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Articles by Neera BurraSubscribe to Neera Burra

Crusading for Children in India's Informal Economy

Vol. 40, Issue No. 49, 03 Dec, 2005
Neera Burra

For the last decade or two, an interesting debate has been in progress over the definition of child labour and child work and the contribution of children's work in the informal economy. Those who have argued for a narrow definition have been motivated in part by the desire to reduce the size of the problem and thus make it more manageable. But this conceptual sleight-of-hand flies in the face of common sense and results in making the work of millions of children invisible to public policy and public action. This paper argues that the distinction at the conceptual level between child labour and child work is essentially flawed. It revisits some of the empirical questions around this distinction and concludes that such a distinction be abandoned both at the level of theory and practice.

Adoption and Child Rights in India

Vol. 38, Issue No. 46, 15 Nov, 2003
Neera Burra

Rights in India Child Rights in India: Law, Policy and Practice by Asha Bajpai; Oxford University Press, Delhi, 2003;
NEERA BURRA When I first picked up Asha Bajpai

Cultural Stereotypes and Household Behaviour

Vol. 36, Issue No. 05-06, 03 Feb, 2001
Neera Burra

To improve levels of girls' education, it is vital to widen the definition of child labour beyond wage employment. At present, there is little recognition of the economic contribution of girls to the economy and little effort has been made to get girls out of work and into school. There also remain long-standing stereotypes and norms that seek to discriminate against the girl child. However, the picture is not all bleak, for efforts at the grass roots level are afoot, wherein the NGOs have worked hand-in-hand with villagers to send their girls to school with very dramatic results.

Exploitation of Children in Jaipur Gem Industry-II Health Hazards of Gem Polishing

Vol. 23, Issue No. 4, 23 Jan, 1988
Neera Burra

The gem industry does not come under the purview of any labour laws and the Jaipur district census of 1981 does not even list it among major industries. While the industry may not be termed as 'intrinsically hazardous', systematic medical survey has never been undertaken. In fact there are hardly any reports of the exact nature of health damage or for that matter, of the extent of exploitation.

Exploitation of Children in Jaipur Gem Industry-I: Structure of Industry

Vol. 23, Issue No. 3, 16 Jan, 1988
Neera Burra

Jaipur's flourishing gem industry is as old as the city itself. But this world of jewels hides the miserable work conditions of thousands of children in the industry Though a recent phenomenon arising out of the growing export market, child labour is now quite widespread and parents see this trade as an avenue of upward mobility The second part of the report appearing next week deals in detail with the health and work conditions of the children in gem industry THE Constitution of India enjoins (Article 24) that children below the age of fourteen years shall not be employed to work in any factory or mine or be engaged in any other hazardous employment. Moreover, one of the Directive Principles of State Policy (Article 39(c) and (0) provides that the tender age of children should not be abused, that citizens should not be forced by economic necessity to enter avocations un- suited to their age or strength and that childhood and youth be protected against moral and material abandonment. Importantly, Article 45 of the Constitution directs the state to endeavour to provide free and compulsory education for all children until they complete the age of 14 years.

Exploitation of Child Workers in Lock Industry of Aligarh

Vol. 22, Issue No. 28, 11 Jul, 1987
Neera Burra

in Lock Industry of Aligarh Neera Burra Some 7,000-10,000 children below the age of 14 years work in the traditional lock industry in Aligarh in breach of the Factories Act and the more recently enacted Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act. Earning 5 to 10 rupees a day, the children often work more than 20 hours at a stretch, inhaling vast quantities of metal dust and emery powder THE lock industry of Aligarh is over a hundred years old and is considered to be the traditional occupation of the people of Aligarh district in Uttar Pradesh. It is concentrated, however, in Aligarh city and its adjoining areas.

Glass Factories of Firozabad-II

Vol. 21, Issue No. 47, 22 Nov, 1986
Neera Burra

November 22, 1986 Glass Factories of Firozabad II

Glass Factories of Firozabad I

Vol. 21, Issue No. 46, 15 Nov, 1986
Neera Burra

November 15, 1986 Glass Factories of Firozabad I

Was Ambedkar Just a Leader of the Mahars

Vol. 21, Issue No. 10-11, 08 Mar, 1986
Neera Burra

Was Ambedkar Just a Leader of the Mahars?
Neera Burra WAS Ambedkar a leader of only the Mahar community, the caste to which he himself belonged? This is a question that has evoked a mixed response amongst the untouchable communities in Maharashtra. The Mahars, commonly known as inferior village servants, provided a variety of services for the village, some of which were highly polluting, like the flaying of carcasses. They were forced by their poverty to eat carrion, which lowered their status considerably. The Mahars, numerically the largest Scheduled Caste community in Maharashtra before their conversion to Buddhism in 1956, claim that Ambedkar was the leader of all the Depressed Classes and accepted as such by everyone. The Mangs (rope-makers) and the Chambhars (leather-workers) do not accept such a claim. They bitterly resent the upward mobility of the Mahars and believe that this was, at least in part, a result of Ambedkar having concentrated his attention upon his own caste-fellows. There is a widely-held belief that the Mahars because of Ambedkar

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