Mark Twain summarised India perfectly through the quote,” The land of dreams and romance, of fabulous wealth and fabulous poverty, of splendour and rags, of palaces and hovels, of famine and pestilence.”
India was hit by a wave of Industrialization in the 19th century. Before the advent of industrialization, the economy of India under colonial rule was stagnant. With industrialization, came modernization of all sectors of the economy
Due to industrialization and subsequent modernization came the phenomenon of mass migration. The quaint village life was replaced by a bustling city existence. There was a mass exodus of people from villages to cities in search of work and a better livelihood.
For the most part, industrialization had a favourable impact on the economy as a whole. It led to the creation of many job opportunities and rapid urbanization. People left villages and moved to cities to be closer to factories in search of work.
But rapid urbanization also had a downside. It led to the overcrowding of cities due to mass migration, which meant that many people found themselves living on the streets. A substantial chunk of people that migrated to the cities belonged to the lower strata of society and wasn’t able to afford proper housing facilities. This often rendered them homeless or living in slums without adequate access to basic necessities.
This phenomenon of homelessness leads to a plethora of social evils impacting millions of children and women. The requirement of cheap labour often led to children being employed in factories. Child abuse in such factories was rampant, with children being made to work for long hours without pay.
According to the latest census executed in 2011, there were 10 million child workers in the country. As an effort by the government towards curbing the practice of child labour, The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation), Act 2016 completely prohibits the employment of children below 14 years. The amendment also prohibits the employment of adolescents between 14 to 18 years in hazardous occupations. It also calls for stricter punishment for employers in violation of the Act.
Many of these children living on the streets are also susceptible to the dangers of kidnapping, trafficking, beggary, and mental illness to name a few. It is estimated that around 1,35,000 children are trafficked each year in India alone. (The Guardian, 2015)
To tackle the issue of homelessness, the government launched a scheme in 2015 called, ‘Housing for all by 2022’. It aims at building affordable homes using eco-friendly construction method for the urban poor.
Although it might bring down the number of people living on the streets to a considerable extent, but it won’t completely curb the issue as long as people keep migrating to the cities in search of work. A better alternative would be to urbanize the villages and to introduce new employment opportunities in small towns and districts so as to not burden the cities with excess population.
Shivangi Nigam is the Youth Coordinator, Wishes and Blessings.
She loves to spend time with kids and spends her spare time reading, writing, and watching documentaries. It was her zeal to contribute to a cause that motivated her to give up her corporate career and work for non profits.