The problem of
child labour is a serious matter not only in India but also in many other developing countries. It is great social problem. Children are the hope and future of a nation yet there are millions of deprived children in our country who have never seen a normal, carefree childhood. They are the children without choice, without a voice, without opportunity and without a hope. They live in the shadows of life. India is a densely populated country and a large section of people are compelled to live beneath the poverty line. In the backdrop of extremely poor economic conditions, children as young as nine years old are forced to be earners and are forced to work round the clock without being adequately paid. For the hopeless parent, burdened with a large family, it is a choice between the devil and the deep sea. They are forced to lead a dismal dark life without getting the light of education, under the shadow of exploitation. In stained clothes uncombed hair, children below fourteen years of age are serving food to customers in the heart of metropolitan cities. From roadside tea stalls to big and small factories children make sundry products like cement, handloom, jute products, carpet, fashionable tawdry, ornaments, fireworks and do many other hazardous jobs. There are practical difficulties in the way of abolishing
child labour overnight without eradicating proverty.
Child labour will prevail till poverty exists as education fails to reach all. Fortunately, many philanthropic organizations have come forward persuading the government to implement laws to keep children away from such hazardous occupation. However, mere laws cannot totally solve the problem if we do not provide any proper way to improve the standard of living for the families from where the children come from.
