www.iaset.us editor@iaset.us REVISITING CHILD LABOUR IN INDIA A CASE OF SRINAGAR DISTRICT OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR JAVEED AHMAD, M. MUDASIR NAQSHBANDI & RAUF UR RASHID KAUL Community Medicine, Skims, Soura, Soura, Srinagar, Jk, India ABSTRACT This study revisits the issue of child labour in the north Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. Despite legislations against this practice, child labour keeps flourishing. The study examines the factors responsible for the widespread prevalence of child labour in the automobile and handicraft sectors in Srinagar district of Jammu and Kashmir. The study makes some interesting revelations. It emerges that the socio–economical condition is one of the major factors responsible for child labour in Srinagar. The study shows that the children working in handicraft sector and their families are economically more downtrodden as compared to those of automobile sector. With their parents unable to afford their schooling, the child labourers were found working in extreme and unhygienic informal conditions. A discussion of these findings, policy implication and suggestions to rid the society of child labour are provided. KEYWORDS: Automobile Sector, Child Labour, Handicraft Sector, India, Kashmir, Srinagar INTRODUCTION hild labour is prohibited in virtually all countries, yet it continues to flourish. With economic recession and its after-effects in the industrialized countries and persistent poverty in developing countries, the phenomenon is indeed growing. The problem has existed around the world since the very dawn of human civilization. However, majority of the world’s child labourers are found in Asia with 153 million children working (ILO, 1999). One such Asian country, India has the largest number of world’s working children between 60 million to 115 million (Tucker & Ganesan, 1997; Kovacevic, 2009). Within India, in the northern state of Jammu & Kashmir, child labour has of late assumed new proportions due to several reasons, the main one being of political turmoil in the state in the last two decades. In Srinagar, the summer capital 1 of Jammu & Kashmir, the phenomenon of child labour remains widespread at automobile workshops and petrol pumps. Similarly, many children also work as, domestic hands, bus conductors, carpet weavers, salesmen, agriculture helpers and so on.. Given the sheer magnitude of child labour in the state as revealed by official statistics Census (2001) as well as non-governmental agencies, studying child labour becomes an important exercise. This study hence aims to put in proper perspective the situation of child labour in India by reviewing the relevant literature and focusing on the issue of child labour in the northern Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The aim is to understand whether the socio-economic status of the children’s families is the only reason for child labour in Srinagar, and find out if the working children’s income is indispensable in running their households. We also examine the health and well-being of the children caught in child labour. Quantitative approach using the survey method is used to meet the objectives of the study. 1 The state of Jammu and Kashmir has two capitals – Srinagar for the summer and Jammu for the winter. International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences (IJHSS) ISSN(P): 2319-393X; ISSN(E): 2319-3948 Vol. 6, Issue 2, Feb - Mar 2017; 1-10 © IASET