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! Click here to have a graphical
presentation of the raid.
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!
Click here to get more information
about the lives of bonded and child labourers.
