Though slave trade does not exist in Nagaland, yet human trafficking, another form of slavery, exists in a huge magnitude in most homes that employ ‘aya’, said T. Thechamo Lotha IPS,ADG(Ops) at the State Level Anti Human Trafficking seminar-cum-workshop organized by the Police department Thursday here at the conference hall Chumukedima.
Techamo also said the ‘ayas’ most of who were minors were uneducated, underpaid and often abused which; he said amounted to violation of child labour law.
While pointing out that parents tended to be over dependent on the ‘aya’ to care for their children, Thechamo also pointed out the negative impact on children who were over dependent on ‘aya’. He said the issue needed to be taken seriously by society and stressed on improving cooperation between public and police on implementation of child labour laws.
Presenting a paper on ‘Human Trafficking-Dimension And Challenge’ DIG(R/HR & S) I. Toshitsungba Aier IPS gave a brief account on the history of human trafficking- a form or modern slavery, which is the largest organized and fastest growing crime in the world that reportedly generates hundreds of crore rupees a day.
He highlighted on various forms of humans who are trafficked for: prostitution, sex tourism, pornography, forced marriages, bonded labour, child labour, domestic servitude, begging, trafficking in sports, trafficking for child soldiers and organ trade etc.
In India, 30 lakh women and children were trafficked every year of which 40% were minors and that out of 20 lakh sex workers, 25% were below 18 years of age.He stated that 60% of rescued sex workers confessed they were duped while 11% said they were forced due to economic reasons.
In the Nagaland context, Aier mentioned about the babudom passed on to Nagas from the British colonialists and the continuation of the legacy among affluent high class urbanites. He stated that the practice of keeping peons extended even to villages from the eighties and nineties with most of the servant class coming from the Adivasis of Assam and other backward tribes and Nepalis.
He also stated that thousands of under aged children today were employed as child labour in brick kilns, workshops, hotels and other places.
In Dimapur alone, he stated there were nearly one thousand underground commercial sex workers who were outcastes of society and victimized by police, pressure groups and NGOs.
He also mentioned that trafficking was even reported to have been committed in the name of Chrisitan missionary where illiterate parents were duped into sending their children outside and ultimately used in flesh trade or as bonded labour.
Giving a statistic, he referred to CBI report that said 1,50,000 persons were reported missing every year in India and 50% remaining untraced. In Nagaland, he said from January 2011 to May 2011 there were 70 missing persons, from Dimapur and 35 from Kohima. Out of this, 36 have been traced while 69 remained untraced.
Toshitsungba also provided a yearly break up of trafficked cases in Dimapur as: 2005-1(Charge sheeted); 2006-3(Charge sheeted); 2007-4 (3 chargesheeted); 2008-4 (3 chargesheeted); 2009-7(charge sheeted); 2010-3(charge sheeted) and 2011-1 (under investigation).
Chubayanger Aier, project officer, labour department Kohima Nagaland said that the state was facing problems on child labour who were employed in almost all Naga homes as a maid or servant. .
Aier said that any child under the age of 14 and is employed falls under child labour and added during a survey conducted on 302 child labour the department found out that nearly 50% of the children were trafficked by their own parents, 30 trafficking by actual traffickers and 50 % are not being paid salary. He also added that during a survey done on June 2010, the department found out 995 child labours at Dimapur and added that most of the human trafficking is done by someone who knows the child and family.
While highlighting the gathering on ‘Juvinile justice act and role of Police’, Mangyang Lima, member secretary, Nagaland state legal services authority, Kohima Nagaland said that upon apprehension of a juvenile, the police should not handcuff, chain or fetter the juvenile nor send the juvenile to police lock up or jail but said that the police should inform the designated JCWO of the nearest police station to take charge of the juvenile and the matter and also inform the parents or guardians about the apprehension and explain to them about the possible need of personal bond/surety. He said that the police should complete the investigation at the earliest having regard to the requirement of the Act to complete the inquiry by the board within 4 months and added that every juvenile is entitled to be released on bail except when the release is likely to bring him/her into association with any known criminal or expose him/her to moral, physical or psychological danger or defeat the ends of justice and in case of the escape, the police might trace the juvenile but no proceeding for such escape could be initiated against the juvenile. He also said that the police should accompany the juvenile for restoring him back to the family and added that if the police are found guilty of torturing a child, he/she is liable to be removed from the service besides being prosecuted under section 23 of the Act.
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