ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846 The Intersection of Caste and Child Labour in Bihar KAVITA CHOWDHURY Kavita Chowdhury ([email protected]) is a journalist, and writes on development, politics, and gender. Vol. 55, Issue No. 4, 25 Jan, 2020 Bihar has the third-largest number of child labourers in the country. Although there have been numerous legislations and schemes to address the issue, they could not provide a lasting solution. The need of the hour is to look at the inextricable link between caste and the children who form the workforce, and to devise solutions accordingly. It is only 5 am, but Pinky and Neelu (names changed) are already engrossed in their regular football practice on the outskirts of Patna. The 16- and 17-year-old footballers from the Ravidassia Scheduled Caste community make it a point to practise two hours every day before they head to work in the fields. They spend gruelling seven to eight hours a day as agricultural labourers, along with their family members, to earn a subsistence wage. The teens are among a handful of girls from their village who play the sport. Juggling demanding farm work with football practice, they barely manage to make it to the school once or twice a month. The girls are under a constant fear that their names could be struck off the school register due to their absenteeism. But, they have no choice and cannot afford to stay away from work. Lamenting about their situation, Neelu says, “Our parents are landless farmers, and we need to work to pay off a steep rent. We cannot even afford nutritious food that we require as football players. So, we consume rice starch to manage our nutrition.” [1] The abject poverty experienced by Pinky and Neelu is not an isolated case, but a common ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846 feature among the households of SCs and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in Bihar. As per the 2011 Census, there are 43.53 lakh child labourers in India, and Bihar stands third in the country with 4.51 lakh children who are engaged in employment (HAQ: Centre for Child Rights 2013; Ministry of Labour and Employment 2011). Due to extreme poverty and discrimination, Dalit children in Bihar account for the largest section of child labourers in the state, and are among the most exploited as well. The 2011 Census points out that a staggering 51% of SCs and 56% of STs live below the poverty line in the state (World Bank Group 2016). The ingrained notions of impurity and untouchability in the state further complicate the everyday discrimination of the communities not just by the upper castes, but also by the non-SC/ST communities. This denies them the access to basic amenities and robs them of employment opportunities. The Dalit children who make it to government schools are also discriminated against, due to the deeply entrenched caste system. The Interplay of Child Labour and Caste The link between caste and occupation, which has been the case since time immemorial in the Indian society, finds its expression even among the child labourers in Bihar. A study jointly conducted by the Praxis Institute for Participatory Practices, Bihar, in collaboration with San Diego State University, United States, in 2018 in the state to understand the child labour issue reveals that SC/ST children are hand-picked to work as ragpickers, barbers, and cobblers, among other lowly jobs. On the other hand, non-SC/ST children are chosen to labour at parties and weddings, among other events because of the concept of “purity” peddled by those who believe in the caste system. The study titled "Victims without a Voice: Measuring Worst Forms of Child Labour in the Indian State of Bihar" categorically establishes the relationship between caste and occupation. It needs to be noted that the study was not conducted in rural Bihar, but in urban areas, so one can only imagine the grim reality in the rural areas of the state. Further, the study also finds that the probability of SC/ST children engaged in illegal and hazardous work is higher compared to those from other castes.[2] When pushed into working in these caste-based occupations, the discrimination faced by the marginalised children is of unimaginable proportion. Children of the Dom community, who traditionally cremate the dead, are not allowed to work in agriculture. As an unwritten rule, children of the Dom, Valmiki, and poorer Muslim communities are forced to work only as ragpickers. Children from the Musahar community, now recognised as Mahadalits, are never employed in houses as domestic helps. If they ever manage to work in roadside dhabas (food joints), they hide their caste. The stigma is due to the perceived belief of the non-SC employers that the presence of the marginalised could “contaminate” their surroundings. On the other hand, there is a large-scale migration of the children of Musahar, Pasi, ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846 Paswan, and Rajwar communities from Gaya to work in brick kilns in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The working conditions in brick kilns are miserable.[3] Fourteen-year-old Raju (name changed) works nine hours every day and up to 13 hours on the worst days in the brick kiln along with his brother. Usually, he works between 9 am and 6 pm, but not every day is the same. “On the days when I am not able to make bricks out of all the mud that is prepared, I will have to work beyond 6 pm. There are days when I worked till one in the night, and then, I had to come back to work again at nine in the morning the next day!” [4] Talking about the extreme form of ostracisation they are subjected to, agricultural labourer Aman (name changed) from Gaya, who belongs to Mahadalit or Majhi caste, says, “Hum neechi jaati ke hain, isiliye humein kharaab khana dete hai, gande barton mein dete hai (Because we belong to low castes, the landlord gives us bad quality food to eat and that too in dirty broken vessels).” Resigned to his fate, Aman adds that they have now “become used to being discriminated.” Even in terms of wages, Dalit children are underpaid. According to Aman, when they accept payment in grain instead of cash, there is a clear differential treatment. While workers from a Dalit village are given 10 kilograms of grain, workers of non-SC village get 15 kilograms of grain for the same amount of work. “Because we are Dalits, we are given more work to do than others and we are expected to do it without posing any questions. I need money, so I do it. I believe if I would have been literate my fate would not have been so bad,” laments Aman. When asked about the prevalence of caste-based occupations among child labourers, Shantha Sinha, eminent child rights activist and former chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, says: “There is certainly a correlation between Dalit children being stigmatised when it comes to serving of food. There is an element of untouchability in weddings or in Dhabas, etc. But the fundamental issue is that they should not be there in [such places] in the first place. The essential discrimination that the society practises is when children are kept out of school, that is a form of apartheid. That is the biggest divide, and children who are illiterate and have never been to school are marginalised and stigmatised against.” [5] Discrimination at School A majority of Dalit and Adivasi children in the state do not attend schools due to the extreme discrimination they face from teachers and fellow students. Although the Right to Education (RTE) Act mandates that every child below 14 years of age should be in school, the National Family Health Survey-4 reveals that as many as 55.7% of child labourers in the state stay ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846 away from education (Ministry of Health and Family Welfare 2017). A majority of these children are from Dalit and Adivasi communities. Although there are many reasons, the most common one cited by them is discrimination and a condescending attitude they face from both students and teachers in the government schools. Pinky recalls that she and her friends from the marginalised communities had been ordered to wash dishes and tiffin boxes by teachers until she lodged a complaint with the school principal. She also adds that she had swept the classroom, and had been forced to sit separately from other students. It does not matter whether they are in a working environment or in a school, they are constantly reminded of their caste. “Paani ka glass alag hota hai chhoti jaati ke liye (The drinking water glass is always separate for people from lower castes),” she adds. Parth (name changed), who works under a raajmistri (main mason) as a helper, says he faces discrimination not only from teachers, but also from non-SC students. He left the government school after he had a fight with his fellow students, who had forced him to sit on a broken desk in a corner of the classroom. When he stood defiant, a fight ensued, and he was forced to leave the school. Though he joined a private school for a year, he could not afford the fee in the long run, and soon dropped out. Despite knowing that his work on construction sites is marked with danger every day—having to climb several storeys on narrow scaffolding or newly built roofs with sacks on his back— he says he has no option, but to work.