Who are the people against anti-child labour legislation in India?
It is the vested interest of some in the ruling elite. Take the carpet industry, one culprit. Recently, bandit-turned-member of Parliament Phoolan Devi said there is no child labour in India and the law against child labour should be abolished. The general suspicion seems to be that she might be getting funds from the carpet industries because where she gets elected from — the Mirzapur belt in central Uttar Pradesh — is the area where such carpets are made. Then there is the glass industry in Firozabad area. The owners have support of the politicians who in turn keep quiet. Since they employ child labour, they don’t have to pay the minimum statutory wages. They pay less but on paper show much more and the difference goes to the owners who employ children. This money is used to bribe the politicians and bureaucrats. What is the estimated number of child labourers? And how does it affect adult labour? Our estimate is that there are 60 million child labourers in India. Some estimates, i
