Providing hope for children
FREDDY DIAS
Children are the future pillars of our society and a worthy asset for a nation in a larger perceptive. They have to be cared for, their talents nurtured, their creativity given an outlet. UNICEF, the United Nations International Education Fund, which is rightly dedicated to this noble cause, is committed to build a rosy environment for the world’s children by another twenty five years or so. It has emphasized certain standards for children’s health, education and protection from exploitation. Protection from exploitation, includes among other things, prevention of child labour which has become the worst worry of most of the developing nations.
Today, an estimated 250 million children aged 5-14 years are engaged in hazardous work, prostitution and bonded labour, according to a ‘State of the World’s Children’ report. Child labour is so grave an abuse of human rights that the world must regard it in the way it does slavery – something unjustifiable under any circumstances.
The UNICEF report points out that at least one child of every four in the developing world is toiling under conditions resembling slavery. Hazardous child labour is a betrayal of every child’s right as a human being and is an offence against our civilization.
India, being one of the developing nations, has been suffering under the ills of child labour despite certain efforts to put an end to this dreaded nightmare, which seems to have become an inevitable part of life for the children of the poor and the downtrodden. The law lays down that a child below the age of 14 years cannot be employed. However, this provision is observed more in its breach, as a large number of children are employed in almost every field, from domestic service to hotel and factory workers.
The directive principle enshrined in the Constitution of our country states that a State shall strive to provide free and compulsory education to a child up to the age of 14 years. The purpose of this directive is to see that the children are not deprived of their right to education due to poverty. Unfortunately, even after 66 years of Independence, this humane directive principle is yet to be fully implemented.
Considering the quality of life in India, that children have to seek employment at a tender age is no surprise. After all, in rural areas, the birth of a child is not at all linked to the capacity of its parents to provide for it. This has been a historical deficiency in the Indian context and a consequence of the population explosion coupled with the absence of sufficient economic output.
Economists know that no amount of pontification can eliminate child labour, unless there is a positive reduction in the birth rate. The bare truth is that once children are born, they have to be fed and provided with necessary comforts. If society cannot provide such basic amenities, the child is compelled to work to feed itself. The cruel choice is between work and starvation. Further, the number of children available is in excess of the work available and thus even payment is not commensurable to the work done.
The situation prevalent in India now is akin to that in Europe at the time of the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, some two hundred years ago. This is not surprising as in terms of industrial growth, India is in the same position as Europe was at that particular point of time. Indeed the freedom of independent India seems to have no meaning to the hundreds of thousands of the wretched and the poor who cannot afford even one square meal a day, and to the hungry children who desperately try to survive by scavenging garbage dumps in our cities.
However, the Union government has been making considerable efforts of late to eradicate the evil of child labour in the country by its numerous schemes and policies, implemented through various government as well as non-government organizations and institutions. The Bal Bhavan is one such institution which is actively involved in shaping creativity in children.
The activities of Bal Bhavan began in the country in 1956, pioneered by the late Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, whose love for children was legendary. The Bal Bhavan acts as an informal medium to expose children in the field of science, arts, physical and intellectual education, and provides then an environment conducive to creative thinking and activity.
At the Bal Bhavan, the children are trained in creative arts and crafts like drawing, clay modeling and doll making. They learn needle craft, handicrafts, weaving, crochet, embroidery, toy making, wall hangings, tapestry, and making lampshades and various other colorful items from waste. In drawing, it is the creative form of spontaneous ideas and thoughts. In clay modeling, the magic of children’s hands come alive. Besides the creative arts, the children at the Bal Bhavan are also exposed to the performing arts like dance, drama and music. They are taught folk, classical and western dances. In music, the children are trained in various instruments. In drama, the children are prepared to present themselves confidently before any audience.
And for all round development of the children, physical education is also given stress. Outdoor and indoor games are encouraged and yoga and gymnastics also form an important part under physical education. With the visible response and success at Bal Bhavan, the activities have now been extended to reach out to rural children. Bal Kendras, under the Bal Bhavan, have been opened by the government at taluka level in every state.
Besides, the Integrated Child Development Service (ICDS) programme, adopted by the government since 1974 has been revamped with emphasis on developing the health component. The measure, designed to benefit millions of malnourished children and pregnant women from the economically deprived classes, is aimed to serve as a major input in human resource development and the general wellbeing of society.
The Union government-sponsored programme is being implemented by the Department of Social Welfare through its agencies at state and district levels. Under it, a network of ‘Anganwadis’ (creches) have been set up in project areas, which form part of the infrastructure for the free distribution and delivery of supplementary nutrition packages to the young child and mother.
