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Despite a comprehensive constitutional and legal framework designed to prohibit child labour, India continues to face the persistent challenge of millions of children engaged in hazardous and exploitative work. The prevalence of child labour in sectors such as matchstick factories, brick kilns, leather processing units, and construction sites highlights the gap between legal intent and ground realities.

Defining Child Labour

Child labour involves employing children in work that deprives them of their childhood, interferes with education, and is harmful mentally, physically, socially, or morally. It constitutes a violation of basic child rights and hampers the child’s overall development.

Legal and Constitutional Framework

India’s fight against child labour is backed by strong constitutional provisions and statutes:

• Constitutional Safeguards:
  • Article 24 prohibits the employment of children below 14 years in factories, mines, and hazardous occupations.
  • Directive Principles (Articles 39(e) and 39(f)) direct the State to protect children from exploitation and ensure their development.
• Statutory Measures:
  • The Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 (amended in 2016) prohibits employment of children under 14 and restricts adolescents (14–18 years) from hazardous work. However, it permits work in family enterprises after school hours, a provision often misused.
  • The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act, 2015 treats child labour victims as children in need of care and protection.
  • The Right to Education Act, 2009 mandates free and compulsory education for children aged 6–14, indirectly aiming to reduce child labour by keeping children in schools.
• Judicial Interventions:
  • The Supreme Court has reinforced child rights under Article 21 (Right to Life with dignity), with landmark rulings emphasizing the state’s duty to eradicate child labour(e.g., M.C. Mehta v. State of Tamil Nadu, 1996).

Magnitude and Ground Realities

According to UNICEF’s analysis of the Periodic Labour Force Survey (2018-19), approximately 18 to 33 lakh children are engaged in labour in India. Nearly half of these children work within their families, making detection and intervention difficult. The worst-affected sectors include agriculture, fireworks, glass-making, leather tanning, mining, and construction.

Children working in these sectors face hazardous conditions involving exposure to toxic substances, long working hours, and physical and verbal abuse. This leads to long-term damage to their physical health, mental well-being, and education prospects. The lack of access to sanitation and healthcare further exacerbates their vulnerability.

Enforcement Challenges

Despite the severity of the problem, enforcement remains weak. In 2021, only 613 cases under the Child Labour Act were registered, indicating a large enforcement gap. Additionally, data on child labour is outdated and fragmented, with the last Census conducted in 2011 and poor disaggregation of data by gender and rural-urban divide. Coordination between labour departments, police, and child welfare agencies is inadequate.

Instances like the 2024 Madhya Pradesh distillery case, where 58 children were rescued after working long hours in hazardous conditions, expose the failures in inspection and enforcement at the state level.

Root Causes

Poverty remains the primary driver of child labour. The International Labour Organization highlights that child labour is both a cause and consequence of poverty. Families often push children into work due to economic necessity, especially when adult unemployment is high (estimated 6 million unemployed adults). Malnutrition and deprivation perpetuate this cycle, with India accounting for half of the world's wasted children.

Way Forward

To effectively combat child labour, India must focus on:

• Strengthening Enforcement:Establishing a National Child Labour Enforcement Grid integrating labour inspectors, district magistrates, Juvenile Justice Boards, NGOs, and Child Welfare Committees to ensure coordinated action.
• Closing Legal Gaps:Revisiting the “family enterprise” exemption and mandating compulsory reporting and rehabilitation of child labourers under the Juvenile Justice Act.
• Improving Data Systems:Fast-tracking the 2021 Census and including child labour modules in PLFS and NFHS, leveraging technology like geo-tagging and mobile apps for real-time monitoring.
• Linking Education and Welfare:Strengthening schemes like Samagra Shiksha, PM POSHAN, and Anganwadi services, alongside conditional cash transfers to incentivize withdrawal of children from labour.
• Raising Awareness:Scaling up mass communication campaigns to change societal attitudes toward child labour.

Conclusion

While India’s legal framework against child labour is among the strongest globally, enforcement weaknesses and socio-economic realities hinder progress. Addressing poverty, improving governance, and ensuring children’s right to education and protection are imperative to break the cycle of child labour and promote a just and equitable society.