Child Workers in India: Context and Complexities

This paper portrays the nature of child workers in India and seeks to understand its many complexities. It looks at the definition of child labour, the extent of its prevalence, the reasons why children work, and the occupations they are engaged in. It outlines India’s position on international obligations, its expanding domestic laws, and the tardy implementation of these laws. It examines some of the inherent cultural constraints and the role of values and beliefs in perpetuating child labour. It analyses the relationship between education and child workers, and a possible solution in the form of compulsory education. The paper emphasises that child workers in India are from the marginalized sections and do not work out of choice. It stresses that this phenomenon is, above all, a problem for the children. The paper concludes by advocating the need to discard attitudes that are discriminatory or rationalise abuse, and the need to adopt a rights-based, child-centred approach to counter the increasing number of child workers.

Munmun JhaEmail: