Child Labours in Manipur: A Case Study of Hotel Boys in Imphal Municipality Areas

The present study highlighted about the magnitude of child labours in Manipur particularly in Imphal Municipality areas. Child labour is a Universal phenomenon. While there is no accurate accounting of how many of the world?s children contribute to their families, or their own economic support, the number of working children is surely in the hundreds of million?s globally. Studies in some countries suggest that the number of street children is growing, just as the use of child labour continues to expand, often in hazardous and damaging conditions. Working children are frequently exposed to jobs that are morally or psychologically damaging, hours that are excessive, conditions that are unsafe, or employment contracts that are exploitative. Also, the activities in which child workers are concentrated- agriculture, domestic service, and urban informal sector- place them at high risk of maltreatment, denial of basic human rights, and lack access to those who could help them. According to recent experimental surveys carried out by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Bureau of Statistics, world over, there are at least 120 million children between the age of 5 and 14 who are fully at work, and more than twice as many of those whom work is a secondary activity. Of these 61 percent are found in Asia, 32 percent in Africa and 7 percent in Latin America. India has the largest number of child labour in the world. According to a recent statement issued by the labour Minister, the number of child labour in India is about 12.6 million. The state with the highest child labour population in the country is Andhra Pradesh which has 1.66 million working children as per 1991 census. Other states where the child labour population is more than one million are Madhya Pradesh: Utter Pradesh and Maharashtra.