Indian Journal of Dalit and Tribal Studies and Action, Vol.3, Issue 1, No.5 pp.80 to 92, April, 2018

Sambhu Sankar Deep

Abstract

Distress seasonal migration appears to be a reality in almost all states in India, although to varying degrees. Poverty and lack of work in villages forces entire families to migrate for several months every year in search of work merely to survive. Migrants comprise the most vulnerable sections of society and especially those belong to Dalits and Tribal groups. In the process of seasonal migration, poor people along with their children uprooted from their homes year after year. Families lose the benefits of state welfare, they forgo the facilities of the public distribution system in the villages, cannot access the public health system and the immunization drive for young children that take place during the migration season. A large proportion of migrant laborers do not have their entitlement papers like caste certificates, election cards, Ration cards, old age pension cards and deprived many welfare schemes. In the entire process, the lives of children are adversely affected. They are forced to drop out of school or never enroll in school at all. For children, the work environment means unusual harshness and deprivations. The present study is based on seasonal migration of laborers from the state of Odisha to Telangana for Brik Kiln work. Hence, the present study tries to build an informed understanding of the nature and patterns of seasonal migration to brick kilns sectors. The paper tried to focus on the difficulties that children face with schooling at brick kiln sites and the conditions under which children drop out of schools, as well as the response or lack of response of school systems for the right of migrant children to avail quality elementary education.

Introduction

Seasonal migration is a growing phenomena in India. “It is estimated that the number of internal migrants is four times higher than that of cross-border migrants” (Human Development Report, 2009). In rural area due to acute poverty and unavailability of work in their locality rural people seasonally migrate to different parts of the country in search of work merely to survive. One such classic case is seasonal migration of laborers for brick kiln work from the Western region of Odisha. The western part of Odisha is the most undeveloped area India, especially the undivided KBK¹ regions (Kalahandi, Balangir and Koraput Districts). In the process of migration laborers migrate to different states along with their children. Many studies suggest that temporary labour migration is a distress-driven strategy adopted by the poorest sections in the country (Breman, 1978; Deshingkar & Start, 2003; Haberfeld, Menaria, Sahoo, & Vyas, 1999; Keshri & Bhagat, 2012; Mosse, Gupta, & Shah, 2005; Rogaly, 1998; Rogaly et al., 2001).

Data and Method

The present paper is based on ethnographic field work carried out for long five months in the brick kiln sites of Annaram village (in the periphery of Hyderabad) in Medak district of Teleganga. Qualitative data has been collected through casual conversation, opportunistic interview, informal group discussion and participant observation with brick kiln laborers, children and other stakeholders engaged in brick kiln works. As the language of brick kiln laborers of western Odisha is Samblapuri data collected through audio recording have been transcribed and translated into English. After translation, the text of the transcription has been read out carefully and themes and sub-themes wise analysis has been done.

Process of Seasonal Migration

The season of migration starts after harvesting of paddy in the western Odisha but in many cases migration started in the month of October. The seasonal migrant labourers work in the different brick kiln sites from the month of October to June cycle when the brick kiln works operate all over India. The brick kilns work do not operate and close down after approaching of the monsoon. It is well documented that people of KBK region lived in chronic poverty, indebtedness. The main festival of western Odisha is ‘Nuakhi’ most of the year the festival happens in the month of September. During the period of ‘Nuakhai’ festival Sardar (labour contractor/middle man) move different villages and contact prospective seasonal migrant laborers and provide them some advanced money. Poor people do not have any alternative option to repay borrowed money as well to celebrate Nuakhai festival, in compulsion they received the advanced money from the Sardar. As brick making work is team work they pay advanced money family wise on per head basis. Once poor people receive advanced money they make a commitment to Sardar to migrate for brick kilns work. “Even though a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between Government of India (MoLE) and State Labour Department of Governments of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh with the facilitation of the ILO to track the movement of migrant workers along with information on their employers / contractors / agents etc”². But in practice no laborer registers their name due forced of Sardar and unawareness of laborers about the provision. Although some laborers know about registration only male head of the family register their name. However, the entire family (besides old, differently abled dependent person) comprising of husband, wife and children migrate to the brick kilns and work as one team for the whole season of the functioning kiln. The movement of labor migration starts in the month of October. Sardar takes laborers in general coach of trains more than thousands of kilometers. Journey of laborers in train is very pathetic and painful. Many times they get tortured by both police and local rowdy in different stations.

A Sardar in the brick kiln sites of Annaram village explained the process of seasonal migration in the following ways.

The brick kiln owners contact us in the month of August/September. We then visit village to village, door to door of the laborers and negotiate the deal with them. After that we pay advanced money to the laborers and we fix the date for their journey. Generally, we bring brick kilns laborers to Hyderabad by train in general coach. The train remains crowded at the time of supply of laborers to Hyderabad and other cities. The laborers just come as live luggage because there is no space at all in the bogies (General Coach). One cannot even go toilet. We pay money to police so they do not trouble to laborers. Traveling in train for brick laborers, women and girls are not safe. Young girls are frequently abducted and raped by the brick kiln owners as well as outsiders.

Reasons of Seasonal Migration

There are different socio-economic factors for which people of rural area migrate to different states for brick kiln work. Many of the studies indicates that the majority of rural laborers seasonally migrate in lean season due to low economic condition of family. Less land holding, less agricultural production, unemployment, underemployment and indebtedness are considered as major factors of seasonal migration of labourers to brick kiln work. Some of the broad reasons of seasonal migration to the brick kiln sectors discussed below:

Economic Factors:

In seasonal migration of labourers to the brick kiln sites, “it is considered the relevance of non-economic factors as the reason of labour migration but many studies indicate that migration is primarily motivated by economic factors” (Kainth, 2010,p.2).

(Kainth, 2010, Majumder & Mukherjee, 2011 & Bag, 2011) stated in their studies that “both pull as well as push factors are responsible distress seasonal migration of laborers”. Push factors are the factors which compel poor people, because of various reasons, to leave their native place and move to some other place. For example, low productivity, joblessness and underdevelopment, poor economic conditions, lack of opportunities for advancement, collapse of natural resources and natural disasters may force people to leave their native place in search of better financial opportunities. The Pull factors are those factors which motivate the migrants to a region, such as, inducement of more amount of advanced money by the middle men in the origin sites (village) and weekly expenditure provided by the brick kiln owner at the work sites and opportunities of employment of younger children etc. There is debate among the researchers that which factors is more important for migration. But in present ethnographic research it was found that push factors as important reasons for the seasonal migration of laborers to brick kiln sites.

Lack of livelihood option in the Origin area:

People migrate seasonally due to the lack of alternative livelihood options after the harvest of the monsoon yield from the western part of Odisha. As for agriculture in the western part of Odisha and especially in KBK region people depend upon monsoon/rain water for cultivation. But most of the year due drought in the last part of rainy season small farmer/cultivator could not able to produce the required amount of paddy for maintenance of their family, which gives rise to food insecurity and indebtedness. This compels the entire family to migrate in search of work merely to survive. Seasonal migrant families/labourers do not have any alternative choices and they take their children along with them to the brick kiln sites. Children accompany their parents and partially become drop out of schools for major periods of the academic session and are forced into hard labour. There are also numerous pull factors for distress seasonal migration, including the high seasonal demand for manual labour in labour intensive sectors like brick kiln works (Deep, 2017).

In the brick kiln sites of Annaram village brick kiln labourers stated different reasons of their own seasonal migration as well as migration of their children.

It is found that many brick kilns Labors migrate merely to survive. People in the origin area, they do not have sufficient food to survive, they live a very miserable life in their village. So they become compelled to migrate for brick kiln work as for the brick kiln work they get advanced money at a time advanced money. Gandaram Chinda, a laborer who had been migrating to different states to brick kiln sites since last 25 year said that they migrated for brick kiln work because of hunger. They were not getting food to survive and they become compelled to migrate. In the words of Gandaram; ‘Agee bhuke rahi jauthilu ar pindhbar lagi kapada bi nai milu nai thai’. ‘We lived in hunger for days and we were to get clothes to wear, so we are migrating fro brick kiln work every year’. Likewise a women laborers explained that, they migrated to brick kiln sites because they had borrowed money from the money lender for the marriage of their daughter. So to repay the borrowed money they received advanced money from sardar and migrated to brick kiln sites.

Failure of MGNREGA:

The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) which was launched on 7^th September 2005 by the Government of India, is a pivotal legislation in the area of social security after independence. The NREGS scheme latter on has been retitled as ‘Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). This was legislated in 2005 to provide minimum 100 days guaranteed wage employment in every monetary year to the rural families who want to do unskillful physical work that includes creation of productive assets in the village such as wells, tanks, ponds and roads etc. (Parida, 2016). Since NREGS was designed to provide a floor to income through creating village assets and restricting distress migration of the poor households. Despite some success, it has the has failed to captivate seasonal distress migration, especially in the western part of Odisha. Similar findings have been found by (Jacob, 2008) and stated that; “The Rural Employment Scheme” has made practically zero influence on the livelihood security of the rural poor, especially in the KBK region of Odisha. There is no control in the level of distress migration of Dalit, Adivasis and Socially and Educationally Backward Class (SEBC) from Odisha’s KBK region in search of livelihood in other parts of the country. The reasons of failures have been stated by seasonally migrant laborers in the following ways.

One laborers, Malaya Benipatria explained how the Mahatama Gandhi National Rural Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) failed to help them and they become compelled to seasonally migrate for the brick kiln work. The laborers stated that; ‘We work ‘Maat Bhua Kaam’ (MGNREGA) but our wage is paid very late. When we need the money most we don’t get that. That’s why we prefer to come for brick kiln work instead of working there in the village’.

As I inquired another person about the reason of their migration to brick kiln sites the laborers explained that; In the village there is availability of soil works in the village, but that is not beneficial for us. There is no certainty of wage there and that money is not sufficient to maintain a family. In the temptation of big amount of money at a time we migrate for brick kiln work. ( Milsi mati buha buhi kaam, hena nai pusaye, kete dine thare milba, paisa patar bi thik thak nai mile, mota paisar lagi palei asaba ke paduche).

Reason for Child Migration:

There are different reasons of child migration to the brick kiln sites. Sometime parents are responsible for migration of children and sometime children themselves are more or less responsible. In the majority of cases, parents have taken their children to the brick kiln site, and in some cases even if parents wanted to leave their children in their home or in their relative house, but some cases children stubborn and gnarled activities make their parents to take children to their work place or migration site. In the majority of cases, parents migrate along with their children because in brick kilns work parents desperately need the help of their children in different activities. Children also specifically migrate to take care their younger siblings, babies of their relatives and do household chores. So children migrate to brick kiln sites because of multifarious reason and laborers parents/relatives engaged children as multi task workers in the brick kiln sites.

During interaction with a laborer ‘Chadrabhanu Mallick’, he explained that they had brought their children to the brick kiln site because in their family there was no one to look after their children in the village. Likewise, another brick kiln laborer explained that; ‘we had taken the advanced money from Sardar for five people and we have shortage of working members, if we will not bring our children for brick kiln work who will help us. So in compulsion we brought our children to the brick kiln sites’. As brick kiln making work is team work many parents need help of their children desperately and they seasonally migrate for brick kiln along with their children.

The brick kiln work: Division of jobs in the Brick Kilns:

Life Experiences of Children

Children at the brick kiln site in one way or another participated in different works like making mud ball, drying raw bricks, flipping bricks, moulding bricks etc. Children not only work for their own parents but also work with their relatives. Many a times children only work to get some eatable things. On several occasions if children negate to work due to any difficulty or any reason their parents scold and shout upon them. Even if some children were participating at the school center, they were remaining busy with different household chores. Many of the children were taking care their own siblings as well as babies of their relatives. So the works of children in the brick kiln yards are multifarious and they were remaining busy with different sorts of work at different point of time. As a result children were deprived of of plays and lost their happiness of childhood period. At the brick kiln sites there was a high prevalence of alcoholism and drinking of local liquor and beers like Sidhi and Gudma. So from a very early age, many children become habituated to intoxicated drinking and that may affect their health negatively on their later life. The children as well as their parents were living in very pitiable condition at the small Gudsi³ and especially at the time of summer they were struggling to stay inside the Gudsi. Because of hard work not only children become tired and exhausted but they also experienced many health problems like fever, backache, chest pain, headache, difficulty in breathing, stomachache, skin ache, body rashes, bad cuts, small injuries and so on. They became tired and exhausted because of continuous hard work in very tender age. Due to unending work both day and night time children were deprived of sleep and suspire to have a sleep, but unfortunately they were unable to sleep. They also victimized of the vandalism and terror of the terror of the brick kiln owner. So the life of children at the brick kiln site was full of jinx and distasteful.

Educational Experinces of Children

Seasonally migrant children are among the utmost educationally marginalized in India. The fundamental right of children to get a quality elementary education under the Right to Education Act (RTE, Act, 2009) of seasonally migrant children to the brick kiln sites remains compromised, as seasonal and temporary migration results in distraction of regular and continued schooling of children, adversely affecting their human resource development and contributing to the inter-generational transmission of poverty (Deep, 2017).

Education and leisure are very rare at the brick kiln sites of Annaram village. Although an NGO was functioning there for childcare and education, it was able to do bare minimum, that also for name’s sake. There were no proper schooling facilities for the seasonal migrant brick kiln children in the Annaram village. Among children who were partially engaged in brick kiln work and participating in the schooling-centers, most children (60 percent) regularly attended the schooling-center and some children remained (40 percent) irregular or absent. In most cases, children were irregular and absent because of their participation in different works, and in very rare cases, children remained absent by their own choice. Some children not only remained absent from schooling-centers for many days, but did not attend them at all for the whole season. Such children were generally working as full-time labourers in brick kilns or were engaged in household chores the whole day. As seasonal migrant children remain absent from their regular school for seven to eight months, they forget whatever they studied earlier. In the brick kiln sites, many children, even forgot to write their name, irrespective of their classes studied. If children are unable to remember their name or the books of their classes, how could one expect them to remember whatever they have learned earlier. In the brick kiln sites, many children were not able to attend the schooling-centre. Even among the children who attended the schooling-centers, their learning outcome was very dismal. The learning level of children was unsatisfactory. It was observed that children of Class V, Class VI, or Class VII also did not know basic mathematics, numbers and multiplication tables (Learning multiplication tables in these classes is considered a must in the state of Odisha). Their language skills were also very poor; they were unable to write their name in their mother tongue. Many children forgot what they had learned and also developed confusion between similar letters and numbers. This could be due to the long absence from their reguar school in the village coupled with involvement with different varieties of work at brick kiln sites. The problem of low self-confidence was observed among the migrant children. Some children at the brick kiln site had known many things/ issues, but they had phobia in expressing due to low confidence level. They thought that if he or she will make any mistake, what the teacher will think or tell etc. Many children not attending schooling centers were interested in attending them but could not do so because of work. They were interested in study because they had studied in their village schools. Even if they wished to go to the schooling centers, their parents didn’t allow them to go. Such children were of the view that when they see children of their age group going to schooling-centers, they also become interested in attending schools. Children in the brick kiln site attend different work like making mud ball, drying bricks and flipping bricks. Even if children were interested in attending the NGO-run schooling center, they could not attend because their parents desperately need their help. Brick kiln work needs engagement of a team or a family. Hence, the labourer-parents needed their children helping hand, and many times prohibited them from attending schooling centers. In brick kiln site, parents give priority to work rather than to their children’s education. Due to frequent seasonal migration many school-going children had lost their interest in the study. Their interest got diverted due to frequent migration to the brick kiln site. Many children dropped-out of school and many children were on the verge of dropping out. Gender bias was observed at the brick kiln site among the labourers of western Odisha. Many labourers left their sons in their native village in the care of their relative, so that their sons could continue their education without any interruption. On the other hand, many brick kiln labourer-parents had intentionally brought their daughters to engage them in child care, household chores and also to do the brick kiln work. Many labourers were sending their sons to schooling-center while their daughters of the same age group were not sent. Through interaction with children at the brick kilns, I found that many children had less aspiration for study as well for job. Many children said that they will follow their parents footsteps and work at the brick kiln site. At the brick kiln site, I observed negative aspiration of some children. Due to large scale enrolment drive, many children in the age groups of 6-14 are enrolled in schools, their names are present in the school registers, but many children are unable to attend physically because of frequent seasonal migration. Seasonal migration of labourers starts in the months of October-November, labourers work (along with their children) almost 6 to 7 months in different brick kiln sites. As a result, the children could not attend the school for most of the academic session. Likewise seasonal migrating children were not able to appear in the annual examination of their schools. Generally school annual examinations are held in March-April, when children are in brick kiln sites. But because of the non-detention policy, children get promoted to the next higher class. The non-detention policy in elementary education reduces the (official) drop-out rate among the migrant children. However, some migrant children themselves feel that being promoted to higher classes is useless because learning is more important than promotion to higher classes. In the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan programme there is a provision for two school uniforms, textbooks for all girls, SC, ST and Below Poverty Line (BPL) category children (Ministry of Human Resource Development [MHRD], 2011). However, children at the brick kiln sites were deprived of all of these. Many children who were attending the schooling-center were of the view that the NGO’s functioning was not catering to the needs of school-going children. The NGO was mainly meant for child-care and not for schooling children. But most of children attending different schooling-centers were school-going children and they were not getting much benefit by attending there. Most of the volunteer-teachers were under-qualified to teach school-going children. In the brick kiln sites, the location of schooling-centers was very unhospitable. Schooling-centers were situated in unpleasant places. It is now globally recognised that punishment in any form or kind in school restricts the development of the full potential of children. However, I observed that many volunteer-teachers who were ignorant of the legislation on corporal punishment of children used to beat children. Many parents in the brick kiln site did not consider education as necessary for the future of their children. Many children who had migrated for the first time were interested in continuing study, but their parents were not considering education as necessary for the future development of their children and they were not interested in sending their children to school.

Conclusion

It could be concluded that, the condition of seasonally migrant children to the brick kiln sites are very deplorable. They lead a life of slavery in the brick kiln sites. Children remaining busy with different work, in the brick kiln sites and deprived of educational facilities. Many children working in the brick kiln sites were enrolled in their respective village school, but due to seasonal migration they were absent/ drop out of school for long 6 to 7 months. At the same time because of frequent seasonal migration many children become drop out of school before completing their elementary education. Not only children are deprived of educational facilities, but because of hard work at a very young age, they are prone to many health hazards and problems.

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2Labour Directorate, Government of Odisha. Signing of MoU with the Undivided Andhra Pradesh.