The problem with child labor is that it is an effect. The cause is poverty. I know I am not saying anything new but this is the reality. So when you take a child off the street or out of the tea shop you are cutting off an essential line of livelihood for the family. You can be sure that the moment the vigilance is off, the child will be back on the street. Of course there are those who run rackets of child labor, child trafficking, and begging (including blinding or maiming children to make them fit for begging) and these rackets should be eradicated. But often the tentacles run deep.

But by and large children are forced to work because the alternative is hunger, even starvation. Schools are not a great alternative because what is taught, especially in village and town government schools is utterly useless and can’t even be called an education. It prepares them for nothing and though it is free, by and large, its quality is pathetic to say the least.

In my view what we need to eradicate child labor is to teach them marketable skills. Teach them something that they can use to earn a living. By all means teach them to read and write and do numbers. But teach them a skill which they can practice and which people will pay for. That will be a viable way to ensure the support of parents.
I wanted to attach a photo I took in Pune many years ago, but can’t find a way to do it here. Will email it to you.

Thank you again for this very important piece.