October 9, 2006

Child Labour Eradicated!!! Or is it?

Kudos to those who have taken this step. Child labour is one of the greatest crime our country was witnessing! There are 13 crore children out there, losing there childhood, future in the Quaarys, hotels, cracker factories, tea stalls, platform stalls, cycle shops, automobile mechanical shops, you name it..everywhere except the place where they have got to be. School.
The number is 13 crores. If you had missed it, it should be almost a 25% of the population less than 30. All of us, Indians, got to pat ourselves on the back !! "WE HAVE SUCESSFULLY RUINED A GENERATION!!"

The Order!
Well, I am not a fool to say that today child labour is gone from the country! But for every citizen of the country who know that spitting on the road is an offence, trespassing in the railroad is punishable, bribing is punishable for both the beneficiaries, please also know that Employing and support Child Labour is also a punishable offence. 3-12 months Imprisonment and upto 20,000 rupees.

Lets come to the implementation part of it.
If one kid is earning around, a 500-1000rs per month. it is going to be an immediete loss of Rs 13,00,000,000 to all those persons who are investing on them. Whooping! So no one is going to STOP this! Probably in the cities, in some urban towns it may stop. What about those from Bihar, West Bengal, Orissa and other north eastern states ?
For instance my college in Jharkhand had kids of 9-14 working in the stalls around. Even though we complained of Child labour, they were amused to see some of us are actually protesting rather than appreciating the very fact that the child is earning for his family at this tender age!

Well, Whats the solution ?
Make people understand that indeed schooling is important ??
Ensure a family gets atleast two quarters meal a day ??
All simple things that is very very easy to say...!! I have said it.. there are a lot who are saying it..! But one to execute it ? No. No ONE can do this. Only WE can do this.!
Can we ensure that the India we are leaving to the future is better?

Smile, (lost!)
Balaji