As time moves on and we incorporate as well as assimilate all the influences of modernization into our lives, we often claim with an air of pride that we are Civilized & Cultured. But this conviction of ours is shattered when we get to read the horrifying tales of human trafficking that are rampant on the Indo-Nepal border. Everyday humanity is crushed at the hands of some savage, fiendish, uncivilized criminals through the many incidents of human trafficking at the Indo-Nepal border and this indeed makes us think - Are we really civilized? Can we really call ourselves cultured? Or do we still retain in us some savage caveman traits that are hard to break?
The tragic case of Radha: Trafficked at Indo-Nepal Border
Media updates show that human trafficking has become one of the fastest flourishing industry, plus a highly lucrative trade on the Indo-Nepal border. A month back we came across the tragic story of Radha who is by birth a Nepalese but is a ‘cast away’ in her own homeland or birth place. The reason is she has no document for proving her Nepali citizenship. 10 years ago she was trafficked to a circus troupe in India; there she married a fellow male companion of the troupe who was an Indian. Her husband passed away and that too without making any arrangements for Radha to get an Indian citizenship. Furthermore there is not a single legal document or any other proof to prove that she had ever married.
Radha who is now 22 years of age is left with two children, and is struggling to get an identity. She has returned to her homeland Nepal but is not counted as a Nepali. Without the citizenship ID, she just cannot start her life afresh; neither can she try for a job nor can she enrol herself in a school. Also she needs the ID for opening a bank account or for getting the birth certificate registration of her children.
Radha is a victim of human trafficking on the Indo-Nepal border who now has no hope of a normal future, neither for herself, nor for her young kids. This is not Radha’s plight alone; there are many like
her who go through the same kind of hell-fire across the borders; their stories lost in time.
Are there other such cases too?
Take for example the pathetic case of Nayantara that occurred in the year 2012. A clever labour broker in Nepal duped her into believing that she would get a profitable job in Lebanon as a domestic worker but actually sold her to a brothel owner in India. There she was forced to ‘entertain’ a minimum of 35 customers per day and in case she refused, she was beaten up with an iron rod. After moving from one brothel to another; i.e. passing out from the hands of one owner to another, she is at last back to her homeland Nepal, shocked and traumatized.
There are many other such stories, a new one every single day in India. These women have been abused over and over, and for them there is no future in sight even though they might be back in their home country now.
Why human trafficking finds a good market in India?
Human trafficking is rampant in India because it finds a good market here, thanks to the male-dominated social setting of India which encourages human trafficking. Specifically, it is the flesh trade or forced prostitution type of trafficking that finds the biggest market in our country.
Another reason for the increase in human trafficking India is that our country is bordered by many other countries like - Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Bhutan, Burma, China and Afghanistan. It’s very easy to quickly transport or shift the trafficked lot to the other parts of the world especially to the Arabian countries and counties like UK, US, Russia etc and get a handsome monetary reward in return.
Furthermore another significant reason for human trafficking to find a good market in India is that even though we have completed 60 years of our Independence, extreme poverty still prevails in the marginalized strata of our society where people are living below poverty line. Tormented by extreme hunger and poverty, the children and women of the slums of India become extreme vulnerable to trafficking because they want to buy hope that they will find work and better quality by taking up new job opportunities, even if far away.
Male psychographic behind the trafficking trade
When it comes to human trafficking, the psychology of men in India is the root of all problems. They feel that when the society is in their favour and they have nothing to fear and can thus overpower a woman or even an innocent child with all sorts of horrible crimes possible. Society will anyway sweep it under carpet, hide all evidences and safeguard them.
How can then we hope to bring an end to this shameless act of human trafficking?
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