Author : Srishti Soni, Student at Indore Institute of Law, Indore.
Co-Author: Oneet Aryan, Student at Indore Institute of Law, Indore.
INTRODUCTION
Children are precious, let them be children and not the workers. Lets start this article with the thought that what is actually meant by protection? & why is the constitution needs to provide protection to children?. So by word protection, we mean a state to provide safety comfort and independence to children so that he/she could live safely or without harm/damage and giving protection to someone also ensure that he/she could live with liberty or originality without any suppression.
As we know childhood is the best part of life,it is full of innocence and joy. It is the part of life when we are free from all the responsibilities but in some cases scenario is different, some children are being burdened by the responsibilities of their family so they do some work as child labour. Child labour is the act of employing children in an early age/during their childhood. It has become a social issue. Main reason for the existence of child labour is poverty.
Don’t be a fart, give everybody a good start. Nowadays we can see many of children in orphanages, roaming on streets, indulged in the work of rag picking and involved in many illegal activities such as smuggling, sex rackets and many other such activities and this is a topic of big concern for all of us including government, administration and even for common man. All such types of activities which are described above are joggling the future of our country to the cave of obscurity and we need to find a solution to this big problem.
CAUSES OF CHILD LABOUR
Employment opportunities must be given to people in abundance so they can earn their livelihood instead of putting their kids to work. Today’s children are the future of our country we can not expect them to maintain the economic conditions of their families instead of having a normal childhood. Child employment a severe matter in most of the developing nations small children under the age of 14 are being involved in economic work activity by the people of high-class society. They are ignoring the reality that children are the future and hope of the nation. These children do not get the opportunity to live a healthy life since they are not delighted physically intellectually and culturally in their childhood.
Child labour is still followed in many nations even after making it a big offence. Owners of the industries, mines, factories etc.. are using child labour at a high level to get more work at low labour cost. Poor children are more inclined to be involved in child labour as they are overpowered by parents to make some money to give financial help to their family at a very tender age.(too young to understand their liabilities towards family) alternately of taking proper education and enjoy their childhood.
LEGAL AND POLICY FRAMEWORK
Article -39(f)
To tackle all these challenges there are some laws that are provided by Indian Constitution Article 39(f) of part IV “The state as a directive principle of state policy, must seek to ensure that children are given opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity and their childhood and youth are protected against exploitation and against moral and material amendment.[1]
The rights to equality, to protection of life, to personal liberty, and against exploitation are enshrined in articles 14–17, 21, 23, and 24 of the Constitution. Article 15, which protects against discrimination on various grounds, contains an important proviso that “[n]othing in this article shall prevent the State from making any special provision for women and children.[2]
Indian Constitution provides many laws and rights like right to equality, to protection of life , to personal liberty , and against exploitation which are enshrined in various articles concernest.As we look the past pages we saw that on April 26, 2013 the Indian government adopted a new national policy for children , which replaced the child policy of 1947.
Article -24
Article 24 of the Indian Constitution states that no child below the age of 14 shall employ in any hazardous employment or factory but non-hazardous industries.
Child labour refers to children, working in harmful factories -exploitation, this practice began in the early 18th century when the industrial revolution started. The rich became richest and the poor became poorest. Today it is estimated some 168 million children remain trapped in child labour, many of them work full-time and throughout the world, around 215 million children work. Some are being forced, so some families are so poor that they have no other option than sending their children to work. One more main problem is that no body applies the rules or the laws in their daily lives it is even a law enforced by the UNO that “every child in the age of 6 to 14 years will be provided 8 years of and elementary education in an age approptiate class room in the vicinity of his /her neighbourhood if we need to stop this we need to work together and follow the laws.
BONDED CHILD LABOUR
Child labour means that children teens are forced to work like adult- child labour rips children of their childhood and school- child labour results in the physical, social, and moral harm to a child. In India the number of child labourers raising undetected. many children are forced to work in unregulated conditions without adequate wages, food, or even rest .many become victims of physical , sexual , and emotional abuse.
The new and modified policy ensures that all the guiding principles that are laid by the policy must be respected by the national local & state governments in their all the actions & policies affecting children statement of the national policy is as follows :
“safety and security of all children is integral to there well being and children are to be protected from all forms of harm, abuse neglect violence, maltreatment and exploitation in all settings including care institution, schools, hospital, families and communities. there are many such provisions that states shall protect all the children from all types of violence and abuse, harm, stigma, neglect, discrimination, exploitation including economic and sexual exploitation, separation, sale on trafficking for any purpose or in any form, pornography, alcohol and drug abuse, or any other activity that uses them or harm their identity.
In addition with all these protection state shall also promote children-friendly environment, build a preventive and responsive safe protective child protection system including emergency out reach services etc.
ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITY
In addition to the above domestic laws , the government of India ratified the United National (UN) convention on the Rights of the Child on November 12, 1992.[3]
In india the most responsible ministry for child issues in ministry of women and child development (MWCD)[4]. It has given immence responsibility for child rights and protection and that’s by ministry released a national plan of action for children (NPAC) in 2017. And the key target area of this plan protection of children in all the ways.
The main agenda is what is the purpose of all these policies. Since are country and even whole world is passing from worst phase of era where even children are not protected from the wrong intension of people and the population is growing so immensely all result so that to conquere that no own needs children are disoblige wrong work patterns including pornography begging for others etc.what ever .
On April 26, 2013 , the government of India adopted a new National Policy for Children, 2013,[5] which replaced the 1974 child policy.[6] In September 2016 , the government issued the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Model Rules , 2016[7] which set out some of the procedures for implementing the Act .
Now-a-days cases of rape and sexual abuse and harassment are increasing rapidly and the children whose mother is a rape victim often have face orphan life and the people who are too poor to get better and life supporting health facilities often loose their life while delivering a baby and some mothers due to poverty are obligue to leave their children and these are the reasons we can see now a plenty of ragpicker children, worker children, labour children and children including in different activities.
In the past 2-4 years, we have seen many orphanages and shelter home cases that are running false business of sexual harassment under the banner of shelter homes . many times children (girls and boys) are kidnapped just for trafficking and lost whole of their life in these disgusting businesses of some bad guys.
So above we have discussed what are the uncertainties and insecurities of life of children to one all these issues , the policies of children’s interests are laid down by the governments. our Constitution and government just wants to ensure that children should be took in a manner as they are given to us in the form of symbol of love and truth . all the policies layed down are just want to ensure liberty protection and a healthy environment for children to great uninterruptedly. our Constitution is gives everybody the same position , same rights and duties.
Many times policies were made and implemented but not in the manner they should , just because of the unawareness of common men. So take advantages from the policy it is duty of all the parents and citizen of India that they should aware about the right and conditions provided for their children . it is must that parents should workout the facilities , environments of the places where their children are going toshedy or any other activity .
CONCLUSION
We know that education is weapon for every war .child labour brings illiteracy whereas child education brings literacy , so children shold taught in the school about what is their privacy their rights ,good touch , bad touch , self- defence techniques and to cope With the difficulties of life .
Policies and laws are made for us . so we should beware of all these our protection majors and all the citizen should speak about crime whether it is against children or anyone rather hiding it . The government could lay policies and also implement them, but only the citizens can take advantage from them .
So by we all should by to give a safer and protective environment to children and do not commit any crime like molestation, harassment , trafficking against them and if see such crime and should speak against them and whenever see a child as a ragpicker, as a worker/labour. should help him to reach NGO’s , schools and places which could help him/her to save his/her childhood . A child is meant to learn not to earn .
REFERENCES
[1] Constitution of India art. 39(f)
[2] Id. art. 15(3).
[3] Convention on the Rights of the Child , Nov. 20, 1989 , 1577 U.N.T.S. 3.
[4] Dr. Rajeev Seth , Child Abuse and Neglect in India,82(8) Indian J. Pediatrics 707,711(Aug. 2015)
[5] National Policy for children , 2013, Extract from Gazette of India, Part I Sec. 1 (May 11,2013)
[6] Government of India, Department of social welfare , National Policy for Children 1947.
[7] Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Model Rules , 2016.