Say No To Child Labour !

“Only the worst thief can steal someone’s   childhood”.  They call it best phase of life. They call it childhood for the rest it is just chide hood. The pain behind the statement can be felt by every child found working in homes,hotels,factories and all possible places where they can be exploited.

A school boy once complained “If child labour is a crime then why does our teacher gives us homework?”. What about those who will never get a chance to see the face of a school in their entire lifetime, who are sold into the hands of their masters even before they understand the ways of the world. These young soldiers are sent to war even without proper equipment.

Sitting in our well-furnished houses we often complain that child labour exists, no strict laws are implemented by government to curb this crime and at the next moment we walk into a local restaurant where a small boy comes to clean our table. What do we do then? Crib about government not implementing ban and we continue eating. Imagine what can happen if we refuse to eat at such places. Change should start from us. 

It is however important to realize that child labour cannot be fully abolished in page of India where one child is the sole breadwinner of his page of family. Although it is most undesirable where a child has to work rather than go to school, denying option of working to him would be even more disastrous and might force the child into illegal activities for survival. A child activist correctly remarked “Teach him to chop an onion before he learns to chop a head.” Next time when you happen to find any child labour case prevailing in your area try to find out the reason. Help them get back the most beautiful phase of their life – childhood.

Written By – Priyanka Dalmia