Killing of Women and Trafficking of Children
- The seen and the unseen -

Amar Yumnam *

Two recent spates of events have shaken the psyche of the people of Manipur and reawaken their emotions. But the reactions of the people are rather wilful and misconceived rather than conscientious. These are going very little towards understanding the core issues, and rather sound like fatalistic.

On the contrary, the society can no longer postpone a critical re-examination of the path it is following. While the events are seen, we need to look for what is not seen. This is so because a solution to the seen is to be found in addressing what is not seen. I attempt my take on it today.

Character of the Events: The killings of women, and particularly their aftermaths, have meanings to do with the system of the state. The trafficking of children, on the other hand, has more to do with the social reality of living. As with the difference in the nature of the events, the interventions too need to be heterogeneous.

Killing of Women: The killings of women have naturally drawn the criticism it deserves from both the press and the general public. As said above, what now requires introspection is not just the act itself but rather the mob reaction after the events. While the media have reacted on the avoidable and despicable nature of the mob reactions, including two powerful editorials in this daily and in the vernacular daily of Ireibak, these, however, do not seem to have sunk into the public mind.

In every version of the events the mob always takes over in a clear evidence of wilful misconception and systemic misunderstanding. The killing and subsequent mob violence are seen, but the causes prompting them are not sought to be seen.

Now we should be examining as to how such a situation of wilful misconception and systemic misunderstanding has arisen. Without mincing words, we can say that it betrays the weaknesses of the justice delivery system in the land. The fundamental strength and systemic sustainability of a justice delivery system can be ensured only when the weak gets protected when encountered with the strong.

But quite unfortunately for all of us, the weak have all along been at the receiving end of violence with no sight of justice at the end of the day. This has been the case whether it relates to the behaviour of the state or the powerful private actors. The state has been behaving as above-the-law actor and outside the purview of the justice delivery system under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act for full three decades.

Well the prevalence of this scenario for thirty years cannot go in vain, and naturally has to impact upon the general ethos of the population. The condition has not been much different when it comes to the behavioural reflections of the judicial and quasi-judicial institutions in the State.

The public impression of these is that they are for the strong and never for the weak. This being so, it is always better to go for the kill in the first instance itself than waiting for the judicial system to deliver justice. Well an atmosphere for a full-grown mob culture is now complete.

Child Trafficking: In recent years we are increasingly witnessing the phenomenon of child trafficking camouflaged as rehabilitation. While this is seen, we are yet to see why this phenomenon has arisen in a traditionally highly coordinated society.

A little scratch into the not seen push factor of child trafficking would reveal the simmering poverty scenario of the land. Historically Manipur has not been an income-rich land. But there was not much consumption-poverty as care on this front was taken by the products of the primary sector of the land. This social security does not exist any longer while the relative size of the primary sector itself is shrinking simultaneously.

The capability of the relational-security, which was there in the past, has also collapsed because of the increasing livelihood costs associated with a modernising economy. On the other hand, the modern sector has not been growing with any capability to ensure absence of at least income poverty in the land. All these manifestations are occurring within the time-span of a generation. Now in Manipur, we find the twin phenomenon of income and consumption poverty.

These are most worrying times for the parents. While little opportunities exist for their escape from both income and consumption poverty, they would not like the same fate befalling their own offspring. This is a congenial atmosphere for social sharks camouflaged as child welfare workers to hunt for the easy targets for exploitation of children.

The parental concerns for the future of their children are easily exploitable emotions for these crooks, and particularly so as Manipur does not have a social history of child abuse and trafficking unlike in the larger States of the country.

The Needed Interventions: Now that the not seen too have been identified, we should be looking into the remedies to these social maladies. As regards the justice delivery system, what we need today is a major commitment of the state to cleanse the system and see to it that the weak are ensured of justice particularly when facing the mighty.

Regarding the child trafficking mess, we now find that the various child welfare and social protection schemes have failed to deliver. This being so, we need to completely reassess the functioning of the various welfare schemes and identify the weaknesses for correction. While doing so, we also need to also point out the additional interventions required to finally put an end to child trafficking.

As Kofi Annan says: "There is no trust more sacred than the one the world holds with children. There is no duty more important than ensuring that their rights are respected, that their welfare is protected, that their lives are free from fear and want, and that they can grow up in peace."

And one final word. Child caring has nothing to do with the Assam Rifles or vice versa.