Causes and Controlling Measures of Child Labour in Karnataka

: Children are the greatest gift to humanity and childhood is a state of vulnerable human development as it has the budding for future development of any society. "The child is a father of man," Wordsworth said. Nehru considered that "The child to be the greatest asset of the nation". Child labour problem is a global problem efforts have been going on at state, national and international level to check the prevalence of child labour. Keeping in view the impact of child labour the constitution of India has made provisions for protection of women and child. Karnataka needs to address the situation by tackling the underlying causes of child labor through governmental policies and the enforcement of these policies. Only then will Karnataka succeed in the fight against child labor.


Introduction:
Karnataka has a relatively high incidence of child labour.According to the 1991 census, there are 9.76 lakh children working in the state including 8.18 lakh main and 1.58 marginal workers.The registration of India 1971 recorded nearly 10.74 million children as labourers.By 2011, the number of child labourers had increased to 15.59 million.A wide diversity is observed in the pace of and pattern of child labour in the different districts and regions in Karnataka.For the state as a whole, there has been a gradual but steady decline in both the male and female child workforce participation between 1961 and 1991.Further, there is a significant variation in the pace of growth and reduction in the labour participation rates of children between districts.In about half of the States, districts, child labour has declined rapidly, while in the others, the pace of decline has been relatively low.The figures for the female child workers participation rate in the rural areas show a decrease between 1961 and 1971 in all the districts, but the later period, i.e. between 1971 and 1991, there has been a steady increase in the number of female child workers in a majority of the districts.This increase during the period 1981-91 has been particularly high in Bellary where it went up from 10.4 per cent in 1981 to 18.19 per cent in 1991.Another unique feature is "Nowhere children" are children in the age group of 5-14 years who are neither in school nor at work.The data reveals that almost 50per cent of the female children and 40 per cent of the male children in Karnataka belong to this category.The percentage of this category is lower in urban areas as compared to the rural areas.Irrespective of caste in all societies, race or area children occupied a critical position.A Child is the bud of a future citizen of a country.Child labour is necessitated by economic compulsions of the parents and in many cases of the children.Unemployment and underemployment among the adult poor are the main reason which has given rise to child labour.The primary reason for hiring children viz., children's are easier to manage because they are less aware of rights, less complaining, more trustworthy, less troublesome, and no problems of unions.The high rate of growth of population, large families with low income, is some of the reasons that breed child labour.Diverting the child from work means loss of revenue to the parents and an additional expenditure on education.However, small the economic benefits resulting from the child labour are generally high as it generates a profit, which is higher than what is consumed in the family.According to National Commission on Labour, the employment of children is non-existent in regulated industries.It persists in varying degree in the unorganized sector.Employment of child workers below the age is also reported to be continuing in rural areas where enforcement of statutory provisions is more complicated.Underage children work at usually because they and their families are extremely poor.Large numbers of children work in commercial agriculture, fishing, manufacturing, mining, and domestic service.Some children work in illicit activities like the drug trade and prostitution or other traumatic activities such as serving as soldiers.In India, child labour is an incessant problem which is a challenge before the nation.Government has taken various protective measures to deal with this problem through strict enforcement of assorted legislative provisions along with simultaneous rehabilitative policies.Several committees, sub-committees and commissions have been appointed from time to time by the government to find out ways and means to prevent child labour all sorts of jobs around the world.

Statement of the Problem:
There are no definite estimates of child labour.This is because of under reporting of the phenomenon.Majority of the child labour working in agriculture or in informal sector in the form of 'helpers' 'assistants' does not figure into child labour statistics.Therefore it is difficult to identify the magnitude and the problem of child labour in India.In this direction the micro level studies are useful to understand the problem.

Objectives:
• To reveal the reasons and consequences of child labour in India.
• To find the effective measures to eradicate child labour from its roots

Research Methodology:
The study has been conducted mainly on the basis of literature survey and secondary information this is collected from the Census Surveys, Reports, newspapers, journals, articles, websites, etc Literature review: Mohapatra and Dash (2011) tried to examine the socio-economic problem of child labour.The key factors employed in poverty, lack of education, joblessness, low salary, unawareness, regressive tradition, superstation, low status of women have combined to provide origin to the awful practice of child labor of woman have united to give birth to the terrible practice of child labor.Methodology applied in expansion rate sample data via interviews.Findings reveal that the migrant family forms many district of Odisha their socio-economic situation is very bad which make them to go for labor.Limaye and Pande (2013) attempt to sum up the various meaning to the word child and also provide brief overviews of the magnitudes of the problem from a national perspective.In their paper recognizes that many policy plans have been worked but there is a critical requirement for a societal movement for this subject to really get identified and solved.Parvathamma (2015) emphasizes the reason and causes for child lanbour, analyses the problem of Child Labor in India, bonded child labour, consequences and misuse of child labour.The study also spotlighted on policy initiatives of government to protect child labour.There are more than 11 million children who are spending their childhood learning textile and garment manufacturing, workshops, domestic labour, farming, firework and restaurants and numerous other occupations rather than going to school and receiving quality education.Sarkar (2015) highlights the situation of child labor using the Census data of Indian Government .This study has also utilized the NSSO 68th round data about engagement of child labor in India.For the particular purpose of this article, bivariate and multivariate analysis has been conducted.The chi-square test has been applied to analyze the connection among child labor and many social and economical aspects.This study has explored the progression rate of child labor and its distribution with socio-economic aspects and work involvement rate of child labor in India.Besides that, the study suggested various proposals for the elimination and control of child labor in India.Satyanarayana and Rao (2017) investigates the key reasons of child labor in Krishna dist of Andhra Pradesh.300 samples were taken on convenience random sampling method for this research.The research identifies that there exists an association among the major reasons of child labor and the Social and economical situations.Finally the study portrays the policy recommendations to finish the child labor issue.Dash (2018) has highlighted the growth rate of child labour and its distribution with socio-economic characteristics and work participation rate of child labour in India.Using the logistic regression, the study has projected the estimates of child labour in India.Besides that, the article recommended various suggestions for the abolition and regulation of the incidences of child labour in India.Nanda (2019) explain the magnitudes, causes & consequence of child labor and measures taken by the government to abolish child labor in Odisha state.From the time of independence, India has committed itself to be against child labor.The article is an attempt has been made to analyze the status of child labors as well as other labors in Odisha.Recognition of the area of focus of child labor and assessments of dimensions of the issue has been made.Dulera (2020) described the major reasons of child labor was such as the annoyance of poverty, lack of education, Societal and financial backwardness, addiction, lure of inexpensive labor, Family tradition.Kim (2020) identified that child labors in India comprises the large number of children in any single nation in the globle.In 2011, approximately 12 million children among the ages of 6 and 17 were main workers as per Census Report.In this study, we use the ILO"s methodology to define hazardousness and combine it with the most recent UNICEF"s time thresholds for economic work and household chores.

Causes of Child labour in Karnataka:
It is known fact that child labour is in existence since time immemorial.In the olden days when the family was an unit of production and agriculture was the main stay children assist their parents in light activities in agriculture, animal husbandry and household activities.The industrial revolution and technological development has paved the way to many problems and gave birth to new class of wage earners.This era of industrialization and technological advancement subjected children to economic and social exploitation by employers whose concern was to maximize the profit.This fact was confirmed by the royal commission on labour in 1931.Since independence there has been reduction in child labour as pointed out by the national commission on labour in 1969.

Illiteracy and Ignorance of Parents:
Illiteracy and ignorance is the main character of the Indian society.Most of the lower socio economic groups of population are illiterate.They worried about present than future.For them present is more important than future.There is a belief in the minds of the illiterate mass that early work of children will help them to lead better life.

Large size of the family:
The large size of the family is one of the contributing factor for the existence of child labour.The large families usually have less income.These families largely contribute for the cause of child labour.If a family is small in size and well planned has no question of sending their siblings to the labour market.In small families children have been taken care of.

Absence of Scheme for Family Allowances:
In India there were no schemes for family allowances launched by the government so that people may have adequate standard of living and may not be compelled to send their children to labour market.The amount which is paid in the form of pension or as compensation is insufficient to maintain or too less to meet out the family expenditure, without the help of children's income.

Poverty:
The most important cause for prevalence of child labour is wide spread poverty.Poverty compels the parents to send their children to seek employment.Family income some time may fall short to meet out the needs of the family.The institute of public opinion conducted a survey in 1969 and had expressed that, nearly 41.2 percent of India's population was living under poverty.

Adult unemployment and under employment:
Adults unemployment and under employment is also one of the cause for the existence child labour in our country.As India is a developing and over populated country has facing the problem of unemployment and under employment.The adult members of the family rarely have the opportunities of employment.

Migration:
Migration of parents is also one of the major causes for the existence of child labour.Usually the parents have to leave their native places in search of employment opportunities.For the survival it is the essence for them.To them it is very hard to maintain their families without employment.

Cheap labour:
The technological advancement has developed a tendency among the employers to earn quick and more profit at low cost.Hence, in every country there was a tendency to employ children at low wages and for long hours of work in horrible working conditions.

Broken families:
The children of the broken family are the child labours.The separation of parents, death of mother and father in the family leads to the emergence of child labour, apart from that long illness, old age of parent parents forces the children to enter in to labour market, as they are the only supporters of the family.

Orphanage of the child labour:
Many children expose themselves to work is because of orphanage.The death of the father or mother or both made children in secure.There was no body to help them; unless they help themselves by entering into the labour market survival of them will be difficult.In such helpless conditions they have to work for low wages and for long hours.

Poor implementations of child labour laws:
The constitution of India has made provision for legislative enactment whenever it is needed.The Article 14 of Indian constitution itself has forbidden the employment of children below the 14 years of age.So for many legislative enactment have been made to provide legal protection to children in various occupations.

Controlling measures of child labour:
Since child labour problem is a global problem, efforts have been going on at national and international level to check the prevalence of child labour.Keeping in view the impact of child labour the constitution of India has made provisions for protection of women and children.Article 15(3) of the constitution says that nothing shall prevent the state from making any special provisions for women and children.Article 24 states that "No child below 14 years of age shall be employed to work in any factory or mine engaged in any hazardous employment".There is also provision in Article 42 and 43 for securing just and human conditions of work.Accordingly, thirteen major legislative enactments have been passed which provide legal protection to children in various occupations.They

Recommendations:
• There must be compulsory and systematic education to all children because education assists them learns skills that will assist them earn a livelihood.• The age group of children must be revised from 14 years to 16 years.
• Children must be given with non-formal job-oriented education, such that it boosts their skill, which would capable them to shift to more remunerative satisfaction and less unsafe substitute job.• There should be a practical time bound standardization or uniformity programs to eliminate child labour.• The laws must define "child labor" and thereby eliminate the confusion concerning the scope of child labor.• Not only government but also every citizen takes to responsibility to give financial sup-port to every economically poor family • The constitution of India must cast accountability on the parents to send their children to schools.

Conclusion:
Child labour is a serious problem and a challenge for many developing countries.To conclude, a preliminary investigation of child labor in India identifies the perverse nature in which child labor in the different sectors are subsidizing India's inefficiencies-from perpetuating the insidious inequities that run across the nation, hindering human capital expansion, and underscoring its legal inadequacy.The basic reason of child labor is poverty and backwardness.Although children are paid less than adults are, whatever revenue they earn is of advantage to poor parents.Additionally to poverty, the lack of sufficient and available sources of credit forces poor family to use their children as bonded child laborers.Some parents also believe that education is not useful, and that children learn work skill via work.Another reason is poor accessibility of education.In some areas, education is not affordable, or is found to be insufficient.With no other options, Children unavoidably use their time working.The growth of India is being obstructed by child labors.Children are developing uneducated because they have been working and not going to school.A cycle of poverty is formed and the need for child labor is reborn after every generation.India needs to address the situation by tackling the underlying causes of child labor through governmental policies and the enforcement of these policies.Only then will India succeed in the fight against child labor.
Shops and commercial establishment Act Many amendments have been made in most of the laws for improving the conditions of the child labour concerning age, nature of employment, hours of work, education and training etc.International labour organization (ILO) has passed 18 conventions and recommendation regarding labour standards for providing better working facilities to children.Out these India has ratified only three of them.They are minimum age of children, medical examination of working children and protection of children working at night.In addition the comprehensive law has been enacted in India the child labour prohibition Act 1986 prohibits employment of children in certain hazardous occupation.