Exploited Children: Child Labour and Disabled Society

A recent report of the United Nations on the state of the world’s children states in no uncertain terms that only a good and just present for the nation’s children can ensure its good and bright future. That India has to learn from this homily is all to evident; it took the WTO to coerce us into eliminating child labour from the carpet and related handloom industry in the country. Millions of children continue to toil in the glass infernos of Ferozabad and the stinking tanneries of Kanpur and Tamil Nadu. Then there are the millions of ‘dhabas’ that employ children. Unable to retort, retaliate or organize, they are the most exploited segment of our society. The articles, papers, extracts and comments contained in the present publication seeks to find the lost voice of our labouring children. It is at once a document, a comment and also a strong plaint on behalf of the millions who should labour only in the school classroom. Sociologists and child development experts, planners and policy-makers will find much that is relevant in the book.