Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
04CALCUTTA428
2004-10-29 09:10:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Consulate Kolkata
Cable title:  

NEPALESE MINORS RESCUED FROM A CIRCUS IN EASTERN INDIA

Tags:  ELAB PHUM SOCI KWMN IN 
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UNCLAS CALCUTTA 000428 

SIPDIS

STATE FOR DRL AND SA/INS
STATE ALSO FOR G/TIP -SALLY NEUMANN AND MARK TAYLOR

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB PHUM SOCI KWMN IN
SUBJECT: NEPALESE MINORS RESCUED FROM A CIRCUS IN EASTERN INDIA

REF: A) NEW DELHI 4452, B) NEW DELHI 4249 AND PREVIOUS


UNCLAS CALCUTTA 000428

SIPDIS

STATE FOR DRL AND SA/INS
STATE ALSO FOR G/TIP -SALLY NEUMANN AND MARK TAYLOR

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB PHUM SOCI KWMN IN
SUBJECT: NEPALESE MINORS RESCUED FROM A CIRCUS IN EASTERN INDIA

REF: A) NEW DELHI 4452, B) NEW DELHI 4249 AND PREVIOUS



1. SUMMARY: On October 6, the District Magistrate of Madhubani
District in north Bihar handed over five minor Nepali girls to
the Nepalese NGO Maiti Nepal. The girls were rescued from a
circus performing in the district. This is the first instance
in eastern India wherein an NGO, the state Labor Department and
the district administration collaborated to intervene in order
to rescue and repatriate minors, closing down the circus, and
prosecuting the offender for violating child labor norms. END
SUMMARY


2. On October 6, the District Magistrate (DM) of Madhubani
District, near the Nepal border in the eastern Indian state of
Bihar, handed over five Nepalese minor girls to the NGO Maiti
Nepal for rehabilitation. A local NGO, Gram Vikas Parishad
(GVP),had rescued the girls from a Kolkata-based circus holding
shows in and around the district. GVP had taken photographs and
video taped around 12 minors performing in the circus and
reported it to the district administration. With the help of
the local authorities and instructions from the Bihar Labor
Commissioner, the circus premises were raided during an
afternoon show. While five minors (all less than 12 years of
age) were rescued, seven others were whisked away in the crowd
by the circus staff. The girls were repatriated on the basis of
their statements regarding place of origin, and that they were
with the circus for 3-4 years, paid paltry sums, not allowed to
meet their parents, and that they wanted to go home. The state
government notified the Nepalese Embassy in New Delhi who in
turn informed Kathmandu and the DM/Police of the girls' area of
origin and obtained their consent to having Maiti Nepal take
charge of the children.


3. Legal proceedings have been initiated against the
owner/manager for violations under the Indian Child/Bonded Labor
Act and the Minimum Wages Act and the circus has been closed
down. However, no arrests were made because, the DM claimed,
the offenses were bailable. Madhubani is an extremely
impoverished region ravaged by annual floods. For this reason
the DM was concerned that any stringent police action against
the circus would have drawn public sympathy as small businesses
had developed around it and the circus also had local political
patronage. The DM said that he was "determined" to pursue the
two court cases filed against Mohammad Akbar Hussein, Western
Circus, 50B Elliott Road, Kolkata. The circus was able to get
the first court closure notice vacated and reopened within ten
days, but following a second more stringent order, at the behest
of the DM, it closed and moved to an adjoining district. GVP is
keeping an eye on the circus and has been assured all assistance
by the local authorities. The group is also in touch with Maiti
Nepal for updates regarding the rehabilitation of the rescued
girls. According to GVP, the state action was nudged along by
P.M. Nair, formerly on deputation to the National Human Rights
Commission, but now back in his cadre state of Bihar.


4. COMMENT: Circus performances are extremely popular in
Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa and elsewhere in India, particularly in
the rural areas where there is a paucity of other entertainment.
Children are very much a part of these operations, largely
drawn from poor families in Bengal and the southern states.
They are brought up within the circus environment and trained
practically from the cradle to perform tricky, dangerous and
often life threatening feats. (Reftels describe a previous case
of child rescue from circuses.) While West Bengal may have lost
its penchant for the circus, its ruling left parties regularly
organize high profile "melas," or festivals, in the cities and
districts where children are also utilized to perform precarious
acts. A couple of state NGOs claim to be working to draw the
administration's attention to this aberration and create
awareness. The Madhubani incident, however, is the first we
have heard of in eastern India where an NGO, the state Labor
Department, and the local administration worked together to
directly intervene to close down the circus, file cases against
the owner on child labor charges, and rescue Nepali minors for
repatriation. END COMMENT.

SIBLEY