Three
successive days of rescue action -
27th, 28th and 29th January 2004
27th
January 2004 was another triumphant
day for South Asian Coalition on Child
Servitude (SACCS) / Bachpan Bachao
Andolan (BBA), the partner organisation
of Global March Against Child Labour
in India. Maya Tamang, an 11-year-old
girl was released on that day; she
was so happy to return home. It was
sheer delight to watch her face beaming
with joy and exultation She has regained
her natural smile – she cannot be
forced to smile as it used to happen
while performing in the circus. Now,
Maya's dream is to go to school just
like her younger brother and her friends.
Eight more children would laugh and
play as they were liberated along
with her from various circuses in
New Delhi, India.
The
next day, January 28 th , 2004, Janta
Kumari, of the same age almost fainted
in shock when she suddenly saw live
pictures and voices emanating from
a strange glass box, when somebody
switched on the T.V. in Bal Ashram,
one of our rehabilitation centers
in India. Janta and 54 more were brought
there after a momentous escape from
the clutches of their dominating masters.
Until morning, life held a different
meaning for them. Little did they
dream that they would be able to start
life afresh. Janta had no idea about
schools; she had never touched or
seen a piece of paper in her life.
And her only dream was to wear a colourful
dress and dance.
The
following day, on January 29 th 2004,
Santosh, a boy of the same age whom
we freed along with 11 more from the
streets of Jaipur, the capital of
Rajasthan, India, struck me with his
pessimism. It was distressing to hear
such strong words from the heart of
a small boy. He said, “ The whole
world is full of devious people and
life is nothing but a cycle of forgery
and cheating.” He was not prepared
to believe in me and confessed to
me while sitting in the backseat of
my car at the time of the rescue that
he was struggling to understand ‘who
was cheating whom'! It took more than
two days to make him understand that
now he is free and then only he could
express his real happiness of freedom.
It
was a very mixed feeling. I must say
that those three days were filled
with thrill, action, apprehension,
fear, joy and victory. On the first
day we liberated 9 children from ‘
The Jumbo' and ‘The Great Bombay'
circuses; on the second day, 55 stone
quarry workers were rescued and 12
children from the roadside kiosks
were liberated on the 3 rd day. Several
things were common in each of the
cases. For instance, none of these
freed ones had any idea that before
sunset their life would take a completely
different turn; the new day would
bring them freedom and open new windows
to their future. And none would force
them to perform hard work and there
would be no dangers for women and
girls from abusive men during night.
It was a complete and total change
for them!
Freedom
for the children working in circus
In-depth
dialogue with Indian Circus Federation
The
sequences of these three episodes
were very interesting because three
entirely different strategies were
mapped out for each day. The first
success came as a result of in-depth
dialogue and series of negotiations
with the Indian Circus Federation.
My colleagues- Professor Vinay, Rajiv
Bharadraj, Bhuwan and Sarita and a
few more have been trying to pursue
and pressurise the circus owners to
get rid of child labour since last
year.Children, especially girls form
the bulk of the performing artists
in the circuses, as they are the main
crowd attractions. A majority of artists
in Indian Circuses are Nepalese girls
who have been trafficked from the
interior areas of Nepal under the
guile of a great life at a very young
age. Traffickers, both Indian and
Nepalese, who are in constant touch
with the circus management, have a
thriving business of procuring girls
from in and around certain specific
regions by convincing the parents
and the families to send their young
daughters to Indian circuses by making
false promises and distorted claims
of fortune, and especially by bribing
them. They are forced to live in small
tents and beaten and harassed if they
ever try to run away. They are never
paid properly. Some of the young children
who perform on the trapeze nets and
swings are forced to smile even when
they are too scared to enact these
dangerous acts. We have rescued some
of them in the past who always complained
of being sexually abused. This time,
ICF declared that there should be
no further use of children in the
circuses in India.
Hard
work pays off…
As
a result of hard work and persuasion
of our circus campaign team, a good
number of circuses have agreed to
liberate children and hand over the
Indian children to South Asian Coalition
on Child Servitude (SACCS) and its
partners, which will take the responsibility
of providing education (non-formal
or regular). The Nepalese children
were handed over to their parents
through our partners in Nepal who
would ensure their rehabilitation
and education. We realised that it
is the very hope, which can result
in a permanent solution. The process
started with a very scientific and
concrete study conducted by us before
engaging a dialogue with the industry.
We collected all the possible information
from the key circuses. The legal aspect
of it was handled by engaging a professional
lawyer. Thus a series of negotiations
resulted in a concrete agreement and
in the actual process of liberation
of the children.
Planning
another operation…
While
the children were being freed and
presented before some of the eminent
personalities and the national media
in New Delhi, another dangerous and
risky operation was buzzing in our
heads to carry out the next morning.
Bishna Ram, now an activist, was a
stone quarry worker. He came to our
office to give information along with
an old couple whose close relatives
and many more were engaged as slave
labourers in a stone quarry in Haryana
state, about 150 kms, North West from
Delhi.
The
nitty-gritty of raids
I
have a reason for stating as to why
this operation had been dangerous
and risky. Thousands of families have
been forced to live and work in stone
quarries in that area for two or three
generations. During the last one-year
or so, we had liberated a few hundreds
in secret raids. In the last few operations,
usually we filed complaints before
the District Magistrate (DM) who pays
little attention to such complaints.
After several attempts when he agreed
to discuss with us, he diverted us
to his Deputy, the Sub-divisional
Magistrate (SDM). Again my office
had to make a rigorous effort to convince
him to send his junior officers thereby
stretching it to more than a month
for us to take action. India had a
law since 1976 against bonded labour
system and another law against child
labour since 1986. It's obligatory
for the authorities to take serious
action of any information in relation
to bonded labourers. But these laws
normally remain on paper without adequate
political will and honesty.
The
rescue of 12 bonded labourers in December
2003…
While
liberating bonded labourers in December
2003, we had to run from pillar to
post to convince the authorities to
come along with us to liberate those
people. The SDM asked us to come to
his office but we thought that it
would be better to go to his official
residence. Shockingly, when we reached
there, the owner of the stone quarry
was emerging from his home. Our biggest
surprise was that we never disclosed
the name of the quarry owner to the
authority but somehow the police managed
to extract the information. We accused
the SDM but he tried to act innocent
by saying that the stone quarry owner's
presence was a mere coincidence. After
a long heated conversation he agreed
to come along with us for the raid
in the quarry. This was quarry number
7, about 20 kms from the main road.
But these cunning people misled us
into quarry number 5. There we found
the local goons standing alongside
their vehicles. The labourers were
in a bad condition, with tattered
clothes and worn-out expressions.
Assuming that we had reached the right
place, we started talking to these
people but they were too frightened
to speak out openly. We figured that
the authorities had manipulated the
entire situation three days in advance.
I recall a 10-11 year old boy looking
at the DM and saying that he played
the whole day. But when I asked how
he played, he was unable to answer.
His face was expressionless because
he had no idea what ‘playing' meant.
The boy had many bruises all over
his body but he denied of working
under pressure. The place was not
fit for anyone to stay. There was
no electricity, water or schools or
even any shops nearby. When I questioned
an adult about his payments, he mentioned
about earning Rs 200 (amounting to
approximately 4$) per day. There were
four adult members in his family.
But when asked about the total earnings
of all his family members, he was
silent. They stayed in cage-like huts,
which was too small, hardly less than
4 feet for anyone to enter. The cramped
space showed hardly any sign of their
belongings apart from a few torn clothes,
let alone hoarding their hard-earned
money. It was obvious that they were
never given any wages and were forced
to lie.
The
SDM and the labour officer had a smug
expression on their faces and told
me, “ Look Kailashji, they are earning
so much and are far more better off
than us.” Pat came my sarcastic reply,
“ Look at your condition and look
at his condition. Where does all this
money go? It must be going to the
bank, isn't it?” Shamelessly they
instantly agreed with me. The bonded
labourers looked at each other, as
they had no idea what a bank was.
Seeing the turn of the conversations,
the authorities were eager to get
over with the interrogations. My blood
was boiling with rage. I questioned
the SDM and the labour enforcement
officer, “ If they earn more than
you, then why don't you leave your
cushy job and work here instead?”
I controlled my anger with an effort
to see such blatant corruption. We
had no other option but to return.
It was frustrating and we were angry
but not willing to give up. In the
morning while going to this quarry
we had come across a number of other
clusters. So we thought of going to
the nearest one (quarry no. 1), about
20 kms away from the main road. We
would talk to them, and if willing
would liberate them through direct
action. I had to take a swift decision
and it was not possible to inform
the rest of our rescue team about
our impromptu plan, who were hidden
in different places.
Hoodwinking the authorities…
We
headed for the hotel and gave an impression
to the triumphant owners that we were
leaving. But it was quite the other
way round. When they thought that
we had left, I took a full circle
and diverted the car towards quarry
number 1. This time we didn't inform
the authorities, as so much fraudulence
and dishonesty was involved. In the
meantime I sent one of my colleague
to another vehicle to take the local
concerned media persons to witness
reality in action. 12 were rescued
along with six children. The workers
lived in appalling condition. Some
said that they had been working in
the quarry for the past 30-35 years
and didn't have any freedom to return
to their native hometown. “I have
been working in the quarry for the
last 14 years and have never been
paid any wages nor any proper food,
” lamented Mangalal, one of the oldest
among the stone quarry workers. One
of the rescued, 12 year old Meera
told this work had inflicted many
injuries. 9-year-old innocent Sharda
said that she never got a chance to
rest during work. She told that till
date she has never seen money and
doesn't know how children play. They
all expressed their desire to study.
There
was a huge uproar amidst the authorities.
The local chief minister denied access
to my organisation, SACCS, into the
area as these people were visibly
put in an embarrassing position when
the rescue took place. It put them
in a false position as they categorically
denied the existence of any bonded
labourers in those areas. Later on
we heard from so many resources that
the Chief Minister and his son under
different names actually own the quarries
generating huge amount of money. But
the fact was hidden as on paper the
lease had been given to the henchmen.
A
new dawn in the lives of 55 bonded
labourers- the second raid
Well,
this was the background of previous
raids. Due to such antagonism and
lack of cooperation or help whatsoever
from the authorities, we realised
and decided this time that it was
impossible to liberate people through
official channels. If we informed,
then again the same cycle of incidents
would take place. We sent our senior
activist, Ramsharan, on of our former
rescued bonded labourer, to enquire
about the original hill number seven.
He masqueraded as a relative and stayed
there for two-three days on some pretext
and gathered the required information
like the entry and the escape routes
to the hillside, the dangers and the
risks involved and the appropriate
timings to conduct the operation.
For instance he found out that the
henchmen armed with guns were not
present in the quarries during 5-30
– 7 a.m. in the morning as they went
for their refreshment. But otherwise
the musclemen were constantly on vigil.
So just after the circus raid, equipped
with all the necessary information,
we fixed 28 th January 2004, to set
out to reach the destined place before
the break of dawn. So from Delhi we
rushed to a hideout, 40kms away from
Charkhi Dadri in the Bhiwani district
in Haryana and reached at mid-night.
Fraught
with thrill…
For
several years I have been driving
the car during such raids as sometimes
the drivers used to flee out of fear.
This time as usual I was driving and
suddenly noted that the fuel meter
of my car was not moving. We looked
for a scale or some measuring instrument
and eventually found a makeshift stick
to gauge the quantity left. To look
for a nearby petrol pump was the only
option left to us. On top of it we
were ravenous and needed some food
to energise us. But since it was late
at night, it was difficult to find
either of them. We moved about erratically
and fortunately chanced upon a marriage
ceremony from where we got to know
about a nearby petrol-pump station,
about 10-15 kms away on the National
Highway. So there we also saw some
roadside ‘dhabas'(restaurants) and
helped ourselves with food. One of
my colleagues, Rakesh Senger ordered
for ‘Paneer' (cottage cheese) and
‘Dal' (lentils) but it proved to be
rotten. So we settled for ‘chapattis'
(freshly made bread) with boiled potatoes
and onions and heartily filled our
appetites. It was a great midnight
feast filled with fun and thrill.
We sipped strongly tea, and I always
like it that way during such eventful
nights. Then we rushed back to our
hideout and began our planning. Each
and every minute detail was worked
out as to which car would enter first
and which escape routes we should
be taking. Each and every possible
danger was thought of in advance with
a back-up plan to make a success of
the whole operation not lasting more
than half-an-hour. The team members
were General secretary R.S. Chaurasia,
Dr Narayan Rao, the coordinator, Dr
Amit Mitra, the social scientist,
Rakesh Senger, Randhir, Neeraj, Vijay
Singh, Anil Singh and many more. The
operation was given a password, ‘the
marriage party' to ensure its secrecy.
It
was a foggy morning…
At
5 a.m. we started our destination
towards the stone quarry. It was a
foggy morning and the roads were filled
with dust and potholes, not an easy
ride at all. We took a truck along
with us. I was in the first car and
hurried the driver time and again
as I did not want to waste a single
minute. We got separated on the way
from the rest of our entourage (a
truck and two cars) and to add to
our difficulties the cell phones were
not even working. So we assumed that
the rest were behind us and reached
the quarry in the wee hours of the
morning. It was a small place with
20 odd huts scattered and each of
them was not more than 4 feet high
so that a person had to bend to enter
the tiny space. It looked like a miniscule
cage and in that single space, they
slept, cooked and ate and stayed huddled
with their families. The huts were
not more than 6 by 8feet in area and
a flimsy plastic sheet covered the
roof. The workers were too stunned
to react on seeing complete strangers
entering their area. It was simply
beyond their imagination that anybody
could come for their help. That itself
was a big challenge for us as one
had to struggle hard to convince these
people of our sincere aim to liberate
them.
Time
was running out…
One
woman, an ex-bonded labourer, who
accompanied us also helped in assuring
them and quickly we rushed the whole
lot into our car. I was really panic-stricken.
Time was running out and there was
no sign of the rest our entourage.
Vijay kept a constant lookout from
atop a hill. Luckily enough, his cell
phone started working but then there
was response from the other end. The
sky was getting clearer and I had
to take an instant decision. We put
the women and children first into
my car and convinced the men to stay
back and told them a truck would soon
arrive to rescue and accommodate them.
You won't believe that 18 were herded
like cattle inside the car and then
we rushed back. But there was another
tension on the back of my mind that
whether I should be taking the same
route while returning as there was
every possibility of my teammates
being detained or attacked by the
local goons. But somehow I followed
my instinct and took the same road,
as I was also worried about my colleagues.
Fortunately on the way I met them
and to my great joy I saw the truck
being followed by two cars. The road
very dusty and was hampering the visibility
despite the fog receding. So with
our complete train of support, we
again rushed back to the spot of rescue
and hoarded the remaining labourers
into the truck. The entire operation
took place within few minutes. It
was swift and according to our plan
and we reached the road around 7 a.m.
Then we drove like maniacs and took
a different road altogether towards
Rajasthan. It was an adventurous and
challenging operation but worth the
risk-- especially when it meant giving
back the life and dreams to those
55 men, women and children, to which
they were denied for so long.
The
rescued ones speak their hearts out…
Since
they belonged to the Jodhpur district
of Rajasthan, on our way, we brought
them to Bal Ashram for two days to
complete the legal formalities. The
media was also present to capture
the feelings and emotions of the rescued
labourers. Sukhdevi burst into tears
while talking to me. “All my children
were born and brought up in slavery;
their children too were born and started
working here. We were sold to several
masters in these years. Our hands
had never touched any money, except
some wheat flour and salt with chilly
for our survival, ” she lamented.
Sukhdevi (70), Baaga (30) and Mandar
(9) were among those who represented
three generations of bonded labour.
The
released children Kamla, Janta, Santa,
Mahendra, Munna and Daiya were forced
to break the huge stones in the quarries.
They do not even know the meaning
of school or reading or writing. Even
their parents could not imagine of
books beyond signing on blank papers
on which they have been putting their
thumb inscriptions of the diaries
of their contractors. The taste of
biscuits, tea and sweets are unknown
to them. At first they were too scared
to open up. But later they started
warming up to us, and became happy
and started dancing Janta's dream
of wearing a colourful new dress was
fulfilled and she started prancing
and singing in joy—it seemed as if
she had got back her lost childhood.
All this could materialise due to
the approach of direct action, which
we adopted due to the non-cooperation
of the authorities. The celebration
was going on but at the same time
we were planning for another operation
the next day.
More
child labourers rescued in the third
raid
12
freed from roadside ‘dhabas'
Now
we come to the third day and our third
way of approach. We were informed
about this due to a complaint filed
in our office in Bihar by a woman,
Bulandi Devi, about her missing grandchild.
She came to our office in Bihar to
get her grandson back and also brought
complaints of other parents from different
villages of the Madhubani district
of Bihar. The parents of these children
had complained that these children
were lured away from different villages
in Madhubani district in Bihar and
sent to Jaipur by scheming middlemen
who promised them good wages and a
decent life. The local activists of
the district of Jaipur, 80 kilometres
away from Bal Ashram, the state capital,
popularly known as the pink city,
gathered information about systematic
trafficking of a large number of children
in several places from Bihar to Jaipur.
These traffickers are popularly known
as the ‘thekedars' and fearlessly
brought girls and boys from remote
districts of Bihar and Jai in collusion
with the local police of both the
states. Some of the places were identified
very carefully where these trafficked
children were held in appalling conditions
and forced to work in some food kiosks
(roadside restaurants). Ironically
most of them were situated in front
of the ‘ Adarshnagar' (morality) police
station in the city. The raid could
take place after a month long persuasion
and preparation and the district authorities
were made to agree to help us in rescuing
the children. Thus our investigation
was initiated. Finally the District
Magistrate issued a direction to the
Sub-district magistrate who further
referred to the revenue officer who
was also busy and so passed it on
to his Deputy. Assistant Labour Commission
of the area accompanied him and a
surprise raid was finally conducted.
The
employers were running helter-skelter,
leaving their shops and ‘dhabas'…
Bulandi
Devi's grandson Dinesh was found working
in that area and the two officers
started interrogating him as if he
was the culprit instead of the employer.
This kind of behaviour enraged me
intensely and I shouted at the officer
on the fact they should know how to
handle the case and should talk to
children with respect. I think that
was enough. They calmed down and more
or less handed the situation to us.
Then we conducted raids in all the
nearby restaurants and houses. It
was a picture of total chaos. The
employers were running helter skelter,
leaving their shops and ‘dhabas'.
Our charged-up activists were catching
hold of the culprits. The whole operation
went on for two hours and in the midst
of it we caught hold of two employers
and a trafficker and made them pay
the due money to the children. A huge
crowd gathered to watch the action.
Children collected their meagre belongings,
a small sack filled with one or two
tattered clothes. Their whole lifetime
hard work and earnings amounted to
these scanty belongings. Our activists
started talking to the children to
break the ice. Sanjay, 13 said he
was not paid any salary for the last
one year despite working hard for
long hours. For 12-year-old Santosh
exploitation started from his school
where his schoolteacher compelled
him to leave school for his vested
interest. His employers and even his
own relatives also cheated him. No
wonder he was so suspicious of everyone
and not willing to believe in anyone
at the time of the rescue. But now
after staying us he wants to study
and dreams of becoming a doctor. They
were made to work for over 16 hours
a day in unhygienic conditions and
were beaten up if they asked for wages.
In
the midst of chaos, the officers who
had come to inspect had fled. But
later someone came to register the
names of the children. In this approach
we used district authorities and a
case was registered against some of
the employers by the Labour Department
of Jaipur. This was our third approach
of legal enforcement.
Who
will act if not us?
There
are various strategies in solving
the problem of child labour and bonded
labour. There is intervention, advocacy,
raid and rescue, social boycott, etc.
and depending upon the condition,
the most appropriate form of strategy
is adopted to curb the problem of
child labour in any given place. Whichever
strategies are drawn, whatever good
laws we have---those cannot be translated
into action unless we feel a great
sense of urgency and passion to fulfill
the urgency. Action is the only solution.
Think of a situation where some problem
or trouble befalls a family or a relative.
What will you do? In such circumstances
we don't wait to organise workshops
or conferences. We don't wait to act
till someone comes and helps us with
funds or in any other way. The reality
is that we collect all our energies
and resources, we shout, we cry, we
pick up the phones and call our relatives,
and are suddenly empowered with a
feeling of urgency. And then we act.
Sometimes it may not be fully wise
or appropriate or even successful.
Even then we keep on fighting and
do not give up to rescue ourselves
from the problem. So my question is
that who are Janta, Santosh, Sanjay
or Dinesh? We all know about their
biological parents and that they may
not be capable due to ignorance, illiteracy
and lack of knowledge of the outside
world. They may not be having any
idea about the rules of these laws.
They many not be having sufficient
money and are thereby helpless and
hapless. Does it mean that those who
think or claim themselves to be socially
conscious and concerned should wait
and watch? If so, then this would
be the greatest injustice to ourselves
and to those children who one day
would be the future of our country!
