Comparative Narratives of Childhood Research Paper

Comparative Narratives of Childhood - Research Paper Example In India, a ban was placed on children below the age of 14 from working; however, this ban has not been strictly imposed. Sonali, a 12-year-old girl from the eastern state of West Bengali is one of these children (Pandey). She worked for two years as a domestic servant in Calcutta and her job was mostly to cook for a five-member household and to clean a three-story house. She also had to endure severe punishments from her employer; one time when she was delayed in serving dinner, burning hot food was poured on her hands. With the help of a neighbor, she managed to escape and was later restored to her family (Pandey). More than a million minor children work at homes or food stalls and the Save the Children organization which works at West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharastra have been monitoring the employment of children and the abuses visited upon them. One of the dangers for these children working is the sexual and physical abuse which is often inflicted upon them. Howeve r, even as the government and other private organizations are seeking to impose the provisions of the ban on minority children working, thousands of children are still working in hazardous industries, including firecracker and matchstick factories, carpet weaving, embroidery, or stitching footballs (Pandey). Most of these children are forced to live these lives of labor because of severe poverty conditions. The Republic of India is an independent country in South Asia which is considered to be a second most populous country in the world and also the world’s largest democracy. Since the 1990s, it has consistently risen as one of the fastest growing economies in the world with a large and skilled workforce; however, it is also plagued with widespread poverty. The country is currently in dispute with Pakistan over the Kashmir region; it has nuclear weapons capability; and enjoys a prolific movie industry with its Bollywood movies (BBC News). It is a federal republic and the head of state is President Pratibha Patil and the head of government is Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Political parties of this country include the Indian National Congress (INC), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Communist Party of India-Marxist, and other smaller national parties (Department of State). Its capital is New Delhi and its largest and most populous city is Mumbai; and based on 2010 surveys, it has a population of 1.2 billion people covering 3.1 million sq.km of land which varies from the Himalayas to flat river valleys and deserts in its west (Department of State). Its languages include Hindi, English, and about 16 official languages. Major religions in the country include Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, and Jainism (BBC News). Its monetary unit is the Indian Rupee and in 2009, its GDP estimates totaled $1.095 trillion with a per capita GDP of $3,100. Its natural resources include coal, iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite, chromite, thorium, limestone, barite , diamonds, and crude oil (Department of State). Its agricultural products make up about 17% of its GDP with its products mainly being wheat, rice, coarse grains, oilseeds, sugar, cotton, and tea. Its industry is about 28.2% of its GDP with products like textiles, jute, processed food, steel, cement, aluminum, petroleum, chemicals, and computer software (Department of State). Its services and transportation make up about 54% of its GDP.