Child labour in India: A brief study of law and its implementation

Children throughout the world are engaged in a great number of activities classified as work. These ranges from fairly harmless, even laudable, activities like helping out in the home, to physically dangerous and morally objectionable ones. Child labour is a complex and a controversial issue. Unfortunately, it is a global phenomenon. In almost all societies, children work in some way, though the type of work they do and the forms of their involvement vary. But many millions of children work under abusive and exploitative conditions that are clearly dangerous to them. India is not an exception. As per report, India ranks among top nations where the percentage of labour force constituting ‘Child Labour’ is very high. Like others, India too, have formulated laws in order to reform and bring an end to all forms of child labour, right from its inception as a free nation, but the ground reality is still very dismal in nature. A brief study of the various Socio-legal legislatures formed by the Indian Government, and its implications at the ground level, projects clearly, the road to reform is still a long way ahead.