Why India?
Background
Though India continues to bear witness to substantial
economic growth, the country is still one of the
poorest in the world. With the per capita income at
only $720 per year, India ranks 128 out of 177 on the
UN's Human Development Index ratings. In addition,
the gap between the rich and the poor continues to
widen—with an astonishing 35% of population living
on less than $1 per day.
The traditional caste system continues to deeply divide
Indian society. Though caste discrimination is
technically illegal in India, lower caste members have
little or no opportunity for social mobility and face
significantly higher rates of poverty and illiteracy. The
general attitude of privileged Indian society towards
the poor is still mired in age-old prejudices that
devalue their worth and deny the equality of all
regardless of caste, creed or religion. The result is
substandard government schools for the poor and
private schools that are unaffordable for all but the
rich.
Child Labor
India has the highest number of child laborers in the
world. According to the most recent census data, 12.6
million Indian children are illegally engaged in
hazardous occupations with other estimates placing
the number as high as 115 million. Many of these
children are forced to work long hours in sweatshops,
quarries and dangerous factories while others work as
domestic helpers, urban panhandlers, and agricultural
hands. UNICEF cites the cause of this problem as a
combination of poverty, discrimination, social
exclusion and poor education—an explanation which is
supported by the fact that 90% of these working
children are from rural areas.
Trafficking
Trafficking in persons is widespread in India, which is a
source, transit and destination country. Internally,
children are trafficked for forced marriages, bonded
labor, domestic servitude and sweatshop work. Sexual
trafficking in children is also common, with over 40% of
female sex workers having entered into the trade
before turning 18. Traffickers typically target the most
vulnerable—children and lower caste women.
The Indian government recognizes improved education
as an essential element in combating the commercial
sexual exploitation of children. Though the 2002
Constitution Act made education free and compulsory,
this standard has seen only limited practical
implementation: at present, 29% of Indian children (65
million) have never attended school—the vast majority
consisting of lower castes and rural poor.
Lotus Outreach believes that all children have a right to
education. But we also believe that educating all
children is the most effective way to combat deeplyrooted social and cultural inequalities, poverty and the
consequent dangerous practices of child labor and
trafficking.