Neither does the media find all this worthwhile to focus on such important issues nor do our great leaders have time to ponder over all this .
Our Constitution clearly states that children have a right to education and are not to be employed in hazardous work but in reality things are different .
Child bonded labour too is very prevalent , specially in the north where poverty forces parents to sell chiildren to agents who lend them money ( at times meagre amounts ) making thier children bonded slaves for a long time .
We find children cleaning in restaurants mopping tables selling sundry good in traffic stops inhaling the fumes ,in road building ,construction ,metal and welding shops automobile workshops and so on .
They are given pittance beat bullied unfed and ill treated mostly ( there are exceptions too )
All this can only happen with the connivance of law enforcing agencies .
Corrupt officials conveniently look to the other side in such situations
Domestic child labour too is common .
I still remember when I was young we had a boy a bit older than me working and staying in our house ,of course he was looked after well and was my playmate ,but I used to wonder why he never went to school like me !
Those days( 1960 to 70 ) it was common practice for children being brought from native villages (Kerala in my case ) and the parents of the child considered it as benificial to be so brought up in a good home in exchange for some domestic work,
But looking back at it Iam embarassed .
One cannot wish away this wrong by introducing laws alone
Poverty ,ignorance and exploitation are the main causes behind it and as long as we have people who lack the bare essentials it would go on .
with all of us enamoured of a developing India making great strides we often ignore or forget that a vast majority of our countrymen wallow in abject poverty, leading a life of penury
This gray area has to be adressed before we call ourselves as developed
Progress may percolate down but could also get stuck in between by exploitation in the middle
The efforts by the Government for equal rights in educations are welcome indeed but each one of us should be aware of such existing inequalities and fight against them in our own small ways .
The media which can contribute immensely by bringing light such stories in both written or visual forms should do so , instead of wasting all thier time on the pronouncements of uncouth politicians
We hope a day comes when every child in our country goes to the school and does not sit in dingy sweat shops tears dribbling down thier dirt streaked faces .
1 comment:
In my personal opinion, we cannot escape from child labour for another 10-20 years. Progressive and vertical thinking leaders is a pre-requisite if we sincerely wish to abolish this sorrowful affair.
However the efforts by each and every individual in bringing out such menace (i mean) to broad day light is a positive step for eradication (like disease) of such barbaric social evil. So hats of to you for such a blog.
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