Syllabus
GS Paper 3 – Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security.
Context
The recent multi-state infant trafficking case in Telangana underscores the need to address underlying issues to prevent such crimes.
Source
The Hindu | Editorial dated 3rd June 2024
Nipped in the bud
Criminal activities such as baby smuggling are often driven by a mix of socio-economic factors, including poverty and unmet desires. A recent inter-state baby smuggling racket busted by the Telangana police has exposed child trafficking spanning several states, including Delhi, Pune, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana. This case sheds light on the alarming realities of human trafficking, urging a comprehensive approach to tackle the root causes and systemic issues facilitating such crimes.
Over the past year, 11 people were arrested for smuggling approximately 50 babies.
Reasons for Infant trafficking
- Poverty of Biological Parents: Biological parents, often in poverty, sell their newborns for a small sum.
- Lax Security in Hospitals: Newborns are smuggled from government hospitals where security is lax.
- Demand from Childless Couples: Couples eager to have children turn to illegal means due to long waiting times for legal adoption.
- Adoption Waiting Time: The current waiting time to adopt a child under two years can be between two to four years.
Consequences of Infant trafficking
- Physical Abuse and Neglect:
- Trafficked infants are highly susceptible to violence and exploitation.
- Deprivation of Basic Needs:
- Traffickers often prioritize profit over the well-being of their victims.
- Infants may be malnourished, denied adequate shelter, and withheld medical attention, even in cases of illness or injury.
- Increased Vulnerability to Exploitation:
- They may also be coerced or forced into prostitution, further jeopardizing their safety and well-being.
- Limited Educational Attainment:
- Trafficked children are rarely afforded the opportunity for education.
- This hinders their cognitive and social development, limiting their ability to acquire new skills and find decent employment as adults.
- Impaired Relationship Development:
- The trauma of trafficking can make it difficult for infants to form healthy,trusting attachments with others.
- They may struggle with intimacy and emotional vulnerability as they grow older.
- Chronic Health Issues:
- The stress and trauma of trafficking can have a lasting impact on a child’s physical and emotional health.
- They may be more susceptible to illness and experience a range of emotional problems, such as anxiety, depression, and self-harm.
Way Ahead
- Poverty Alleviation Schemes: Effective poverty alleviation schemes should be provided.
- Employment Opportunities: Create employment opportunities for the youth.
- Awareness about Adoption: Generate awareness about adoption schemes for both biological and adoptive parents.
- Streamline Adoption process in India : Remove unnecessary bureaucratic processes in adoption.
- Effective Policing: Ensure effective policing to prevent such plots in the future.
Conclusion
Addressing these issues requires a multifaceted approach involving poverty alleviation, improved employment opportunities, awareness and reform in adoption processes, and stringent law enforcement. Only through such comprehensive measures can we hope to prevent future occurrences and protect the rights and welfare of vulnerable children.
Related Topic
Article 23 – Prohibition of traffic in human beings and forced labour
Article 23(1): Traffic in human beings and the beggarand other similar forms of forced labour are prohibited and any contravention of this provision shall be an offence punishable in accordance with the law.
Article 23(2): Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from imposing compulsory service for public purposes, and in imposing such service the State shall not make any discrimination on grounds only of religion, race, caste or class or any of them.
- Exploitation implies the misuse of others’ services by force and/or labour without payment.
- The Article makes trafficking unconstitutional.
- Even though the Constitution does not explicitly ban ‘slavery’, Article 23 has a wide scope because of the inclusion of the terms ‘forced labour’ and ‘traffic’.
- Article 23 protects citizens not only against the State but also from private citizens.
- The State is obliged to protect citizens from these evils by taking punitive action against perpetrators of these acts (which are considered crimes), and also take positive actions to abolish these evils from society.
- Under Article 35 of the Constitution, the Parliament is authorized to enact laws to punish acts prohibited by Article 23.
- Clause 2 implies that compulsory services for public purposes (such as conscription to the armed forces) are not unconstitutional.
- Laws passed by the Parliament in pursuance of Article 23:
- Suppression of Immoral Traffic in Women and Girls Act, 1956
- Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976
References
Related PYQ
How illegal transborder migration does pose a threat to India’s security? Discuss the strategies to curb this, bring out the factors which give impetus to such migration. [ UPSC Civil Services Exam – Mains 2014]
Practice Question
“Criminal activities like baby smuggling are often driven by socio-economic factors”. Elucidate. [150 words]