Open Access Research Article
TREND PATTERN AND ESTIMATES OF STREET CHILDREN IN LUCKNOW
Published Paper
Article Details
TREND PATTERN AND ESTIMATES OF STREET
CHILDREN IN LUCKNOW
AUTHORED BY - ANIKET
MISHRA
& DR. ARVIND KUMAR SINGH
AMITY UNIVERSITY LUCKNOW
Abstract
Children are like assets
to our nation and also the wealth of the india future. Childhood is important as
children grow socially and given better care as well as
healthy body for their survival . Thus the issue of street children has been vast problem for every state of india and has attained
huge amount in ongoing debate
under the world health organisation (WHO) . On basis of work no payment condition as well as their working environment and
freedom of workers are in worst condition. This is the
universal to country and state to state problem and becoming worse day by day. The research undertakes
the primary survey . The study aims to find out the trend pattern and estimates of street children Living in various places of lucknow district of Uttar Pradesh.
Overview of the Literature
There have been very few studies
which have looked at the problem of the street children in UP. Pandey who
surveyed 1250 street children in Kanpur (Pandey 1991) conducted one of the
pioneering major studies. The study looked at various dimensions of child labour.
After that there has been no large or systematic study of street children in
UP. Some small studies have been done in recent years. Ankur Yuva Chetna
Shivir, an NGO, carried analysis of street and working children in the main
railway station in Lucknow. Similarly, another NGO named Plan India has done analysis of
children living or working on eight railway stations from Hazrat Nizamuddin,
New Delhi to Bhopal, some of which are in UP. These studies had a limited
coverage and were focused on children working in and around railway stations.
A recent study in Madras shows that
many street children (45.6 percent) would like to live in a secure place, while
71 percent are very eager to change their present life. 63 percent children
have an ambition to do something meaningful in their future. The vast majority
of them have a survival instinct and the tenacity that helps them survive the
day-to-day trials of street life. That does not, however, provide them a
future.
Though these studies provide some
insights into the plight of street children, they do not do full justice to the
nature and problem of street children in a holistic manner. They are based on
limited sample and cover only particular location, e.g. railway station. There is, thus, a clear and urgent need to estimate the
extent of street children in UP and to look at their problems and living
conditions in-depth. The study will be covering the entire urban area of
Lucknow to perform an in-depth analysis of the problem. The proposed study
would be an attempt in this direction.
Conceptual Framework
Street child is a term used to refer
to children who live on the street of a city. It is difficult to put them under
precise categories. They form a continuum, ranging from children who spend some
time in the streets and sleep in a house with ill-prepared adults, to those who
live entirely in the streets and have no adult supervision or care. Children on
the street are often engaged in some kind of economic activity ranging from
begging to theft to productive work. Family ties may exist but are tenuous and
are maintained only casually or occasionally.
Based on the relationship of the
child with its family, the United Kingdom Committee for UNICEF (1988) and the
World Health Organization distinguished between three categories of street
children namely:
(a) Children on the street: This category
comprises children working on the street but maintaining more or less regular
ties with their families. Their focus is home, to which they return to at the
end of the working day and have a sense of belonging to the local community.
(b) Children of the street: Children in
this category maintain a tenuous relation with their families, visiting them
only occasionally. They see the street as their home where they seek shelter,
food and companionship.
(c) Abandoned Children: Children in this
category are also children of the street but are differentiated from category
(b) by the fact that they have ended all ties with their biological families
and are completely on their own.
Although there is no denial of this
fact that that the number of street children is following an increasing trend
but then this is also accepted by various academicians (Hecht 1998, Green, 1998
& Ennew 2003,-04) that there exist huge discrepancies in these figures and
estimates by NGO, Govt and other groups vary widely. Aware of the numerical
discrepancies even the most responsible of the international agencies find
these larger claims and figures hard to resist.
Further it was also argued by a
social anthropologist, Juddith Ennew that cited numbers and estimates of street
children were rarely referenced and usually had “no Validity or basis in fact”.
Thus because of these reasons there has been a continuous paradigm shift in the
definition concepts, methods and estimates for Street children across the
world. The following Table shows these
changes in the key elements which has taken place in the different research
works as per the need and appropriateness.
Distributions
of Street Children by Age and Sex
for Lucknow
as a whole
|
Sl.
No.
|
Type
of
Street
Children
|
5-9 age
|
Total
|
10-13 age
|
Total
|
14-17 age
|
Total
|
Total
|
|
Grand
Total
|
|||
|
Male
|
Female
|
Male
|
Female
|
Male
|
Female
|
Male
|
Female
|
||||||
|
1.
|
Ties
With
Family
|
1020
|
930
|
1950
|
1440
|
1350
|
2790
|
610
|
530
|
1140
|
3070
|
2810
|
5880
|
|
|
|
(33.22)
|
(33.10)
|
(33.16)
|
(46.91)
|
(48.04)
|
(47.45)
|
(19.87)
|
(18.86)
|
(19.39)
|
(100.00)
|
(100.00)
|
(100.00)
|
|
2.
|
Ties
With
Family
Occasionally
|
10
|
10
|
20
|
290
|
140
|
430
|
990
|
680
|
1670
|
1290
|
830
|
2120
|
|
|
|
(0.78)
|
(1.20)
|
(0.94)
|
(22.48)
|
(16.87)
|
(20.28)
|
(76.74)
|
(81.93)
|
(78.77)
|
(100.00)
|
(100.00)
|
(100.00)
|
|
3.
|
No
Ties With
Family
|
20
|
20
|
40
|
60
|
10
|
70
|
2050
|
200
|
2250
|
2130
|
230
|
2360
|
|
|
|
(0.94)
|
(8.70)
|
(1.69)
|
(2.82)
|
(4.35)
|
(2.97)
|
(96.24)
|
(86.96)
|
(95.34)
|
(100.00)
|
(100.00)
|
(100.00)
|
|
|
Total
|
1050
|
960
|
2010
|
1790
|
1500
|
3290
|
3650
|
1410
|
5060
|
6490
|
3870
|
10360
|
|
|
|
(16.18)
|
(24.81)
|
(19.40)
|
(27.58)
|
(38.76)
|
(31.76)
|
(56.24)
|
(36.43)
|
(48.84)
|
(100.00)
|
(100.00)
|
(100.00)
|
Estimate of street children by sex and by Age in
Lucknow as a whole
Out of 10360 street children surveyed, 62.64 percent were boys and 37.36
percent were girls. Table gives the distribution of street children by sex and
age. The data collected for street children in this Table is from the various
parts of the Lucknow city. The survey shows that out of the total 6490 male
children (16.18 percent) belong to 5-9 age group, 27.58 percent belongs to
10-13 and 56.24 percent belongs to 14- 17 age groups respectively. Whereas in
case of female street children out of the total 387 females 24.81 percent
belongs to 5-9 age group, 38.76 percent belongs to 10-13 and 36.43 percent
belongs to 14-17 age group respectively. Further, as the age increases the
percentage of both male and female street children is also increasing. As per
type the overall sample of street children were divided into three categories.
Out of the total 10360 street children surveyed total 5880 (56.75 percent) have
ties with their families whereas 212 (20.46 percent) have occasional ties and
remaining 2360 (22.77 percent) have no ties at all with their family members.
It can also be observed from the Table that as the age of these children
increases their ties and bonding with their family also declines. The data
table shows that the highest percentages in both male and female street
children (86.96 percent and 95.34 percent) have no ties with their families and
they belong to 14-17 age groups. The simple reason which can be traced out for
this might be the financial and physical independence attained by them with
every passing year.
In order to understand the trends, pattern and further to calculate the
estimates a sample of 10360 street children was selected and surveyed. The
results of which are given in the Tables given below. In Table it was asked from the children that where do
they live and sleep to understand how worse is their economic condition.
|
Case Study No. 1
Begging
Nitu D/o Mr. Kailash
Nath, belongs to village Meerpur, Block Fatehpur, City
Barabanki (U.P.). She is 15 years old and is living in a slum with her
relatives at Daliganj under Gomti river bridge. She is living here since 5
years and is engaged in begging. She is very poor and backward in economic
as well as in social aspect. She started begging at the age of 10 years.
She works for 6 hours in a day and earns only Rs. 2000 per month but she
cannot support family. She hardly spends on food and clothing for herself;
still she saves only Rs. 250 per month. She wants to study but her living
condition is not sound. Further, the government is also not providing any
support to the street children, neither for their livelihood nor for their
safety. She also told the interviewer that as she begs in a group under a
group leader, she cannot beg at any other place. She faced several problems
in the society which resulted in her exploitation. She spends extra amounts
on her living as compared to others. She wants a permanent employment,
skill training etc from the government to come out of this profession.
|
Personal
Information of the Street Children
Table : Details of Person accompanying the
Street Children to Lucknow city
|
Sl.
No.
|
Type
of Street Children
|
With
Parents
|
Came
alone
with the consent of parents
|
Came
alone
without
the
consent of parents
|
Came
with
friends
with the consent of parents
|
Came with
friends
without
the
consent of parents
|
Came with relatives
|
Others
|
Total
|
|
1.
|
Ties With
Family
|
570
(96.94)
|
8
(1.36)
|
0
(0.00)
|
0
(0.00)
|
0
(0.00)
|
8
(1.36)
|
2
(0.34)
|
588
(56.75)
|
|
2.
|
Ties With
Family
Occasionally
|
40
(18.87)
|
27
(12.74)
|
9
(4.25)
|
22
(10.38)
|
11
(5.19)
|
82
(38.68)
|
21
(9.91)
|
212
(20.46)
|
|
3.
|
No
Ties With
Family
|
7
(2.97)
|
26
(11.02)
|
37
(15.68)
|
55
(23.31)
|
83
(35.17)
|
13
(5.51)
|
15
(6.36)
|
236
(22.77)
|
|
4.
|
Total
|
617
|
61
|
46
|
77
|
94
|
103
|
38
|
1036
|
|
|
|
(59.56)
|
(5.89)
|
(4.44)
|
(7.43)
|
(9.07)
|
(9.94)
|
(3.67)
|
(100.00)
|
Details of
Person accompanying the Street Children to Lucknow city
Table
outlines the responses of the street children regarding the person with whom
they came to Lucknow city. A total of 1036 street children were interviewed,
out of which about 60 percent told the surveyor that they came here with their
parents. About 6 percent street children came alone but with parental consent
while approximately 5 percent came of their own without any parental consent.
About 7.5 percent stated that they came with friends with the consent of their
parents and about 9 percent came with friends without the consent of their
parents. Almost 10 percent street children reported that they were accompanied
by their relatives while coming to Lucknow city whereas about 4 percent said
that persons other than parents, friends or relatives accompanied them to the
Lucknow city. About 57 percent street children who came to the Lucknow city
still have ties with their families.
Reasons for
Not Visiting Parents
|
Sr No.
|
Type of Street Children
|
Parents are dead
|
No desire/ attraction
|
Cannot manage visiting costs
|
They don't like me to visit
|
I don't know their address
|
Total
|
|
1.
|
Ties With Family
|
0
(0.01)
|
0
(0.01)
|
0
(0.01)
|
0
(0.01)
|
0
(0.01)
|
0
(0.01)
|
|
2.
|
Ties With Family Occasionally
|
0
(0.01)
|
0
(0.01)
|
0
(0.01)
|
0
(0.01)
|
0
(0.01)
|
0
(0.01)
|
|
3.
|
No Ties With Family
|
19
(14.29)
|
23
(17.29)
|
17
(12.78)
|
27
(20.30)
|
47
(35.34)
|
133
(100.0)
|
|
4.
|
Total
|
19
(14.29)
|
23
(17.29)
|
17
(12.78)
|
27
(20.30
|
47
(35.34)
|
133
(100.0)
|
Reasons for Not Visiting Parents
Table shows the reasons due to which
street children do not visit their parents. All the 133 street children who
were interviewed do not have ties with their families. About 14 percent said
that they do not visit their parents because they are not alive; about 17
percent said that they do not have any desire to visit their parents, about 13
percent stated that they do not have enough money while about 20 percent
informed the surveyor that their parents don’t like them to visit. Little over
35 percent reported that they don’t know their parents address hence they do
not visit them.
Conclusions
In general the results of the survey
shows that majority of the street children were boys and half of them belong to
14-17 age group whereas in case of female street children 38.76 percent belong
to 10-13 and 36.43 percent belong to 14-17 age groups, respectively. Further,
as the age increases the age of both male and female street children is also
increasing. As per type the overall sample of street children were divided into
three categories. Out of the total 1036 street children surveyed, about 57
percent have ties with their families whereas about 21 percent have occasional
ties. The remaining 23 percent approximately have no ties at all with their
family members. It was also observed that as the age of these children
increases their ties and bonding with their family reduces. This may be because
they are living on their own. Further, majority of them are neither receiving
any education nor do they have a proper place to live.
References:
1. The study is based on extensive
primary data collected by the researcher to assess the trends pattern and
status of street children in Lucknow.
2. Various UNICEF Reports.
Article Information
TREND PATTERN AND ESTIMATES OF STREET CHILDREN IN LUCKNOW
Authors: ANIKET MISHRA, DR. ARVIND KUMAR SINGH
- Journal IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Published 2023/04/25
- Volume 2
- Issue 7
About Journal
International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis
- Abbreviation IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Access Open Access
- License CC 4.0
All research articles published in International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis are open access and available to read, download and share, subject to proper citation of the original work.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis.