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The last UNICEF report (2003) states that 60 million children are victims of child labour. Amongst them:

- 20% work on the streets as beggars, rickshaws drivers, shoeshine boys. But many of them are not independent, they work for shops held by adults.

- A huge number of girls are employed as household workers. They are often victims of physical violence or sexual abuse.

- Many work as farm and paddy fields labourers. In some regions, one laborer out of ten is a child.

- 300,000 to 500,000 children work in carpet workshops for 12 to 15 hours a day.

- 50,000 children work in hazardous manufacturing industries such as tobacco, glass, mining, fireworks.

- 400,000 kids are victims of sexual exploitation and tourism. They are enrolled in the streets and are at the mercy of procurers. They often end up being dependent on drugs.

Child labour in India is a reality that definitely needs to be tackled. However, for many NGO's on the field, ''impose Western standards is not a solution''.

India's silent slaves