Nation's shame: 1 in 4 kids employed in Rajasthan

Today is World Day against child labour. But it is probably a matter of shame that India is among the countries that employs the highest number of child labourers.

Within the country, after UP and Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan has the highest number of child labourers. One child out of four in Rajasthan works in handicraft trades like embroidery, and carpet weaving.

Twelve-year-old Priyanka starts work at 9 am with other small children like her. She sits an entire day in a small dingy room, decorating and embroidering sarees. Priyanka sometimes has to sit for 12 to 13 hours at stretch and her reward -- a meagre Rs 10 a day.

"My eyes and fingers hurt when I work with needle. But I do this from morning to evening," she says.

Next to her is 10-year-old Imran whose hands tell a story of neglect and exploitation. His hands have become rough and calloused working with a needle, but he has no choice as there are siblings to support. The only day he gets to play like a normal child is Sunday when this workshop is closed.

"My father hits me. He forces me to come here," he says.

It is not the story of a single workshop. Jaipur has a flourishing trade in carpets and a lucrative gemstone industry all who employ nimble fingers.

According to the 2001 census there are 12,62570 child labour in Rajasthan aged between five to 14. But surprisingly in the past 21 years only 14,237 of these children have been rehabilitated. That means barely one per cent of the child labour in the state have been given a new start in life.

And what is more astonishing is that in the past two years, the labour department in Rajasthan has launched only one operation to rescue child labour, that too was with the help of an NGO were 21 children were rescued from a saree embroidery unit.

One child out of four in Rajasthan spends his life working to support the family. The Rajasthan government has recently set up a commission to protect the rights of the children, but clearly a lot more needs to be done to give these children back their lost childhood.