US embassy cable - 04CALCUTTA428

UNCLAS CALCUTTA 000428 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR DRL AND SA/INS 
STATE ALSO FOR G/TIP -SALLY NEUMANN AND MARK TAYLOR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB, PHUM, SOCI, KWMN, IN, Human Rights 
SUBJECT: NEPALESE MINORS RESCUED FROM A CIRCUS IN EASTERN INDIA 
 
REF: A) NEW DELHI 4452, B) NEW DELHI 4249 AND PREVIOUS 
 
 
1.  SUMMARY:  On October 6, the District Magistrate of Madhubani 
District in north Bihar handed over five minor Nepali girls to 
the Nepalese NGO Maiti Nepal.  The girls were rescued from a 
circus performing in the district.  This is the first instance 
in eastern India wherein an NGO, the state Labor Department and 
the district administration collaborated to intervene in order 
to rescue and repatriate minors, closing down the circus, and 
prosecuting the offender for violating child labor norms.  END 
SUMMARY 
 
2.  On October 6, the District Magistrate (DM) of Madhubani 
District, near the Nepal border in the eastern Indian state of 
Bihar, handed over five Nepalese minor girls to the NGO Maiti 
Nepal for rehabilitation.  A local NGO, Gram Vikas Parishad 
(GVP), had rescued the girls from a Kolkata-based circus holding 
shows in and around the district.  GVP had taken photographs and 
video taped around 12 minors performing in the circus and 
reported it to the district administration.  With the help of 
the local authorities and instructions from the Bihar Labor 
Commissioner, the circus premises were raided during an 
afternoon show.  While five minors (all less than 12 years of 
age) were rescued, seven others were whisked away in the crowd 
by the circus staff.  The girls were repatriated on the basis of 
their statements regarding place of origin, and that they were 
with the circus for 3-4 years, paid paltry sums, not allowed to 
meet their parents, and that they wanted to go home.  The state 
government notified the Nepalese Embassy in New Delhi who in 
turn informed Kathmandu and the DM/Police of the girls' area of 
origin and obtained their consent to having Maiti Nepal take 
charge of the children. 
 
3.  Legal proceedings have been initiated against the 
owner/manager for violations under the Indian Child/Bonded Labor 
Act and the Minimum Wages Act and the circus has been closed 
down.  However, no arrests were made because, the DM claimed, 
the offenses were bailable.  Madhubani is an extremely 
impoverished region ravaged by annual floods.  For this reason 
the DM was concerned that any stringent police action against 
the circus would have drawn public sympathy as small businesses 
had developed around it and the circus also had local political 
patronage.  The DM said that he was "determined" to pursue the 
two court cases filed against Mohammad Akbar Hussein, Western 
Circus, 50B Elliott Road, Kolkata.  The circus was able to get 
the first court closure notice vacated and reopened within ten 
days, but following a second more stringent order, at the behest 
of the DM, it closed and moved to an adjoining district.  GVP is 
keeping an eye on the circus and has been assured all assistance 
by the local authorities.  The group is also in touch with Maiti 
Nepal for updates regarding the rehabilitation of the rescued 
girls.  According to GVP, the state action was nudged along by 
P.M. Nair, formerly on deputation to the National Human Rights 
Commission, but now back in his cadre state of Bihar. 
 
4.  COMMENT:  Circus performances are extremely popular in 
Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa and elsewhere in India, particularly in 
the rural areas where there is a paucity of other entertainment. 
 Children are very much a part of these operations, largely 
drawn from poor families in Bengal and the southern states. 
They are brought up within the circus environment and trained 
practically from the cradle to perform tricky, dangerous and 
often life threatening feats.  (Reftels describe a previous case 
of child rescue from circuses.)  While West Bengal may have lost 
its penchant for the circus, its ruling left parties regularly 
organize high profile "melas," or festivals, in the cities and 
districts where children are also utilized to perform precarious 
acts.  A couple of state NGOs claim to be working to draw the 
administration's attention to this aberration and create 
awareness.  The Madhubani incident, however, is the first we 
have heard of in eastern India where an NGO, the state Labor 
Department, and the local administration worked together to 
directly intervene to close down the circus, file cases against 
the owner on child labor charges, and rescue Nepali minors for 
repatriation.  END COMMENT. 
 
SIBLEY