This talk explores the evolving discourse on children’s rights in India, focusing on the tensions between protectionist policies and children’s lived realities. While global and national frameworks often portray childhood as a phase requiring safeguarding, such narratives can obscure the agency and resistance of children themselves. We will critically examine legal and political efforts—particularly the banning of child labour—and analyze why many of these interventions fail to address the complexities of children’s lives. By highlighting grassroots movements led by children, this talk sheds light on how young people in India navigate, challenge, and reshape the systems that govern them, asserting their rights as both children and workers.