In Photos: UP’s Young Corn Sellers – the Children of a Lesser God?

Every 100 metres or so, there are children selling corn along this busy Noida expressway on the outskirts of Delhi.

Vikas, 12, a boy who sells cooked corn along a busy expressway, poses for a photo in Noida. Every 100 metres or so on the busy Noida expressway, you’ll find a child selling corn. (AP Photo/Tsering Topgyal)

On World Day Against Child Labour, the International Labour Organisation said 168 million children are labourers, or about one in nine children overall.

India, in its 2011 census, estimated that the country had 8.3 million child labourers. The state of Uttar Pradesh alone accounted for 1.8 million of that total.

Bhure poses as he sits near his makeshift corn stall along a busy expressway in Noida. (AP Photo/Tsering Topgyal)

Every 100 metres (330 feet) or so along the busy Noida expressway on the outskirts of New Delhi, you'll find a child selling corn – quite possibly a child too young to be working legally.

A boy who sells corn along a busy expressway poses for a photo next to his corn stall as a man on a motorcycle patrols to ensure business runs smoothly in Noida. (AP Photo/Tsering Topgyal)

Twelve-year-old Prakash is one of them. Lolling amid the discarded husks from earlier sales, he doesn't seem bothered by the 40 degree Celsius heat (100 degrees Fahrenheit) or the buzzing flies. "We all work together and live together," he says, gesturing towards 15 or so other boys working along the highway.

A boy who sells cooked corn along a busy expressway says he earns Rs 5,000 a month. (AP Photo/Tsering Topgyal)

Each is dropped off by their employer every morning with a sack full of boiled corn. They spend their days trying to flag down drivers. They don't leave until their sacks are empty, sometimes 12 hours later.

Salish 15 (left) and Sachin 12 listen to their customer as they sell cooked corn along a busy expressway in Noida. (AP Photo/Tsering Topgyal)

Are all as young as Prakash? There's no way to be sure. Each seems to change their age with each answer, often forgetting the number they previously mentioned. Most are careful, however, to use a number above 14 – the legal age in India to work in non-family enterprises. Young men, whom the boys claim are their elder brothers, patrol the highway on motorcycles, ensuring business runs smoothly.

Brijesh, who claims to be 16 year old but doesn’t know his birthday, poses for a photo as he sits on corn stalks next to a busy expressway in Noida. (AP Photo/Tsering Topgyal)

Most comply, anxious to keep jobs that pay about $80 (Rs 5,150) per month – far more than they could earn back home. All the boys have moved to Noida, southeast of New Delhi, from rural villages in search of work.

Titus, who was hesitant to reveal his age but said he is 16, sells cooked corn to a customer in Noida. (AP Photo/Tsering Topgyal)

UNICEF says there has been an overall decline in child labour in India, but that urban areas have seen an increase. (AP Photo/Tsering Topgyal)

Bhure holds a cooked corn as he sells it along a busy expressway in Noida. Bhure says he at times receives job offers from some of his customers promising double of what he earns. (AP Photo/Tsering Topgyal)

Meanwhile, Prakash and the other boys are still selling their corn late in the afternoon. Their sacks are not yet empty.

Bobby, who sells corn along a busy expressway sits next to his corn stall in Noida. Bobby’s both parents died two years ago and he his doing this job to support his younger brother, who lives with him. (AP Photo/Tsering Topgyal)

(This article has been published in an arrangement with the Associated Press)

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