CAUSES FOR THE REVOLT OF 1857

          Revolt of 1857 is a very important event in the Indian history and in our freedom struggle. It has been termed as Sepoy Mutiny by the British however the incidents make it clear that although the mutiny was started by the sepoys it soon engulfed large sections of civilian population turning it into a full scale rebellion. Causes of the rebellion lay in the colonial administration which had impoverished peasants and artisans.    (Impact of colonialism on Indian economy).  There were social and political causes as well leading to widespread resentment against the colonial rule. In fact resentment against the colonial rulers had started building up since their advent and had earlier expressed itself in a number of uprisings that took place during 1757-1856. (Freedom Struggle:Uprisings between 1757 to 1856 ). However these earlier uprisings were local incidents. The revolt of 1857 was the first large scale effort by the Indians to get rid of the colonial rule. Some of the reasons which led to this revolt are as under:

1. Exploitation of peasantry-The revenue settlements made by the colonial administration had impoverished peasantry. The Permanent Settlement which was in force in Bengal and in most of North India did not recognise the rights of peasants on land. Instead the property rights were transferred to loyal zamindars and money lenders who raised the revenue exhorbitantly and extracted it coercively. In Rohilkhand alone there were as many as 2,37,388 coercive collections during 1848-56. Other revenue settlements were no better. Apart from land revenue peasant was also oppressed by petty officials. Litigation was complex, time consuming and expensive. The nexus between the law courts, lower officials and money lenders made the condition of the peasantry miserable.
2. Problems of Artisans-As a result of British policy Indian handicrafts were completely destroyed. As a result artisans were forced to look for alternative employment which did not exist. Many of them joined the already impoverished peasantry but this did not improve the condition much.
3. Landed gentry-Earlier zamindars and landed gentry lost their lands and position to the new zamindars and moneylenders. In Oudh alone there were about 21,000 taluqdars whose estates were confiscated. This section thus had a grudge against the colonial rule and seized the opportunity posed by sepoy rebellion. As regards the new zamindaars their positions was also not secure and was subject to their timely payment of land revenue. Out of the total amount of revenue settlement 10/11 was to be paid to the company. Any default in this could lead to selling off their estates to others.
4. Doctrine of Lapse and deposed rulers-Relationship between the company and the Indian states was not of equality but that of subsidiary alliance. Indian rulers were subordinate to the East India Company. Succession to the throne was also subject to the confirmation by the British rulers. Doctrine of Lapse enforced by Lord Dalhousie meant that the rulers who did not have a natural heir could not adopt one and their states would be annexed to the British territories. Many states including Satara, Nagpur, Jhansi and many others were annexed on basis of this doctrine. Awadh was annexed on the grounds of alleged maladministration. Even the rights of Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah were curtailed and it was decided that after him no one would be given the title of Mughal emperor. This policy towards the rulers caused resentment not only among the rulers but also among the common people.
5. Reforming zeal of colonial rulers-Sepoys as well as the civilian population felt that the British rule posed a threat to the religion. A number of legislations like the Sati Abolition Act and Widow Remarriage Act though progressive in social terms were not taken in that spirit by the orthodox sections of Indian society. In 1850 Act XXI was passed which enabled Christian converts to retain ancestral property. This was interpreted as a concession to these coverts. Such legislations along with activities of Christian missionaries led the orthodox people to believe that the religion was under threat.
6. Problems of Sepoys-The sepoys in the army faced a number of problems. Their pay was abysmally low. A soldier in the infantry received seven rupees a month and a horseman in cavalry received twenty seven rupees a month out of which he had to pay for his uniform, his food and upkeep of his horse. This hardly left him anything. Discrimination was rule rather than exception. All the higher posts were occupied by the British and Indians were made to feel subordinate at each step. Another aspect was that the soldier was basically a farmer in uniform and his family was facing the difficulties as being faced by other farmers. There were about 75,000 soldiers from Awadh alone and its annexation hurt their feelings badly. Most of the sepoys were from upper castes of North India were very conscious about their religion and caste status. Like civilian population they also had apprehensions that the British would destroy their religion.
7. Immediate cause-As mentioned above sepoys like other sections of population had suspicions that British would try to harm their religion. This was increased by the rumour that the new Enfield Paper cartridges which were to be bitten before use were greased with beef and pig fat. Army authorities did not take any action to allay these fears or to properly communicate these troops. As a result the rumour grew strong and refusal of sepoys to use these cartridges became the immediate cause for revolt.
8. Planned Revolt-There is good deal of controversy on this point. One view says that the revolt was spontaneous while the others that this was a conspiracy. The rebel leaders formed a clandestine group and hence no record about their activities is available. However, there are stories about red lotuses and chapaatis being sent from village to village and from regiment to regiment as symbols of freedom. However nothing can be said with certainty in this regard.

Freedom Struggle:Uprisings between 1757 to 1856

       Revolt of 1857 was not an isolated incident. In fact it was the culmination of long list of revolts which took place during the first hundred years of colonial rule i.e. from Battle of Plassey in 1757 to the Revolt of 1857. During this period there was hardly a year when the colonial rule did not face a rebellion. The revolts were mostly led by traditional leaders of the society like deposed rulers, erstwhile zamindars and religious leaders while the heavily burdened peasantry and ruined artisans provided the mass base. Although most of these revolts were a localized affair many of these involved larger areas and populace. These uprisings took place all over the country and followed the trajectory of the colonial expansion. This shows that colonial rule in India did not had a smooth passage but was strongly contested by the Indian society. Some of these rebellions were as under:

• Sanyasi Rebellion led by sanyasis or ascetics took place in Bengal in 1763 and continued up to 1800. The revolt was made famous by the novel “Anandmath” written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in 1882.
• Chuar uprising in Midnapore district of Bengal which took place from 1766 to 1772 and again from 1795 to 1816. In its second phase it was led by Durjan Singh, ex-zamindar of Raipur.
• Peasants of Rangpur and Dinajpur distiricts in Bengal revolted in January-Februrary, 1783. Durjoy Narayan was an important leader of this revolt.
• Paiks, a military class in Orissa were annoyed due to taking away of their rent free lands. An earlier attempt to revolt failed in 1804. However, the revolt broke out in 1817 under the leadership of Bakshi Jagabandhu, the erstwhile commander of the forces of Raja of Khurda. The revolt also received support from common peasantry.
• Kols, a tribe of Chhotanagpur region also revolted against the British during 1831-32. Taking away of their autonomy and entry of Government officials and moneylenders in the system were the main causes of revolt.
• Raja of Vijaynagar revolted against the British in 1794 against the payment of dues.
• Poligars were landed gentry of South India who revolted against the British in 1799-1802. Their rebellions are also known as First Poligar War (1799) and Second Poligar War (1800-1802).
• Velu Thampi was Diwan of Travancore who organized a revolt against the British in 1809.
• Peasants of Mysore revolted in 1830-31 against exorbitant rent demands.
• Kutch rebellion led by the Chiefs of Suarashtra continued from 1816-1832 in some form or the other.
• Kolis of Gujarat also rose in revolt in 1824 which continued up to 1849.
• Bhils concentrated in Maharashtra and Gujarat revolted against the British during 1818-1831.
• In 1816 the people of Bareilly people revolted against imposition of a municipal tax to pay for the police force to protect the citizens.
• People of Benaras organised a hartal (strike) in 1810 over the issue of house tax. This received wide spread support and British were forced to withdraw it in 1811.

      These revolts failed to overthrow the British Rule in India but widespread nature of these revolts was an indication of the oppressive and destructive policies followed by the colonial rule. It also indicated the intention of the Indian society to counter these policies and the foreign rule.  These rebellions culminated in the great uprising of 1857 which had a much wider spread and involved multiple sections of the society. 

Directive Principles of State Policy

       As the name suggests, Directive Principles of State Policy are directions to the State. Similar concept exists in the Constitution of Ireland where these are known are “Directive Principles of Social Policy”. Directive Principles of State Policy, as provided in Part IV of our Constitution, set certain goals, the achievement of which would help the citizens in living a good life. Although these are not enforceable by a Court of law but it is expected that the Government will formulate its policies so as to achieve these goals.  A gist of these principles is as under:

1. State to strive for providing justice, social, economic and political, and to strive to eliminate or minimise the inequalities in income, status, facilities and opportunities, not only among individuals but also among groups of people.
2. The State shall, in particular, direct its policy towards securing-Adequate means of livelihood to citizens;Distribution of  the material resources of the community so as to best subserve the common good;Operation of the economic system does not result in the concentration of wealth and means of production;Equal pay for equal work for both men and women;Citizens are not forced by economic necessity to enter avocations unsuited to their age or strength;Opportunities and facilities to children to develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity protection of childhood and youth against exploitation.
3. Promoting justice, on a basis of equal opportunity and providing free legal aid, in case of need.
4. Organising and empowering village panchayats.
5. Subject to economic capacity of the state, to make effective provision for securing the right to work, to education and to public assistance in certain cases.
6. Providing for just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief.
7. Subscribing a living wage to and conditions of work ensuring a decent standard of life and to promote cottage industries on individual or co-operative basis in rural areas.
8. Taking steps for securing the participation of workers in the management of industries.
9. Uniform civil code for the citizens.
10. Providing early childhood care and education to children below the age of six years.
11. Promotion of educational and economic interests of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other weaker sections.
12. To raise the level of nutrition and the standard of living and to improve public health and to prevent the consumption of intoxicating drinks and drugs except for medicinal purposes.
13. Organisation of agriculture and animal husbandry on modern and scientific lines; preserving and improving the breeds, and prohibiting the slaughter, of cows, milch and draught cattle.
14. Protection and improvement of environment and safeguarding of forests and wild life.
15. Protection of monuments and places and objects of national importance.
16. Separation of judiciary from executive.
17. Promotion of international peace and security; maintaining just and honourable relations between nations; foster respect for international law and treaty obligations and encourage settlement of international disputes by arbitration.

Fundamental Duties

         In 1976 the Congress President appointed a Committee headed by Sardar Swaran Singh to examine the Constitution and to suggest changes “so that it may continue as a living document”. The report and recommendations of the Committee resulted in 42^nd Amendment of the Constitution in 1976. Apart from other things this amendment included the insertion of Part IVA and Article 51A in our Constitution. These contain fundamental duties of citizens. Presently there are eleven fundamental duties. Out of these ten were inserted in the Constitution by the 42^nd Amendment while one more fundamental duty referring to the duty of a parent to provide education to his children was incorporated by the 86^th amendment in 2002. The fundamental duties are:

1. to abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem;
2. to cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for freedom;
3. to uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India;
4. to defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so;
5. to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities; to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women;
6. to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture;
7. to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wild life, and to have compassion for living creatures;
8. to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform;
9. to safeguard public property and to abjure violence;
10. to strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that the nation constantly rises to higher levels of endeavour and achievement;
11. who is a parent or guardian to provide opportunities for education to his child or, as the case may be, ward between the age of six and fourteen years.

Fundamental Rights

             Almost all the liberal democracies of the world grant some basic rights to their citizens and foreign citizens residing in their territory. In India these are provided in the form of Fundamental Rights which included in Part three of the Constitution. These are broadly categorized as Right to Equality, Right to Freedom, Right against Exploitation, Right to Freedom of Religion, Cultural and Educational Rights and Right to Constitutional Remedies. These rights are legally enforceable. Details of these rights as provided in the Constitution are as under:

Right to Equality	Article 14	Equality before law- Provides for equality before law and equal protection of law to any person within the territory of India.
	Article 15	Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth- Prohibits the state from making any discrimination on these grounds. No citizen can be discriminated on any of these grounds with respect to access to shops, restaurants, hotels and places of public entertainment as well as the use of wells, tanks, bathing ghats, roads and places of public resort maintained wholly or partly out of state funds or dedicated to the use of general public. State can make special provision for women and children; socially or educationally backward classes or the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.
	Article 16	Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment- Provides for equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters of public employment. However Parliament is empowered to make laws about a requirement for the public post to be a resident of that particular state or Union territory. Parliament is also empowered for making reservation of appointment or posts in favour of any backward class of citizens or Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes which are not adequately represented. Allows the operation of a law which provides that person holding an office in a religious and denominational institution should belong to a particular religion or denomination.
	Article 17	Abolition of Untouchability- Abolishes “Untouchability” and makes its practicing a punishable offence.
	Article 18	Abolition of Titles- Provides that State shall not confer any titles except military and academic distinctions. Also provides that no citizen of India shall accept any title from any foreign state. Any foreign citizen while he holds an office of profit or trust under the State shall not accept any title from any foreign state except with the permission of the President. Further no person holding any office of profit shall accept any present, emolument or office of any kind from or under any foreign state.
Right to Freedom	Article 19	Protection of certain rights regarding freedom of speech etc- This provides to all citizens the right  to freedom of Speech and Expression to assemble peacefully and without arms to form associations and unions to move freely throughout the territory of India to reside or settle in any part of the territory of India to practice any profession, occupation or trade.           However these rights are not absolute. This article empowers the State to make laws for placing reasonable restrictions on any of these rights.
	Article 20	Protection in respect of conviction for offences-  Provides that no person can be convicted of an offence except for violation of a law in force at the time of commission of the offence nor can be subjected to a penalty greater than which might have been inflicted under the law in force at that time. Further no person shall be prosecuted and punished for the same offence more than once. No person accused of any offence shall be compelled to be a witness against himself.
	Article 21	Protection of life and personal liberty- Provides that no person shall be deprived of his life and liberty except according to a procedure established by law.
	Article 21A	Right to education- Provides for free and compulsory education to all children from age of six to fourteen years.
	Article 22	Protection against arrest and detention in certain cases- Provides that no person arrested should be detained in custody without being informed as soon as possible about the grounds of his arrest. Any person arrested and detained should not be denied the right to consult and be defended by a legal practitioner of his choice. Provides that every person arrested and detained in custody must be produced before the nearest magistrate within 48 hours excluding the time required for such journey and further detention should only be with the permission of the magistrate. Also provides that these rights are not available to an enemy alien or to a person who is arrested or detained under law providing for preventive detention. Provides that in normal circumstances preventive detention should not be more than three months unless authorized by an Advisory Board comprising of persons who are, or have been or are qualified to be High Court Judges. Parliament is empowered to make laws for prescribing the circumstances under which preventive detention can be made for more than three months and for prescribing the procedure to be followed by the Advisory Board.
Right against Exploitation	Article 23	Prohibition of traffic in human beings and forced labour- Prohibits traffic in human beings as well as  ‘begaar’ and other similar forms of forced labour. However the State is empowered to impose compulsory service for public purposes.
	Article 24	Prohibition of employment of children in factories etc.- Prohibits employment of children below the age of fourteen years in a factory, mine or any other hazardous employment.
Right to freedom of religion	Article 25	Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion- Provides that all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and right to practice any religion. This is subject to public order, morality, health and other provisions related to fundamental rights.
	Article 26	Freedom to manage religious affairs- Provides for the right to every religious denomination to  establish and maintain religious institutions for religious and charitable purposes; to manage its own affairs in the matters of religion; to own and acquire movable and immovable property; to administer such property in accordance with law; These rights are also subject to public order, morality and health.
	Article 27	Freedom as to payment of taxes for promotion of any particular religion- Prohibits compelling a person to pay a tax the proceeds of which would go for promotion of a particular religion.
	Article 28	Freedom as to attendance at religious instruction or religious worship in certain education institutions- Prohibits imparting of religious instructions in educational institution wholly maintained out of state funds. However this will not apply to an institution administered by the state but established under an endowment or trust which requires imparting of religious instructions. No person attending any educational institution recognized or funded by the State shall be required to take part in any religious instruction or worship being conducted in that institution.
Cultural and Educational Rights	Article 29	Protection of interests of minorities- Provides that any section of citizen having a distinct language, script or culture have a right to conserve the same. No citizen shall be denied admission into any educational institution only on the grounds of religion, race, caste language or any of them.
	Article 30	Right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions- Provides that all minorities, whether linguistic or religious, shall have the right to establish and administer educations institutions of their choice. While granting aid to educational institutions, the State shall not discriminate against any educational institution under the management of a minority.
Right to Constitutional Remedies	Article 32	Remedies for enforcement of Rights conferred- Provides the right to move to Supreme Court for enforcement of these rights. Empowers Supreme Court to issues directions for the enforcement of these rights.

National Population Policy-Targets and Achievements

          India is the second most populous country in the world after China. As per 2011 census, India has a population of about 1.2 billion with an annual growth rate of 1.64%. Our population density which was 117 persons per square km in 1951 has now increased to 382 persons per square km, much higher than 144 persons per sq km for China. In the last decade itself (2001-2011) we have added 18.1 crore people to our population. The increase is almost equal to the population of Brazil (19.07 crores) or Pakistan (18.4 crores) which are 5^th and 6^th most populous countries of the world. This increase in population absorbs the results of most of our economic achievements and is a major hindrance in increasing the per capita availability of resources. 

The size of population and high growth rate had been a cause of concern even during the British period. The Government had set up a Committee in 1943 to conduct a survey on Indian Health System. The Committee was called The Health Survey and Development Committee. The Committee submitted its report in 1946 in which it devoted one chapter to the problem of increase in population recommending thereafter “the spreading of the knowledge of birth control as far as the limitations imposed by the peculiar circumstances of the country will permit”.

          

          After independence, the matter was taken up in the five year plans wherein family planning was treated as a part of the health programmes. These emphasized family planning to the extent necessary for reducing birth rates to “stabilize the population at a level consistent with the requirement of Indian economy”. National Health policy of 1983 emphasized the need for achieving small family norm through voluntary participation. National Health Policy of 2002 pointed out that efforts for improving health standards of the people have been partly neutralized by rapid growth of population and also that population stabilization measures and general health initiatives when synchronized, maximize the socio-economic well being of the people.    

            

            However, as a need was felt for a National Population Policy, an expert group under Dr.M.S.Swaminathan was set up in 1993 to prepare a draft of the policy. The Committee submitted its report in 1994. The Report basically related population growth to the basic needs, democratic decentralization, gender issues and eco-system. These features were incorporated in the 'Statement on National Population Policy”. 

National Population Policy

            

               National Population Policy was announced in the year 2000. The policy took note of the fact that the growth in population was due to the large size of the population in the reproductive age, high fertility due to inadequate availability of contraception, high wanted fertility due to high infant mortality rates and most of the girls marrying below the age of 18. Some of the important objectives of the policy were as under:

1. Address the unmet needs for basic reproductive and child health services, supplies and infrastructure.
2. Make school education up to age 14 free and compulsory, and reduce dropouts at primary and secondary school levels to below 20 percent for both boys and girls. 
3. Reduce infant mortality rate to below 30 per 1000 live births.
4. Reduce maternal mortality ratio to below 100 per 100,000 live births.
5. Achieve universal immunization of children against all vaccine preventable diseases.
6. Promote delayed marriage for girls, not earlier than age 18 and preferably after 20 years of age.
7. Achieve 80 percent institutional deliveries and 100 percent deliveries by trained persons.
8. Achieve universal access to information/counseling, and services for fertility regulation and contraception with a wide basket of choices.
9. Achieve 100 percent registration of births, deaths, marriage and pregnancy.
10. Contain the spread of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), and promote greater integration between the management of reproductive tract infections (RTIs) and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and the National AIDS Control Organization.
11. Prevent and control communicable diseases.
12. Integrate Indian Systems of Medicine (ISM) in the provision of reproductive and child health services, and in reaching out to households.
13. Promote vigorously the small family norm to achieve replacement levels of TFR.
14. Bring about convergence in implementation of related social sector programmes so that family welfare becomes a people-centered programme.

Targets and achievements

            

              As per census of 1951, crude birth rate (CBR) was 40.8, Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) was 146, crude death rate 25 and total fertility rate was 6. As per Sample Registration Survey for the year 2012 Crude Birth Rate (CBR) is 21.6; Crude Death Rate (CDR) is 7.0; Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) is 42 and Total Fertility Rate (TFR) is 2.4.  These figures would indicate that the country has made substantive progress in population management since 1951. However, when we see it from the perspective of the targets set by the National Health Policy and National Population Policy we find that our achievements falls short of the targets under the National Population Policy. Similarly, with respect to TFR, National Health Policy targeted replacement levels by 2000 and National Population Policy targeted these levels by 2010, but the figure for the year 2012 is 2.4, which is again much higher than the target. At this rate we may take another 10 years or so to achieve this level of TFR. 

            

                National Population Policy sets the target of achieving a stable population by 2045, that is, after 35 years of achieving the replacement level. The projections appear unrealistic considering the example of China which attained replacement level of total fertility rate in 1990. However, its population is still growing and is expected to achieve peak level only in 2050 after which it will stabilize or gradually decline. Thus, in China, peak level is expected to be achieved after 60 years of achieving replacement level of fertility rates. As India, does not have such a vigorous population control policy as China time taken by India is likely to be much higher.  

      

      Reasons for underachievement

            The above said data indicates the many of the targets set by the National Population Policy have not been achieved. The reasons could be as under:

1. 1. Unlike China, we have resorted to voluntary participation in population control measures;hence efficacy of these measures would depend on the ability to convince people to have a smaller family. This makes, literacy level a very important factor. As per Census, 2011, Kerala, which has the highest literacy rate of 93.91%, has a very low annual growth rate of .48% while Bihar which has lowest literacy rate of 63.82% has a high annual growth rate of 2.26%.
2. 2.  Poverty is another important factor. In such families, an additional child is treated as a potential earning hand and hence birth of a child is not discouraged.
3. 3.  In a number of areas particularly in remote areas, adequate health and birth control facilities are not available without which the people cannot adopt family planning measures.
4. 4.  Social factors also play an important role. Traditional Indian society prefers early marriage of girls which means that a married woman has more years of reproductive period. This is an important factor in increasing fertility rate and leads to growth in population.

Child Labour in India

Child labour can be defined as employment of children in economic activities to such an extent that it adversely affects their physical and mental growth. As per International Labour Organization, “The term “child labour” is often defined as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development and refers to the work that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children;  and interferes with their schooling by depriving them of the opportunity to attend school; obliging them to leave school prematurely; or requiring them to attempt to combine school attendance with excessively long and heavy work.”

UNICEF defines Child Labour differently. As per definition of UNICEF, children in the age category 5-11 are considered to be involved in child labour activities if during one week preceding the survey they did at least one hour of economic activity or at least 28 hours of domestic work. For the age group 12 to 14 years the criterion is 14 hours of economic activity or at least 42 hours of economic activity and domestic work combined.

These children work in many sectors including agriculture, manufacturing units, domestic households and other sectors. Some of these occupations are of hazardous nature.  As per Census 2001 there were about 1.26 crores child workers. As per NSSO Survey for 21 major states for the year 2004-05 the number of child workers was about 90.75 lakhs and as per NSSO Survey for these states for the year 2009-10 the number of child workers was about 49.83 lakhs

Factors responsible for child labour

Poverty is the most important factor responsible for prevalence of child labour. A large number of families live below the poverty line. Going by the official estimates for the year 2011-12, the percentage of people below the poverty line is 25.7% for rural areas; 13.7% for urban areas and 21.9% for all India. Number of people below poverty lines as per these estimates is 26.9 crores. Considering the official poverty line  which is Rs.816 per capita per month for rural areas and Rs.1000 per capita per month for urban areas it can be safely presumed that life would be difficult not only for those below poverty line but even for those who are marginally above it. This forces the children from such families to go to work.  

Lack of awareness and education among the lower strata of population is also one of the contributing factors for child labour. People are not aware about of the benefits of education. They feel that sending their children to school would be of no use as education will not change their economic and social status. This coupled with poverty results in a situation in which every child is treated as an additional working hand and is expected to support the family by taking up some remunerative work. Another reason is that a child worker can be engaged at much lower wages than an adult and are hence economical for the businessman particularly in those industries/professions which do not require heavy manual work. In such cases child labour is seen as a cost cutting measure which is facilitated by poor implementation of labour laws.

Impacts of Child Labour

            In the first place the practice is inhuman as it takes away the childhood from the children and hampers their physical and mental growth. As children due to being physically and mentally weak are not to protest in same way as an adult their exploitation is much severe and in some extreme cases the child labour involves trafficking of children, enslavement, separation from families, exposure to hazards and left to fend for themselves in big cities.

            The practice is also harmful for the society as a whole. During his childhood, every child expects to live under care of his parents and acquire knowledge and skills which he can put to use in his adulthood. However, a child labour, on account of devoting his time and energy towards his work does not get opportunities to acquire these skills and is not able to achieve his full potential. This goes against the individual as well as the concept of a welfare state.

            Further, economic system needs educated and trained personnel who are competent to handle various jobs related with diverse economic activities. However, a child labour is not able to acquire education and other training to meet the requirements of diverse and complex nature of jobs coming up due to use of technology in almost every economic activity. Thus child labour adds to the untrained or meagerly trained labour force which is not suitable for growth of economy.

Legal provisions

·    The Constitution of India, in Article 24, provides that no child under the age of 14 years shall be employed to work in a factory, mine or in any other hazardous employment.

·       In Article 39 under the Directive Principles of State Policy, it has been stated that children should be given opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity.

·   Factories Act prohibits employment of children below the age of 14 years in factories and also regulates the conditions of employment of persons in the age group 15-18 years in these units.

·        The Mines Act prohibits the employment of any person below 18 years in mines.

·    In order to make a comprehensive study on the issue of child labour, the Government formed the Gurupadswamy committee in 1979. The Committee felt that child labour is intrinsically related to poverty and as long as poverty continued, it would be difficult to completely eliminate child labour. Therefore, the best course would be to prohibit employment of children in hazardous areas and to regulate their employment in others. On the basis of the recommendations, the Government enacted the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986.

·     The Act defines a child as a person who has not completed 14 years of age and prohibits employment of such children in hazardous occupations specified in schedule to the Act. Initially the schedule contained 6 occupations and 13 processes. The schedule has been reviewed from time to time. Presently, the list contains 18 occupations and 65 processes.

·     The Government formulated a National Child Policy in 1987. The policy outlined an action plan with three components. First aspect was regarding strict enforcement of the labour laws including the Child Labour Act. This included updating of the list of hazardous occupations by including additional occupations identified as detrimental to the health and safety of the children.  Second aspect was focusing on general development and covering needy people under poverty alleviation programmes. Third aspect was to start projects specifically targeting child labour.

·      The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) of Children Act of 2000 prohibits procuring or employing a child in any hazardous employment or in bondage and provides punishment for the same.

·        Insertion of Article 21A in the Fundamental Rights and subsequent enactment of the Right of Child to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 provides for free and compulsory education to all children from 6-14 years.

·     National policy for Children adopted by the Government of India in April, 2013 also considers the need for protection of children under situations of labour.  

Programmes for benefit of child labour

·     National Child Labour Project (NCLP) scheme was launched in 9 districts. The scheme envisaged running of special schools for child labour withdrawn from work. In these schools, these children were provided formal/non formal education along with vocational training as well as a cash stipend of Rs.100/- which was increased to Rs.150/- with effect from April, 2011. The scheme is being gradually extended to more and more districts it progressively covered 271 districts. As per annual report of the Ministry of Labour for 2012-13 it is presently running in 266 districts.

·     INDUS (Indo US Child Labour Project) was run in cooperation with the Department of Labour, USA which also covered 21 districts. However, the scheme which was launched in 2000 was only for 8 years and has ended in March, 2009. An estimated 1,03,152 child workers have been rescued and rehabilitated under this project.

·      Another ILO Project named “Converging against Child Labour” has been launched in collaboration with the International Labour Organization and with support of US Department of Labour. The programme covers two districts each in five states (Bihar, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa).

·     Other schemes like Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan, Mid Day Meal Scheme, Integrated Child Protection Scheme, Rural Employment Schemes and other similar schemes are also being implemented for welfare of children and poverty alleviation. All these are expected to make a dent in the problem of Child labour.