Is this not child labor?

The menace of child labor continues unabated in pockets of India despite child labor being declared as an illegal activity. The most gruesome way to torture a child is to employ his/her services and expect the child to perform the task impeccably.

Many children who were employed to act in Indian movies by their pushy parents have voiced their frustrations on being forced to act without a break. When these children became adults, their deprived childhood became a source of frustration for them haunting them forever. Some of them were able to pick up the broken pieces and reconcile with the truth about their shattered dreams. Most others were not so lucky.

In a low-cost housing accommodation opposite to the apartment complex where I live, I witness child labor of a different kind. The husband, wife and eldest son (a cute and adorable moppet all of three years) live with the wife's mother. The husband generally wakes up at 10 am, brushes his teeth leisurely and plays loud music in the one-room tenement that they live in. On most occasions, he is glued to his smartphone. If he is not busy with his smartphone, he is on the road on his bike. Seldom have we seen him doing any household chores or running errands for his family.

The wife's mother works as a maid-servant. She slogs from 9 am till 3 pm and then from 8 pm to 10 pm. She visits homes, washes clothes and utensils, mops the floor and also provides for her daughter's family. A few months ago the couple was blessed with a second child. Now what we witness every day is that the eldest child – all of three years, I repeat- being asked to run household errands.

The poor child often walks from the third floor to the grocery shop on the ground – buying an assortment of goods – milk, semolina, noodles, coriander, soap, laundry bar, etc. In a day, this young boy makes at least a dozen trips. As his mother hollers at him even for minor infractions committed by him, one cannot but miss the terrified look on the child's face.

It is clear that the wife, unable to get her husband to do any productive activity, has now begun using the vulnerable child to get things done for her. Now, why can't she plan her household chores when her mother is around so that the tiny moppet can enjoy his childhood?

It is hilarious to see this tiny moppet use a utensil at his home along with a large-enough spatula and pretend to be a drummer. God knows how this child developed this competence. Maybe he has witnessed drummers on the road. So, you can often see this boy bending himself and furiously pretending to be a drummer! Children are creative geniuses indeed!

Now his mother has purchased him a cycle which he rides in the narrow pathway outside his home on the third floor. Maybe it was a ruse to camouflage her guilt! The other day as I was returning home, the child almost tripped from the first floor. On another occasion, he luckily escaped being hit by a car that was navigating a parking space in the narrow alley! Even while this young child obeys his mother unfailingly, his father roams the streets on his bike. He returns home to his smartphone!

A mother using her little child of 3 years to run household errands all the time! Is this not child labor of the worst kind?