To Ban Or Balance: Children as 'Hands' and Popular Cinema

Abstract

India, as a country with the largest number of child labourers has reached a point where an appropriate law to tackle the menace is most desirable. Wide-spread poverty, unemployment, corruption and lack of social security are to be blamed for increase in child labour over the years. Even though the Constitution of the country, under Article 24 prohibits child labour, the same has been honoured more in breach than in observance. Popular cinema in India, since the very beginning, has been depicting child labour as an accepted practice in the society, which has not witnessed any movement of change. The perception of the society towards the problem has not changed much, and though the policies of the government have, the change has been nevertheless to no one’s benefit. The picture of child labour as presented by Indian cinema hits at the root causes and coincides with the idea of necessity more than an evil. Without addressing the root causes of child labour, India cannot bring in a total ban on the practice of child labour. And even if India does, it cannot be enforced as it would directly affect the question of survival for millions of poor people. A partial ban, as is in place today, raises doubts as to its usefulness and highly suffers from inbuilt deficiencies, and of course, lack of implementation. The result is that children today not only toil in prohibited hazardous industries in great numbers, but also do not get any benefit of labour regulation policies. On a perusal of the 1986 Act, even courts have expressed views that under the Act, only child workers employed in scheduled occupations and processes can be liberated and children employed above the age of fourteen years cannot be rescued.77 Also, since the Act only prohibits employment of children in certain scheduled occupations and processes, child workers employed in non-hazardous jobs cannot be rescued.78 Hence the Act leaves out a large population of child labour from the benefits therein. Even the children, who fall within the purview of the Act, are not bothered to be withdrawn and rehabilitated, Indian cinema contends. India, being a developing country is considered to be unprepared for direct stringent measures to tackle child labour. Thus the 2012 Bill also leaves scope for working of children, but in a restricted manner work in family occupation, home based work, training workshops or forest gathering. The Bill does seem to be a better alternative over the 1986 Act, but it is not the niche we should aim at. One common feature in the policies, among the countries with considerable high literacy rates is that they all have made any form of child labour illegal and punishable under law, be it working in factories or as helpers or even working or helping with parents. They have made it mandatory for parents to send their children to school. At this juncture, what India should aim at is a comprehensive and coherent approach to child labour, which should first address the causes of child labour by providing for poverty reduction, provision of quality education, and social protection measures; followed by a complete ban on child labour and complete implementation of the ‘Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2010’ to allow everyone equal chance to participate. The intimidating issues of implementation have to be addressed at the earliest to allow current system to work, so that the effects thereof can be assessed and future course of action can be decided.