 years.
History of Child Labour
The prevalence of child labour had been more or less in all periods of time
although its nature and dimensions were different because socio-economic
structure keeps on changing according to different periods of time. In ancient
India this problem can be seen as child slavery which was owned by the then
affluent class of people for doing low and ignoble work. The bitter truth of
ancient India was that children of slaves born as slaves, lived as slaves and
died also as slaves. It has been observed that all the lawgivers, with the
solitary exception of Kautilya, were silent on this point and did not show any
interest to abolish this inhuman practice of child slavery. Regarding this
problem in ancient India, it can be said that it existed in the form of child
slavery. Child slaves could be sold or purchased like commodities. Regarding
child slavery Kautilya says that buying and selling of children among
“Miechchas’ was not prohibited at all. Whereas if a child is born in an Aryan
family, he cannot be sold and purchased.
Literature of the medieval India reveals that child labour existed in the
medieval India. Ain-I- Akbari of Abul Fajl and Bernier’s travels reveal that
children were frequently purchased and sold like cattles.
When India came into British rule, there was a dynamic change in the problem
of child labour the British abolished the family economy and started the
capitalistic economy. Due to which the problem of child labour became even
more frightening. Due to the capitalistic economy the peasants gradually
separated from their land and the peasant and peasant’s family turned into
labourers. Children also started working as labourers to support their families,
due to which the problem became even more dangerous.
ABSTRACT
Child labour is a threatening problem of the world, due to this problem the
future of the children goes into the lurch. All legislative and constitutional
provisions have been adopted for the eradication of the child labour, due to
which the number of child labour is continuously declining.
KEYWORDS
Child Labour, Legislative Provision, NCLP Scheme.
INTRODUCTION
Child labour is a great concern not only for India but for all over the world.
Child labour is stigma for any country. Nobel Laureate for peace Kailash
Satyarthi says “I dream of a world full of safe children and safe childhoods;
dream of world where every child enjoys freedom to be a child.” Child labour
(prohibition and regulation) act was first passed in 1986 to protect the rights of
children. From then many amendments have taken place in this act.
Now recently amendments have been done in this act in 2016. In this
amendment name of this act was changed and new name of this act is Child
and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and regulation) Act 2016. Some new lists
of works have been added which is prohibited for the child and adolescent.
Article 24 of part 3 of Indian constitution states that any child below the age of
14 will not work in the factories or in any hazardous employment. Article 45 of
, part four of our constitution provides that free and compulsory education
should be provided to children up to the age of 14 years.
History of Child Labour
The prevalence of child labour had been more or less in all periods of time
although its nature and dimensions were different because socio-economic
structure keeps on changing according to different periods of time. In ancient
India this problem can be seen as child slavery which was owned by the then
affluent class of people for doing low and ignoble work. The bitter truth of
ancient India was that children of slaves born as slaves, lived as slaves and
died also as slaves. It has been observed that all the lawgivers, with the
solitary exception of Kautilya, were silent on this point and did not show any
interest to abolish this inhuman practice of child slavery. Regarding this
problem in ancient India, it can be said that it existed in the form of child
slavery. Child slaves could be sold or purchased like commodities. Regarding
child slavery Kautilya says that buying and selling of children among
“Miechchas’ was not prohibited at all. Whereas if a child is born in an Aryan
family, he cannot be sold and purchased.
Literature of the medieval India reveals that child labour existed in the
medieval India. Ain-I- Akbari of Abul Fajl and Bernier’s travels reveal that
children were frequently purchased and sold like cattles.
When India came into British rule, there was a dynamic change in the problem
of child labour the British abolished the family economy and started the
capitalistic economy. Due to which the problem of child labour became even
more frightening. Due to the capitalistic economy the peasants gradually
separated from their land and the peasant and peasant’s family turned into
labourers. Children also started working as labourers to support their families,
due to which the problem became even more dangerous.
