Child labour is slowly but surely blossoming under our nose. The magnitude and extent may not be enough to cause a hysterical alarm, but there is no doubt that this social evil is spreading its "baby tentacles" in our society. Child Labour is such a social decease that cries for a collective effort toward prevention and cure while it is still in its formative stage. Before we even notice that it exists, child labour is threatening to catch us unawares due to our insensitivity, indifference and even deliberate patronage. If we remain unmoved by the slaughter of children's rights, our society has to pay a heavy price as her future pillars will be expended as a thankless bunch of blackguards tugging at the margins of our society. Social values will be heading south and society will plunge into an abyss gasping for breath on life support system.

Child Labour in Manipur? "Sure, you must be joking". This is the level of awareness of most of the people which must be very uninspiring for any social activist venturing out to eliminate child labour in Manipur. If we do not acknowledge the existence of a problem, there can be no effort to contain it. Such unsympathetic attitude of the public hampers the cause of anti child labour campaigns in Manipur. As with many problems in life, the evil of child labour doesn't wait for people to tighten their seat belts before it can strike at the root of the society.

Most of the times we fail to recognize a problem due to plain ignorance. And in our context, very few people are aware of what constitute child labour. In India, child labourers are defined as all children who are "out-of-schools in the age group of 5-14 years". Using the same yardstick, a survey report by M. Venkatarangaiya Foundation on the "Impact of removal of Child Labour from work through Education in Shankarpally Mandal" identify all non-school going children as child labourers whether:

a) engaged in hazardous or non-hazardous work;
b) employed for wage or work as unpaid, non-wage earners;
c) employed for others or are self-employed contributing to family enterprise or cultivation, or even doing only domestic work;
d) working as apprentices, acquiring skills and on job training with artisan parents;
e) not working at all and are just idle

Keeping this definition of child labourers in mind, suddenly one could see nightmarish visions of children toiling to make up for the irresponsibility of the adults. It is a common experience to see girl child tending to babies especially in families where both husband and wife work. Then there are small boys carrying heavy loads as additional hands in masonry works and ironworks. Look at the garages and vehicle workshops, these are the likely place where children labourers can be found. Restaurants and hotels employ children as waiters and as cooks. In rural areas, children are most likely to be in paddy fields than in schools. Their counterparts in the hilly areas have to fetch water, search for firewood and tend to livestocks. The list goes on…

Mention may be made of the large scale displacement of families during the Naga-Kuki ethnic conflicts in 1995-96 that witnessed disorientation of social and economical life in the affected regions of Manipur. The conflict also saw massive human migration to the Imphal valley, many of whom were children rendered homeless and orphaned. As there were no adequate rehabilitation efforts from the government, many of these hapless children became unskilled labourers for their livelihood.

Instead of living in childish innocence and Alice-in-Wonderland fantasies, our children are made to work in often hostile and physically excruciating conditions. On top of that, the employers mete out stepmother treatment to these children driven my commercial or financial motives. Some employers seek to divert the criticism by investing their unpardonable acts with false humanitarian colour. They give the specious argument that they are helping them find a livelihood and supplement their families' income. Despite their altruistic protestations, it is clear they have exploitation at the back of their mind when they recruit children hands. They know children can be manipulated and made to work long hours without having to worry for any protest or complain from them. Even if they rebel, they can be more easily suppressed. Often children are underpaid.

Often parents are blamed for sending their children to work. The attitude of the parents is hard to comprehend. Poverty might have compelled them, but it is a serious testimony to their lack of concern for their children's welfare and education for which they have an inescapable responsibility. Sociologists and child labour experts have now agreed that parents' attitude rather than poverty is the root cause of child labour.

Whatever be the reasons behind its cancerous growth, child labour is a cause for deep introspection among us. It is not only denying the children their legitimate rights within the framework offered by the four cardinal principles as laid down by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, i.e, the principles of non-discrimination, best interests of the child, survival and development and respect for the views of the child, but also deprives the society the potential productivity of the huge section of its human resources. The children engaged in works are found to be psychologically insecure and often suffer from low self esteem. Since they are engaged in activities that require little or no specialized skills, they have no better job prospects when they attain adulthood. In such a situation, they are easily lured into world of crime and violence. The vicious circle continues and passes on to their offspring.

Not that there is no initiative on the elimination of child labour by the government. In 4 December, 1999, representatives of the governments of North eastern states, including Manipur met and issued the Shillong Declaration on the Child in the North East. The Declaration underscored the commitment of the signatory states to fulfillment of the rights of any child, and also resolved to "take up in collaboration with the Government of India, other states in the region, international agencies, NGOs and civil society to take special measures to protect children affected by drugs, HIV/AIDS, children in situation of armed conflict or ethnic violence; to provide special care and protection of girl children and their rights of inheritance and property; to prevent child abuse in the form of child labour, child prostitution and trafficking; and promotion of early childhood and universal elementary education, basic health, nutrition and child caring practices for both girls and boys in the region".

The role of civil society cannot be over emphasized in combating the evil of child labour. Individuals can pitch in by refusing to employ children for household chores like cooking, cleaning, baby-sitting, etc. and by ostracizing others when found exploiting children. Government should undertake surveys to assess and analyze the extent of child labour prevalence and set up rehabilitation centres. It is however unfortunate that not a single rehab centre has been open so far in the entire North East. Officials of the Ministry of Labour say there had been plans to allocate funds for rehabilitation of child labourers in the North East, but respective governments of the seven states have been refusing to acknowledge the existence of child labour in their states.

Ensuring free and compulsory elementary education; strengthening social security safeguards like old age pension; employment schemes; enforcement of anti child labour legislations and spreading mass awareness on the issue of child labour should lead the way in finding a lasting solution to the social evil of child labour. More important is that our attitude towards children must change. We should stop thinking in terms of our children and their children. Every child should be given an enabling environment in which they can fully develop their mental and physical abilities and maintain a healthy and normal growth.

Now, do we as adults have to still feign ignorance to cover our sins?

"We should stop thinking in terms of our children and their children. Every child should be given an enabling environment in which they can fully develop their mental and physical abilities and maintain a healthy and normal growth."