Child Labour and Intergenerational Poverty in India: Structural Patterns and Policy Challenges
Child Labour and Intergenerational Poverty in India: Structural Patterns and Policy Challenges
Author1 : Mayank Bhooshan Ashutosh Research Scholar
Department of Sociology
Kanpur Vidya Mandir Mahila Mahavidyalay Swaroop Nagar Kanpur CSJMU
mayankbhu22@gmail.com
Author 2: Dr. Poornima Shukla
Assistant Professor
Head, Department of Sociology
Kanpur Vidya Mandir Mahila Mahavidyalay Swaroop Nagar Kanpur
Email: poornimashuklakn21@csjmu.ac.in
Abstract
Child labour in India remains a continuing social and economic concern despite legal safeguards and welfare interventions. Although statistical data indicates a decline in the number of working children between Census 2001 and Census 2011, the persistence of millions of children in labour activities reflects deeper structural issues. This study argues that child labour in India is not a biological or individual failure but a structural outcome of poverty, income instability, educational constraints, and informal sector dominance.
Using secondary data sources such as Census reports and related policy documents, the paper examines the magnitude, rural–urban distribution, gender patterns, and sectoral concentration of child labour. The findings suggest that a large proportion of child labour is located within agriculture, brick kilns, small-scale enterprises, and semi-urban service sectors. Girls are often involved in unpaid domestic work, making female child labour less visible in official statistics.
The study further explains how early labour participation limits educational attainment and skill development, which later confines individuals to insecure informal employment. This condition contributes to the continuation of intergenerational poverty. The paper concludes that effective reduction of child labour requires structural reforms in livelihood security, education quality, wage stability, and stronger implementation of existing laws.
Keywords: Child Labour, Intergenerational Poverty, Informal Economy, Educational Constraints, Rural–Urban Inequality, Gender Dimensions, Structural Inequality.