The truth about children
chi Pradhan Datta, Nov 14, 2010, 04.41am ISTRead more: The truth about children - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/The-truth-about-children/articleshow/6922587.cms#ixzz15Dw0OwgU
The day commemorates the birthday of Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, and also celebrates his love for all children. We also remember his noble vision, as he envisaged a nation, where each child had a happy and healthy childhood, equal opportunities and a secure future. This Children's Day, the big question is, are we anywhere even close to that dream?
The visuals might deceive us into believing that 'All is well' as schools across the country will organize picnics, fetes, cultural programmes and parties for the youngsters as also shower them with token gifs and sweets galore as reminder of their special place in an adult's life. However, are these lucky kids the true representatives of India's childhood!
Unfortunately the bitter truth is far from all of the above. In actuality, more than half of our children do not even see the face of a school, let alone get into the portals of one. For them the filthy, mean streets with its gnawing horrors is their school, survival their lesson and life their teacher. They exist in the crime ridden back alleys, in discarded card board boxes, in abandoned drain pipes and in deplorable shacks, work their backs off as child labours or beg pitiably to sustain themselves. Add to that exposure to all kinds of exploitation - physical, sexual and emotional- and the picture is actually rather dreary. The several 'chotu's' and 'Chawanni' of most localities bear testimony to the fact.
"It is impossible to enjoy an evening out with one's family in any popular area as there are several pairs of hungry eyes staring at your ice-cream cone or bag of chips and my daughter either ends up buying ice-cream for everyone or refusing to have one herself," remarks Anu Mishra, a writer.
"It is heart wrenching to see urchins pouncing on the leftovers at the garbage heaps near popular eateries Sweets," adds Harpreet Kahlon. "On special occasion, like festivals or Children's Day I buy them something wholesome to eat rather than giving them alms as once I saw a boy sniffing glue bought from his begging money so that he could suppress his hunger pangs," she adds.
"As winters are around the corner and it is beginning to get quite chilly in the evenings so Children's Day should be marked by distributing woollens to the scores of urchins that abound here. I, in my individual capacity carry out grown woolens and shoes of my children and give it to the needy," suggests Seema Kathuria.
Though there are umpteen children's welfare schemes that are in place; are they truly effective? Are laws against child labour keeping children away from work and in school? The biggest nemesis of their childhood is poverty as only on a full belly can a family think of education or abiding by child labour laws. An estimate states that in families living below the poverty line (BPL), almost 34% of the family income is contributed by children. Though the official figures for the number of child labourers under the age of fourteen, is in the proximity of 11 million, UNICEF cites figures ranging from 75 to 90 million child labourers ( Human Rights Watch). The reason for this disparity in the data is that sometimes unpaid workers are excluded from this study.
According to an earlier Census of India, the sectors in which child labour is most rampant are domestic services, agriculture, fishing, glass blowing, fireworks, plantation, mining, manufacturing and repairs. Further adding insult to injury, these children are paid wages which are substantially lower than adults. These spineless employers quote inequality of work output as the reason and thus continue unabashedly to exploit the child's helplessness to the hilt, while the pathetically poor parents stand as mute spectators.
Yet another alarming revelation is that even by conservative estimates, there are about 300,000 children in India who are engaged in commercial sex, with babies as young as 18 months found to be suffering from STD's. As citizens we need to vehemently oppose products that churn out of the child labour exploiting factories in the same manner as animal rights activists boycott fur and leather. When the students of Dehradun's Doon School could refrain from bursting crackers on Diwali, to voice their protest against child exploitation in that sector, the rest of us can also follow suit. As it is money which makes the world go round, a couple of years of financial loses will probably teach a lesson or two, to the perpetrators of this crime. Till such day, we cannot celebrate Children's Day without the shadow of guilt looming large over our heads.
The visuals might deceive us into believing that 'All is well' as schools across the country will organize picnics, fetes, cultural programmes and parties for the youngsters as also shower them with token gifs and sweets galore as reminder of their special place in an adult's life. However, are these lucky kids the true representatives of India's childhood!
Unfortunately the bitter truth is far from all of the above. In actuality, more than half of our children do not even see the face of a school, let alone get into the portals of one. For them the filthy, mean streets with its gnawing horrors is their school, survival their lesson and life their teacher. They exist in the crime ridden back alleys, in discarded card board boxes, in abandoned drain pipes and in deplorable shacks, work their backs off as child labours or beg pitiably to sustain themselves. Add to that exposure to all kinds of exploitation - physical, sexual and emotional- and the picture is actually rather dreary. The several 'chotu's' and 'Chawanni' of most localities bear testimony to the fact.
"It is impossible to enjoy an evening out with one's family in any popular area as there are several pairs of hungry eyes staring at your ice-cream cone or bag of chips and my daughter either ends up buying ice-cream for everyone or refusing to have one herself," remarks Anu Mishra, a writer.
"It is heart wrenching to see urchins pouncing on the leftovers at the garbage heaps near popular eateries Sweets," adds Harpreet Kahlon. "On special occasion, like festivals or Children's Day I buy them something wholesome to eat rather than giving them alms as once I saw a boy sniffing glue bought from his begging money so that he could suppress his hunger pangs," she adds.
"As winters are around the corner and it is beginning to get quite chilly in the evenings so Children's Day should be marked by distributing woollens to the scores of urchins that abound here. I, in my individual capacity carry out grown woolens and shoes of my children and give it to the needy," suggests Seema Kathuria.
Though there are umpteen children's welfare schemes that are in place; are they truly effective? Are laws against child labour keeping children away from work and in school? The biggest nemesis of their childhood is poverty as only on a full belly can a family think of education or abiding by child labour laws. An estimate states that in families living below the poverty line (BPL), almost 34% of the family income is contributed by children. Though the official figures for the number of child labourers under the age of fourteen, is in the proximity of 11 million, UNICEF cites figures ranging from 75 to 90 million child labourers ( Human Rights Watch). The reason for this disparity in the data is that sometimes unpaid workers are excluded from this study.
According to an earlier Census of India, the sectors in which child labour is most rampant are domestic services, agriculture, fishing, glass blowing, fireworks, plantation, mining, manufacturing and repairs. Further adding insult to injury, these children are paid wages which are substantially lower than adults. These spineless employers quote inequality of work output as the reason and thus continue unabashedly to exploit the child's helplessness to the hilt, while the pathetically poor parents stand as mute spectators.
Yet another alarming revelation is that even by conservative estimates, there are about 300,000 children in India who are engaged in commercial sex, with babies as young as 18 months found to be suffering from STD's. As citizens we need to vehemently oppose products that churn out of the child labour exploiting factories in the same manner as animal rights activists boycott fur and leather. When the students of Dehradun's Doon School could refrain from bursting crackers on Diwali, to voice their protest against child exploitation in that sector, the rest of us can also follow suit. As it is money which makes the world go round, a couple of years of financial loses will probably teach a lesson or two, to the perpetrators of this crime. Till such day, we cannot celebrate Children's Day without the shadow of guilt looming large over our heads.
Read more: The truth about children - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/The-truth-about-children/articleshow/6922587.cms#ixzz15DvZ0B6H
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