I want to play and go to school. But I have to work at least 12 hours here...

In a small silk factory in Karnataka, 11-year-old Nagaratna toils the whole day -- every day -- and, frequently, well into the night. She has a loan to pay off -- a Rs 6,000 loan which her parents took to meet the dowry demands for her sister.

"I have worked for two years now, but I have been able to repay only Rs 1,000," the little girl reveals, "I want to play and go to school. But I have to work at least 12 hours here..."

Now, it is not the married girls alone who fall prey to the shameful dowry system. Thousands of young children -- like Nagaratna -- all over the country are losing their childhood to this social menace.

While many girls, some in their early teens, are working to repay their parent's loans, a number of others are earning to satisfy their would-be-in-laws dowry appetites. Thangamani is one of such. "My parents do not have anything left after my sister's marriage. They have made it very clear that I will have to manage my dowry myself," she says.

The 13-year-old has to get up at 4 in the morning to catch the 5 am bus. If she misses it, she will have to walk 13 kilometres and reach the factory late. "I have a younger brother who is in school now. But my father says that after completing fifth standard he should also start earning."

The match-making factory where she works is a hazardous industry, prone to fire accidents every now and then. In fact, she herself had an accident quite recently. "But when I asked the owner for leave, I was told that my father had already taken the salary, so I would have to work it out before I went on leave!" she recalls.

Despite all governmental action against it, the dowry system continues to be a major evil in country. Dowry deaths still occur and now has wider implications: atrocities against girl child, female infanticides, and suicide by young brides all stem from it.

And then, of course, we have child labour too.

The government's rehabilitation plans for child labourers, though a welcome step, has not done much to root the evil out. Most factory owners, despite the statute against it, would rather have child labourers. The children, they say, are more productive (for instance, in a match-making factory while the adults average 150-200 boxes every day, a child would produce 300-350!) and come much, much cheaper.

"In most factories, if a child commits a mistake he/she is beaten up," says Saroj, a human rights activist, "In many cases, they are also sexually exploited." P> She points to Chandrakala's case as a classic example. The girl had lost her parents when she was very young. She was forced to stay with an uncle who, before he married her off at 11, exploited her sexually. Her husband sold her to a pimp, and she has been a child prostitute ever since.

Today, the 14-year-old is infected with sexually transmitted disease.

Nagaratna, Thangamani, Chandrakala and many others were present at the recent three day child labour convention, organised by the Campaign Against Child Labour.

Surprisingly, despite the interest taken by governmental and non-governmental agencies in the matter, no accurate statistics is available on the child labour situation in India. The CACL has now called upon the government to undertake a comprehensive survey in all sectors. 'The government needs to urgently formulate an effective policy to end this evil,' it reiterated.

Meanwhile, the menace continues...

UNI