Toiling away from home

This piece came in GRASSROOTS in Septemebr 2010 issue

Toiling away from home

The plight of Odia labourers in Andhra is sad. The story took a turn for worse when an Odia labourer was apparently beaten to death in an Andhra brick kiln…

PRADEEP BAISAKH, Odisha

Anjana and two sons attending the last rites of rupadhar bariha in village (Photo by Jatin Patra)

A migrant worker from Odisha Rupadhar Bariha, who was kept as bonded labour along with his family in a brick Kiln in Nalgonda district of Andhra Pradesh, was beaten to death by the owner of the kiln Jagan Seth. What was his fault? He wanted to go to his home in Solbandha village in Balangir district of Odisha!

Bariha , a tribal person, along with his wife Anjana and two minor sons went to Udaimal in Nalgonda district of Andhra Pradesh before 6 years through a local labour contractor Tapi Harijan. Hardly did they know that they were ushered to a place which would eventually prove to be a death trap for them. They were assured by the labour Sardar to be given some advance money and regular wages for making bricks in the work place, but were given literally nothing. In stead, they were kept in bondage for six long years in the work place. They were regularly harassed, scolded to the fullest without check and beaten whenever they wished to go back home.

About two months before the time of incidence, Bariha had somehow managed to come to his home place to meet his family members in Solabandha. That was for the first time in six years he could come to village. As Bariha came alone, the owner of the kiln was not too worried as Ms Anjana and two sons were still in the kiln. Benudhar returned to the kiln, but with a mobile so that he could get in touch with the family back in Odisha.

April/May is the time when the migrant workers return to their home state from Andhra Brick Kilns. When the rest of the labourers started gradually heading for their native place, Bariha and family also showed their willingness to go home. But this time it was too much for the owner; both the owner and his son started mercilessly beating Benudhar with stick. When wife Anjana and the elder son Omprakash protested, they were pushed aside. After beating him, he was taken to his hut and laid there. The wife offered him some tea but Benudhar could not swallow it. Sinu, the son of the owner shouted the labourers who were witnessing the incidence. As all left back to work, Sinu and four five of his goons guarded Benudhar. This happened at around 5 pm. While at around 12 night, Anjana came to see her husband, to her utter dismay Benudhar was found with his neck tied with an iron wire which is hanging from the roof of the hut. Anjana came out of the hut and started shouting for help; ambulance was summoned by the owner and later, death was confirmed.

Was it a case of suicide or a murder? Balangir based Lawyer Asish Chandan who studied the evidence from the legal eyes says it may not be an incidence of suicide as ascertained from the circumstantial evidences. The height of the roof if only five feet, and Benudhar was kneeling while found dead with his neck tied from the roof top. “A person of five and half feet cannot hang himself from a roof of five feet height!” And Anjana suspects the hands of Binu, the son of the owner and his goons in the death of her husband as they were the people who guarded Benudhar near his hut all through.

After the death, the police came for inquiry but did not interact with any of the family members of Benudhar. They only spoke to the owner and went away. Anjana wanted to take the dead body of her husband to Odisha, but the owner did not agree. He also was not willing to leave the rest of the family members to go back to their village in Odisha, though eventually budged. “Seth left us after so much of request. He took our signature a paper where something was written in Telugu language which we could not read.”

Back in home, Anjana and her two sons were given shelter by her in laws. Several media and civil society people came to meet the family and discussed matter with them. The wider family was too worried of the visit of several people and repeatedly discuss on something that had left indelible wounds in the hearts of the wife and sons of Benudhar.

Unwilling to take legal recourse:

Labourers at work in a brick kiln (Photo by Pradeep Baisakh)

 

Some civil society members based in the district wanted to take the mater to the legal forum and give justice to the bereaved family. But the family was unwilling to file a FIR near the Balangir police. Sunadhar Bariha, the elder brother of Benudhar says “we are landless labourers. Where do we get the money to fight a case against the mighty owners based in Hyderabad” How can we go there to fight our case?” Anjana looks at us with a plain look, “ I do not want to go to Hyderabad again”. Sanjay Mishra, a social activist and some local journalists intimated the matter to the Collector of the district Sailendra Narayan Dey who immediately sanctioned 10,000 rupees from Red Cross for the family and promised sanctioning the benefits under National Family Benefit Scheme and work under MGNREGA. The Collector also sent the Sub-Collector of Patnagarh division to meet the family and give assurance for full support if the Anjana makes a written complaint of what happened to her husband. But the family reportedly did not show any trust on the administration.

Difficulty fighting Inter state legal battle:

Jatin Patra of a local NGO, who fought one case for a group of migrant labourers before, says “our past experience suggests that fighting a legal battle of inter state nature is extremely difficult more so when it comes to doing it for these highly vulnerable people of Odisha pitted against the mighty kiln owners of Hyderabad where the case is to be fought.”

It is quite an irony that an aggrieved family does not want justice for the crime committed to them of this gravity; so high is their vulnerability and so weak is our justice system!

Lone Battle

This article was carried in Tehelka (web edition) in 24th April 2010 issue.

http://emagazine.tehelka.com/tehelkaenglish/24042010/ShowText.aspx?pageid=3

The content of the piece is not available in web; but I am providing here the one I sent to Tehelka.

LONE BATTLE

A poor Dalit girl from Orissa is served long-overdue justice with the conviction of her rapists after a drawn-out legal case

Pradeep Baisakh

 

Justice delayed but not denied for Sunita Deep (name changed), a poor dalit woman from Bolangir district of Odisha, who had been fighting a seven year long legal battle in Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court and Additional District and Sessions Judge Court in Ranga Reddy district of Andhra Pradesh against his rapist who was finally convicted for ten years of rigorous imprisonment. Thanks to the courage of Sunita, now married, who defied all restrictions imposed by her in laws and displayed the audacity to face the possible ostracisation of the society by travelling to the court in Andhra Pradesh to record her statement in camera. The language barrier (Sunita could speak odia language only, not english or telugu), the game plan of the defence lawyer to defer the dates of hearing and the visible apathy of the Public Prosecutor to argue the case for the victim proved futile before the determination of the Sunita accompanied by sustained endeavour of some social activists and organisations.

Sunita Deep, about 15 to16 years (as the medical examination report suggested) had gone in 2002 after Dussehra along with her parents and elder brother to work in the brick kiln in Kowkur area of Bharat Nagar in Ranga Reddy district by taking some advance money from a middleman. They, along with some people from their area, worked in the brick kiln of the accused Feroz Khan and brother Ayub Khan. In august 2003, by when all the labourers should have come back to their native after finishing their work, were instead kept in captivity by the owners by force. Three minor girls (one from dalit and other two from tribal communities) were allegedly regularly raped by the Khan brothers and a labour contractor Sanju Sagareya. Some of the captive labourers some how managed to flee and reported the issue back in their home district in Odisha. Local and national media carried the story, following which some social activists from Bolangir district rushed to Bharat Nagar and contacted a voluntary organisation-Action Aid for help. Matter was reported to the Cybderabad Police Commissionrate and the Alwal police released all 83 labourers along with the three rape victims, arrested the Khan brothers and sent them to Judicial custody. Case of rape, cases under SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989 and Bonded Labour (Abolition) Act 1976 were clamped by the police against the accused. Sources suggest, among the released was the mother of Pratima (name changed), one of the three rape victims, who had lost her mental balance due to inability to see the cruelty meted out to her daughter, 20 children, who were severely malnourished due to hard work and inadequate food intake and one differently-abled person.

Hearing of the case started after five years, toward the end of 2008. None of the girls initially were interested to go to give their statement before the court as all were married by then and had their own family and society. Only Sunita mustered the courage to go to Ranga Reddy district and record her statement. “I took high risk to go there and speak before the camera knowing fully well that if it comes to the knowledge of my in laws, they will simply throw me out of their home and my marriage might dissolve.” says Sunita. Hearing to all the parties- to the victim Sunita, to about a dozen of witness, key among whom are the elder brother of the Sunita, Sudhir Deep (name changed), Umi Daniel, Ms Soma Sundaray, both former staff of Action Aid and Jatin Patra, social activist and to the defence lawyer, Additional Dist and Sessions Judge Smt A Bharathi pronounced the judgment on 22nd January 2010 in favour of the victim. The owner of the kiln, Feroz Khan was found to be guilty of rape, wrongful restraint and criminal intimidation of Sunita under U/s 376, 341, & 506 of IPC and is convicted as per the provisions of U/s 235 (2) of CrPC and was handed down RI of ten years.

Not an easy victory

Traverse of justice in the case has not been smooth. “We got very scanty information about the place where all the people were kept bonded from the couple who escaped from there and came back to village. After reaching in Hyderabad, it took full three days to trace the exact location of the kiln” reminisces Jatin Patra who had gone there after reading the news papers in august 2003. Umi Daniel says “pushing such a case in other state where the victim physically does not stay is a very big challenge.” Sources suggest that even though the hearing of the case started toward the end of 2008, the witnesses did not receive any summons, though they were sent. The first summon they got was for the hearing in July 2009. The despatch of previous summons was suppressed somehow. The activists found it extremely difficult to convince victims and their in-laws to travel all the way to Andhra Pradesh for giving witness on such case which had become too irrelevant for them by then. The women were reluctant as such a move would rock the boat of their smooth married life. None of the women’ in laws however had any prior information of such happening nor was it disclosed to them during meeting by the activists. In final count, except Sunita, the other two victim women did not want to go and record statement; as a result the case became week. The younger Khan, Ayub, got scot free as he was sexually harassing Pratima who did not turn to give witness. In October 2009 when Sunita Deep and others arrived for giving witness, the date of hearing was deferred by six days due to some plea by the defence lawyer. These were some tricks adopted to discourage the victims and the witness. And finally, as Daniel points out “It was a clear case of bonded labour where these number of people were forced to stay in captivity; they were not paid their wages, not given sufficient food, physically beaten, treated cruelly, mentally and sexually harassed. But unfortunately the accused were not punished for this. Most of the people also belonged to SC and ST community. There also the accused were not convicted to have harassed people of these communities. So we have only one victory, not all”. Some felt that the Pubic Prosecutor should have done his home work more meticulously and could have given a tough fight in favour of the case.

High degree of vulnerability of the migrant workers

After the first incidence of rape, Sunita intimated to her uncle and aunt in the next morning, who were also working in the same kiln. Eventually the brother and father of Sunita came to know about it and tried to rescue her, but were beaten and Sunita was also beaten by the owners. Why are these people so helpless and vulnerable that they can do nothing when the daughter/ sister is raped right under their nose? Bolangir and other western Odisha districts constitute the part of ill famous KBK area of Odisha which is marked by high incidence of poverty and food insecurity. are highly backward. Western Odisha is characterised by regular drought which makes agriculture unsustainable. To cope up with low level of income and consequent food insecurity people form there, particularly from Bolangir district, have been seasonally migrating to Hyderabad to work in brick kilns for last about thirty five years. The transportation of labour takes place through an established system of middle men (Khatadars or Sradars). Yearly about 2 lakh labourers migrate to from Western Odisha to Andhra Pradesh to work in brick kilns (Action Aid 2005). Even tough Inter State Migrant Workmen’s Act 1979 provided for legal movement of these inter state workers, in reality most of these are illegally done. The system of advance payment makes them de facto bonded labourer to their employer. As there is no effective mechanism for their protection in foreign land they become vulnerable and exploited severally in terms of long working hours, less wage payment, physical and mental torture and finally sexual harassment. The language barrier also contributes its part to the vulnerability. Even through sexual abuse of young girls and women in the brick kilns in Andhra Pradesh is an open secret, the conviction in Sunita’s case is probably one case where justice has been done to the victim. Though there are many other reported and unreported cases of sexual abuse, some of which are captured in a documentary film “Wealth Amidst Dust” made by Action Aid International and American Foundation of India and directed by documentary film maker - ‘Vishy’, but the victims got no justice…

………….

The author is a Freelance Journalist from Bhubaneswar. He can be reached at 2006pradeep@gmail.com

1.5 Lakh people migrated out of Odisha district as MGNREGA fails to deliver

This piece was carried in Counter Currents on 2nd September 2010

http://www.countercurrents.org/baisakh020910.htm

and in Orissa Diary on 2nd September 2010
http://www.orissadiary.com/ShowOriyaColumn.asp?id=20948

1.5 Lakh people migrated out of Odisha district as MGNREGA fails to deliver

As in earlier years, this time around about 1.5 lakh people migrated out from Balangir district of Odisha to work in brick kilns in and around Hyderabad and Chennai and other places.

The data compiled by Migration Information and Resource Centre (MiRC), Aide et Action, a civil society organisation basing on the migration registers maintained in about 66 villages in three blocks (Muribahal, Tureikala and Belpada) in the district suggest that about 1.5 lakh people out of about 13 lakh population in the district migrated out of the state during November-December 2009 and January 2010 as they did not get enough of employment opportunities in the home place. Among the total migrating population, about 30 percent belong to scheduled caste (SCs) and 41 percent are scheduled tribe (STs) population.

People in Balangir district, mostly belonging to the landless category and the small and marginal families, have adopted the option of migrating out as a coping up mechanism to the high degree of food insecurity owing to lack of employment, bad show in agriculture due to continuous droughts, uneven land distribution, loss of forest so on and so forth. This form of migration is therefore mostly due to distressed condition in the villages. The form of migration takes place in a well established system of middlemen (called Sardars or Khatadars) who take advantage of the distress condition of the poor dalit and tribal people in the district and give them some advance money to the tune of 15-25 thousand rupees to work for about seven months in the brick kilns in other states. This advance money comes as a big allurement and also relief to the helpless families who tacitly agree to a semi-bondage condition under their employers. The people go there as brick makers, brick carriers and so on. The brick maker constitutes most part of labour in a brick kiln. The unit of labour as brick maker constitute generally two adult members and a child. Therefore the incidence of child labours in a brick kiln is by sheer design not by default. Both the adult and child labourers have to work about 14-16 hours in a day under very harsh conditions. They are provided with a small weekly allowance of 250-300 rupees which cover their food, clothe and health needs. They rice they eat are basically the chicken fodder. They are provided with the accommodations which are like chicken huts-worse than houses in the slums in a city. due to inadequate food intake, long hours of work, non availability of people medical attention, people and children often fall to various types of diseases. Targets of making 1.5 lakhs to 2 lakhs of brick moulding are set for them which they have to complete in seven months. Since the target is too high, the brick owners use all dirty means to extract maximum output from the labourers. More often than not the poor labourers are treated inhumanly and are harassed to any extent beyond imagination, which include both mental and physical torture. Toward the end of the season (season is from September/October to May/June in Hyderabad and from December/January to June/July in Chennai), if the labourers could not complete the task they are not allowed to go back home and are kept under forced captivity in the brick kilns under the vigilance of the hired goons. The unspoken misery of the people is witnessed in every season forcing some civil society organisations intervene to rescue them from the captivity of the brick owners.

MGNREGA which promises to provide 100 days of guaranteed employment to the rural households has pathetically failed in the district. Out of total of 2.4 lakh Job Card holders in the district only 60,000 households have been covered under MNREGA last financial year (2009-2010) (Data as on 14th April 2010 from www.nrega.nic.in ). This is only 25% coverage of the total. These numbers of families have got an average of 43 days of employment. In comparison to the total capacity of 100 days to 2.4 lakh families, it is only 11 percent utilisation of the full potential. This is as per the official figures. The real figure would be far less which may be exposed through social audits. This shows how abysmally MGNGREA has delivered in the district. Over and above this, the scheme has become meaningless owing to the delayed nature of payment. People in the district complained of receiving payment in two to three months time against the mandated 15 days period.

Apart from the failure of MGNREGA, other social security schemes have also faired very badly in the district as in other parts of the state. The uneven distribution of land has added to the misery of poor.

Rare show of success of MGNREGA:

Photo: Ugrasen Gaud purchased gold for daughter's marrige from wages of MGNREGA

On very rare occasions, due to the intervention of the civil society organisations, MGNREGA has brought some relief to a miniscule numbers of families. For example, in Tentulimunda village in Belpada block of Bolangir district, about 25 habitually migrant families stayed back as they availed work under the scheme. Similarly about 35 such families opted out to stay back in village and work under MGNREGA in Badbanki village under Tureikala block. Several children who used to migrate with their parents and lose their education also stayed back and continued their study in their respective villages. Some people have also made capital investment from income generated MGNREGA to make capital investment. For example, Ugrasen Gaud in Badbanki village who has completed 100 days of work under MGNREGA in 2009-10 financial year, has got about 15,000 rupees and purchased gold for his daughter's marriage and got bullocks for his agriculture. Similarly, Ms Kumari Nag has got some gold for herself from the income got under MGNREGA. About 17 families in the Badbanki village have completed 100 days of work quota. It has helped reducing migration in this Panchayat. But these are very rare instances. Two civil society organisations namely Adhikar and Sramik Shakti Sangathan have helped the people getting their entitlements under MGNREGA.

Time is ripe for the state and district administration to put all their efforts to make MGNREGA a success for reducing distressed migration and prevent people from facing all out harassment in other states.

[The writer is a social activists and senior editor of www.orissadiary.com, readers can contact him in his email id 2006pradeep@gmail.com and mobile no Mobile no: +91-9437112061]

Orissa's Wonder Women

This piece was carried in InfochangeIndia in January 2011 (http://infochangeindia.org/201101118667/Women/Stories-of-change/Orissa-s-wonder-women.html)

It was also carried in in Indus Vally Times in July 2010 issue and in Grassroots in January 2011


Orissa’s wonder women  

By Pradeep Baisakh

Orissa’s villages are beginning to see the benefits of committed women sarpanchs spearheading projects under the MGNREGS, and taking up problems and issues with government officials

There is a check dam in Laxmipur village, R Udayagir gram panchayat, in Orissa’s Gajapati district, which irrigates around 40 acres of land belonging to 70 small and marginal farmers. Premlata Raita, 48, the woman sarpanch of R Udayagir is the person responsible for the dam. Indeed, she has initiated several projects under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) aimed at enriching the life and livelihoods of the people in her panchayat. In the last financial year she spent a record Rs 80 lakh under the scheme, earning herself an award from the state government’s panchayati raj department.

A total of 139 families were given 100 days of work under the MGNREGS in R Udayagir. In this tribal-dominated panchayat, categorised as a scheduled area under the 5th Schedule of the Indian Constitution because of its overwhelmingly tribal population, the enhanced income from wages under the MGNREGS and indirectly, through better irrigation facilities, land development, roads and other infrastructure, has improved consumption patterns. Says Manjuri Paika, a woman activist and winner of the governor’s award: “Income from the MGNREGS has helped us spend more on the education of our children, agriculture, reaching out to our relatives in other villages, and on community functions that increase socialisation in the villages.”

Proper implementation of the employment guarantee scheme has also checked distress migration in the panchayat; seasoned migrant workers no longer have to seek work outside their village.

Premlata has a long list of schemes implemented in the panchayat over the last three years she has been in office. She has provided pucca houses to 400 families under the Indira Awas Yojana (IAY) and the ‘Mo Kudia’ scheme, revived the Gaon Kalyan Samiti (village health committee), improved sanitation facilities under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). People have also benefited from the ASHA scheme, and schools offer midday meals to their children. Premlata approaches the BDO and tehsildar for any problem that may crop up. How does this simple 9th-standard-pass woman muster up the courage to face senior officials like BDOs and tehsildars? Premlata explains: “Initially, I was afraid of these senior officials. But eventually the fear went, as I am here as a people’s representative and have to work for people. It’s my duty to articulate the village situation at every official meeting, as people trust and depend on me. The faith and confidence of people in me provides me the courage.”

Irrigation canal under MGNREGA undertaken by Premlata Raita

Premlata is a Christian and belongs to the scheduled tribes. Her husband Manika Raita works in a church, and they have a son. There was no indication of any form of ‘proxy’ power being enjoyed by male members of Premlata’s family.

Premlata was first elected a ward member in 1992; she became sarpanch in 2007. The long gap did not dampen her spirit. She ensures that the panchayat office is open on all work days. Peon Rama Goud says: “Even if madam has a fever she still comes to office.”

Premlata is one of several successful women PRI (panchayati raj institution) representatives Orissa has produced. The 73rd amendment of 1993, providing reservation for women at the grassroots level, has gone a long way in the empowerment of Indian women.

Observations from Orissa suggest that the journey involved several phases, starting with awe and fear at the inclusion of women in party politics, characterised by ‘proxy rule’ by male relatives of the female representatives and dominance of male members and senior officials in decision-making, etc. Litali Das, a social activist who works with women’s issues, cites some instances. “In 2009, in Nuapada district, some women sarpanchs in Boden block wanted to convene a gram sabha. But the BDO was not convinced. The ladies then showed him the Orissa panchayati raj manual that stipulates the mandatory holding of gram sabhas at least four times a year. The BDO capitulated.”

We are gradually seeing the realisation of the objectives of the 73rd amendment. The involvement of NGOs in generating awareness among women representatives has yielded results. Women are now able to participate in discussions and decision-making within the three-tier panchayat system. The first visible gain is, of course, the increased participation of women at village meets, not only in numbers but in the quality of their involvement.

Apart from becoming panchayat administrators, women representatives have also emerged as leaders, taking local issues up at higher levels. In one case, the Andhra Pradesh government was building a dam in the border area of Orissa’s Gajapati district. Three villages in Gangabada gram panchayat were scheduled to be submerged. Sarpanch Sumitra Sabar galvanised and led her community in launching a successful agitation and making it an inter-state issue. Her untiring efforts caught the attention of the powers-that-be; construction of the dam has since stopped.

In another instance, Sangeeta Nayak, sarpanch of Borda gram panchayat in Kalahandi district, mobilised around 3,000 people to block the collector’s path. They got a doctor appointed in the village primary health centre that had not seen a doctor for years. Similarly, Nayana Patra, a lady ward officer in Baruan gram panchayat in Dhenkanal district, has set an example in improving the education system in her village (the school dropout rate has since declined considerably), and in protecting local forests. Purnavasi Nayak of Damala gram panchayat, Gajapati district, has successfully set up market linkages for farmers in the area, vastly increasing their profits. In Bingharpur gram panchayat, Khurda district, under the leadership of Ruma Sahu, a lady ward officer, women are struggling to close down a liquor shop and have drawn the attention of the chief minister to the problem.

Minati Padhi of the Institute for Women’s Development (IWD), who has been guiding women representatives like Premlata Raita, says: “Our women representatives in panchayats are no less than Sonia Gandhi, Sheila Dixit or Mayawati in terms of performance and leadership. The experiences on the ground provide enough evidence about the efficiency of women in politics. Members of Parliament should pass the Women’s Reservation Bill in Parliament providing one-third reservation for women in central and state legislature.”

(Pradeep Baisakh is a freelance journalist based in Bhubaneswar)

Infochange News & Features, January 2011