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AGD

Manipur, a state in India’s North-East remains under in ternal strife. The state was an independent monarchy till it was subdued by the British in 1891. Later it acceded to the Indian dominion in 1949, and subsequently merged with it. Meiteis occupy only 10% of the land, even though they constitute 60% of the total population. Kukis, Nagas, an umbrella of several small tribes the Zous constitute 50% of the population and occupy the remaining 90% of the total land area of Manipur. Meiteis are of the same racial origin Tibeto-Burmans, as the Naga, Mizo, Bodo and Garo Tribes. Since the Meiteis adopted Vaishnavism they have lost their claim to indigenous tribe, and are considered non-tribal by the Union Government of India. Hills in Manipur are occupied mainly by Nagas and Kukis, and the Meiteis cannot own or purchase land in the hilly areas of Manipur. Sovereign rights have been violated by the Indian state. Manipur witnessed a series of ‘bandhs’ since December 2012, when a Naga NSCN(IM) leader allegedly molested a Meitei actress, after a concert in Chandel. Subsequently, miscreants posing as Meitei militants tried to molest some Naga girls in Senapati district. Students in Manipur are shifting to New Delhi and Bangalore for higher studies.

Bricks Kilns in Bhilwara
Workers in the brick kilns of Bhilwara (Rajasthan) are generally migrants from Godda district of Jharkhand, Banka in Bihar and Chitrakoot in Uttar Pradesh. At the 89 kilns in Mandal and Asindh blocks, most households with two-three adults earned Rs 42,000 after working 12 to 14 hours a day, for 220 days a year, i.e. Rs 77 to Rs 90 per day, much less than the minimum wages of Rs 155. A majority of the workers have drawn advance of Rs 12000 to Rs 18000 from the kiln owners. One-third of the workers failed to pay back the advance owing to low wages, and ended up with a negative earnings balance, locally called ‘tuth’. Workers are owing ‘tuth’ over Rs 12,000 on an average to kiln owners and middlemen. 155 house-holds in 24 kilns are in bonded debt to kiln-owners. The labourers have applied to the District Collector, Bhilwara district for Rehabilitation under the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act 1976. Around 75 children work in each kiln, with over 4300 children in the kilns at Mandal, with no access to schools or anganwadis. Less than a quarter of the workers at the kilns possess ration cards, and barely half retain MNREGA cards. Workers have less than 20 days work, annually, under MNREGA scheme.

At December 2012 end, over 800 workers’ families in Bhilwara were attacked, when they struck work for three days, demanding minimum wages at brick kilns. The workers had demanded water and fuel at the kilns, and an increase in wages from Rs 250 to Rs 300 per 1000 bricks to Rs 400 per 1000 bricks. Demonstration (‘juloos’) by the workers were attacked by hired goons, carrying iron rods. Workers had to hide in the offices of the Rajasthan Pradesh Eent Bhatta Mazdor Union (RPEBMU), and police initially did not register any FIRs from the workers. Subsequently, police, district officials, and labour officials, organized a meeting with kiln owners, and negotiated a hike of 33% in the piece rate wages for workers. Every worker’s family will get an additional Rs 20,000 a year.

Migrant Labour in Thailand
Migrant labour accounts for more than 10% of Thailand’s 33 million strong workforce. Since the second half of December 2012, Thailand has been deporting millions of illegal migrants. A government deadline for acquiring work permits expired in mid-Dec 2012. Two million of Thailand’s estimated three million to four million migrant workers, most of them from Myanmar face deportation. Migrant workers who work in Thailand illegally, are required to travel back to their countries. They can only return through legal channels. In the absence of a coherent and long term policy on labour migration based on labour market needs, the International Labour Organization has expressed concern over Thailand’s decision to deport millions of illegal migrants. Given Thailand’s growing labour shortage, mass deportation is affecting export-reliant industries.

Battlefield Crimes in Colombia
In 2006, the Colombian authorities had decided that civilian, rather than military, prosecutors should investigate reported battlefield casualties, where army officers were reportedly increasing the body count in their  war against leftist guerillas, by murdering civilians and dressing them up as rebels killed in combat. Legal uncertainty is overshadowing the operations, with more than 12,000 military personnel involved in legal proceedings. 4990 cases are in the attorney general’s office, of which 1700 concern alleged ‘‘false positives’’. President Juan Manuel Santo’s government has obtained Senate approval in December 2012, for making offences committed by soldiers subject to court-martial, but leaves crimes against humanity, extrajudicial executions and the like for civilian courts. The amendment will provide military judges and prosecutors more independence and more resources. Human-rights groups fear that human-rights protections could be severely weakened and the army obtain impunity for cold blooded killings and other military abuses.

Northern Ireland

Frontier
Vol. 45, No. 32, February 17-23, 2013

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