500+ Words Essay on Child Labour
The term ‘child labour’ means the system of engaging children in professional manual labour in lieu of a little remuneration. It is a shame and at the same time a social malady that child labour is still prevalent in our country even after the successful completion of the Golden Jubilee of Independence.
Undoubtedly it is a global problem. According to a recent survey, around 250 million children under 14 have to work hard for earning their bread. But in India, it has assumed an alarming dimension. In our Constitution, there is a provision for free, compulsory, and universal primary education for children in the age group from 6 to 11, and now it has been extended up to 14. But such Constitutional measures have become a sheer mockery to the poor people in the villages and in the slums of the cities and towns. Most of the children in these areas are compelled to earn their livelihood on account of poverty and lack of sufficient manpower. In many families, the children are the sole breadwinners. If the children do not work to provide the income, the families will have to starve. As a result, there are many dropouts in schools every year. In tea stalls, domestic homes, cottage and small-scale industries, and in mines and fields of agriculture, they are employed as unrecognised labourers and get utter negligence and exploitation.
The types of work they have to do are many and various. They shine shoes, make sports goods, weave carpets, brick factories, make paper bags and ‘biri’, assemble fireworks, and do any such odd jobs. In tea stalls and hotels, they clean the utensils, sweep the floors, and serve at tables. In garages, they wash cars, buses, and lorries. The female children serve as maidservants in various families. They have to work like slaves around the clock. There are few households that allow their child-servants adequate food and clothing. They do not get any free time. They are deprived of education, and their wages are paid to their parents, and the money is rarely spent on them. Thus, having the menial work done by the poor children is a cruel practice. It kills their human qualities and in many cases turns them into antisocials in their future life.
List of 500+ Essay Writing Topics and Ideas
No doubt, it is the extreme poverty of parents that leads the children to adopt such a menial profession at a young age. For the solution of this problem, we need not only strict laws but also thorough economic reform to reduce the poverty line. At the same time, the spread of literacy is essential to wipe out this shameful custom. The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is a bold step taken by the government in recent years. Social awareness is also essential to control the birthrate irrespective of caste and religion. Otherwise, pious resolutions by leaders on Children’s Day will remain empty words.