Child is the father of man. They are the future of the society. The development of nation is directly related with the development of children. Children are an important index of a nation’s development. Every child has the right to enjoy his childhood. Unfortunately in many countries of the world, children are denied their physical, mental and psychological development. Out of 153 children about 25 crores are forced to lead ‘adult lives’ in exploitative and deprived conditions. There are about 1.27 crore child labour in India. They are subjected to gross physical, mental and economic exploitation.
The problem of child labour is a gigantic, complex and delicate issue. This ‘harsh reality’ is fostered by socio-economic factors such as grinding poverty, illiteracy, unemployment and population growth. Children engaged in hazardous works that is unsafe and unhealthy. In India, child labour problem is a much more of a ‘rural phenomenon than urban.’ In rural India, mostly children are engaged in agriculture and allied activities. Whereas, in urban India, manufacturing sector is the most child labour concentrated sector. The regional variation suggests that ‘high magnitude’ is found in U.P. (15.3%), A.P. (10.83%), Rajasthan (10.3%) and Bihar (8.87%). Child labour in India is rampant and state policies to protect children are poorly conceived and badly enforced. More than 4000 ‘special schools are active in 100 child labour endemic districts’ spread over 13 States of India. These schools are educating and rehabilitating more than 2 lakhs child laboures. The present book consisting of 19 articles. The articles are grouped in three parts : Part I Child Labour : Concept, Causes and Conditions; Part II Child Labour : Regional Studies and Part III Child Labour : Towards Eradication It is expected that both general readers, scholars and policy-makers interested in the ‘burning problem’ of child labour will find this book informative and useful.
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