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| Children’s Day: Another work-day for thousands of ‘child labourers’ | | | Jammu, Nov 14
Though it was a day of parties and plays for many kids as the state celebrated Children's Day, like in other parts of India, thousands of other children continued to slog and slave - unmindful of either the special occasion or the absolute ineffectiveness of a law banning child labour that is already in force in the state.
As the chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad was addressing a mammoth gathering of children, first of its kind in Jammu and Kashmir, at Maulana Azad Stadium, here today, a fourteen year old child Shambu was cleaning utensils in a Tea Stall, situated just 200 yards away from the venue of the official function.
And when the function concluded, Shambu stood outside the hotel only to watch the children in colourful uniform, returning back from the function venue. The fourteen years old Shambu is not the only child in the state of Jammu and Kashmir who is deprived of his basic rights but thousands of children of minor age are reportedly working in hotels or as domestic servants across the state despite of having sufficient law in force to curb such menace.
Official figures reveal that an estimated 80,000 orphans are believed to live across the state, while poverty has forced thousands of families to employee their children in hotels, restaurants, factories and residential houses.
In Jammu, winter capital of the state, every second restaurant has a minor child to work. Kasturi, resident of Doda district, was sixteen when he got the job in a local restaurant. Though he is a major by age now, he says, “We are four brothers and it was very difficult for our family, with limited means of livelihood, to provide education to us”.
“I started work in a very young age, when children of my age prefer to play”, Kasturi said adding, “I also wanted to join school but destiny forced me in this hotel”. When asked, young Kasturi expressed his ignorance of any law under which child labour is banned in the state.
“I do not know anything about Children Day”, Raj Kumar, 17 years said. He added, “I work on this day like another day in the year to feed myself and my family”.
As per a survey conducted by a non-government organisation, the state of Jammu and Kashmir has more than 1.5 lakh of child labourer. The highest number of child labourer is reportedly employed in handmade carpet industry across Kashmir region.
The state is already empowered with the sufficient laws to deal with such a menace in the society but it is the law enforcing agency which has to be activated in this regard, says Firdous Tak, an advocate in Jammu wing of state High Court.
“Recognizing the fact that child labour denies children their right to a childhood, special provisions for their protection, are enshrined in the Constitution in Chapter three on Fundamental Rights and in Chapter four on Directive Principles of State Policy of the Constitution”, he told News Agency of Kashmir.
Apart from the Fundamental Rights related to children, he said, certain Directive Principles in the Constitution direct the state policy and action in relation to child rights, including employment and education of children.
“The Central Child Labour Act of 1986 is applicable to Jammu and Kashmir and under this act the state has ample power to deal with such a menace”, he added.
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