Important Essay for Competitive Exam SSC/WBCS/PSC

 Important Essay for Competitive Exam SSC/WBCS/PSC 

1.                              Child Labour

                  There is no universally accepted definition of child labour. Generally speaking a work done by a child under the age of 14 years is said to be child labour. India had the highest number of child labourers and the number continues to grow. They are estimated to be over 17 million.

                 Child labour means lost childhood is the most sensitive part of the life of every human being. The impressions received in this period of life are indelible. Psychologically, the character of a person develops during this part of life. Wordsworth has wisely stated, "Child is the father of man." Children all over the world, are the future of mankind. What they get from society today will be returned in the same coin when they are grown up. In addition to Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, our own constitution provides certain rights to children and prohibits child labour. Article 24 prohibits children below the age of 14 years from being employed.

                 Article 39 (e) and 39 (f) also take care of Children. Article 21 A added by the 86th amendment Act, 2002 provides that state shall arrange for free and compulsory education to all children of the age of 6 to 14 years. This very amendment has also added article 51 A (k). It has made incumbent parents or guardians to provide education to their children. 

                Education is the most potent tool to combat the evil of child labour. In 2010, the government adopted rights of children to free and compulsory Ediucationb Act (RTE). The government is also spending a lot on mid-day meal scheme with a view to universalising primary education. For all these measures,  a study by Child Rights and You (CRY) reveals that 35 milllion children in the 6-14 age group are out of schools.

               Comapared to many developing countries, children from 5.2% of the total labour force in India. Poor system of education and poverty are the two chief sources of child labour. Comaparing for 'Common School System' blames the miserable and deplorable quality of education for increasing child labour in India. The present system imparts minimal skills to children inspite of tall claims on paper. The state government has failed to impart meaningful education to children. Chairperson, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, says that most laws on education do not cover 15-18 years age-group. Most of the children are dropouts and unskilled and end up as part of casual and untrained workforce. This sector of labour force is fed mostly by child labourers. 

                Secondly, poverty forces children of all age-group into work to supplement their family's income. Sometimes parents mortgage their child's labour to local monet lenders and wealthy families. Moreover, child labour is cheap and safe. Children are trouble free and their wages are no problem. Hunger and poverty drive these children to do any kind of menial or hazardous work.

                 The government formulated national policy on Child labour in 1987. A National Authority on Elimination of Child labour was set up in 1994. There are large number of laws to check employment of children as labourers in households, factories, roadside dhabas, tea shops. But the problem remains unabated. A nation that cannot look after its children has no right to dream of growing its stature in the comity of nations.

2)                                  Biodiversity 

                   Biodiversity or biological diversity refers to the variety and viability among living organisms including the ecological complexes in which they occur. So We can include in biodiversity different genes, species and ecosystems. In fact it is as wide as all life. India is one one of the 12 mega biodiversity centres in the world. India has 10% of the world species and is 10th among the plant rich countries. 

                  Though India has just 2.4% of world area, it has over 47000 plant species, 89000 animal species containing 7% of the worlds flora and 6.5% of its fauna. Indian flora comprise amazing variety : 15000 flowering plants. Zoological Survey of India has identified 350 species of mammals, 420 reptiles, 2000 amphibians, 2546 fishes, 67000 insects, 1224 birdsand variety of other species of living orgaanisms

                  Loss of biodiversity makes ecosystems less stable. All living creatures supported by the interaction among oraganisms and ecosytems make them viable. Imbalance in biodiversity, therefore makes ecosystems unstable, weak and vulnerable to natural disasters. For instance, water cyclone depends on forests. Forests regulate water flows by recycling rain water. Energy cycle helps green plants to convert sunlight,water and carbon dioxide into carbohydrates, nitrogen, carbon and oxygen cycles help all organisms to live and that is a large component of earth's atmosphere. Carbon and oxygen provide us with a breathable atmosphere. In fact the balance in all these cycles moderates the climate and temperatures of the earth. Thus, the natural cycles provide us with food, clean water and air to breathe.

                   The economic values of biodiversity are no less important than its biological value. Everything that we eat, buy and sell come from the world of nature. Nature provides the material for our survival. Nature is also the source of many medicines. A significant proportion of drugs are produced from biological sources.

                   The increasing population requires a large number of resource to sustain it. On account of population pressure, biodiversity of species is now vanishing faster than at any other time in world's history. Overexploitation of natural resources, pollution and destruction are great threats to biodiversity. India's present framework for conservation of these resources is constituted by laws governing forestry and wildlife like Water ( Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, the Environment ( Protection) Act etc.

                    Nature's biodiversity is a unique spectrum of earth's ecosystems,species and their genes which proves its worth by sustaining life itself. It has come under grave man-made threats as a result of overexploitation of natural resources. Climate change and decreasing resistance to floods and earthquakes of natural resources. Climate change and decreasing resistance to floods and earthquakes threaten loss of biodiversity. Nature has to recover itself and it is only man who can help nature do it.