INTRODUCTION:

In Indian economy, and the uneven rates of development have had varying degrees of impact on the different segments of the labour force. The problem of child labour has its genesis in socio-economic environment in which the masses live. It is generally considered that, unemployment, low levels of family income, large size of families, illiteracy, lack of adequate concern among parents for educating the children, inadequate schooling facilities, loss of parents or bread winners of the family and inadequate work opportunities for the adult members are the major causes of child labour Employers also prefer to engage children in their establishments due to various reasons viz., lower wages, docile nature, dexterity and agility in work, amenability for discipline and control, assignment of non-status jobs, non-payment of terminal jobs and less industrial relations problems with them.

What is Child Labour?

Child labour is when a person below 15 years of age is doing work that is depriving them of their childhood, their potential and their dignity - when the work is harming their physical and mental development. When a child is forced to leave school or combine schooling and work or when they are getting sick from the kind of work that they do – this is considered child labour. - UNICEF

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY:

1. To evaluate the attitude of people regarding child labour.

2. To identify the micro form of child labour.

3. To evaluate the existing form of child labour.

4. To evaluate the effect of age group and Education on child labour.

5. To identify the caste group which maximally suffering child labour issues.

6. To knows the effect of child labour on occupation and everyday life of their parents and society too.

7. To investigate the awareness regarding child labour among children and their human rights.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:

The social construction of child labour in India is a complex phenomenon and to study it in interface with social problem is a great challenge for any researcher. The methodology adopted for the present study has been a combination of a range of tools and techniques that can be applied to a sociological research.

Research Design

Considering the intricacy of the subject of the study, a rigorous process went into the development of the entire research design that will start with developing the conceptual lucidity over the contentious issue of child labour. The process of developing the research design entailed an exhaustive study of the available secondary resources on the subject as well as the selection of the tools for data and the respondent. The empirical research that went into the study was carried out through a combination of individual interviews and observation administrated by the researcher in the selected geographical area.

1. Sources of Data

Both primary as well as secondary sources have been analysed for the purpose of the study. Primary data have been obtained from interviews with and observation of the respective people. Secondary sources included books, statutes, research papers, articles on the subject. Electronic sources as well as print literature ( by internet) have been consulted.

2. Development of Tools

Prior to developing a set of questionnaires for all the aforesaid stakeholders, an information inventory will prepare to carried by field investigators as a checklist for collecting the bare minimum of the relevant data at village from the respective areas.

3. Sampling

The sampling frame work that will adopted for the study will multi-stage, stratified simple Random sampling. This will employ to ensure representation to the whole children belonging to research area, to capture the dynamics of the practice of Child labour in various context.

Stage : 1Area wise sampling

(1) Selection of the one district from Gujarat state based on the data on incidence of child labour data .

(2) Division of the district into Talukas, which based on more practices of child labour.

Stage : 2 Stratified sampling

Stage : 3 Selection of sample villages

Stage : 4 Selection of Sample Households

About Research Area

1. Gujarat State

Gujarat is a state in the western part of India. It has an area of 1,96,204 km. with coastline of 1,600 km, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. The state is bordered by Rajasthan to the north, Maharashtra to the south, Madhya Pradesh to the east, and the Arabian sea as well as the Pakistan province of Sindh to the west. Its capital is city Gandhinagar, while largest city is Ahmedabad. Gujarat is house to the Gujarati-speaking people of India, and Asiatic lion. The state encompasses major sites of the ancient Indus valley Civilization, such as Lothal and Dholavira. Lothal is believed to be one of the world’s first seaport. Gujarat has played an important role in the economic history of India.

The population of Gujarat as on 2011 is 6.04 crore comprising 3.15 males and 2.89 crores females. Of this, the rural population stands at 3.47 crore and the urban population 2.57 crore. In terms of percentage, Gujarat accounts 5.97% of the area of India and 4.99% of the population of India. Population density (persons per sq.km.) in census 2011 work out to be 308. The sex ratio in the state slightly decreased to 918 in 2011 from 921 in 2001. The literacy rate in the state as per census 2011 works out to 78.03%. The Scheduled Castes population in the state is 40,74,447 (6.74%) in 2011 and the Scheduled Tribes population in the state is 89,17,174 (14.75%) in 2011.

Gujarat is a diversified agricultural economy. The State agriculture economy has witnessed a shift towards high value crops like cotton, groundnuts, fruits and vegetables and condiments and spices from low value cereals and other crops. Animal Husbandry and dairying have played a vital role in the rural economy of Gujarat. Gujarat is one of the largest producers of milk in India and AMUL (Anand Milk Union Limited) dairy is Asia’s biggest dairy.

The literacy rate (excluding the population of 0-6 years) for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes was reported to 79.2 % and 62.5 % respectively in Census, 2011. The sex ratio for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes was reported to 931 and 981 respectively in Census, 2011.

2. Junagadh District

Junagadh district is located on (21˚31' N, 70˚28' E) the Kathiawar peninsula in western Gujarat. Geographical area of Junagadh district is 8831sq.km. It is surrounded by Rajkot district (north), Porbandar district (north-west), Amreli district (east). To the south and west is the Arabian sea. Porbandar, Mahatma Gandhi’s birthplace and Somnath, the first Jyotirlingas out of the 12, was earlier a part of this district. Junagadh has a mountain range called Girnar which is a place of pilgrimage for Hinduism and Jainism. Junagadh contains the Gir Forest National Park, which is the only home to Asiatic lions. Mountain Girnar is also declared a forest reserve for Bamboos. ‘Girnari Giddh’, the long-billed vultures, are found only on Girnar.

Junagadh has witnessed rules of many famous dynasties like Babi Nawabs, Vilbhis, Kshatraps, Mauryas, Chudasamas, Gujarat Sultans and several others. It has also seen major religious upsurges. All these have greatly influenced the architectural developments of Junagadh.The foot of Girnar hill, between the two places, is an edict of Emperor Ashoka inscribed on a rock dating from the third century BC. The Ashoka Edicts impart moral instructions on dharma, harmony, tolerance, and peace. An uneven rock, with a circumference of seven metres and a height of ten metres, bears inscriptions in Brahmi script etched with an iron pen.

Junagadh is well connected by road and railway networks. It is about 100 km from Rajkot and 350 km from Ahmedabad. National highway 8D connects Junagadh to Rajkot via Jetpur. By railway, it is also well connected with Rajkot, Ahmedabad etc. Junagadh also has an airport at Keshod which has limited connectivity with other cities of India. Before the bifurcating of Junagadh district, it has a long shore line and ports. Now Mangrol, Madhavpur, Chorwad is main shore line. The average rainfall of Junagadh district has 775.0mm per annum. Shivratri Mela (month of Maagha) and Girnar Parikrama (month of Kartik) is also organized annually. Junagadh celebrates its accession to India on 9^th November, 1947 annually as an independence day of the city.

Junagadh district has a population of 27,43,082 persons according to the 2011 census. This gives it a ranking of 142^nd in India. The district has a population density of 311 inhabitants per square kilometre. Literacy rate in Junagadh district is 75.80% as per 2011 census (72.61% in rural and 82.21% in urban area).

Schooling of Child Labour and NEP:

The New Educational Policy accords the highest priority to solving the problem of children dropping out of school and adopts an array of meticulously formulated strategies based on micro-planning and applied at the grass-roots level all over the country, to ensure children retention at school. It is the responsibility of every parent or guardian to give proper education to the child during the childhood. However, due to illiteracy, ignorance, poverty and large size of the family, parents fail to play their role properly. An attempt is made here to enquire into the schooling background of the child workers covered in the study.

Education plays an important role in the development of individual, society or nation. Education makes a man capable of living a socially acceptable life The educated parents plan their families and provide best possible education and facilities to their children. But in our rural society, the rate of illiteracy is very high. Unfortunately, as many as 88.44 per cent of fathers were found to be illiterates while one-tenth of them had primary education. The situation is more or less similar in all the divisions. If illiteracy was found to be a major contributing factor for child employment in the earlier studies, the present study also confirms it. Mothers' educational level was found to be no better than that of fathers and this kind of parental illiteracy is largely responsible for the problem of child labour.

Possibilities of Occupations of Child Labour :

.	Transport of passengers, goods or mails by railway;
.	Cinder picking, cleaning of an ash pit or building operation in the railway premises ;
.	Work in a catering establishment at a railway station, involving the movement of a vendor or any other employee of the establishment from one platform to another or into or out of a moving train ;
.	Work relating to the construction of a railway station or with any other work where such work is done in close proximity to or between the railway lines ;
.	A port authority within the limits of any port.
.	Working relating to selling of crackers and fireworks in shops with temporary license.
.	Abattoirs / Slaughter Houses.
.	Automobile workshops and garages ;
.	Foundries ;
.	Handling of toxic or inflammable substances or explosives ;
.	Handloom and power loom industry ;
.	Mines (underground and underwater) and collieries ;
.	Plastic units and fiberglass workshops.
.	Employment of children as domestic workers or servants.
.	Employment of children in dhabas (road side eateries), restaurants, hotels, motels, tea-shops, resorts, spas or other recreational centers.

CONCLUSION:

Unfortunately, in spite of the wonderful inventions and leaps in technology and communications, child labour still exists today. You’d be surprised to learn that some of your favorite products are produced by the hands of underpaid and maltreated children. Even with the efforts of non-profit organizations and the government, there are still many children out there crying out for help… many who have lost their childhood and their faith in people.

Among the numerous explanations of the rise and growth of child labour, the socio-economic backwardness is considered as one of the most crucial factors. Countries like India, with massive and abysmal poverty are said to be fertile grounds for the large scale employment of children. But the question of backwardness is relative and cannot be understood in isolation from developed regions, the independence of factors for analysis is minimal. Backwardness is a historically specific phenomenon associated with the development of capitalism in the West and its relations of expropriation of the Third World Countries.

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Received on 08.01.2024 Modified on 10.02.2024

Int. J. Ad. Social Sciences. 2024; 12(1):4-8.

DOI: 10.52711/2454-2679.2024.00002