India

The Country

India is located in South Asia. It is the seventh largest country by size, with a population of an estimated 1.2 billion people. Out of the 1.2 billion people who are there, a study showed that in 2015, around 170 million people lived in poverty. India makes lots of money off chemical products such as, petrochemicals, oils, natural gas, dyes, and plastic. In 2014, India made $67 billion worth of cars, motorcycles, tools, tractors, machinery, and forged steel. Along with poverty and child labour, India has big problems with their water resources, women’s rights, human trafficking, and drug abuse.

Child Labour in the Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution took place in Great Britain in the 18^th century. During this time, children who were as young as 6, were being forced into child labour for their own various reasons; Either their parents weren’t making enough money, they didn’t have parents at all, or they had no other choice because of their own poverty. A good example of a rough job was being a chimney sweeper, a coal miner, or a textile worker. Chimney Sweepers were usually very small boys who were sent up into the chimneys of large homes and businesses to clean out the soot. These children were exposed to pollution from the coal burning and other industrial pollution, therefore resulting in bigger problems medically.

In the Textile factories, the worker’s lungs were being deeply filled with fluff and microscopic fibres, and the sounds of the looms and other machines would create a deafening noise. Most of the workers were forced to take part of their wages in food, which was usually made from poor quality, moreover, they were forced to work long overtime shifts that weren’t being paid for. If the workers disobeyed they would be beaten. At this time, it was illegal to have a child under 9 working, as well as forcing children to work more than 12 hours in the Textile industry, but no inspectors were around to investigate this law.

Being a Coal Miner in the mill was a hard and short life. The consequences of this job took a massive toll on the children working in the coal mines. Some major problems that happened were the children’s stunt in growth, and the deforming of their bodies from crouching and pushing carts for more than 2 kilometres every trip every day. And on top of pushing and pulling, they all suffered from the pollution, causing a serious lung problem called ‘Black lung’, this is where the lung intakes too much coal dust and the result of this disease, turns their lungs completely black.

A general idea of Child Labour in this time, was the obvious ignorance shown by the factories and industries. The leaders of these industries did not care about their workers or the problems they may have at home. These workers would be paid very little for working long overtime hours just to keep their families (if they had one) sheltered in a single room. And the rate of catching a disease was very high since the industrial cities grew so quickly, they hadn’t thought of proper streets and sewage.

Child Labour in India

In India, there is an estimated population of 400 million children and there are 12.6 million children who are being employed to work in hazardous occupations, all who are aged from 5 -14. Some examples of Textile occupations that children in India are being forced to do are jobs such as, making fireworks with bare hands, carpet weaving, gem polishing, glass blowing, match works, brassware, electro – plating, leadmining, stone quarrying, lock making, and beedi rolling. All these jobs threaten a child’s life with hazardous chemicals, sharp objects, cramped conditions, long hours, poor hygiene conditions, and operating heavy machinery.

Most children who employ themselves to these jobs are young boys with little to no education because of family conflicts such as, unemployment or drug use, that lead them to live on the streets, being exploited to employers and the police. Children who live on the streets of India are the #1 witnesses and victims to police brutality.
So not only do children face unfair job employments, they are also being harassed, beaten, and arrested by the police, simply because they are on the streets. For the children to get out of prison, the child would either have to bribe or offer to work for the police.

Children under 14 are banned from working in industries that are hazardous such as fireworks, matchsticks, auto- workshops, and carpet weaving. However, this law is widely flouted, and if caught, the initial punishment gets bogged down in court for lengthy periods. The consequences of a child who doesn’t work will depend on the child’s situation, but generally speaking, the child will starve because they cannot provide enough money for themselves and they won’t have the proper education to attempt to be successful.

Similarities and Differences

One big similarity I noticed from The Industrial Revolution Child Labour to Today’s Indian Child Labour was the law against Child Labour. Both scenarios made a law against employing children ranging from 14 and under, but both ways the employers were ignorant towards this law and kept their production safe by lying. Another similarity that popped out to me was the population number between now and before. One billion people lived in Great Britain in the 18^th century, and in India today the population is 1.2 billion. This goes to show how India may be overcrowding and we’re seeing the resemblance to what happened in The Industrial Revolution. One difference I found was the organization. In the Industrial Revolution, the factories were organized into various jobs, however, from what I’ve read about the firework industries in India, it appears that the factories were very disorganized, adding another weight on the children.

Attempts to Reform Child Labour

‘Global March’ is a campaign against Child Labour. Their goal is to enforce new laws so 14 -18 year olds are the legal ages to work in non- hazardous industries in India, and the consequence to hiring a child under 14 can be punishable for 3 years in prison or a fine up to a maximum of $50,000. There are more foundations such as, ‘Save The Children India’, who’s goal is very alike to the ‘Global March’ campaign. I believe if more people were to support these campaigns and were willing to donate money towards this cause, I think this could be very possible.

Citations

Cranny, Michael. Crossroads: Meeting of Nations. Toronto: Pearson Education, 1998. Print.

http://www.makeinindia.com/sector/textiles-and-garments

http://www.childlineindia.org.in/child-labour-india.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_in_India

http://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/043015/fundamentals-how-india-makes-its-money.asp

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2006/06/indi-j08.html

https://www.quora.com/India-What-are-the-40-major-problems-India-is-facing-today-and-why

https://fashionunited.uk/v1/fashion/textile-industry-child-labor-still-common/2013100812754

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_labour_in_India

https://www.continuetolearn.uiowa.edu/laborctr/child_labor/about/causes.html