DARKER SIDE OF THE SOCIETY-CHILD LABOUR

Abstract

I WANT TO . . . 

I want to cry out to the world the rage of chained children.  

I want to cry out to the world the pain of abused girls.  

I want to cry out to the world the unutterable sadness of abandoned babes.  

I want to cry out to the world the fear of maltreated kids. 

 I want to cry out all this to the world.  

But who will cry out with me?  

                                        Poem by Michele Bedulli, age 13 “Children’s Solidarity Concert” 

Child labour is an age old concept which became rampant during the industrial period .With increase in the number of factories and machines as urbanization was the new term coined children were put through hardships and difficult times .This system grew abundantly as a raging forest fire as the workload was less than that of an adult and children could be managed with a much lesser pay .In ancient India the number of children in a family were many as there could be more hands to  help in the fields thus increasing there productivity . The concept of childhood was not prevalent and the children's were known as small adults. The term labour was added as the working conditions where not good and moreover they were not payed much .They were exploited to work for 12 -16 hours and 6 days a week giving them only a dollar. These miserable conditions made life very difficult as children began to suffer from various diseases .By 1810 there were more than 2 million school children working for more than 50-80 hours a week .  Noteworthy differences  exist between the kinds of work the children do . some of them are hazardous and even morally unpardonable , and a lot of them are difficult and demanding.