The term ‘child labor’ means ‘working child’ or ‘employed child’. ‘Child labor’ is any work done by child for profit. ‘Child labor’ is a derogatory term which translates into child exploitation and inhumanity according to sociologists, development workers, medical professionals and educationists. They have identified child labor as harmful and hazardous to the child’s development needs, both mental and physical.
SHRI V.V. Giri – the former president of India has arrived on two concepts of child labor – first as a bad economic practice and second as an overt social evil. In the first it is involvement of a child labor in profitable activities to augment the family income. The second context, namely child labor a social evil – is more complex in nature and extent. In order to assess the nature of the evil, and gauge the extent of damage it becomes necessary to understand the character of the job in which the child is engaged, the dangers to which they are exposed and the development opportunities they are denied.
Technically the term ‘child labour’ is used for children occupied in profitable activities, whether industrial or non industrial. It is especially applicable for activities which are detrimental to their physical, psychological, emotional, social and moral development needs. It has been researched and proved that the brain of a child develops till the age of ten, muscles till the age of seventeen and his lungs till the age of fourteen. To be more specific, any activity which acts as a hazard for the natural growth and enhancement of these vital organs, can be considered harmful for natural human growth and development and termed – ‘child labor’.
It has been observed in India and other countries, that the practice of ‘child labor’ is a socio- economic problem. Many appalling relities like poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, low wages, ignorance, social prejudices, regressive traditions, poor standard of living, backwardness, superstition, low status of women have combined to give birth to the terrible practice of child labor. Mr. Madan, Deputy Director in the Ministry of labor has been quoted as saying that “the children are required to seek employment either to augment the income of their families or to have a gainful occupation in the absence of availability of school going facilities at various places.”
Child labor
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