This is Big

"India bans child domestic labour" -BBC

This is big news. The law, to take effect in October, bans all domestic labour for children under 14.

Sure, it's bad that kids are forced to work at a young age, but where else are they supposed to go? It's not like the country is doing much to educate them. The guy holding the teapot is from Bihar, a "backward" state in India. I'm not sure I want to know what he'd be doing if he wasn't serving tea to tourists in Kolkata.

Then there is Rishi, the servant-boy to our landlady. If it weren't for this job, he'd be back in the slums without much hope of an education. He gets food, shelter, clothing, and plenty of time to play cricket and soccer in the park. And maybe even a chance at an education one day.

I'm not advocating child labour, but you can't just ban it and hope everything will be alright. Other options, economically feasible options, must be provided, so that these kids have something useful to do.