THE SMALL HANDS OF SLAVERY Bonded Child Labor In India Human Rights Watch Children===s Rights Project Human Rights Watch/Asia Human Rights Watch New York $$$ Washington $$$ London $$$ Brussels Copyright 8 September 1996 by Human Rights Watch. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. ISBN 1-56432-172-X Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 96-77536 Cover photograph 8 December 1995 by Arvind Ganesan. A young girl working as a bonded laborer in the silk reeling process in Karnataka. All photographs in this report by Arvind Ganesan. Human Rights Watch Children=s Rights Project The Human Rights Watch Children=s Rights Project was established in 1994 to monitor and promote the human rights of children around the world. Lois Whitman is the director, Yodon Thonden is counsel, Lee Tucker, Rosa Ehrenreich, and Arvind Ganesan are consultants. Jane Green Schaller is chair of the Advisory Committee. Human Rights Watch/Asia Human Rights Watch/Asia was established in 1985 to monitor and promote the observance of internationally recognized human rights in Asia. Sidney Jones is the executive director; Mike Jendrzejczyk is the Washington director; Robin Munro is the Hong Kong director; Patricia Gossman is senior researcher; Jeannine Guthrie is NGO Liaison; Dinah PoKempner is counsel; Zunetta Liddell is research associate; Joyce Wan is Henry R. Luce Fellow; Paul Lall and Olga Nousias are associates; Mickey Spiegel is research consultant. Andrew J. Nathan is chair of the advisory committee and Orville Schell is vice chair. 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Hiltermann, Arms Project; Lois Whitman, Children=s Rights Project; and Dorothy Q. Thomas, Women=s Rights Project. The members of the board of directors are Robert L. Bernstein, chair; Adrian W. DeWind, vice chair; Roland Algrant, Lisa Anderson, William Carmichael, Dorothy Cullman, Gina Despres, Irene Diamond, Edith Everett, Jonathan Fanton, James C. Goodale, Jack Greenberg, Vartan Gregorian, Alice H. Henkin, Stephen L. Kass, Marina Pinto Kaufman, Bruce Klatsky, Harold Hongju Koh, Alexander MacGregor, Josh Mailman, Samuel K. Murumba, Andrew Nathan, Jane Olson, Peter Osnos, Kathleen Peratis, Bruce Rabb, Sigrid Rausing, Orville Schell, Sid Sheinberg, Gary G. Sick, Malcolm Smith, Domna Stanton, Nahid Toubia, Maureen White, and Rosalind C. Whitehead. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Human Rights Watch Children=s Rights Project and Human Rights Watch/Asia are indebted to numerous individuals and organizations for their valuable and generous assistance in the course of researching this report. We thank the following: Belgian journalists Rudi Rotthier and Marleen Daniels; Mike Dottridge of Anti-Slavery International; author and researcher Neera Burra; Joseph Gathia of the Centre of Concern for Child Labour; Hamida Habibullah of the Indian Council on Child Welfare; Shamshad Khan of the Centre for Rural Education and Development Action; J.P. Solomon of the Campaign Against Child Labour, Bangalore; Ratan Katyayni of Mukti Dhara Sansthan; U.R. Mohnot of Centre for Concern for Child Labour; Ossie Fernandes of the Human Rights Advocacy and Research Foundation; Felix Sugirtharaj of the Association for the Rural Poor; M. Siraj Sait, Advocate; Swami Agnivesh of the Bonded Labour Liberation Front; Colin Gonzalves, Advocate; Kiran Kamal Prasad of JEEVIKA; and Kailash Satyarthi of the South Asian Coalition Against Child Servitude. We also thank the many people who prefer, for reasons of their own well- being and that of their organizations, that their names not be mentioned. This list would be significantly longer than the list aboveCan unfortunate indicator of the volatility surrounding the issue of child labor in India. Finally, we thank and honor the many brave children who spoke with us, recounting their personal experiences of hardship and bondage. They made this report possible. This report was written by Lee Tucker, a consultant to Human Rights Watch, and is based on research conducted by Ms. Tucker and Arvind Ganesan, also a consultant to Human Rights Watch, from November 1995 through January 1996. Mr. Ganesan also provided additional research and contributed to the writing of Chapter V. Jeannine Guthrie, NGO Liaison for Human Rights Watch/Asia provided additional research assistance. The report was edited by Lois Whitman, director of the Human Rights Watch Children=s Rights Project, Patricia Gossman, senior researcher for Human Rights Watch/Asia, Sidney Jones, executive director of Human Rights Watch/Asia, and Michael McClintock, deputy program director of Human Rights Watch. Production assistance was provided by Paul Lall and Olga Nousias, Human Rights Watch/Asia associates. Shame upon such crimes! Shame upon us if we do not raise our voices against them! Samuel Gompers, U.S. labor activist, 1881 CONTENTS I. SUMMARY ......................................................................................................1 II. RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................8 III. THE CONTEXT OF BONDED CHILD LABOR........................................14 Overview of Bonded Child Labor ........................................................17 Factors Behind Bonded Child Labor: Poverty and Tradition...............20 ANimble Fingers,@ and Other Myths of Child Labor.............................22 IV. LEGAL CONTEXT .....................................................................................24 Applicable International Law...............................................................24 Applicable Domestic Law ....................................................................27 V. CHILDREN IN BONDAGE .........................................................................46 Beedi ....................................................................................................46 Silver ....................................................................................................62 Synthetic Gemstones ............................................................................69 Silk .......................................................................................................73 Leather .................................................................................................90 Agriculture ...........................................................................................95 Handwoven Wool Carpets..................................................................102 VI. THE ROLE OF THE INDIAN GOVERNMENT ......................................118 Government Policy, Programs, and Initiatives ...................................118 Failure of the Indian Government to Enforce the Law.......................130 VII. CONCLUSION: