It was a bright morning and the atmosphere was so pleasant and energetic. I come out of the home to get some milk from the store across, and find many children in their school uniforms hurrying out of our apartment premises.It reminded me of my school days, but more importantly something else disturbed me a lot. The sight of 9 yr old Lakshmi, standing with a broom in her hand (paused her cleaning act, making way for the children rushing) at the departmental store across the road with a deprived and envious look at these school going children of the same age group as hers, struck to me. I trudged towards the store, asked for the milk packet and inquired Lakshmi about her not going to school and she replied that she had been put to work and was never sent to school. She further added, that she wanted to go to school and wanted to study like all those children. I couldn't help but ponder over Lakshmi's situation.
Child labor is one of the biggest problems that we face in India today. Many children like Lakshmi are deprived of their childhood, schooling and all the fun included in the package. If we say that the future of the country lies in the hands of the youth, then I seriously doubt the future of our nation. Because, if the children of today(who would be the youth of the nation soon) are not provided with the basic learning of their lives, then how can we be assured of them standing for a cause tomorrow. A twinge of guilt forced me to dig deep into this and helped me find some facts about this prevailing problem. And the facts put us to shame. Over 12 million children in India are forced to work for their survival. These children work as domestic helps, on streets, factories and farmlands and are often abused. Not only are they subjected to extremely strenuous work, but also are abused causing them to loose their identity completely and often are pushed into depression. Lets not forget that childhood is the most important phase of anybody's life and impressions of childhood are life-lasting. It's a phase to make or break the future of a child who would eventually represent our nation, contributing to its growth.
Of the seven fundamental rights mentioned in the constitution of India, two talk about the child labor and basic education for the children. Any child under 14 yrs of age is not supposed to be employed and has the right to education. It is good to have such laws, but who would save all these children from this monstrous problem, the law? Definitely not, it is we who can save them. As said by Lao Tzu , "Even a journey of 10,000 miles, starts with a step", a small initiative taken by all of us can bring in a huge change.To start with, let us all say no to child labor by not employing any child under 14 as domestic help. Further, let us try and counsel those who do so, and if required complain about such people to the authorities concerned. Let us all stand united for the good cause and ensure that no child is deprived of their childhood, which is their right. Let's stop child labor.
P.S: If you see a kid under 14 yrs of age working in your locality, or if you know someone who has employed a child under 14, call 1098 to rescue them.
Child labor is one of the biggest problems that we face in India today. Many children like Lakshmi are deprived of their childhood, schooling and all the fun included in the package. If we say that the future of the country lies in the hands of the youth, then I seriously doubt the future of our nation. Because, if the children of today(who would be the youth of the nation soon) are not provided with the basic learning of their lives, then how can we be assured of them standing for a cause tomorrow. A twinge of guilt forced me to dig deep into this and helped me find some facts about this prevailing problem. And the facts put us to shame. Over 12 million children in India are forced to work for their survival. These children work as domestic helps, on streets, factories and farmlands and are often abused. Not only are they subjected to extremely strenuous work, but also are abused causing them to loose their identity completely and often are pushed into depression. Lets not forget that childhood is the most important phase of anybody's life and impressions of childhood are life-lasting. It's a phase to make or break the future of a child who would eventually represent our nation, contributing to its growth.
Of the seven fundamental rights mentioned in the constitution of India, two talk about the child labor and basic education for the children. Any child under 14 yrs of age is not supposed to be employed and has the right to education. It is good to have such laws, but who would save all these children from this monstrous problem, the law? Definitely not, it is we who can save them. As said by Lao Tzu , "Even a journey of 10,000 miles, starts with a step", a small initiative taken by all of us can bring in a huge change.To start with, let us all say no to child labor by not employing any child under 14 as domestic help. Further, let us try and counsel those who do so, and if required complain about such people to the authorities concerned. Let us all stand united for the good cause and ensure that no child is deprived of their childhood, which is their right. Let's stop child labor.
P.S: If you see a kid under 14 yrs of age working in your locality, or if you know someone who has employed a child under 14, call 1098 to rescue them.
2 comments:
It is Really Nice BRo
We should think about this .. :(
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