Picture a typical urban slum in the national Capital. In the close vicinity of an industrial area, one will mostly find filthy surroundings. At times, industrial waste, plastic bags, sludge and waste cloth material are thrown, without thinking of the impact it would have on hundreds and thousands of people staying just a few meters away in 10 by 12 ft temporarily-built huts with used bricks, cement and tin roof. 

Interestingly, these hutments last several years bear the brunt of heavy rains, severe heat conditions during the summer and extreme cold conditions during the winter.

Once you move in the tight lanes, you will experience a peculiar smell. You can see dirty water running through the drains. The common toilets built for the community are, generally speaking, never maintained. It is, perhaps, assumed that these people staying on the margins do not have a right to even clean surroundings, fresh air and water.

In the mornings, one will find a long (sometimes even more than 800-900 meters) queue of 20-30 litre buckets stacked in front of a tanker. The buckets are there hours before the tanker arrives. Often, people fight for their turn to get access to water for consumption throughout the day. Generally, girls and women are at the receiving end. Often, they are forced to skip their schools or meals, just to make sure they have water.

Radha (name changed), a migrant from Bihar, has a job that fetches Rs. 120 a day! Her daughter looks after her siblings while she is away for work. Her husband, an alcoholic, is generally seen playing cards during the day. When she comes home tired in the evening, her husband tries to snatch the money from her. Often, the family sleeps on an empty stomach. They hardly have any money to buy vegetables. Only thing they have is salt and some flour to make a few chapattis.

Her nights are equally traumatic, as Radha has to bear with constant abuses from her husband. At times, she is beaten up to the point that her daughter struggles to take her to the nearest dispensary for first aid. The abuse does not end with Radha alone. Her daughter and children are also at the receiving end. For a few bucks, her husband is ready to sell her daughter to a local tout, who supplies girls for trafficking and prostitution!

Another girl, Panauti (meaning bad omen), a physically challenged girl, is married off forcefully to a womaniser, who tries several tricks, including injecting drugs, to satiate his sexual hunger. All this to get rid of one mouth to feed! There is no end to these stories.

Leave aside urban slums, focus on a middle-class salaried man or woman. At times, the instalments and monthly bills to be paid are more than what he/she earns! The kind of stress they face is unimaginable. The financial stress is augmented by the kind of abuses they hear from their bosses every day. The hours they spent travelling from one corner of the city to another, adds on to their woes.

People in rural areas have their own struggles and are mostly dependent on schemes like MNREGA for their survival. Agriculture is no longer remunerative, at least for small farmers. Not surprisingly, many tend to migrate from poor states to the so-called rich states within the country.

Now what do the above stories indicate? They speak of nothing but what is called modern slavery. Yes, be it Radha the man/woman from a middle class family, or an average villager, they are not in a position to leave their only source of income. People from marginalised communities do not hesitate to involve their children in petty jobs or human trafficking to make their ends meet.

This is exactly what the latest Global Slavery Index report speaks about. It says 50 million people are living in conditions of modern slavery (a term used for “forced labour, forced marriage, debt bondage, commercial sexual exploitation, human trafficking, slavery-like practices, sale and exploitation of children and any situation where threats, violence, coercion and deception prevent a person from refusing or leaving”).

The Slavery Index, which is based on data published by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Walk Free Foundation and International Organisation for Migration (IOM) for 160 countries shows that India has the largest population of people facing modern slavery. This was supplemented by interviews of survivors collected through household surveys of 75 countries. The national-level vulnerability was calculated based on different indicators, including inequality, lack of basic needs, political instability, criminal justice system, internal conflicts, and displacement of people.

The practice has gained popularity over the last five years due to various reasons including climate change, armed conflict, global pandemic like Covid-19, weak governance etc. More and more businesses pay much less than the government notified daily wages in the name of cost-cutting and for achieving economies of scale.

Well, like any other report, questions regarding the validity of the report has already been raised. Many have contested based on the fact that there is no singular internationally recognised definition of modern slavery. Be that as it may, if one looks around, many of us would easily be able to identify cases of modern slavery, if one goes by the definition of this report.

The report has made recommendations for stronger and stricter regulations and their effective implementation to check increasing modern slavery. However, the biggest challenge is climate crisis, which is pushing millions of people into precarious situations by inducing resource crunch, increasing poverty and reducing access to health and education. Not only this, faulty policies in the name of improving health of the poorest of the poor families, will only accentuate modern slavery.

A report published by the Reporters Collective has revealed how a move to provide fortified rice to school-going children, pregnant and lactating mothers and children linked with anganwadis have been put at a huge risk of a health hazard. It is true that over 1.7 million children in India have been categorised as “severely acute malnourished”. It is estimated that 67.1 percent under the age of five and 57 percent women between 15 to 49 years of age are anaemic.

In view of the announcement made by the Prime Minister during his Independence Day speech in 2021, the government is ready to supply fortified rice to 80 crore people, enrolled under all food security schemes. Now many would ask what is wrong in this? Rice fortified with iron, folic acid and vitamin B-12 will only help in reducing anaemic children and will help in improving their health. Unfortunately, this has been done without even completing the pilot projects.

In fact, Niti Ayog, the government think tank and Secretary Food and Public Distribution Department admitted in an internal meeting that the pilots were not successful. Yet, the government has decided to go ahead with a universal roll out of the scheme from 2023-24. The report by the Collective has revealed that a few pilot projects were stopped midway. Not only this, no baseline survey was conducted on the children or women at the time of starting these pilot projects.

A few research reports have shown that fortified rice tends to increase “serum ferritin levels in children who were given iron-fortified rice. Serum ferritin is linked to an increased risk of diabetes.”  The investigative piece done by the collective also shows that the contract for supplying technological know-how for fortifying rice has been given to six international organisations, who have been influencing the government decisions. 

All these organisations are associated with one company based in the Netherlands, Royal DSM NV. The company produces the powder required for producing fortified rice. The process involves grinding the rice into powder form, mixing it with the powder required for fortifying and producing artificial rice grain kernels with the help of machines.

A few stories quoted from various districts in the report show instances of food poisoning. To cut the story short, the government is making way for inducing instances of modern slavery. Blind implementation of schemes will only make people sick, thereby increasing out of pocket expenses on health. In fact, the Dutch firm has made huge profits over the last few years. Not only this, a few non-profit organisations have also been involved in this exercise.

Is this how the government wishes to achieve sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas? Unfortunately, it is only thinking of DSM’s vikas in the name of anaemic children and women?

11 labourers tied with chains rescued in Osmanabad in Maharashtra; narrate inhuman treatment during work

Eleven labourers engaged in well digging work and kept chained by contractors to prevent them from escaping have been rescued by police in Maharashtra’s Osmanabad district, an official said on Tuesday.

After being freed on Saturday, the labourers narrated their ordeal saying they were made to work 12 hours daily, not paid any money for the work, provided food just once a day and forced to answer nature’s call in the well itself where they worked, he said.

The police have so far arrested four persons, including two contractors, in this connection, the official said.

The labourers were deployed by contractors two-three months back for well digging work in Khamaswadi and Wakharwadi villages under Dhoki police station limits in Osmanabad where they were wrongfully confined and tortured, assistant police inspector Jagdish Raut told PTI.

One of the labourers had managed to escape and reached his native place in Hingoli district where he informed local police about the torture, he said.

The Hingoli police contacted their counterparts at Dhoki in Osmanabad on Saturday and teams were formed to conduct checks at the specified site.

“When a police team reached Wakharwadi village, it found five labourers working in a well. When they were questioned, they informed that they were made to work for 12 hours every day and tied with chains during night so that they don’t escape,” Raut said.

The five labourers were subsequently rescued, he said.

They informed that six more labourers were working in the nearby Khamaswadi village and they were also in a similar situation, he said.

The six labourers in Khamaswadi were also later rescued, he said.

“When we questioned the labourers, they said they were given food just once a day and forced to answer nature’s call in the well itself. Later, the human waste was sent up on the surface in a basket. The labourers were sent into the well at around 7 am every day and taken out after 12 hours of work,” Raut said.

All the 11 rescued labourers were provided medical treatment and a procedure was underway to send them home, he said.

“We are now looking at the human trafficking angle into this and two police teams are working on it. We have come to know about a few more agents who have been selling such labourers to contractors,” the official said.

“The contractors did not pay a single rupee to the labourers and harassed them mentally. After making a labourer work under such conditions for four-five months, he used to be released. The labourer would then run away without asking for the money to escape the torture,” the official said.

The police on Sunday arrested four persons, including contractors Santosh Jadhav and Krushna Shinde, he said.

A case has been registered against the accused under Indian Penal Code Sections 370 (trafficking of persons), 367 (kidnapping or abducting in order to subject person to grievous hurt, slavery, etc), 346 (wrongful confinement in secret) and 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), he added. (Courtesy: PTI)

Police rescue 19 people forced to work as bonded labourers in Hassan
 
The police have rescued 19 people, who were allegedly forced to work like bonded labourers at Cheluvanahalli coming under Banavara police station limits, in the taluk in Karnataka.

Two people have been arrested in this connection. Addressing media persons, SP Hariram Shankar said two persons --- Munesh and Anil --- have been arrested. Munesh, who is said to be the prime accused, is already involved in such an incident earlier and was out on bail, he said. Acting on a tip-off, the Banavara police and a team of officials, including Assistant Commissioner Kripalini and Tahsildar Vidya Vibha Rathod, raided the village on May 26. Upon inquiry, the labourers involved in the ginger harvest claimed that they were not being paid and made to work as bonded labourers.  

Munesh, who met 19 labourers from Gadag, Ballari, Kalaburagi and other districts, at the Arsikere railway station, assured them of work. Later, with the help of one Anil, all of them were brought to his field. They were provided food, accommodation and liquor. But wages were not paid. It is said that they were made to stay in a shed, which was fenced to ensure they do not go out. Munesh used to take them in vehicles to Banavara, Anathi, Kembalu and other places to work in ginger fields. They were taken back to the shed at 6 pm. The labourers could not inform anybody as they had no mobile phones. A few locals had informed the police, who acted swiftly and rescued them, the SP said. A case has been registered against the accused under under the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act. Munesh has three cases against him at Arsikere rural police station and Dudda police station, according to police. (Courtesy: Deccan Herald, May 31, 2023)

67 child labourers rescued in Ahmedabad

City police and a local NGO last week rescued 67 child labourers, aged between 11 and 17, from different jewellery making shops in a commercial complex in the Kalupur area of the city.

According to an FIR filed with Kalupur police, Damini Patel, 52, a resident of Vejalpur who works with an NGO, got a tip off that scores of children were employed in jewellery making shops in Sahajananad Commercial Complex near Pankore Naka.
Patel along with volunteers of her team and police personnel reached the Commercial Complex and rescued 67 children, who hail from West Bengal, from the four-storied building. These children were forced to work between 10am and 10pm for which they were paid Rs 150 daily.

On Patel’s complaint, Kalupur police have registered a complaint of forcing kids into bonded labour and abetment under IPC along with the charges of the Juvenile Justice Act. (Courtesy: TOI, 14 June 2023)

41 child labourers rescued from Delhi’s toy factories

In a joint operation of the Delhi government and Bachpan Bachao Andolan, 41 child labourers were rescued from multiple toy factories in the Azad market area of the city. Twelve factories were sealed and FIRs were registered against the employers.

Forty-one child labourers were rescued from multiple toy factories in New Delhi's Azad Market in a joint operation by the city police and some NGOs.

The operation was launched by Sub- Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Darya Ganj, Labour Dept, Bal Vikas Dhara, Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi's Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA), and a police team.

Twelve factories were sealed after the raid and First Information Reports (FIRs) have been registered against the owners of the factories in Bara Hindu Rao Police Station in New Delhi.

The children, in the age group of 13-17 years, when rescued were bare feet and in torn clothes. They were reportedly made to work for more than 12 hours every day without enough food and a proper place to sleep.
The children belong to the states of Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.

Following their medical examination, the children were produced before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), after which they were shifted to a shelter home.

The SDM, in his order, stated that the employers have violated the provision of the Child & Adolescent Labour Act, Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act, and Bonded Labour System Abolition Act.

SDM further ordered the police to register FIRs against employers under the Bonded Labour Act, Child Labour Act, JJ Act and Trafficking Act.

Talking about the dark world of child trafficking and child labour that continues to ruin society, Manish Sharma, Director of BBA, said, "It's a shame for our entire society that even after decades of getting independence, we haven't been able to free our children from child labour."

"The fact that children who should have been playing with toys are making toys, and working as slaves. Such incidents should make us all ashamed and angry", he further added. (Courtesy: India Today, 24 May 2023)