Caste Discrimination against India's “Untouchables” - Human Rights ...

A number of factors make Dalit children especially vulnerable to the types and effects of
exploitative labor described above. For instance, migratory labor is especially pervasive
amongst Dalits, and children are often expected to work alongside their parents in day-labor
jobs. 371 Dalit children also perform bonded labor. Fourteen-year-old Ashish M. working in the
silk industry told Human Rights Watch that he could not leave his loom owner because he
was paying off an advance, which in two years he had reduced from Rs. 2,500 (U.S.$25) to
Rs. 475 (US$9.90). “The owner pays, but deducts for the advance,” he said. “He deducts
but won’t write off the whole advance…We only make enough to eat.” 372 Dalit children, and
girls in particular, are also exposed to the risks associated with manual scavenging both
because of the hereditary nature of the work, and because they often must step in to assist
their parents with their jobs. 373 The health risks for child manual scavengers are manifest
(see Section VIII(E)(1)(a)). Health risks are also endemic to the practice of devadasi which is
directed at the prostitution of Dalit girls (see Section V(B)(4)(b)).
While child labor laws (in particular the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986)
are generally not sufficiently enforced, Dalit children remain especially vulnerable to
bonded and other exploitative labor arrangements. The NHRC has found that, at least in
Andhra Pradesh, there is a lack of credible efforts by political leadership to ensure
exemplary punishment of employers who use child labor. 374 This lack of accountability
results from a number of factors, including the fact that upper-caste community members
dominate local political bodies, the police and the judiciary, bonded labor vigilance
committees, and child labor committees responsible for enforcing relevant laws. 375 Apathy
and corruption also contribute to a denial of the problem by many government officials. 376 In
some cases, the violations against Dalit children result from gaps in the law. For example,
Dalit children are forced to work in industries considered “polluting,” such as the leather
industry, which is outside the Act because the Act does not cover home-based work or
consider the leather industry hazardous. 377 Rehabilitation programs 378 accompanying the Act
371
“Economic, Social and Cultural Rights for Dalits in India: Case Study on Primary Education in Gujarat,” Woodrow Wilson School of
Public and International Affairs, p. 18.
372
Human Rights Watch, Small Change, p. 31. (citing Human Rights Watch interview with 14-year-old boy, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, March
13, 2002).
373
Human Rights Watch, Broken People, p. 148.
374
NHRC Report, Section VI, p. 125.
375
Human Rights Watch, Small Change, p. 42.
376
Ibid., p. 6.
377
NCDHR Response to the Special Rapporteur’s Questionnaire, p. 12. Domestic labor and restaurant jobs were recently banned under
the 1986 law, but predictably, a lack of implementation has made little difference. While a bill on providing benefits to unorganized labor,
89