The Imprisoned Childhood

Mica is an essential ingredient in almost every beauty product and also used in making electronic parts. India is one of the largest producers of mica, accounting for 60% of global production.

But where does the mica come from? Jharkhand mines are one of the largest reserves of mica and extracting the mineral from mines requires rigorous blue collar work. Children are employed as blue collar workers to work in the mines because their hands are small enough to fit into the crevices where mica is found. Children between 6- and 9-years work under the blazing sun to extract the shimmering mineral and are exposed to life threatening chemicals and gases. Indeed, these children pay the price for the shimmer and shine in the beauty business.

Children play a significant role in Nation building and are assets of the nation. However, this asset is the most vulnerable group of the society. Consequently, it becomes important to analyze and eliminate the child labor prevalent in different sectors of Indian economy. What child labor is, though? Child labor does not include all work done by children. A child’s contribution towards family’s well-being and helping out with tasks outside school hours is not considered as child labor. Indeed, according to the ILO (International Labor Organization), child labor is the work that deprives children (any person under 18) of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to their physical and/or mental development. It refers to work that is mentally, or morally dangerous and harmful to children.

Mining is not the only sector where children are involved in hazardous blue collar work. Agriculture sector employs half of the country’s population and serves as one of the major sectors involving hazardous child labor, particularly, in the Northern states of the country, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. According to an article published in Hindustan Times, 2017, UP has the highest number of Children engaged in labour, followed by Bihar and Maharashtra.

Children, in these regions, are exposed to work in farms, handling toxic pesticides, carrying heavy loads over large distances, dealing with dangerous cutting tools, and working in extreme temperatures. Moreover, since blue collar workers involve more physical commitment than other workers, therefore these children are more prone to accidents and health issues.

I remember the incident from my own village, a small village in west UP. A child (8 years old) was hired to work in the farms of our neighbour. These children are sold from Bihar to brokers in UP, where labour intensive agriculture is practised. The journey from a kid to a blue-collar worker starts too early, often receiving low wages and being treated brutally. The employers are not answerable to anyone, because the family members of these children are living miles away and dare not to offend the brokers, who might help them to get one more helping hand for the family. Surely, poverty is the one to be blamed, else no one wants to harass their own child. “Kamane hi toh aaye hain, baar baar ghar jayenge toh paisa khatam ho jayega” the boy replied to “Don’t you want to go back home?”

Government is implementing the National Child Labor Project (NCLP) Scheme, launched in 1988, for the rehabilitation of child labor. Under the Scheme, children in the age group of 9-14 years are rescued/withdrawn from work and enrolled in the NCLP Scheme Training Centers, where they are provided with bridge education, vocational training, mid-day meal, stipend, health care, etc. before being mainstreamed into the formal education system. Whereas, children in the age group of 5-8 are directly linked to the formal education system through a close coordination with the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA).

However, an article published in The Hindu, on June 22, 2022, highlights the loopholes in implementation of NCLP Scheme. It highlights the appeal of Tamil Nadu NCLP Employees Association to the government to look at sourcing funds for the scheme through international organisations such as ILO or UNICEF. According to an Index released on 28 May, 2019, by ‘Save the Children’, a United Kingdom (UK) based non-profit organisation which works for child rights, India was ranked 113 in 176 countries on the wellbeing of Children.

It all points to one fact, considerable steps have been taken to pull back the children from blue collar work, nevertheless, eliminating the problem from our society is a long way to go because this work is more remunerative in the short run rather than investing in education, health and skill development. Moreover, the loopholes in labour welfare schemes launched by the government, ineffective reach to the beneficiaries and unhealthy political environment further add to the problem. Therefore, the eradication of this practice of pushing children into blue collar work will require strict implementation of Child Labor legislations, population control awareness, application of Free and compulsory Education Policy.

If you want to learn more about the the ill-fated relationship between children and work and exploring the way out, check out our episode on Children's Day Special: The Realities of Child Labour up on BTS's very own podcast, Where the Chasm is Bridged.