Human Trafficking in Vulnerable Districts of Himachal Pradesh

State Report

A Study on Human Trafficking in Vulnerable Districts in India

Tata Institute of Social Sciences
Mumbai
2019
 CONTRIBUTORS

Dr. P.M. Nair, Project Director Data Collection Team -

Prof. Vijay Raghavan, Principal Researcher Research Officers
Dr. Ruchi Sinha, Co-Principal Researcher Mr. Aditya Pandey
Dr. Sharon Menezes, Co-Principal Researcher Dr. Aqsa Agha
Dr. Rimple Mehta, Lead Researcher Mr. Bhaskar Raj
Dr. Priyanka Dixit, Quantitative Research Expert Mr. Danish Ali
Mr. Jaffer Latief Najar, Ex-Lead Research Ms. Garima Pundir
Associate Dr. Jayarajan
Mr. Kulajit Maisnam
Report Writing Team Ms. Mansi Dhingra
Mr. Nawazish Kazmi
Qualitative Dr. Neha
Ms. Sharli Mudaliyar Ms. Nileema Ambekar
Dr. Tejeswar Karkora Ms. Niyati Mishra
Dr. Neha Ms. Padmini V.
Dr. Suchitra Wagle Ms. Ronnie Nido
Mr. Andrew deSouza Ms. Sharli Mudaliyar
Ms. Usha Gopinath Ms. Sheetal Devasthali
Ms. Shriti Munshi
Quantitative Mr. Suryakant Phadke
Mr. Manish Kumar Mr. Syed Mazahir Husain
Mr. Praful Kamble Mr. Tabish Jung
Ms. Barshana Goswami Dr. Tejeswar Karkora
Mr. Mohammad Sajid
Mr. Manideep Govindu
Project Assistant
Crime Data Ms. Pratiksha Singh
Ms. Saie Shetye

Maps Senior Research Consultant

Mr. Arif Sultan Dr. Mahima Nayar
Ms Debasmita Majumder
Ms. Chanda Maurya
Ms. Pratishtha Chaudhary
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The National Research Study on Human Trafficking in India was conceptualised in

2014. We are grateful to National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) for accepting
our request to Chair the Steering Committee of this project. We are thankful to
Hon’ble Justice Cyriac Joseph, former Member, NHRC, for guiding us and
motivating us to take this mission forward. We are also grateful to Shri J.S. Kochhar,
Jt. Secretary, and Dr. Savita Bhakhry, former Jt. Director (Research) for their support
and cooperation on this project.

The National Commission for Women (NCW) provided financial support for carrying
out fieldwork and an in-depth study in the three states of Bihar, Jharkhand, and West
Bengal. We are grateful to NCW for their support. We are especially thankful to the
former Chairperson, Hon’ble Ms. Lalitha Kumaramangalam, and the current
Chairperson, Hon’ble Ms. Rekha Sharma, for their support extended to this project.
We are grateful to Dr. Satbir Kaur, former Member Secretary, Ms. Meenakshi Gupta,
currently Member Secretary, Shri V.V.B. Raju, former Deputy Secretary, Ms. Richa
Sharma, former Sr. Research Officer, and Ms. Loma Vasisht, currently Sr. Research
Officer, for their support and cooperation.

We extend our special thanks to Ms. Smriti Irani, Hon’ble Minister, Ministry of
Women and Child Development, GOI, and Ms. Maneka Gandhi former Hon’ble
Minister, Ministry of Women and Child Development, GOI, under whose overall
direction and guidance, the Ministry took the decision to support such an important
area of study. We are also grateful to Ms Supriya Saxena, Ms Santosh and Mr Sudesh
Kumar from the MWCD for their support and cooperation in this project. The
MWCD provided support for carrying out fieldwork in 6 states.

The study became possible through the support of UNODC and UNWOMEN. Their
support enabled us to draft a strong methodology for the study and prepare the tools
to execute the same. We thank Dr. Anju Pandey and Mr Jeevan Kanakkaserry from
UN Women; and Dr. Suruchi Pant and Ms. Swasti Rana from UNODC, for their
support to this project.

i
We are grateful to Tata Trusts for their financial support to carry out fieldwork and
data analysis in the 20 states and 3 Union Territories. Ms Lovina Vaz, Ms Shivani
Lal, Mr Abhijeet Nirmal, Ms Shireen Vakil have contributed tremendously to ensure
the completion of this mammoth task we had undertaken.

The report is based on the household level survey conducted with families at the
village level in the chosen districts in each of the states. We thank all the households
involved for participating in the survey, interviews and focus group discussions. The
research is also the outcome of in-depth interviews conducted by the TISS research
team with several public, NGO, and government officials; and with grassroots
organizations, activists, survivors, traffickers, advocates, and judges. A number of
case studies were developed, through a meticulous process of in-depth interviews
with the concerned stakeholders during the field work. We thank each and every
individual and organisation for taking out their valuable time in patiently responding
to the questions posed to them during our interviews and for providing useful insights
for selecting blocks and villages for primary data collection.

The idea of a national research on this topic of importance was conceived by Dr PM

Nair, Chair Professor, TISS, and supported by Professor Parasuraman, former
Director, TISS, as a sequel to the earlier national study on this issue done in 2002-
2004, by the NHRC.

At TISS, the study was commissioned with Dr PM Nair as the National Project
Director, Professor Vijay Raghavan (Principal Researcher), Dr. Ruchi Sinha (Co-
Principal Researcher), Dr. Sharon Menezes (Co-Principal Researcher), Dr. Rimple
Mehta (Lead Researcher), Dr. Priyanka Dixit (Quantitative Research Expert), and Mr.
Jaffer Latief Najar (Lead Research Associate till August 2017), who have made
extraordinary efforts to make this research possible. I am grateful to Dr. Roshni
Nair-Sheikh for volunteering to review some of the reports. This research is the
outcome of the hard work of the team. I am thankful to them for making this project
possible.

The TISS team also included Research Officers, Mr. Danish Ali, Mr. Bhaskar Raj,
Mr. Nawazish Kazmi, Dr. Aqsa Agha, Dr. Neha, Ms. Garima Pundir, Ms. Sheetal
Devasthali, Ms. Nileema Ambekar, Mr. Aditya Pandey, Ms. Mansi Dhingra, Mr.

ii
Syed Mazahir Husain, Dr. Tejeswar Karkora, Ms. Sharli Mudaliyar, Ms. Ronnie
Nido, Ms. Padmini V., Mr. Tabish Jung, Ms. Shriti Munshi, Dr. Jayarajan, Mr.
Kulajit Maisnam, Mr. Suryakant Phadke, and Ms. Niyati Mishra. They travelled
extensively to the different states, and covered some of the most remote, sensitive and
conflict-affected areas to collect the data required for the project from various
agencies, including government offices. I also thank the Research Investigators (RIs)
who helped the Research Officers in each state to collect data at the village and
district level. They were mobilized from the local Universities, NGOs and academics.

I would like to thank the report writing team, comprising of Research Officers Ms.
Sharli Mudaliyar, Dr. Tejeswar Karkora, Dr. Neha, Dr. Suchitra Wagle, and Mr.
Andrew deSouza, who contributed to the interpretation and analysis of the qualitative
data and integrated it with the quantitative data. Ms. Usha Gopinath (Documentation
Officer), Dr. Mahima Nayar, Sr. Research Consultant also contributed to the report
writing and editing process. Ms. Saie Shetye, Ph.D. Scholar, TISS, has painstakingly
gone through, analysed, and interpreted the crime data collected by the research team.

I would also like to extend my thanks to Mr. Manish Kumar, Mr. Praful Kamble, Ms.
Barshana Goswami, Mr. Mohammad Sajid, and Mr. Manideep Govindu. They
constituted the team of Data Analysts who organised and prepared codes for the
household survey forms, and also worked closely with Sigma-India to carry out the
analysis of the available quantitative data. I am thankful to Mr. Arif Sultan, Ms
Debasmita Majumder, Ms. Chanda Maurya, and Ms. Pratishtha Chaudhary for
preparing the maps for all the states. Ms. Sangeeta Basumatry, Ph.D. student, TISS
and Ms Srija Brahmachary, Ph.D student, TISS, volunteered and helped with research
at different stages. My thanks to them as well.

My sincere thanks to Ms. Pratiksha Singh, Project Assistant, TISS, and the Finance
and Accounts Section, especially Ms. Indira Pasupathy, Dy. Registrar, Ms. Joycie
Dias, Assistant Registrar, and Ms. Rajee Menon, formerly Officer on Special Duty,
TISS, as well as Major General Anil Dere, Officer on Special Duty, TISS for their
support in financial matters; Mr. Shahaji Chavan, Administrative Officer, and Mr.
Balamurugan, Dy. Registrar (Personnel and Administration), TISS, for their support
in all finance, personnel and administration related matters; and Dr. Mohan Kumar,
Registrar, TISS, for his overall guidance and supervision in all financial and

iii
administrative matters related to this project. I extend my gratitude to Professor
Surinder Jaswal, Deputy Director (Research), TISS for her advice and guidance
during the research process.

Shalini Bharat
Director

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 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1. Brief Introduction to the State

According to the 2011 Census, the state of Himachal Pradesh houses a population of
68.65 lakh, with a low population density of 123 persons per sq km. There are 972
females per 1000 males, with the literacy rate witnessing an upward movement,
where about 82.80 per cent of the state’s population has been classified as literate.
About 93 per cent of the people depend on agriculture for their livelihood and this
sector contributes over 45 per cent to the Net State Domestic Product (NSDP), while
the other sources of income include hydroelectric power projects, tourism,
horticulture, and service industries. The villages are well connected with roads and
highways and have good access to public health centres and educational institutions.
However, a lack of sustainable livelihood options in the hilly regions drives people to
migrate towards the slopes or temperate areas for work.

2. Methodology

This study used a combination of both quantitative and qualitative techniques to

gather information on human trafficking in the state and arrive at various inferences.
Based on parameters of vulnerability and suggestions from key informants, Shimla,
Solan, Sirmaur, Kullu, and Chamba were chosen as the districts where primary
research would be carried out. Research methods such as semi-structured interviews,
focused group discussions (FGDs), case studies, and the Household (HH) survey
were employed to conduct the study.

Number of Districts 5
Number of Villages/Slums/Panchayats 57
Blocks/Slums 22
Number of Households 1,161 (Rural: 1,105 and Urban: 56)
Number of Members in These 6,921 (Male: 3,578; Female: 3,328;
Households Transgender: 15

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3. Mapping the Vulnerabilities and Migration Patterns: Socio-economic and
Political Context

3.1 Community-Based Vulnerabilities

The vulnerability of an individual is determined by both their macro and micro

environments. Communities characterised by poverty, backwardness, lack of
livelihoods, and education are susceptible to the risk of exploitation. In Himachal
Pradesh, the lack of access to basic amenities like colleges, markets, police stations,
and skill development centres, coupled with instances of discriminatory practices and
social issues like child labour, debt bondage, child marriage, drug abuse, domestic
violence and alcoholism, among others, impedes the development of the local
communities and renders them vulnerable. Mapping shifts in the incidence of child
labour across districts of Himachal Pradesh revealed that there has been a significant
increase in child labour in both rural and urban districts. Despite the improving
literacy rate of the state, Himachal Pradesh still harbours the highest number of
literate child labourers. Moreover, the trends show that there has been a significant
increase in child labour from 2001 to 2011.

3.2 Household Based Vulnerabilities

i. Economic vulnerability: Of the 2,322 households surveyed, 44 per cent could

be classified as poor by the Rangarajan Committee standards; while 72 per cent
could be classified as poor according to the World Bank standards.

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 ii. Awareness about government schemes was low, especially in the case of the
Pension Scheme and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.

iii. About 46 per cent of surveyed households lived in a kutcha house and about 70
per cent owned their houses. While 10 per cent of the people were landless,
among the landholders, 47 per cent had less than 2 acres of land.

iv. BPL ration card was held by 25 per cent of households surveyed

v. Of a total of 1,161 households, 56 per cent held Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) cards and from these, about 71
per cent had worked under the scheme in the last 365 days. However, it was the
case that for 54 per cent of the respondents, the card was in the possession of a
family member.

vi. Of the 459 detailed responses received for MGNREGS employment and wages,
only 9 per cent reported having worked for more than 100 days in the last year.
Of these, 7 per cent of respondents received less than INR 5,000 for the work
done.

3.3. Individual Vulnerabilities

Gender (%) Male 51.7

Female 48.1
Transgender 0.2
Category (%) General 47.8
Scheduled Caste (SC) 32.8
Scheduled Tribe (ST) 10.6
Other Backward Classes 6.5
(OBC)
Others 1.5
First marriage under legal age (%) Female 37.8
(18 years for female; 21 years for
Male 40.1
male)

i. Educational status was also seen to be poor, with 6.3 per cent of 6-14-year-
olds and 8.2 per cent of 15- 25-year olds having never attended school.

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 ii. Cultivation was seen as the source of employment for 19 per cent of
respondents, with 3 per cent also involved in agricultural wage labour and an
additional 3 per cent involved in non-agricultural wage labour while 12 per
cent reported working as a domestic worker. Significantly, 22 per cent of the
respondents did not work.

iii. Of the 6,921 members in the HHs, 9 per cent reported earning less than INR
5,000, while 39 per cent reported no earnings. Only 6 per cent reported
earnings of over INR 10,000 per month.

4. Migration

Migration from the state has been seen to be primarily driven by acute poverty and
political instability, and the gains of industrialisation have gone mainly to urban
centres and skilled workers from outside the state. During the survey, Himachal
Pradesh emerged as a destination for people who migrate for work and better
livelihood options. There were fewer cases of out-migration reported in the surveyed
villages or slums of the five districts of Himachal Pradesh.

Of the 6,921 individuals in the households, a total of 173 persons migrated

during the period 2014-16.

Sex of the Migrants (%)

Male 93.1

Female 6.9

Age of the Migrants (%)

0-12 2.3

13-18 8.1

19-25 34.1

26-40 37.6

41-60 16.2

60+ 1.7

Category of the Migrants (%)

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General 38.2

SC 49.7

ST 5.2

OBC 5.2

Marital Status of the Migrants (%)

Married 56.1

Unmarried 42.2

Widow/Widower 1.7

Purpose of Migration (%)

Job 45.1

Education 5.2

Marriage 1.2

Others 21.4

Major Transit Areas Shimla, Nahan, and

Chamba

Major Destination Areas Shimla, Sirmaur,

Solan

Duration of Migration for Purpose of Job (%)

Less than 3 months 48.7

3-6 months 25.6

7-9 months 2.6

10-12 months 7.7

2 years 1.3

3 or more years 2.6

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 Modus Operandi of Migration

Facilitators with whom People Migrated (%)

Contractor 28.3

Agent 1.7

Known Person from Village 11.6

Friends/Relatives 16.2

Placement Agency 0.6

Co-Worker 0.6

Self 26.0

Others 2.3

Number of people who said that the promise made 2

by these facilitators were not met

Number of people who said that there was monetary transaction

involved: 58

Number of people who gave money 35

Number of people who took money 23

Payment Received on Completion of Work (%)

Fully Paid 66.5

Partially Paid 10.4

Not Paid 7.5

Note: This table presents only those figures from the survey that were deemed important or
relevant. For this reason, the totals of the percentages may not always add up to 100. For the
full figures, please refer to the state reports.

The Extent of Trafficking Based on Modus Operandi and Forms of Exploitation

During Migration

Based on the modus operandi of migration and the kind of exploitation that occurs
during the process, migration can move into the continuum of trafficking which is
explained in the table below.

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 Types of Trafficking
Types of Trafficking Modus Operandi Forms of Exploitation
Type I Someone Helped Money Given/ Migrant not in Contact
in Migration Taken with Family
Type II Someone Helped Money Given/ No Freedom to quit the Job
in Migration Taken
Type III Someone Helped Money Given/ Migrant given Partial/No
in Migration Taken Payment

Tracking Vulnerability of Trafficking

Migrants
Vulnerable
Medium High
Low Vulnerability to
Vulnerability Vulnerability
Trafficking
(N=584)
Modus
Type
Operandi Type Type
I
I II Type I +
Trafficking Trafficking Trafficking +
+ + Type II + N %
Type I Type II Type III
Type Type Type III
Type
II III
III
Migrant
took
someone’s
help 0 13 1 1 2 0 0 17 9.6
+Given
money for
migrating
Migrant
took
someone’s
help 1 5 0 0 0 0 0 6 3.6
+Taken
money for
migrating

Economics of Trafficking

Approximately INR 9,300 can be estimated to be in circulation in the trafficking

market from only the 17 possibly trafficked migrants from our sample who had paid
money to some intermediary. INR 50,400 can be evaluated to be in circulation in the
trafficking market from only the 6 possibly vulnerable to be trafficked migrants from
our sample who had taken advance money from some intermediary.

5. Forms of Trafficking

5.1 Sex Trafficking

Profile of the Victims: Himachal Pradesh is primarily a destination state for trafficked
victims. Most of the girls are brought in from Chandigarh, Delhi, Nepal, Bihar, Uttar
Pradesh, and Ludhiana. The victims usually belong to dysfunctional and poor families
which are ridden with domestic conflicts and alcoholism. It was often difficult for the

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research team to ascertain whether the women engaged in commercial sexual
activities entered into the sector voluntarily or had been trafficked. Their narratives
had multiple and complex layers which made the categorisation difficult.

Modus Operandi: Women from the remote areas of Himachal Pradesh are often lured
by agents and pimps with promises of a luxurious lifestyle and are then forced into
commercial sex work. Their husbands or partners also sometimes work as agents and
bring them clients. It is also seen that beauty parlour owners often act like pimps and
connect women to customers. Moreover, local agents associated with placement
agencies in Delhi and Punjab often play the role of deceiving and tempting women
into the sex trade.

Economics and Exploitation: It is difficult to differentiate between the strands of

commercial sex work and Commercial Sexual Exploitation (CSE) in the case of
Himachal Pradesh. The consequences of the exploitation are multiple, and include
forcing girls into sex work in hotels as per the demands or luring them into the sex
racket by either offering them money or feeding them with illusions of them
becoming actresses.

Route: Himachal acts as a source, transit as well as destination for CSE. The source
districts are Banjar, Kasol, Kala Aam, Paonta Sahib while the destination districts
include Macleod Ganj, Dharamshala, Kangra. The girls are also trafficked outside
India to Uzbekistan, Nepal, Afghanistan, Russia and Israel.

Emerging Trends: In the state of Himachal Pradesh, CSE feeds on the demand
created by the most prominent money generating sector - tourism. The internet now
serves as the medium through which people promote trafficking on the pretext of
offering escort services. Interviews with KIs have revealed that although commercial
sex is prevalent in Shimla and the nearby areas which are frequented by tourists, it
cannot be concluded that sex trafficking is a rampant issue in the district. However,
instances of trafficking for CSE have come forth from the districts of Kullu and
Dharamshala, wherein girls are brought from both other states as well as Nepal to
cater to the demands of tourist clients. Women are coerced into sexual exploitation in
hotel rooms and as flying sex workers in beauty parlours, massage parlours, and via
online services.

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5.2 Trafficking for Child Labour

Profile of Victims: As is the case with most forms of trafficking, victims of child
trafficking also belong to economically backward communities and villages.
Trafficked children are driven into prostitution, forced marriages and cheap or unpaid
labour. Most of the child labourers are found to be from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and
Nepal.

Modus Operandi: Tourism is the pivotal force which generates the demand for child
workers who are employed in dhabas, hotels, guest houses and as domestic workers
in the tourist hotspots. Newer trends depict the movement of trafficked children to
north eastern states as well.

Economics and Exploitation: A nexus of agents bring in children from outside the
state by giving advances to their parents, ranging from INR 5,000 to 15,000, while
the agent himself receives INR 40,000 to 50,000 for trafficking these underprivileged
children. The parents are tempted by the agents because they are in dire need of
money and have to keep their families functioning. Minor boys working in hotels and
dhabas receive a payment of INR 3,000 to 3,500 per month for working more than
nine hours a day; in some cases, the children are also made to work as bonded
labourers.

Route: Most of the districts of Himachal Pradesh are regular destinations for child
trafficking and child labour.

5.3 Bride Trafficking

Profile of Victims: Most of the girls who are trafficked for forced or sham marriages
belong to underprivileged and financially deprived families. Sirmaur is a source
district in Himachal Pradesh for bride trafficking and most girls have been known to
move to Haryana after marriage. A total of 155 households reported that a marriage
had taken place in their family in the last 3 years, among which 62 had occurred
within the village and 12 within the district. Of the families where marriage had taken
place, 25 reported that someone had paid the family money at the time of the wedding
and that 33 girls were married before attaining 18 years of age.

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Modus Operandi: Elopement and formal marriage proposals from grooms' families
located in Haryana are notable modes of operation that traffickers’ resort to for bride
trafficking. Chunni Paratha is a prevalent practice of marriage as it carries no
expenses as marriage happen in very simple way; it thus suits not only the destitute
parents of the bride but also the groom’s family who are glad to be able to hush the
event. Most of these marriages go unregistered and no documentation of these brides
can be found at the destinations. This is done in order to keep the brides anonymous
and unidentified. Traffickers highlight the difficulties of everyday living in a hilly
region and present the contrastingly easier way of life in the plains of Haryana to the
girls, who get lured and subsequently trafficked. Ease of accessibility and the
availability of transport services and markets are some of the baits used to lure the
women into marrying grooms from Haryana. Traffickers also often deceive the girl as
well as her parents by depicting a false profile of the groom such as portraying him as
being part of a prosperous family, having a secure high-paying job and owning a
large house.

Economics Exploitation: The family of the bride receives an amount ranging between
INR 5,000 to INR 40,000 in the name of arranging the marriage. The agents take
money amounting to approximately INR 5,000-15,000 from the groom's side for
arranging the marriage.

Route: Bride trafficking usually happens from districts of Himachal Pradesh to

destination states including Haryana, (Kiathal, Karnala, Panipat, Sonipat, Yamuna
Nagar, Hisar, Narayangarh, Ambala CANT, Kurushetra, Uttar Pradesh, (Saharanpur,
Mewat), Uttarakhand and Punjab.

5.4 Labour Trafficking

Profile of the Victims: Penury and lack of employment options are the two vital
contributing factors which trigger migration for work and facilitate the trafficking
trade. Sirmaur district in Himachal Pradesh emerged as both a source and a
destination for victims of labour trafficking.

Modus Operandi: The influx of labourers into Himachal Pradesh is on account of

finding work in industrial sectors and construction sites.

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Economics and Exploitation: KIs reported the involvement of agents and contractors
and an advance monetary transaction of INR 5,000 to 10,000. Agents would bring
labourers alone or with families, in large groups to the destination areas and would
deduct the cost for providing accommodation and food as well as 10 per cent as
commission from their wages Contractors also find labourers from the local naka or
crossroad; more than 500 labourers can be found at Parshuram Chowk in Paonta
Sahib.

Route: The traffickers take several different routes including railways, buses or even
planes in order to shift the victims to various destinations which are either within or
outside of the state. Within the state, the victims are taken to Paonta Saheb and Kala
Aam (Sirmaur), Shimla, Solan, Kinnaur and tourist spots of Himachal Pradesh such
as Kangra and Kullu. Internationally the victims are trafficked to Saudi Arabia,
Dubai, Gulf states, Australia and New Zealand.

5.5 Missing Persons and Trafficking

We can deduct from the evidence that rescued victims at the destination are often
reported as missing in the source districts. This observation strengthens the
hypothesis that there exists a nexus between missing persons and the probability of
them being trafficked. Out of 173 migrants, we received responses for 166 migrants
about their pattern of communication with their families. We assumed the 13 persons
who were not in contact with their families to be missing migrants. The data on age-
groups, social categories, accompanying persons, facilitators and financial exchanges
involved and nature of promise made by the facilitators have been tabulated only for
these 13 migrants classified as missing.

5.6 Organ Trafficking

Profile of the Victims: Organ trafficking holds a critical place among transnationally
organised crime groups due to the high demand and the relatively low rate of law
enforcement. Few suspected cases of trafficking for organ transplant were reported
during the HH survey.

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5.7 Trafficking through Illegal Adoption

Adoption has become a large business, fraught with loose regulations and profit
incentives that make it a target for traffickers. In most cases, both domestic and
international, people do not adhere to legal norms while carrying out an adoption
process. Out of the 1,161 households, 84 reported that there had been an instance of
child adoption in their village.

6. State and Civil Society Responses

There are Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) in all the surveyed districts of
Himachal Pradesh. women police stations and shelter homes for children have also
been set up in the state. Childline has been carrying out appreciable work in the
districts surveyed with a special focus on protection from abuse, including child
labour and sexual abuse. The Labour Department is entrusted with the work of
rescuing and rehabilitating victims of child labour. However, it was discouraging to
note that the one in Kullu did not maintain any data of out-migrants and in-migrants.
The state government has taken measures to empower women and shield them from
crime under the Samarth Scheme. The Twarit Bal setup at the police headquarters has
increased vigilance and instant response to the crime against women. There is only
one boy’s shelter home for the whole district of Shimla and one open shelter home for
girls in Solan district. A lack of coordination between the police, court, civil society
organisations, and government departments like the WCD, Labour office and DCPU
was observed.

In Sirmaur district, there are six NGOs operating but none of them have concentrated
their efforts and focuses on human trafficking. Some organisations like People’s
Action for People in Need (PAPN), Shardha, and Arti have worked on the issue but
they lacked the committed human resources and funding necessary to carry forward
intervention, advocacy, and awareness plans.

7. Recommendations

i. AHTUs need closer attention, hand holding and mentoring by the Superintendent
of Police of the district, and must be hosted at places with public access. The staff

xvi
 strength must be enlarged and trained on knowledge, skills, and attitudinal
orientations on a regular basis.

ii. An essential step to improve the recognition, registration and reporting of crimes is
to prioritize the identification of human trafficking in communities and law
enforcement agencies. The filing of FIRs should be supplemented with proactive
investigation strategies, cooperation by police personnel, and improvements in law
enforcement training.

iii. There should be grievance centres set up in every district to address the woes and
plights of migrant workers from other states. There is an urgent need to formulate
an enabling policy that helps migrants to access their basic rights of education,
healthcare, sanitation, and social security.

iv. Resources should be made available by the government to organise sensitisation

workshops focusing on laws relating to human trafficking and gaps in their
implementation, particularly for labour officers, police force and others working in
this domain. The attitude of the state and non-state agencies must evolve into a
victim-centric approach.

v. There is a need to set up more shelter homes in the state with facilities of
counselling, special educators for children with disabilities, life-skill programs,
and extra-curricular activities for the occupants.

vi. A special police officer should be appointed in every police station in the state and
trained to handle children, migrants and trafficked victims. Special Juvenile
Protection Units (SJPU) can also be set up in police stations for child victims.

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 ACRONYMS

ACS AIDS Control Society

ADG Additional Director General

ADM Additional District Magistrate

AHTU Anti-Human Trafficking Unit

APL Above Poverty Line

ASA Additional Superintendent of Police

AWW Anganwadi Workers

BBN Baddi, Brotiwala and Nalagarh

BBNIA Baddi Brotiwala and Nalagarh Industrial Association

BDO Block Development Officer

BPL Below Poverty Line

CDPO Child Development Programme Officer

CSE Commercial Sexual Exploitation

CWC Child Welfare Committee

DCPO District Child Protection Officer

DCPU District Child Protection Unit

DCRB District Crime Records Bureau

DM District Magistrate

DSP Deputy Superintendent of Police

DWCD District Women and Child Welfare Department

FGD Focused Group Discussion

FIR First Information Report

xviii
GRPF General Railway Police Force

HH Household

HP Himachal Pradesh

HRTC Himachal Road Transport Corporation

HT Human Trafficking

IAS Indian Administrative Service

ICDS Integrated Child Development Services

IPC Indian Penal Code

ITPA Immoral Trafficking Prevention Act

JJ Act Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act

KIs Key Informants

MSM Men have sex with Men

NGO Non-Governmental Organisation

NH National Highway

NHRC National Human Rights Commission

OBC Other Backward Classes

PAPN People’s Action for People in Need

PDS Public Distribution System

POCSO Protection of Children from Sexual Offences

PSs Police Stations

RI Research Investigators

RO Research Officers

RPF Railway Police Force

xix
SC Scheduled Caste

SCRB State Crime Records Bureau

SDO Sub Divisional Officer

SDP State Domestic Product

SJPU Special Juvenile Protection Unit

SP Superintendent of Police

SSP Senior Superintendent of Police

ST Scheduled Tribe

U/S Under Section

xx
 LIST OF TABLES

Table: 1.1 Demographic Indicators 5

Table 1.2: Sample Size in Himachal Pradesh (District Wise) 8
Table 1.3: Methods of Primary Data Collection 9
Table 1.4: Demographic Profile of Districts 9
Table 2.1: Status of Accessibility to Basic Services 16
Table 2.2: Perceived Instances of Social Forms of Discrimination and Exploitation 17
Table 2.3: Response by the Police 18
Table 2.4: Occurrence and Type of Natural Disaster 19
Table 2.5: Types of Aid Received from Different Agencies 20
Table 2.6: Consequences of Natural Disasters 20
Table 2.7: Disaster-Induced Migration 21
Table 2.8: Poverty Estimates 22
Table 2.9: Awareness about the Government Schemes 23
Table 2.10: Types of Dwelling, Ownership of the House and the Type of Ration Card
Owned 23
Table 2.11: Land Availability of Households 24
Table 2.12: Land Holdings of Households 24
Table 2.13: Income from Cultivation According to Landholdings 25
Table 2.14: Utilisation of MGNREGS by Various Households 25
Table 2.15: Number of Days Worked and Money Received under MGNREGS 26
Table 2.16: Individual Characteristics 28
Table 2.17: Marital Status and Age at First Marriage (Gender-Wise) 29
Table 2.18: Educational Status of the Individual 30
Table 2.19: Reasons for not Attending School/College by Individuals (Age-Wise) 31
Table 2.20: Occupation and Monthly Average Earnings of the Individuals 31
Table 2.21: Occurrence of Migration from the Household 36
Table 2.22: Occurrence of Migration according to Land Availability 37
Table 2.23: Gender, Age and Categories of the Migrants 38
Table 2.24: Marital Status according to the Age of the Migrants 38
Table 2.25: Age Group of the Migrants (Gender-Wise) 39
Table 2.26: Marital Status of the Migrants (Gender-Wise) 39

xxi
Table 2.27: Average Monthly Income of the Migrants according to Gender and Age
40
Table 2.28: Average Monthly Income of the Migrants according to Occupation 40
Table 2.29: Total Earnings according to Months Worked 41
Table 2.30: Places of Halt till Destination from Different Source Districts 42
Table 2.31: Source and Destination Districts of the Migrants 42
Table 2.32: Places of Destination according to Purpose of Migration 43
Table 2.33: Purpose of Migration 43
Table 2.34: Purpose of Migration according to Age Groups of the Migrants 44
Table 2.35: Duration of Stay of the Migrants according to the Purpose of Migration44
Table 2.36: Help Sought During Migration 45
Table 2.37: Facilitator of Migration 45
Table 2.38: Whether a Promise was made to the Migrants 46
Table 2.39: Whether the Promise was met by the Facilitator 46
Table 2.40: Amount Given/Taken by the Migrants 47
Table 2.41: Monetary Transactions with the Facilitators 48
Table 2.42: Help Taken by the Migrants Travelling with Known Persons 48
Table 2.43: Monetary Transactions by Migrants Travelling with Known Persons 49
Table 2.44: Types of Payment Received by the Migrants 49
Table 2.45: Type of Payment Received by the Migrants based on the Facilitator of
Migration 49
Table 2.46 Issues Faced by the Migrants 50
Table 2.47: Types of Trafficking 51
Table 2.48: Tracking Vulnerability of Trafficking 54
Table 2.49: Economics of Trafficking when Migrants Pay Commission 55
Table 2.50: Economics of Trafficking when Migrants Take Advance Payment 55
Table 3.1: Route for Sex Trafficking 62
Table 3.2: Route Map of Child Trafficking 67
Table 3.3: Occurrence of Marriage in the Family (2014 – 2016) 69
Table 3.4: Age of Girls at the Time of Marriage 70
Table 3.5: Age Difference between the Girls and the Boys 70
Table 3.6: Route for Bride Trafficking 74
Table 3.7: Route for Labour Trafficking 77

xxii
Table 3.8: Route Map for Drug Trafficking 79
Table 3.9: Occurrence of Health-Related Surgeries: 2014 - 16 80
Table 3.10: Different Types of Surgeries and their Reasons 81
Table 3.11: Perceived Child Adoption Cases at the Village Level 81
Table 3.12: Perceived Characteristics of Children Taken or Given Up for Adoption at
Village Level 82
Table 3.13: Reasons for Child Adoption at the Village Level 82
Table 3.14: Child Adoption at the Household Level 83
Table 3.15: Whether in Contact with the Family 84
Table 3.16: Gender of the Missing Persons 85
Table 3.17: Age of the Missing Persons 85
Table 3.18: Categories of the Missing Persons 85
Table 3.19: Migration of Missing Persons with Known Persons 86
Table 3.20: Complaint against Missing Persons and Police Response 86
Table 3.21: Facilitator with whom Missing Persons Migrated 87
Table 3.22: Monetary Transactions made by Missing Persons 87
Table 3.23: Nature of Promise Made to Missing Persons 88
Table 3.24: Whether the Promise Made to the Missing Persons was Met 88

xxiii
 LIST OF BOXES

Box 3.1: Child Labour in Shimla (Case Study) 64

Box 3.2: Controversy around Bride Trafficking 73

LIST OF MAPS

Map 1.1: Map of Himachal Pradesh…………………………………………………. 5

Map 3.1: Route Map for Sex Trafficking…………………………………………… 62
Map 3.2: Child Trafficking for Labour…………………………………………….. 67
Map 3.3: Route Map for Bride Trafficking…………………………………………. 75
Map 3.4: Route Map for Labour Trafficking……………………………………….. 78
Map 3.5: Route Map for Drug Trafficking…………………………………………..79

xxiv
 CONTENTS

Acknowledgements .........................................................................................................i
Executive Summary ....................................................................................................... v
Acronyms ................................................................................................................. xviii
List of Tables .............................................................................................................. xxi
List of Boxes ............................................................................................................. xxiv
List of Maps ............................................................................................................. xxiv
Chapter 1 Introduction...............................................................................................1
1.1 Introduction to Himachal Pradesh...........................................................................4

1.2 Methodology ...........................................................................................................6

1.3 Profile of the Districts .............................................................................................9

1.4 Limitations and Challenges...................................................................................12

Chapter 2 Mapping the Vulnerabilities and Migration Patterns: Socio-Economic

and Political Context.................................................................................................14
2.1 Community Based Vulnerabilities ........................................................................15

2.2 Household Based Vulnerabilities ..........................................................................21

2.3 Individual Vulnerabilities .....................................................................................27

2.4 Migration Patterns.................................................................................................32

2.5 Estimating Likely Cases of Trafficking by Generating Vulnerability Tracking

Matrix for Migrants in Himachal Pradesh ..................................................................51

Chapter 3 Forms of Trafficking .............................................................................57

3.1 Prevalence of Trafficking in Himachal Pradesh: Crime Data Analysis ................57

3.2 Sex Trafficking .....................................................................................................58

3.3 Bride Trafficking ..................................................................................................68

3.4 Labour Trafficking ................................................................................................75

3.5 Trafficking of Youth for Transporting and Selling Drugs ....................................78

3.6 Organ Trafficking .................................................................................................80

3.7 Trafficking Through Illegal Adoption ..................................................................81

3.8 Missing Persons and Trafficking ..........................................................................84

Chapter 4 State and Civil Society Responses and Recommendations .................89

4.1 Prevention .............................................................................................................89

4.2 Protection ..............................................................................................................89

xxv
4.3 Rehabilitation ........................................................................................................95

Chapter 5 Summary of Findings and Conclusion ................................................99

REFERENCES ........................................................................................................102
ANNEXURES ..........................................................................................................106
Annexure 1 ................................................................................................................106

Annexure 2 ................................................................................................................110

Annexure 3 ................................................................................................................115

xxvi
 Chapter 1
Introduction

Human Trafficking is a transnational organised crime which has been identified as

the fastest growing organised criminal industry in the world and as a crime against
humanity. Trafficking involves trade and exploitation of children, women and men.
From an economic lens, human trafficking is a consequence of the commoditisation
process that profits from human mobility. It is a violation of human rights and the
legal provisions of the state.

Every year, thousands of men, women, and children fall into the hands of traffickers.
Human trafficking includes several components such as sex trafficking, labour
trafficking, trafficking for child labour, organ trafficking, trafficking for illegal
adoptions, etc. Sex trafficking is human trafficking for the purpose of commercial
sexual exploitation (CSE). Labour trafficking involves trafficking for the purpose of
labour. Examples can include a man trafficked into farm work, or a woman trafficked
as a domestic worker. Organ trafficking is when people are trafficked so that their
organs can be sold to be used as transplants. Besides these, many forms of trafficking
have emerged in recent years which include bride trafficking, infant trafficking,
trafficking for breastfeeding, trafficking for sperm donation, trafficking for skin
grafting, trafficking for pornography, etc. None of the forms of trafficking are
mutually exclusive and forms of trafficking may overlap with each other. People can
be trafficked by many means such as physical force, or false promises made by
traffickers, a lure for better opportunities of life, etc. The extent of mediation, the
modus operandi of the traffickers and forms of exploitation enable one to
differentiate trafficking from “smuggling in persons” and “migration for work”.

The United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons,
Especially Women and Children, adopted in November 2000, supplemented the
United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime and provided a
legal definition for “trafficking in persons”. Article 3(a) of the protocol defines
“trafficking in persons” as “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or
receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion,
of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of

1
vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the
consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of
exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the
prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services,
slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.”
Subsequently, different states have defined their local laws based on existing patterns
of coercion and exploitation.1

For the purpose of this study, Section 370-370A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860,
forms the basis for defining the elements involved in trafficking. There are several
other laws too, which cover various aspects of human trafficking. They are as
follows:

 Sections 370-370A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC), which defines and
penalizes trafficking in persons

 Section 371, IPC which criminalizes slavery

 Section 372-373, IPC which criminalizes buying and selling of underage girls
for prostitution

 Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 (ITPA), which provides the punishment
for keeping a brothel or premises for prostitution; living on the earnings of
prostitution; procuring, including or taking a person for the sake of prostitution;
detaining a person in premises where prostitution is carried out. It also provides
for the rescue of persons and their intermediate custody.

 Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act), which
provides a framework for the protection of children who are missing or at risk of
being trafficked

1
OHCHR. (2000). Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially
Women and Children, Supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational
Organized Crime. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,
[online]. Available at:
https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/protocoltraffickinginpersons.aspx
[Accessed 3 April 2018]

2
Laws which deal with forced labour:

 Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976 (Bonded Labour Act)

 Contract Labour (Regulation & Abolition) Act, 1970

 Inter-state Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of

Service) Act, 1979

Laws which deal with child labour:

 Children (Pledging of Labour) Act, 1933

 Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986

 Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012

Law which deals with organ transplants:

 Transplantation of Human Organ Act 1994

Laws which deal with cybercrime:

 Information Technology Act, 2000:

 Section 67 deals with punishment for publishing or transmitting obscene

material in electronic form

 Section 67 A deals with punishment for publishing or transmitting material

containing sexually explicit acts etc. in electronic form

 Section 67 B deals with punishment for publishing or transmitting material

depicting children in sexually explicit acts etc. in electronic form

Moreover, the Constitution of India in Article 23 prohibits trafficking; however,

different forms of exploitation and human trafficking are still rampant in the country.

In June 2014, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai under the aegis of
National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) initiated a project called the 'National
Research Study on Human Trafficking in India'. The objectives of the project are:

3
  To understand the existing and emerging forms of human trafficking in India
and across its borders

 To understand the modus operandi, causes, and consequences of human

trafficking in India

 To assess the economics/ finances of human trafficking in India

 To identify the social, economic, political and cultural causes of human

trafficking at the household, community and regional level

 To understand the linkages between migration, missing persons and human

trafficking in India

 To analyse the current response systems including the legal framework, policies,
state and civil society interventions to combat human trafficking

 To suggest and recommend the way forward to address the gaps identified in the
research.

 To contribute to the theoretical understanding of human trafficking in India

For the purpose of this study, while we have considered all the above laws and
regulations while collecting qualitative and quantitative data, IPC section 370
forms the basis of the tool used for Household (HH) survey. This report is based
on the findings of the study in Himachal Pradesh.

1.1 Introduction to Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh (HP), as the name suggests, is situated in the Himalayas. Located
in the northern part of India, the state is bordered by Punjab in the west, Uttar Pradesh
in the southeast, China/Tibet in the east, Haryana in the south-west and Jammu and
Kashmir in the north. The state covers an area of 55,673 sq. km and has a density of
123 per sq km, which is lower than the national average of 382 per sq km. 2 The entire

2
Census Data 2011. (2015) Himachal Pradesh Population 2011-2018 Census. [online]
Available at: https://www.census2011.co.in/census/state/himachal+pradesh.html [Accessed 2
November 2018]

4
state of Himachal has hilly and rugged terrain, with an altitude ranging from 350
meters to 7000 meters above sea level.

Map 1.1: Districts Covered in Himachal Pradesh

Table: 1.1 Demographic Indicators

Population 68.65 lakhs
Sex Ratio 972
Literacy (%) 82.8
Male Literacy (%) 89.53
Female Literacy (%) 75.93
Rural Population (%) 90
Urban Population (%) 10
SC Population (%) 25
ST Population (%) 6
Workforce Participation Rate 51.85
Male Workforce Participation Rate (%) 53.26
Female Workforce Participation Rate (%) 25.51
Child Marriage Rate (%) Female: 4.7 and Male: 10.4 (Below legal age)3
Source: Census of India, 2011

3
Census of India. (2012). Annual Health Survey 2011-12Face Sheet Chhattisgarh. [online],
Available at:
http://www.censusindia.gov.in/vital_statistics/AHSBulletins/AHS_Factsheets_2011_12/Chhat
tisgarh_Factsheet_2011-12.pdf [Accessed 2 November 2018]

5
Agriculture is the main source of livelihood in the state. A major portion of the
produce is used for self-consumption, while some commercial crops are sold to
generate household (HH) income. Besides agriculture, hydroelectric power projects,
tourism, and horticulture also form an important part of the state’s economy. A large
number of Himachali’s have taken up government jobs ranging from teachers, health
workers, peons, clerks to officers in various departments. The villages have good
connectivity with roads, public health centres, and good access to educational
institutes.

Building up of an efficient transport system was the topmost priority in the first Five
Year Plan. Three airports in Bhunter, Kullu district,
Jubbarhatti near Shimla and Gaggal in Kangra connect the state to other destinations.
It was only by January 1991 that Himachal was linked up with the broad-gauge
system by extending the Delhi-Nangal rail line. Although railways and airways in
Himachal serve very limited transport needs of the people, the road network of the
state makes it unique. Himachal Road Transport Corporation also referred to
as HRTC, is the state-run bus service of Himachal Pradesh HRTC, with 2100 buses,
connects towns and cities within Himachal Pradesh and the adjoining states
of Uttarakhand, Chandigarh, Punjab, and Delhi.4

1.2 Methodology

For an understanding of the complex and dynamic nature of ‘Human Trafficking in

India,’ a mixed method research design was adopted; both quantitative and qualitative
approaches were used to collect data. Based on the objectives of the study, nature of
the research, availability of stakeholders and the location of the study, a common
strategy was adopted for selection of districts in each state where the study was
conducted. Both primary and secondary data were collected in five districts of each of
the state. However, in smaller states of the country, only two districts were selected.

4
Tiwari S (2016) With eye on China, India begins work on Himachal – Ladakh rail link. India
Today. [online] Available at: https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/india-begins-work-on-
himachal-ladakh-rail-link-339352-2016-09-05 [Accessed 4 November 2018]; The Tribune.
(2002) HIMACHAL PRADESH. The Tribune, [online]. Available at:
https://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20020518/himachal.htm [Accessed 4 November 2018]

6
The selection of vulnerable districts was done through a ranking process based on
secondary data sources such as the Census, the National Family Health Survey
(NFHS), Human Development Indicators (HDI) and the National Crime Records
Bureau (NCRB). A total of 32 such parameters and sub-parameters were used to rank
the districts in each state. Subsequently, five vulnerable districts from each state were
identified based on 32 parameters, to serve as possible sites for data collection. This
methodology was validated through a national consultation on research methodology
organised at TISS on June 2, 2015. Besides the 32 parameters, inputs from key
informants (KIs) and stakeholders from the field were taken into consideration before
finalising the districts. Accordingly, in Himachal Pradesh, Sirmaur, Chamba, Kullu
districts were selected as source districts to conduct the survey and Shimla and Solan
were identified as primarily destination districts. The survey was done during the
period of March – April 2017.

As per the methodology designed for the study, in each source district, the four most
vulnerable blocks were selected with the help of government officials and discussions
with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to conduct the household survey. In
each block, about 3 to 5 per cent of villages were selected for the survey with the help
of the KIs. In each village, 5 to 10 per cent of households were selected through
random sampling to conduct the survey. A representative sample of households of
different social groups was ensured. It was decided that the research team would
cover a minimum of 20 and a maximum of 50 households in a village with the help of
random sampling. However, in exceptional cases, the sample size could not be
achieved due to non-availability of household members based on factors such as
migration, festivals, political conflicts, daily work patterns etc. Snowball sampling
was also used by the researchers to reach the victims or victims’ families and KIs
during the study. The total number of surveyed households in five districts in
Himachal Pradesh was 1,161, and the total number of household members in these
households was 6,921.

Types of Data Collected

Primary data was collected through household surveys, semi-structured interviews,

case studies, focused group discussions and observations. In the source districts, a
combination of different methods, along with a household survey was used to collect

7
data. However, in the destination districts, all other methods apart from the household
survey were used.

Table 1.2: Sample Size in Himachal Pradesh (District Wise)

Sr. Name of Name of Blocks/Slums Number of Number of
no District Villages/Slums Households
1 Solan5 Chatipura, Brotiwala Truck 100
Union, Sensiwala, Chakka Road, 6 Slums
Shivalik Nagar, Seeka Road
2 Sirmaur Rajgarh, Sangrah, Shillai, Paonta 20 414
Sahib
3 Kullu Kullu, Naggar, Nirmand, Banjar 13 248
4 Chamba Chamba, Tisa, Bharmaur, 14 306
Chouari
5 Shimla6 Downdel, Sanjoli, Lakkad 2 Villages and 93
Bazaar (Eidgah Colony), 2 Slums
Krishnagar
Total 57 1,161

Case studies were developed based on the experiences of the trafficked victims 7 and
their families. Focus group discussions were carried out with government officials,
Anganwadi workers, villagers and different women’s groups in the villages. Semi-
structured interviews were held with key informants that included NGO
representatives, advocates, police officials, prison officials, Child Welfare Committee
(CWC), District Child Protection Unit (DCPU), Anti Human Trafficking Unit
(AHTU), District Welfare Officer (DWO), railway officials, Anganwadi sevikas,
ward members, panchayat members, ANMs, Block Development Officers (BDO),
social workers, activists, news reporters, Childline, Shelter Home In-charge, Labour
Department Officials, Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) officials,
District Women and Child Development Official (DWCDO), Department of Women

5
Solan emerged as one of the destination districts in the state Himachal due to the presence of
parameters like national highway, low sex ratio, large industrial chambers, ongoing large-
scale construction projects etc. Apart from in-depth interviews of KIs, the research team
covered six slums for HH survey.
6
Discussions with KIs at state level revealed district Shimla as a destination for human
trafficking. To understand the magnitude of human trafficking, the research team covered two
villages and two slums in the district of Shimla.
7
All names of victims and survivors of trafficking have been changed in the report to adhere
the principles of anonymity and confidentiality

8
and Child Development (DWCD), academics, traffickers8, and victims of trafficking9.
Depending on the profile of the key informants, discussions mainly focused around
the patterns of demand and supply related to human trafficking, magnitude and forms
of trafficking, the modus operandi used by the traffickers, the routes of trafficking,
the role of government agencies in rescue operations, the role of NGOs in
rehabilitation, migration prone areas.

Table 1.3: Methods of Primary Data Collection

Sr. no. Qualitative Methods Number
1 Case Studies 2
2 Key Informant Interviews 109

Secondary data about rescued victims of trafficking was collected from different
NGOs, government documents, labour department, State Crime Records Bureau
(SCRB) and District Crime Records Bureau (DCRB), Childline, CWC etc., in order to
understand the phenomena of human trafficking in these districts. The state crime data
was analysed to understand the different nature of crimes in the state of Himachal
Pradesh.

1.3 Profile of the Districts

Table 1.4: Demographic Profile of Districts
Solan Sirmaur Kullu Chamba Shimla
Population 580,320 530,164 437,903 519,080 814,010
Sex Ratio 880 918 942 986 915
Literacy (%) 84 79 79 72.17 83.64
Male Literacy (%) 90 86 87 82.59 89.59
Female Literacy (%) 77 71 71 61.67 77.13
Child Sex Ratio 899 928 962 953 925
SC Population (%) 28.35 25 26 22 27
ST Population (%) 4.42 6 5.2 26 1
Source: Census of India, 2011

8Traffickers interviewed include village-level agents, placement agencies, those located at

brothels, and traffickers who were interviewed in prisons.

9 The KIs and stakeholders listed in this section were interviewed across the country. For state
specific details of KIs and stakeholders refer to Annexure 2

9
Solan District: Solan recorded an increase of 16 per cent in its population between
2001 to 2011.10 In addition to the natural growth of population, the district witnessed
immigration from surrounding rural areas and from distant areas especially in suburbs
like Chambaghat, which provide opportunities for setting up industries. The economy
of Solan district depends on agriculture to a large extent. Due to the high production
of mushrooms, Solan is famous for the moniker “Mushroom City of India”. Solan is
known as an industrial hub of Himachal Pradesh. After the introduction of special
subsidies by the Prime Minister of India in the year 1999, Nalagarh, one of the tehsils
of Solan, is also known as the pharmahub. Discussions with the KIs revealed that
migrant workers live in slums near the factories and industries. Since the migrants
live in slum pockets and are more prone to the vulnerabilities, the team decided to
carry out a survey in the six slum dwellings, some of which are situated along the
highway in two blocks of Solan district namely Nalagarh and Dharampur. Brotivala
area in Dharampur block and Baddi area in Nalagarh block are home to multiple
factories and companies. The whole industrial area is popularly known as Baddi
Brotiwala and Nalagarh Industrial Association (BBNIA) – an industrial chamber
catering to industries in three adjacent areas of Baddi, Brotiwala and Nalagarh
(henceforth referred as BBN). Six slums are situated in this special area and are
known as BBN. Besides working in factories, migrants from Solan are also engaged
in loading and unloading jobs and packaging of apples in the orchid gardens.

Sirmaur District: The district has well-connected road and transport facilities with
National Highway (NH) 72 passing through the middle of the district. Some of the
villages were not accessible due to mountainous terrain and the height at which the
villages were located. The local inhabitants mainly depend on agriculture for their
subsistence and adopt several traditional practices conducive for farming in sloping
terrains. Large and small-scale industrial units, however, have come up in Paonta
valley. People also migrate to other districts such as Shimla, Solan, Kinnaur, Lahul
and Spiti, and to industrial areas like Poanta Sahib, Kala Amb, Trilokpuri and so on
for work. There is inter-district migration only for a very short period of time with a
maximum period of 2-3 months. Most of the coolies from the district migrate to

10
Census 2011. (2015). Solan District: Census 2011-2018 data. [online]. Available at:
http://www.census2011.co.in/census/district/237-solan.html [Accessed 4 November 2018]

10
Shimla or Jammu and Kashmir.

Kullu District: Tourism has developed in the district to a great extent. There are a
number of tourist places in the district viz. Kullu, Manali, Rohtang Pass, Solang Nala,
Mani Karan and Sojha etc. where a large number of tourists visit every year. Tourism
creates job opportunities and enables the inhabitants to supplement their regular
income. Two of the selected blocks Kullu and Naggar were tourist hubs where a large
number of guest houses, hotels and dhabas exist which involve children and migrant
workers in labour activities. Two other blocks, Nirmand and Banjar, are fairly
‘backward’ blocks in terms of their socio-economic conditions and are not so affected
by tourism but have certain levels of out-migration to nearby districts in search of
work. Nirmand has an especially large population of poor, where people are not
engaged in apple cultivation or other horticultural activities due to their geographical
locations and weather conditions.

Chamba District: Agriculture is the mainstay of the majority of the population in the
district. The district also has some suitable pockets for the production of apricot,
apple, plum and mango. The majority in the rural area are daily wage earners with
little or no savings. Livestock is another source of livelihood for the people and every
house invariably keeps a few cows or buffaloes, sheep and goats. The Gaddi
community in the district depends mainly on livestock rearing for their livelihood.
Some of the popular activities being carried out by women are knitting, handloom,
bamboo products, pine needle products, pickle making etc.

Shimla District: Shimla is the capital town of Himachal Pradesh. It is a popular tourist
destination not only for Indians but also for foreigners. The various KIs including
government and non-government officials informed the research team about the in-
migration from other states for labour work in the farm, construction sites, hotels,
dhabas. These factors make Shimla a destination for human trafficking. Further,
interviews with KIs helped the team to identify four major slum areas where the
migrant population settles. These areas were, namely, Downdel, Sanjoli, Lakkad
Bazaar and Krishnagar. In order to understand reasons why they migrated from
elsewhere, the nature of the problems they face on a daily basis while living in these
slums and their choice of livelihood, HH surveys were conducted in these slums and
villages.

11
1.4 Limitations and Challenges

There have been many challenges during the fieldwork in different districts of
Himachal Pradesh. The major ones are listed below:

Road Connectivity and Accessibility: The topography of hilly terrain remained a

hindrance in reaching the villages. It was almost impossible to cover more than one
village in a day during the data collection process. Sometimes, the team could cover
two nearby villages in situations when a particular village did not have a population
of more than 30-40 households. In order to maintain diversity in the household data,
the team had to necessarily move to another village in the gram panchayat. Often, the
team would spend half of the day to reach the far–off villages, which had no means of
transportation, so walking uphill was the only option. In such situations, the team
could cover a lesser number of households. One of the team members met with an
accident in the field which negatively impacted the team’s mental health.

Lack of Acknowledgement from State Functionaries: In terms of response from the

state machinery, the mere lack of acknowledgement that an issue as critical as human
trafficking exists in the concerned district made the task of the research team more
difficult. A researcher who went to Chamba observed that even amongst the senior
police officials there was a lack of clarity with regard to the difference between
migration and trafficking, bonded labour and daily wage labour, child labour and
child trafficking. The team received all the required data from the state capital, but
when they approached the district officials for data, they did not get much help.

In Kullu district, the research team witnessed that even though child labour is
palpably prevalent in the district for many years, the police, the judiciary, the AHTU
all remain inactive in curbing it. The CWC as a government body seemed to be the
only intervening body that actually engages in child rescue and rehabilitation
activities. Most of the data on cases of child trafficking was received from the CWC,
Kullu.

Socio-Cultural Problems: Caste-based discrimination emerged as a major social

concern in the villages of Kullu. The houses of SCs remain separated from the upper
castes. The lower castes were not allowed inside the houses, offered food or engage
in inter-caste marriages with the upper castes. This was reflected in the process of

12
data collection when in certain households the researchers were asked which caste
they belonged to. If the researcher belonged to a lower caste, the families did not
welcome them. In a few cases, they were even asked to leave.

Methodological Challenges: General lack of awareness about issues of human

trafficking, among front line workers is another problem that was commonly faced in
the process of data collection. It was difficult to explain the concept of trafficking and
our requirements for research on human trafficking. Moreover, as discussed above,
the hilly area made the task of reaching the scattered houses very difficult. In addition
to that, finding the population directly affected by the issue became extremely
difficult. Victims of sex trafficking, children forced into crimes etc could not be
easily identified and it was difficult to converse with them, especially when the
researchers were new to the village and their stay was for a limited period of time.

13
 Chapter 2
Mapping the Vulnerabilities and Migration Patterns: Socio-Economic
and Political Context

Any discussion on human trafficking must be located within the vulnerability context
of the survivors and possible victims. According to the United Nations Office on
Drugs and Crime (UNODC) (2008),11 “Human traffickers’ prey on people who are
poor, isolated and weak. Issues such as disempowerment, social exclusion and
economic vulnerability are the result of policies and practices that marginalise entire
groups of people and make them particularly vulnerable to being trafficked.” Various
livelihood vulnerabilities operate at the community, HH and individual levels and
often arise out of societal, spatial, political and economic processes and structures
existing in the community. Vulnerability is dynamic, locally specific and manifested
along social, gender and poverty lines. Moreover, vulnerability varies with
individuals, HHs, communities and regions and this creates various kinds of
inequalities.12 Vulnerability indicates a condition that limits the abilities of
individuals, communities and regions to resist certain debilitating processes and
improve their well-being.13 When we discuss human trafficking, the contextual
factors like the social, economic, cultural and political situation of the region have an
influence on the vulnerability of individuals. Poor implementations of policies and
programmes directly affect the livelihood of a community, HH and individual. This
leads an individual to live in distress or migrate to other places to look for alternative
options. While exploring alternative livelihoods and (often) trying to escape violence

11
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. (2008). Introduction to Human Trafficking:
Vulnerability, Impact and Action. New York: United Nations, [online]. Available at
https://www.unodc.org/documents/human-
trafficking/An_Introduction_to_Human_Trafficking_-_Background_Paper.pdf
[Accessed on 26 April 2019]
12
Kakota, T., Nyariki, D., Mkwambisi D and Kogi-Makan, W. (2011). Gender vulnerability to
climate variability and household food insecurity. Climate and Development 3(4): 298-309
[online]. Available at http://www.efdinitiative.org/sites/default/files/publications/efd-dp-15-
20.pdf [Accessed on 1 April 2019]
13
Taro, J. A. and Tidsskrift, N. G. (2004). Theorizing food insecurity: building a livelihood
vulnerability framework for researching food insecurity. Norwegian Journal of Geography:
23-37. [online]. Available at:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00291950410004375 [Accessed on 28 March
2019]

14
and distress within families, there are chances of persons coming in contact with
traffickers and subsequently getting trapped in the cycle of human trafficking and
exploitation.

In this section, various vulnerabilities that push people into migration and often into
the trap of human trafficking are listed and discussed at the community, HH and
individual levels. Together, they build a context within which the push factors, modus
operandi and exploitation involved in unsafe migration and trafficking may be
located and understood. Further, it lists broader socio-cultural, natural, physical and
economic factors that contribute to the building of such vulnerability context.

2.1 Community Based Vulnerabilities

In this study, the research team tried to locate the level of vulnerability among the
households while accessing the basic services for a better life in the community.
Vulnerability of the villages has been mapped through their access to basic services
such as the post office, railway station, police station, ration shop, local self-
governance, banks etc. as well as on the basis of various forms of discrimination such
as child marriage, forced marriage, domestic violence, dowry disputes, child labour
and others. The following table details the characteristics of the surveyed villages or
slums across the five districts.

Table 2.1 shows that a pronounced wing of the surveyed households reported the
absence of access to fundamental amenities. The 73 per cent, 47 per cent and 44 per
cent who complained of inaccessibility to the skill development centre, local self-
governance office and police station respectively, strike a chord. It is worrying to note
that 46 per cent did not have access to an educational institution like a college while
39 per cent lacked the means to avail the benefits from a utility as basic as a market.
Even though 62 per cent of the surveyed households stated having access to banks, 12
per cent still relied on local financers to handle their money troubles or safekeeping.
Our qualitative findings reveal that local financers are usually exploitative, and one
may find himself trapped in the mesh of debts after borrowing money from these
businessmen. While 72 per cent of the respondents said that they had access to the
road or highways, 91 per cent of respondents reportedly did not have access to a
railway station near their village.

15
 Table 2.1: Status of Accessibility to Basic Services
Accessibility to Basic Yes No No Response Total
Services N % N % N % N %
College 615 53.0 536 46.1 10 0.9 1,161 100
Library 362 31.2 780 67.2 19 1.6 1,161 100
Market 695 59.9 452 38.9 14 1.2 1,161 100
Tehsil Headquarters 589 50.7 556 47.9 16 1.4 1,161 100
Railway Station 85 7.3 1,061 91.4 15 1.3 1,161 100
Airport 168 14.5 977 84.1 16 1.4 1,161 100
Interstate Bus Stop 366 31.5 778 67.0 17 1.5 1,161 100
Roads/Highway 832 71.7 315 27.1 14 1.2 1,161 100
Police Station 631 54.3 514 44.3 16 1.4 1,161 100
Local Self Governance Office 593 51.1 546 47.0 22 1.9 1,161 100
Ration Shop 980 84.4 167 14.4 14 1.2 1,161 100
Block Development Officer 537 46.3 601 51.8 23 1.9 1,161 100
Post Office 901 77.6 240 20.6 20 1.8 1,161 100
Banks 716 61.7 428 36.9 17 1.4 1,161 100
Local Financers 133 11.5 1,006 86.7 22 1.8 1,161 100
Local Leader 183 15.8 955 82.3 23 1.9 1,161 100
Skill Development Centre 293 25.2 845 72.9 23 1.9 1,161 100

Through discussions with people, it was conveyed that good connectivity with
villages could be a facilitating factor for people to migrate to different places for
longer or shorter periods to look for alternative livelihood options. Data in the table
shows that a significant number of households had insufficient access to the different
government and non-government institutions, which can result in reduced utilisation
by the villagers to policies and programmes.

Table 2.2 highlights the various forms of social issues that were identified as being
prevalent in the five districts of Himachal Pradesh. In this section, we were not only
concerned about the kind of problems that the households face but also the social
vices that the village is confronted with. The socio-economic backwardness of a
region leads to the vulnerability of individuals, which can, in turn, lead to them being
trafficked.

16
 Table 2.2: Perceived Instances of Social Forms of Discrimination and Exploitation
Yes No No Total
Response
Perceived Instances of Social N % N % No % N %
Forms of Discrimination and
Exploitation
Child Marriage 333 28.7 807 69.5 21 1.8 1,161 100
Forced Marriage 89 7.7 1050 90.4 22 1.9 1,161 100
Class/Caste Based Violence 152 13.1 987 85.0 22 1.9 1,161 100
(Honour Killing)
Domestic Violence 174 15.0 965 83.1 22 1.9 1,161 100
Dowry Disputes 167 14.4 972 83.7 22 1.9 1,161 100
Eve Teasing/Sexual Harassment 84 7.2 1,056 91.0 21 1.8 1,161 100
Female Feticide/ Female 38 3.3 1,102 94.9 21 1.8 1,161 100
Infanticide
Child Labour 321 27.7 821 70.7 19 1.6 1,161 100
Working in Field 24 2.0 1,113 95.9 24 2.1 1,161 100
Local Shop 4 0.3 1131 97.5 26 2.2 1,161 100
Factories 4 0.3 1133 97.6 24 2.1 1,161 100
Construction 1 0.1 1134 97.7 26 2.2 1,161 100
Missing People 70 6.0 1070 92.2 21 1.8 1,161 100
Kidnapping/Abduction 19 1.6 1,119 96.4 23 2.0 1,161 100
Communal Riots 54 4.6 1,083 93.3 24 2.1 1,161 100
Caste Riots/Rivalry 64 5.5 1,071 92.3 26 2.2 1,161 100
Ethnic Rivalry 68 5.9 1,068 92.0 25 2.1 1,161 100
Drug Abuse 533 45.9 609 52.5 19 1.6 1,161 100
Alcoholism 676 58.2 465 40.1 20 1.7 1,161 100
Violence by Other Authority 33 2.8 1,105 95.2 23 2.0 1,161 100
Bonded Labour 73 6.2 1,064 91.7 24 2.1 1,161 100
Fear of Local Leader 43 3.7 1,088 93.7 30 2.6 1,161 100

Vulnerabilities of a region affect the livelihood of individuals and people often get
trapped into trafficking and exploitation. Table 2.2 shows that alcoholism (58 per
cent) and drug abuse (46 per cent) are both substantially prevalent in the villages of
Himachal Pradesh. Various social issues related to children such as child labour (28
per cent) and child marriage (29 per cent) are also reported to be prevalent in villages
of Himachal Pradesh. Another social phenomenon which is inherent in the socio-
cultural set-up of our society is domestic violence or the physical, sexual and
emotional abuse in a domestic setting like a marriage or cohabitation. In Himachal
Pradesh, domestic abuse was reported by 15 per cent of the respondents and 14 per
cent of the households communicated the prevalence of disputes over dowry, a
marriage custom. About 3 per cent of respondents said that there were cases of female
foeticide or infanticide observed in their village. Almost 6 per cent and 2 per cent of

17
the respondents respectively reported missing and abduction cases. Communal or
caste-based riots or rivalry and ethnic rivalry have each been reported by 6 per cent of
the respondents. There are cases of debt bondage observed at the village level with 6
per cent of the respondents reporting that some villagers were made to work as
bonded labourers. Almost 3 per cent and 5 per cent of the households reported
violence by authorities in their village or region and fear of the local ring leader.

Table 2.3 presents the responses of the police and judiciary to the above issues. About
49 per cent of the respondents refused to answer the questions related to the response
of the police on the social issues that they reported as being prevalent in their
villages. Amongst those who responded to the question, 17 (1 per cent) said that
either the police had asked for bribes or they had shown abusive behaviour and about
9 per cent reported that the police had not filed a complaint. Although there prevails
awareness among the villagers about the social issues affecting their community, it is
disparaging that very few of the respondents had approached the police for addressing
the same.

Table 2.3: Response by the Police

Response by the Police N %
Police did not File the Complaint 100 8.6
Police asked for Bribe 4 0.3
Police was Helpful 26 2.2
Police showed Abusive Behaviour 13 1.1
Others 455 39.2
No Response 563 48.6
Total 1,161 100

Natural Disaster Related Vulnerabilities

Although natural disasters are a source of destruction in any part of the world, the
low-income or developing nations are most vulnerable to its effects because these
countries are incapable of both building their resilience before the disaster as well as
handling the post-disaster corollaries, promptly and effectively. Population movement
then becomes an adaptive mechanism to deal with the aftermath of natural disasters,
especially when livelihoods and resources are harmed because it alleviates the
adversities of such unforeseen events by providing people with occupational options.
Studies have shown that there exists a relationship between climatic factors, natural
calamities and migration, with liquidity constraint as a controlling factor.

18
When interviewing the households in the state of Himachal Pradesh, it was found that
21 per cent of the 1,161 total households mentioned the occurrence of a natural
disaster in their village in the past three years. About 28 per cent of the households,
which claimed knowledge of occurrences of natural calamities in their villages,
reported that the state was afflicted with frequent floods (Table 2.4). The occurrence
of droughts was also reported by 25 per cent of these households.

Table 2.4: Occurrence and Type of Natural Disaster

Occurrence of Natural Disaster N %
Yes 240 20.7
No 888 76.5
No Response 33 2.8
Total 1,161 100

Type of Natural Disaster N %

Flood 68 28.3
Earthquake 12 5.1
Cyclone 33 13.8
Forest Fire 19 7.9
Drought 61 25.4
Landslide 32 13.3
Human Made 7 2.9
Others 8 3.3
Total 240 100

When questioned about the assistance that the villages had received from different
agencies, almost 52 per cent of the respondents said that no measures had been taken
by the government or other agencies to mitigate the adversities of the calamities that
had hit the village while 19 per cent mentioned receiving aid in the form of cash
compensation, immediate relief measures like food or clothes and housing or
provision of living spaces (Table 2.5). The substantial number of households
conveying to us that no redressal measures had been adopted by the authorities
conveys the incapacity of the agencies to address the woes of the vulnerable
population. Lack of action on the part of the state and non-state agencies renders
these afflicted people prone to disaster-induced semi-permanent or permanent
movement.

19
 Table 2.5: Types of Aid Received from Different Agencies
Aid Received from Different Agencies Response Received
N %
Cash Compensation 17 7.1
Immediate Relief (Food, Clothes) 22 9.2
Housing 6 2.5
No Measure Taken 124 51.7
Others 6 2.5
Don't Know 39 16.3
No response 26 10.7
Total 240 100

Table 2.6 conveys to us the consequences or aftermath of the natural disasters that
had befallen upon the surveyed households of Himachal Pradesh between 2014 and
2016. More than half of the households reported a loss of agricultural productivity
and crop failures as a harmful effect of the disaster while 14 per cent mentioned loss
of life and property (Table 2.6). In several such cases, it has been noticed that the
families resort to migration as a coping mechanism to avoid the backwash of a natural
calamity, as is evident from the table hereafter.

Table 2.6: Consequences of Natural Disasters

Response Received
Consequences of Natural Disasters N %
Loss of Property 23 9.6
Loss of Life 10 4.2
Loss of Agricultural land / Crops 121 50.4
Loss of Livestock 7 2.9
Missing Person 2 0.8
Not affected 24 10.0
Others 10 4.2
No response 43 17.9
Total 240 100

When asked whether there had been any disaster-induced migration in the households
which had borne the effects of the natural disasters, 6 per cent mentioned that a
family member had migrated in order to deal with the consequences of the disaster.
Among them, it is quite disconcerting to note that 53 per cent of the households were
not in touch with their family members (Table 2.7). Therefore, based on our sample,
we may conclude that although disaster-induced migration was not alarmingly high
from this state but the proneness among migrants to lose contact with their families

20
was significantly high. These facts are worrying because the linkage between
trafficking and missing persons is an established reality and the number of missing
migrants from the source can help us form a meaningful estimator of the levels of
trafficking from a state.

Table 2.7: Disaster-Induced Migration

Whether Migration Occurred due to Response Received
Disaster N %
Yes 15 6.3
No 179 74.6
No response 46 19.1
Total 240 100

Whether in Contact with the Family N %

or Anyone
Yes 7 46.7
No 8 53.3
Total 15 100

2.2 Household Based Vulnerabilities

Household vulnerabilities always differ from one family to another but all the
villagers experience the vulnerabilities common to a region or village. Access to
services and benefits of government programs by households are restricted by the
vulnerabilities within the households. The household vulnerability plays the role of a
push factor for the members of the households to search for alternative livelihood
options outside the village, which often put them in the hands of smugglers and/or
traffickers.

Among the households drawn in the sample in Himachal Pradesh, 95 per cent belong
to rural areas and 5 per cent belong to urban areas. While measuring the poverty by
using the standards provided by the Rangarajan Committee 2014,14 44 per cent of the

14
The estimates of poor in Himachal Pradesh have been generated according to guidelines
suggested by C Rangarajan committee. The committee presents specific normative standards
of food and non-food consumption, as well as behavioral aspects of classes concerned with the
consumption of some other items. The new poverty line based on the monthly per capita
consumption expenditure of Rs. 32 in a rural area and Rs. 47 in an urban area on a per capita
daily basis.

21
surveyed households were poor and according to the World Bank definition of
poverty,15 72 per cent of the surveyed households were poor.

Table 2.8: Poverty Estimates

Variable Category Number(N) (%)
Place of Residence Rural 1,105 95.2
Urban 56 4.8
Poverty According to Indian Standard
(Rangarajan committee) Not Poor 654 56.3
Poor 507 43.7
Poverty According to World Bank Standard
Not Poor 322 27.7
Poor 839 72.3
Source: C. Rangarajan Committee, 2014 and The World Bank’s New Global Poverty Line.16

Himachal Pradesh is considered to be one of India’s most prosperous states as there

has been a steady decline in poverty in the rural parts of the state since 1994. This
indicates that the difference in poverty levels or the economic gap between the rural
and urban areas of the state has narrowed considerably. In spite of this, Himachal
Pradesh’s western and central districts record higher levels of poverty than the other
regions.17 To eradicate poverty, the government has implemented various
programmes and policies at the grassroots level to improve the socio-economic
conditions of the residents. In this study, we assessed the level of awareness among
people on specific government schemes. Of the 1,161 households surveyed, around
70 per cent were not aware of schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana
and about 63 per cent were not aware of the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana. Janani
Suraksha Yojana and Pension scheme was not known to 69 per cent and 72 per cent,
respectively (Table 2.9).

15
The World Bank defines poverty based on purchasing power parity (PPP). The threshold of
the poverty line introduced by World Bank is $1.25 per day.
16
C. Rangarajan Committee, 2014 and The World Bank’s New Global Poverty Line, Martine
Ravallion, Center for Global Development. [online]. Available at:
https://www.cgdev.org/blog/world-bank%E2%80%99s-new-global-poverty-line [Accessed 1
November 2018]
17
The World Bank (2018) India States Briefs – Himachal Pradesh. [online] Available at:
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/754951504085892289/pdf/119183-BRI-P157572-
Himachal-Pradesh-Poverty.pdf [Accessed 9 November 2018]

22
 Table 2.9: Awareness about the Government Schemes
Yes No No Total
Response
N % N % N % N %
Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana 343 29.5 810 69.8 8 0.7 1,161 100
Pension Scheme 311 26.8 839 72.2 11 1.0 1,161 100
Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana 418 36.0 731 63.0 12 1.0 1,161 100
Janani Suraksha Yojana 349 30.0 801 69.0 11 1.0 1,161 100
Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – 136 11.7 1,012 87.2 13 1.1 1,161 100
Gramin
Other 34 2.9 760 65.5 367 31.6 1,161 100

While discussing the dwelling conditions of households of Himachal Pradesh and

their place of residence, around 46 per cent of the surveyed households lived in
kutcha houses and 70 per cent had the ownership of their house. Table 2.10 also
reveals the poor condition and vulnerability of people at the household level. About
25 per cent possess a Below Poverty Line (BPL) ration card and 44 per cent of the
households have an Above Poverty Line (APL) card with them.

Table 2.10: Types of Dwelling, Ownership of the House and the Type of Ration Card
Owned
Types of Dwelling N %
Kutcha 537 46.3
Semi Pucca 251 21.6
Pucca 368 31.7
No Response 5 0.4
Total 1,161 100

Ownership of the House N %

Own 811 69.9
Rented 158 13.6
Lease 1 0.1
Ancestral House 177 15.3
No Response 14 1.1
Total 1,161 100

Type of Ration Card Owned N %

APL 514 44.3
BPL 292 25.2
ANTYODAYA 69 5.9
Other 163 14.0
No Response 123 10.6
Total 1,161 100

23
Land is a symbol of economic status and prosperity in India because it is one of the
means of earning a livelihood and it is commonly inherited from one generation to
the next. This study shows that 81 per cent of the households owned agricultural or
community land holding whereas 10 per cent of the households did not own any land
(Table 2.11).

Table 2.11: Land Availability of Households

Type of Land N %
No Land 117 10.1
Agricultural/Community/Land Holding 943 81.2
Don't Know 101 8.7
Total 1,161 100

During the survey, it was observed that most of the households owned landholding of
expanse ranging between 1 to 5.99 acres while 19 per cent of the households which
reported owning land mentioned its size is less than an acre (Table 2.12).

Table 2.12: Land Holdings of Households

Land Availability N %
Less than 1 Acre 178 18.9
1 to 1.99 Acre 268 28.4
2 to 5.99 Acre 265 28.1
6 Acre or more 181 19.2
No Response 51 5.4
Total 943 100

For this state, the average annual income generated by households through cultivation
has been calculated to be INR 49,088 on the basis of the responses received. The
table below gives a comprehensive picture of the earnings generated from cultivation
and the size of landholding per household.

We can observe from Table 2.13 that 204 households earned more than INR 15, 000
of which 40 per cent owned land of expanse ranging between 2 to 5.99 acres.
However, 36 households earned less than INR 5,000 and 13 households reportedly
had no earnings from farming the land available to them. This may be accounted to
the plausibility that these households do not utilize the entire expanse of their land to
its fullest capacity or do not own agricultural or cultivable land. The average size of
the household in the surveyed districts was about six members; therefore, the annual
income per person in the household, through cultivation was INR 8,181 only.

24
 Table 2.13: Income from Cultivation According to Landholdings
Income from Cultivation
Landholdings No Less than 5,000- 15,000- 50,000 & No Total
Earning 5,000 14,999 49,999 Above Response
Less Than 1 3 0 9 8 2 156 178
Acre
1 to 1.99 4 16 21 14 15 198 268
Acre
2 to 5.99 5 15 26 45 36 138 265
acre
6 Acre or 1 2 26 36 30 86 181
More
No Response 0 3 5 6 12 25 51
Total 13 36 87 109 95 603 943

Apart from agriculture, people depend on various development programmes

implemented by the government for extra income for the household. Mahatma
Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) guarantees to
provide employment for a minimum of 100 days of work in a year to the people who
live in poor economic conditions.; Otherwise, the state government is liable to pay an
unemployment allowance.

Table 2.14: Utilisation of MGNREGS by Various Households

Response Received
Job Card Holders N %
Yes 649 55.9
No 485 41.8
Not Eligible 27 2.3
Total 1,161 100

Worked in MGNREGS in Last 365 Days N %

Yes 459 70.7
No 172 26.5
No Response 18 2.8
Total 649 100

Possession of MGNREGS Card N %

With Family 348 53.6
With Village Official/Ward 141 21.7
Member/Sarpanch
No Response 160 24.7
Total 649 100

25
When the households were asked questions about utilisation of MGNREGS, 485 (42
per cent) of households responded that they did not have a MGNREGS job card. Of
the 649 (56 per cent) who reported that they have a job card, 459 (71 per cent)
claimed to have worked under MGNREGA in the last 365 days (Table 2.14). This
indicates that the MGNREGS is working pleasantly well in Himachal Pradesh.
However, there are still a large number of households which are not being able to
reap the benefits of the scheme and do not have a job card.

Out of 649 MGNRES job card holders, not all of them had the card with them. About
22 per cent of respondents reported that the card was with the village officials/ward
member/ Sarpanch whereas 54 per cent respondents said that the job card was with
the family.

Of the 459 respondents who mentioned that at least one member from their household
had worked under the MGNREGS, only one household did not report about either the
number of days of work or the money received. This information has been
represented in Table 2.15.

Table 2.15: Number of Days Worked and Money Received under MGNREGS
Earnings under MGNREGS (in INR)
No. of No Less 20,000 No
2,500- 5,000- 10,000- Tot
Days Earni than and Resp
4,999 9,999 19,999 al
Worked ngs 2,500 above onse
Less than
15 days 3 20 2 1 1 0 23 50
15-30 Days 1 24 19 3 0 0 32 79
31-99 Days 7 23 20 84 53 4 78 269
100 days
and Above 0 3 0 4 4 11 19 41
No
Response 0 11 0 5 3 0 1 20
Total 11 81 41 97 61 15 153 459

It may be seen from the classification table that 76 households reported to have
earned INR 10,000 and above by working under this scheme (Table 2.15) and 57
among them had worked for more than 31-99 days. Also, 41 respondents reported
having earned money within the range INR 2,500 – 4,999 of whom 20 had worked
for 31-99 days. In Himachal Pradesh, almost 18 per cent households mentioned
having an income less than INR 2,500 and 11 communicated not earning any
remuneration even after working for several days under this scheme. This kind of

26
reporting may be attributed to the proclivity among respondents who do not fully
comprehend the meaning or purpose of the survey to deliberately quote lower
incomes in the expectation of reaping some financial favours from it.

2.3 Individual Vulnerabilities

The poor socio-economic conditions of community and households create certain

conditions that compel people to migrate outside their village for better livelihood
opportunities. Even the individual personality traits, such as gender, age, caste,
religion, education, marital status etc determine if the individual chooses to or is
forced to migrate. Such characteristics were mapped through the study and the results
are discussed below. This gives us a brief idea about the socio-economic condition of
that particular household in general and the individual in particular.

Of the 6,921 individuals from five districts, 3,578 (51.7 per cent) were males, 3,328
(48.1 per cent) were females, and 15 (0.2 per cent) were transgender. In terms of
religion, about 94 per cent individuals in the households surveyed were Hindus and 6
per cent were Muslims. Comparatively, a negligible proportion is shared by Christian,
Sikh, Jain and Buddhist. About 48 per cent of the surveyed sample in Himachal
Pradesh belong to the general category, while 33 per cent of individuals belonging to
the SC category. OBC and ST constitute 7 per cent and 11 per cent of the population
respectively. Adults of age ranging between 26 to 40 years and children aged below
12 years comprise 24 per cent and 23 per cent of our sample respectively (Table
2.16).

27
 Table 2.16: Individual Characteristics
Gender N %
Male 3,578 51.7
Female 3,328 48.1
Transgender 15 0.2
Total 6,921 100

Religion N %
Hindu 6,497 93.9
Muslim 400 5.8
Christian 7 0.1
Sikh 4 0.1
Jain 2 0.0
Buddhist 10 0.1
No Religion 1 0.0
Total 6,921 100

Categories N %
General 3,306 47.8
Scheduled Caste 2,268 32.8
Scheduled Tribe 730 10.6
Other Backward Classes 451 6.5
Others 108 1.5
Do not Know 3 0.0
No Response 55 0.8
Total 6,921 100

Age Group N %
Children (0-12) 1557 22.5
Adolescent (13-18) 1,110 16.0
Young Adult (19-25) 1,027 14.8
Adulthood (26-40) 1,687 24.4
Middle aged person (41-60) 1,168 16.9
Older person (60+) 372 5.4
Total 6,921 100

When tabulating the marital status of persons in our sample, it was found that there
are 1,551 ever married males and 1,585 ever married females. These numbers include
the currently married, widowed, divorced and separated individuals from both the
sexes and form the denominators when tabulating age at first marriage (Table 2.17).

The most vital indicator that can help in estimating instances of child marriage in
Himachal Pradesh is the data on age at first marriage for both males and females.
Thus, for the ease of analysis, the age at marriage for males and females has been
tabulated separately. The observation is that approximately 38 per cent of females had

28
got married before reaching age 18 whereas almost 40 per cent of males had married
before attaining age 21 (Table 2.17).

Table 2.17: Marital Status and Age at First Marriage (Gender-Wise)

Marital Status Male Female
Married 1,509 1,450
Unmarried 1,998 1,705
Widow/Widower 41 133
Divorced 1 2
No Response 29 38
Total 3,578 3,328

Age at First Marriage of Females N %

Less than 10 113 7.1
10-17 487 30.7
18-24 889 56.1
25-34 88 5.6
35 and Above 8 0.5
Total 1,585 100

Age at First Marriage of Males

Less than 10 108 7.0
10-20 514 33.1
21-24 490 31.6
25-34 410 26.4
35 and Above 29 1.9
Total 1,551 100
Note: Age at first marriage for male and female is calculated separately as the legal age for
marriage for a male is 21 years and for females it is 18 years.

Table 2.17 conveys particulars regarding the educational statuses of individuals.

Among persons aged between 6 to 14 years, it is interesting to note that 6 per cent
children out of the 1,269 children falling within the stipulated age bracket have never
attended school and were also not studying at the time the survey was conducted.
This group of individuals may be considered as the ones who have never received any
formal education and are, thus, more prone to exploitation.

Education has an inverse effect on vulnerability because it ensures more competitive

employment for the people and increases a person’s awareness and sensitivity about

29
social circumstances, and in turn, mitigates their chances of stepping into the trap and
lure of traffickers. Similarly, the 6 per cent people aged between 15 to 25 years, who
have never attended school and were also not enrolled in any educational programme
at the time the study was conducted, are high-risk individuals because they have
never been exposed to the fruits of education and usually lack sustainable livelihood
options.

Table 2.18: Educational Status of the Individual

Currently Studying*
6-14 Years
Educational Status* Yes No No Response Total
Never Attended School 0 80 0 80
Attended School/College 1,011 91 14 1,116
No Response 22 15 36 73
Total 1,033 186 50 1,269
15-25 Years
Educational Status* Yes No No Response Total
Never Attended School 0 148 0 148
Attended School/College 888 713 6 1,607
No Response 13 18 10 41
Total 901 879 16 1,796
Note: Educational status is calculated for the individuals aged 6 years and above

The reason for not attending school has been tabulated only for those people who
were currently not studying according to our survey. When individuals aged 6-14
years were asked, the number of people who were not aware of the reason for not
attending and the extent of non-response were significantly high. Almost 9 per cent
mentioned that the cost of education was unaffordable for them while 8 per cent
reported household work, running the family business or taking care of siblings as
reasons for not attending school. Almost 6 per cent were uninterested in studies and
4 per cent mentioned that the educational institution was not reachable or adequate
transport facilities were not available (Table 2.19).

30
 Table 2.19: Reasons for not Attending School/College by Individuals (Age-Wise)
6-14 Years 15-25 Years
Reasons for not Attending School N % N %
School/College too Far Away or Transport not Available 7 3.8 31 3.5
Further Education not Considered Necessary 6 3.2 26 3.0
Required for Household Work / Family Business/Care of Siblings 14 7.5 153 17.4
Not Interested in Studies 11 5.9 135 15.4
Culturally not Acceptable 2 1.1 6 0.7
Required to Earn in Cash or Kind by Working Outside 3 1.6 49 5.6
Cost too Much 16 8.6 137 15.6
Lack of Proper Facilities for Girls in the School - - 3 0.3
No Female Teacher 2 1.1 3 0.3
Not Safe to send Girls/Boys - - 1 0.1
Repeated Failures - - 4 0.5
Got Married - - 16 1.8
Did not get admission 3 1.6 4 0.5
Others 17 9.1 69 7.9
Don't know 22 11.8 50 5.7
No Response 83 44.7 192 21.7
Total 186 100 879 100

Table 2.20: Occupation and Monthly Average Earnings of the Individuals

Occupation N % Avg. Monthly
Income (in INR)
Farmer/Cultivator 1,340 19.4 2,790
Agricultural Wage Labourer 235 3.4 7,100
Non-agricultural Wage Labourer 227 3.3 4,540
Self Employed 381 5.5 6,850
Regular Salaried / Wage 359 5.2 10,860
Employees
Rentier/Pensioner 92 1.3 9,140
Domestic Work 839 12.1 970
Did not Work 1,496 21.6 170
Others 106 1.5 550
No Response 1,846 26.7 990
Total 6,921 100
*This data includes information about migrants as reported by the respondents
Monthly Earnings (in INR) N %
No Earning 2,715 39.2
Less than 5,000 590 8.6
5,000-9,999 534 7.7
10,000-19,999 272 3.9
20,000 and Above 153 2.2
No Response 2,657 38.4
Total 6,921 100

31
While discussing monthly income, 39 per cent (N = 2,715) individuals reported that
they did not have any earnings per month and 17 per cent reported to have earned less
than INR 10,000 per month (Table 2.20). The fact that the number of individuals not
earning is higher than the number of unemployed individuals raises speculations
regarding the types of payment received by the working population. Untimely,
irregular, partial or no payment for the work done can point towards instances of
exploitation for labour or bonded labour. It could also be that people were not willing
to report income that they were earning.

2.4 Migration Patterns

Migration, both internal and international or intercontinental may be attributed to

push and pull factors. While the push factors are mostly associated with the origin
and encompass the social, economic and environmental reasons which compel people
to emigrate, the pull factors usually associated with the destinations are the ones that
attract migrants. Migration is still largely seen as survival or a subsistence strategy for
the rural masses.18 During the survey, Himachal Pradesh emerged as a destination for
people who migrate for work and better livelihood options. There were fewer cases of
out-migration reported in the surveyed villages or slums of the five districts of
Himachal Pradesh.

Himachal Pradesh as a Destination

Seasonal Migration Peak of Apple Harvesting Season: Apple is the most important
fruit crop or cash crop, which constitutes about 49 per cent of the total area under
fruit crops and about 85 per cent of the total fruit production. The apple fruit, having
an economy of around INR 3500 crore, is grown mainly in the districts of Shimla,
Kinnaur, Kullu, Mandi, Chamba and some parts of Sirmaur and Lahaul-Spiti.19 In the
peak of the apple picking season, the demand for labourers is very high in Himachal
Pradesh and contractors get an opportunity to bring labourers, both adults and
children from Nepal as well as different parts of the country by giving them advance

18
Kumar, P. (2014). Consequences of Rural Migration. Kurukshetra. [online] Available at:
http://yojana.gov.in/Recent_archive_english/September-14.pdf [Accessed 10 November 2018]
19
Yogendra, K. (2015). Apple season begins in Himachal Pradesh. The Hindu. [online]
Available at: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/apple-season-begins-in-
himachal-pradesh/article7493082.ece [Accessed 10 November 2018]

32
money. Many Nepalese people migrate for three months especially between the
months of July to September.

At the time of the fieldwork, it was observed that over many years, a large number of
people have migrated from Nepal to Himachal Pradesh for work and the majority of
them have settled here. They are mainly involved in apple farming especially in the
northern part of Himachal Pradesh besides Shimla district. Apple is a seasonal fruit
whose cultivation requires a lot of hard work. Therefore, the labourers work almost
for a year and once in a year they visit their native place in Nepal. They migrate with
their entire family and the owner organises their stay. Their children are enrolled in
schools but help their parents in work whenever necessary. They came to Himachal
Pradesh with the help of their relatives and friends or through the contractor several
years ago and have now settled in Shimla. They earn about INR 8000 to 10,000 in a
month.

Construction and Allied Activities: At the time of the survey, it was observed that
construction workers, carpenters, mechanics, etc who have migrated from Bihar,
Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, West Bengal, Nepal to Himachal Pradesh are living
in slums for more than 10 to 15 years. Through group discussions and in-depth
interviews, it has emerged that most of them migrated because of no livelihood
options in their native place, poverty, and insufficient employment opportunities
under MGNREGA. They reported that MGNREGA was not functioning efficiently in
their villages. They have small landholdings, which are not able to produce adequate
grains, so income from the production cannot be relied upon. All this resulted in
migration on a permanent basis, as people do not want to go back to their native
village due to lack of viable livelihood opportunities. They go back once in a year to
participate in festivals, weddings or in emergencies.

While living in slums in Himachal Pradesh they face various problems. They live in
rented jhuggis and pay a monthly rent of about INR 800 to INR 1500 excluding
electricity bill, which is too much for them to pay. They use the public toilet and pay
a monthly sum of INR 40. In spite of living in the slums for more than 10-15 years,
they do not have a ration card or any identity proof. Most of the families’ income is
around INR 7,000 to 9,000 per month and the average family size is 6 to 7 members.
It has been observed that some of the children do not go to school and take care of

33
their younger siblings. Few of them work as street vendors. Very few migrants from
Kashmir also live in slums due to the hostile situation in Kashmir and do petty jobs.
Majority of these workers work in unorganised sectors; therefore, their income is
uncertain and dependent on the whims of their employers. Sometimes, they do not get
work and if they take even a day’s leave their salary is deducted. There is no social
security for them nor do they get any health insurance/facilities. If someone in their
family falls sick or if there is an emergency, they find it difficult to cope.

While there are ‘permanent’ or long-term migrants to Himachal Pradesh, there are
some migrants from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Haryana, Punjab and West
Bengal, who migrate to Shimla between the months of October and May. These
migrants come to Himachal Pradesh with the help of contractors, agents, friends,
relatives etc., and during the rainy season, they go back to their village and farm.
They mostly work as skilled and unskilled labourers in the construction of roads,
bridges and buildings, as carpenters, mechanics, in the hotel, dhabas, etc. They get
daily wages, which range from INR 250 to 450. Most of the road construction work is
contracted out to private companies. The owner further contracts an agent/contractor
to bring the labourers by giving them an advance amount. The labourers are made to
stay in makeshift arrangements near the construction site or in slums.

At the work site, the clerk and the agent keep a record of accounts, but it has emerged
that the bookkeeping system is faulty and they take advantage of the illiteracy of the
labourers. After completion of the work the person who is supposed to pay the
amount due to the labourers, either gets a transfer to another work site or hands over
his responsibility to another person. The contractor who brings the labourers often
makes excuses such as non-receipt of payment from the owner, loss borne at the time
of making travel arrangements for the labourers etc. Such situations often result in
disputes between the staff, agent, and labourers. In the end, the labourers do not get
their wages or get only a partial sum of money that is due to them. Such instances
depict the element of luring and vulnerability of the migrants who go to a particular
state for the first time and do not have any social support systems. Though they
‘consensually’ migrate, they are often forced into exploitative working conditions and
are not paid the promised wages. The labourers do not have any support and guidance
to file a complaint with the police station. Even if the labourers approach the police

34
station, they do not have any kind of contract, record, proof of wages received, etc
with the help of which they can prove their case.

Though the unorganised sector opens up several job opportunities it operates in an

exploitative manner. There are no government inspections on the sites and there are
no designated officials to check the records to ensure that the labourers get proper
remuneration, have regulated working hours, safety at the workplace, access to
toilets, clean water, etc.

Himachal Pradesh as a Source

Himachal Pradesh has emerged primarily as a destination rather than a source for
migration. However, through the HH survey, we captured the extent of out-migration
from Himachal Pradesh and modus operandi through which people migrate to
different places for better livelihood. It was observed from the survey that
vulnerabilities within village or community, household and individual level create
certain conditions that force people to migrate. The reason for migration can be
classified as social, economic, political and environmental. Social migration may take
place in the hope for a better quality of life whereas economic migration may be to
look for an alternative livelihood option to survive. Political migration can be due to
political persecution or some kind of political disturbance within their region while
natural disasters may be the environmental causes for migration.20

Himachali people very rarely live in slums. According to a BDO in Solan district,
“the production of apples is high in Shimla, which produces around 1.50 to 2 lakh
crore apple cartons in a season. This generates good income for the people and the
state. On the other hand, small, medium and large-scale government sector industries
employ a good number of people. A day’s wage for a skilled worker is INR 450 and
for an unskilled worker is INR 300 and under MGNREGA it is INR 171. Under
MGNREGA, there are several ongoing projects of land development, rain-water
harvesting and water tank construction work. Most of the people have a land holding
of about 8 to 10 bigas and the government has allotted some land to the landless
people. Some people involve themselves in the selling of fruits, vegetables, clothes,

20
The British Board Casting Cooperation. (2018). Migration Trend. [online] Available at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/geography/migration/migration_trends_rev2.shtml
[Accessed 10 November 2018]

35
handicrafts, artificial jewellery etc. Therefore, Himachali people do not feel the need
to migrate to other places in search of jobs.”

Another key stakeholder from an NGO in Himachal Pradesh shared a similar view,
“there is no distress poverty in Himachal Pradesh. Local people do not live in slums.
People from other states migrate to Shimla because of the variety of job opportunities
available. Most of the Himachali people do not feel the need to go outside their state.
Majority of the migrants live in rented houses and very few of them live in slums.
Here slums are also not as big as what we get to see in other metropolitan cities. They
do face some problems while living in slums but the availability of livelihood
opportunities keeps them here despite some problems. The Public Distribution
System (PDS) is good in Himachal Pradesh. Kinnaur and Lahul and Spiti are tribal
districts, but if one compares them to tribal districts of states such as Maharashtra,
Madhya Pradesh, etc, you will find them much progressive. In fact, a majority of
Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and other high-rank officials of Himachal are
from Kinnaur district.” Despite the narratives of the key stakeholders, which stated
that there was little reason for people to migrate out of Himachal Pradesh, we carried
out HH surveys in the selected districts in order to understand the prevalence of the
phenomenon, keeping in mind that the numbers may be minuscule. This was done
with the assumption that it is important to understand trafficking and trafficking like
situations and its linkages with migration.

Of the 1,161 households, around 12 per cent (N=134) reported that at least one of
their family members were living and working outside the village at the time of the
survey (Table 2.21).

Table 2.21: Occurrence of Migration from the Household

Occurrence of Migration N %
Yes 134 11.5
No 1,027 88.5
Total 1,161 100

The land is an economic asset which influences various household decisions like
migration because it is a vital source of income in rural society. When trying to link
migration with the land-ownership status of households, we can observe that
migration had occurred in 10 (9 per cent) of the 117 households with no land

36
available and 112 (12 per cent) of the 943 households which owned agricultural or
community land at the time of conducting the survey (Table 2.22).

Upon applying the chi-square test of independence to determine any significant

relationship between the two categorical variables, the results were found to be
statistically insignificant at both 5 per cent or 10 per cent level of significance
because the P-value is greater than our predetermined level of significance (α=0.1 or
α=0.05), implying that the null hypothesis which assumes that the variables are
independent of each other, cannot be rejected. From this test, we may conclude that
there is not enough evidence to suggest that there is an interrelationship between
landholding status and occurrence of migration in the state of Himachal Pradesh.
Although the percentage of out-migrants is lower from landless households in
comparison to households which own land, the results are statistically insignificant.

Table 2.22: Occurrence of Migration according to Land Availability

Whether Migration Occurred
Yes No Total
Land Availability N % N % N %
No Land 10 8.5 107 91.5 117 100
Agricultural/Community
112 11.9 831 88.1 943 100
Land
Don't know 11 23.9 35 76.1 46 100
No Response 1 1.8 54 98.2 55 100
Total 134 11.5 1,027 88.5 1,161 100
Chi square = 1.1332, p-value = 0.287

2.4.1 Characteristics of the Migrants

Of the 6,921 individuals in the households, a total of 173 persons had migrated during
the period 2014-16. In the tables below the migrants have been segregated on the
basis of their age, sex, categories and marital status. About 93 per cent of the
migrants were males. Around 8 per cent of the migrants were reported to be between
13-18 years of age, 34 per cent between 19-25 years and 38 per cent between 26-40
years. Although a small number, there were reportedly 4 (2 per cent) migrants in the
age group of 0-12 years (Table 2.23). This study shows that almost half of the
migrant sample constituted of SCs and 38 per cent of the ones belonging to the
General category had migrated.

37
 Table 2.23: Gender, Age and Categories of the Migrants
Gender N %
Male 161 93.1
Female 12 6.9
Total 173 100

Age Groups N %
Children (0-12) 4 2.3
Adolescent (13-18) 14 8.1
Young Adult (19-25) 59 34.1
Adulthood (26-40) 65 37.6
Middle Aged Person (41-60) 28 16.2
Older Person (60+) 3 1.7
Total 173 100

Categories N %
General 66 38.2
Scheduled Caste 86 49.7
Scheduled Tribe 9 5.2
Other Backward Classes 9 5.2
No Response 3 1.7
Total 173 100

As discussed, among the 173 migrants in 2014-16, 161 were male migrants and 12
were female migrants. It may be remarked from Table 2.24 that among the 97
married migrants, almost half were adults aged between 26 and 40 years, 25 were
aged above 40 years and 3 were aged below 18 years. Among the 73 unmarried
migrants, 51 per cent were young adults within the age group 19 to 25 years.

From another frame of reference, we may comment that out of the 173 total migrants,
38 per cent were adults and among them, 74 per cent were married. We can note that
10 per cent of the migrants were aged below 18 years and 17 per cent among them
were married. Cross-tabulating marital status with the age of the migrants gave us an
overview of the background characteristics of the migrants in our dataset as well as
helped us ascertain instances of child marriage if any (Table 2.24).

Table 2.24: Marital Status according to the Age of the Migrants

Young Older
Marital Children Adolescent Adulthood Middle-aged
Adult (19- Person Total
status (0-12) (13-18) (26-40) person (41-60)
25) (60+)
Married 1 2 21 48 23 2 97
Unmarried 3 12 37 16 4 1 73
Widow/
Separated 0 0 1 1 1 0 3
Total 4 14 59 65 28 3 173

38
We can observe from the age-sex classification of the migrants presented in Table
2.25 that most of the migrants in this state were young adults and adults. We may
note that 94 per cent of the 65 adult migrants and 54 of the 59 people aged 19 to 25
years were males.

Table 2.25: Age Group of the Migrants (Gender-Wise)

Gender of the Migrants
Age Group of the Migrants Males Females Total
Children (0-12) 2 2 4
Adolescent (13-18) 13 1 14
Young Adult (19-25) 54 5 59
Adulthood (26-40) 61 4 65
Middle Aged Person (41-60) 28 0 28
Older Person (60+) 3 0 3
Total 161 12 173

From the distribution of sex and marital status of migrants provided in Table 2.26, we
can deduce that 92 of the 161 male migrants were married while 58 per cent 12
female migrants in our data were unmarried.

Table 2.26: Marital Status of the Migrants (Gender-Wise)

Marital status Gender of the Migrants
Males Females Total
Married 92 5 97
Unmarried 66 7 73
Widow/Separated 3 0 3
Total 161 12 173

2.4.2 Income Pattern of Migrants

One of the objectives of the survey is to fathom the pattern of migration among
individuals from 2014 to 2016. Responses about monthly income were received for
only as many as 92 males and 7 female migrants. Men quoted an income of INR
3,348 and women mentioned a slightly lower income of INR 2,857.

For the children in the age group 0-12 years in our sample who had migrated, there
were no responses received pertaining to their average income per month. The
adolescents had quoted not earning any money while young adults stated their
average income as INR 2,506 monthly. For adults, the income reported was higher at
INR 3,961 before dropping slightly to INR 3,823 as quoted by middle-aged persons.

39
Older migrants have reported an even lower average of INR 2,866. From Table 2.27,
we can infer distinct age-sex variations in the income pattern of migrants.

Table 2.27: Average Monthly Income of the Migrants according to Gender and Age
Gender N Response Average Income
Received (in INR)
Male 161 92 3,348
Female 12 7 2,857
Total 173
Age Group Migrants N Response Average Income
Received (in INR)
Children (0-12) 4 - -
Adolescent (13-18) 14 4 0
Young Adult (19-25) 59 29 2,506
Adulthood (26-40) 65 42 3,961
Middle Aged Person (41-60) 28 21 3,823
Older Person (60+) 3 3 2,866
Total 173

Table 2.28 shows that among the 173 migrants, 12 were working as agricultural wage
labourers and reported an average monthly income of INR 2,500. Those employed in
non-agricultural wage labour (N=31) and the self-employed migrants (N=7), reported
an average monthly income of INR 3,995 and INR 3,833 respectively. This
information was reported by the individual available in the household. This
information for the migrant could be before or after migration, or the person may still
be in the destination where he/she had gone to work.

Table 2.28: Average Monthly Income of the Migrants according to Occupation

Occupation N Response Average Income
received (in INR)
Farmer/Cultivator 51 36 2,814
Agricultural Wage Labour 12 6 2,500
Non-agricultural Wage Labourer 31 23 3,995
Self Employed 7 6 3,833
Regular Salaried / Wage Employees 8 7 9,428
Rentier/Pensioner 4 4 5,150
Domestic Work 3 2 0
Did not Work 17 17 1,129
Other 3 3 0
No Response 37 - -
Total 173

40
The table below correlates the number of months worked by the migrant with his/her
total earnings from the job. The observation is that 15 per cent of the 173 total
migrants were merely earning money less than INR 5,000 but 77 per cent among
them had worked for less than 3 months at the destination. Table 2.29 also reads that
16 per cent of the migrants received between INR 5,000-9,999 while 25 reportedly
earned above INR 10,000. The data suggests seasonal or short-term migration
because 88 out of the 173 total migrants had moved out for less than 3 months.

Table 2.29: Total Earnings According to Months Worked

Total Earnings (in INR)
30,000
No Less than 5,000- 10,000- 15,000- No
and Total
earning 5,000 9,999 14,999 29,999 Response
Months above
Worked N % N % N % N % N % N % N % N %
0-3
Months 1 1.1 20 22.7 14 15.9 5 5.7 4 4.5 3 3.4 41 46.6 88 100
4-7
Months 1 4.2 4 16.7 7 29.2 2 8.3 0 0.0 0 0.0 10 41.7 24 100
8-12
Months 0 0.0 2 5.6 7 19.4 3 8.3 4 11.1 4 11.1 16 44.4 36 100
No
Response 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 25 100.0 25 100
Total 2 1.2 26 15.0 28 16.2 10 5.8 8 4.6 7 4.0 92 53.2 173 100

It must be noted that we have considered all the migrants when cross-tabulating the
earnings versus the number of months worked instead of only running the analysis for
those migrants who stated employment as their purpose of migration. This is because
we cannot make a judgment about the circumstances that might have led to the
possibility of a person travelling for education, marriage or other reasons to take up a
job. Thus, we cannot ignore the several instances where the migrants who have not
stated job as their primary reason for migration, have answered to questions
pertaining to the number of months worked and income from working at the
destination.

2.4.3 Transit Areas

Table 2.30 shows the main transit areas that people from Himachal Pradesh pass by
during migration.

41
 Table 2.30: Places of Halt till Destination from Different Source Districts
Source Districts
Place of Halt till Destination
Chamba Kullu Sirmaur Total
Nahan 0 0 9 9
Shimla 0 0 9 9
Chamba 5 0 0 5
Paota 0 0 2 2
Solan 0 0 2 2
Delhi 0 2 0 2
Baddi 0 0 1 1
Himgiri 1 0 0 1
Kangra 1 0 0 1
Manali 0 1 0 1
Note: This table shows only the top ten places of halt.

Migrants from Himachal Pradesh use single or multiple transit areas to reach their
destination and switch between different modes of transportation. Nahan and Shimla
appear to be the top transit areas followed by the district of Chamba.

2.4.4 Migration Destination Areas

The data for migration from the source districts in Himachal Pradesh shows that
people have migrated to different places, mostly within the state, between the years
2014-2016. The destination and source areas have been presented in the table below.

Table 2.31: Source and Destination Districts of the Migrants

Source District of Migration
Destination Districts Chamba Kullu Sirmaur Total
Shimla 0 0 52 52
Sirmaur 0 0 31 31
Solan 6 1 15 22
Chamba 11 0 0 11
Nahan 0 0 4 4
Paota 0 0 3 3
Kullu 0 3 0 3
Kangra 2 0 0 2
Jalandhar 1 0 0 1

There were multiple reasons for people to migrate to different places within Himachal
Pradesh, India and abroad. The places of destination based on the purpose of
migration have been represented in Table 2.32 below.

42
 Table 2.32: Places of Destination according to Purpose of Migration
Purpose of Migration
Place of Destination Job Education Marriage Others No Response Total
Shimla 22 3 0 14 13 52
Sirmaur 10 0 0 13 8 31
Solan 13 1 1 3 4 22
Chamba 11 0 0 0 0 11
Nahan 4 0 0 0 0 4
Paota 0 0 0 2 1 3
Kullu 2 0 0 0 1 3
Kangra 2 0 0 0 0 2
Jalandhar 1 0 0 0 0 1

The data suggest that a maximum number of migrants had migrated within Himachal
Pradesh itself. Punjab and Haryana emerge as the next two big destinations for people
migrating from Himachal Pradesh. International migration from Himachal Pradesh
was also shared by KIs but the survey data does not manifest any instances of
migration outside the country. Job related issues remain as the primary reason for
migration for the majority of the migrants.

2.4.5 Purpose of Migration

During the survey in Himachal Pradesh, job, education and marriage strongly
emerged as the main purposes for people to migrate to different places. Forms of
trafficking may be estimated on the basis of the purpose of migration and/or if the
promise of migration was met and/or there was a financial transaction involved for
the purpose of migration. The job was stated as the purpose of migration for 78 (45
per cent) of the migrants during period 2014-16. Education was stated as reasons of
migration by 9 (5 per cent) migrants and only 2 had migrated for marriage.

Table 2.33: Purpose of Migration

Response Received
Purpose of Migration N %
Job 78 45.1
Education 9 5.2
Marriage 2 1.2
Others 37 21.4
No response 47 27.1
Total 173 100

43
This study also tries to examine the purpose of migration among different age groups
of migrants. The age distribution of the migrants and their purpose of migration have
been represented in the table below.

Table 2.34: Purpose of Migration according to Age Groups of the Migrants

Age Groups of the Migrants
Purpose of Childr Young Middle aged Older
Adolesce Adulthoo
Migration en (0- Adult (19- person (41- person Total
nt (13-18) d (26-40)
12) 25) 60) (60+)
Job 1 5 33 26 12 1 78
Education 1 1 1 5 1 0 9
Marriage 0 0 1 1 0 0 2
Others 2 6 7 14 8 0 37
No response 0 2 17 19 7 2 47
Total 4 14 59 65 28 3 173

Among the 78 migrants who assigned job as their reason for migration, 1 was a child
aged less than 12 years and 5 were adolescents aged between 13 to 18 years. Of the
ones migrating for employment, 26 were adults and 33 were young adults of age
ranging between 19 to 25 years. Also, 56 per cent of the 9 total migrants who had
reportedly travelled for the purpose of education are adults within the age group 26-
40 years (Table 2.34).

A noteworthy observation from this table pertains to the 33 per cent out of the 18
migrants aged below 18 years who had migrated for the purpose of enrolling in a job
or service. This information is a mighty indicator which can form the grounds for
assessing the levels of trafficking of children in the form of child labour in Himachal
Pradesh and may be suggestive of children or adolescents migrating with their
families or alone for engaging in labour activities of various kinds. Though the
figures are not significantly high for children as well as adolescents, these individuals
constitute a vulnerable group and are worthy of attention.

Table 2.35: Duration of Stay of the Migrants According to the Purpose of Migration
Duration of Stay
Purpose of Less 3-6 7-9 10- 12 2 3 or No Total
Migration than 3 Months Months Months Years more Response
Months Years
Job 38 20 2 6 1 2 9 78
Education 4 3 0 1 0 0 1 9
Marriage 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2
Others 18 5 1 1 1 2 9 37
No
response 16 9 0 2 1 1 18 47
Total 76 39 3 10 3 5 37 173

44
Table 2.35 classifies migrants on the basis of the purpose of their migration and the
duration of stay at the destination. Almost 49 per cent of the migrants who had
travelled for a job stayed at the destination for less than 3 months, thus, suggesting
short-tenure migration for seasonal livelihood opportunities. The overall picture
conveys that 44 per cent of the migrants had migrated for less than 3 months.

2.4.6 Modus Operandi of Migration

The modus operandi of the process of migration which may lead to trafficking has
been traced through responses about the facilitators and the monetary transactions
involved in the process of migration. A total of 62 per cent of the 173 migrants are
said to have sought the help of someone to facilitate their migration (Table 2.36).

Table 2.36: Help Sought During Migration

Response Received
Help Sought
N %
Yes 108 62.4
No 45 26.0
No Response 20 11.6
Total 173 100

The distribution of the different types of people who helped the migrants in the
process of migration is presented in Table 2.37. About 28 per cent of the migrants
reportedly took the help of a contractor and 16 per cent took the help of friends or
relatives whereas 12 per cent took the help of a known person from the village (Table
2.37).

Table 2.37: Facilitator of Migration

Response Received
Facilitator of Migration N %
Contractor 49 28.3
Agent 3 1.7
Known person from the village 20 11.6
Friends/Relatives 28 16.2
Placement agency 1 0.6
Co-worker 1 0.6
Self 45 26.0
Others 4 2.3
No response 22 12.7
Total 173 100

45
Table 2.38 checks whether the facilitators who helped in-migration had made a
promise to the migrant, and in 26 per cent of the cases, it emerged that the migrants
had been promised something.

Table 2.381: Whether a Promise was made to the Migrants

Whether a Promise was made Response Received
to the Migrants N %
Yes 45 26.0
No 106 61.3
No Response 22 12.7
Total 173 100

The following table brings to fore information on the percentages of migrants who
sought assistance from various types of facilitators and tabulates whether the
promises made to them were met or not. For this analysis, we have only considered
the 45 migrants for whom it was reported that a promise had been made to them by
the middlemen who had helped in migration.

Table 2.39: Whether the Promise Was Met by the Facilitator

Response Received
Facilitator of Migration Yes No No Response Total
N % N % N % N %
Contractor 14 77.8 1 5.6 3 16.6 18 100
Known person from village 1 100 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 100
Friends/Relatives 10 76.9 1 7.7 2 15.4 13 100
Co-worker 1 100 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 100
Others 2 66.7 0 0.0 1 33.3 3 100
Total 28 77.8 2 5.6 6 16.6 36 100

Self 8 100 0 0.0 0 0.0 8 100

No response 1 100 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 100
Grand Total 37 82.2 2 4.4 6 13.4 45 100

Only 2 respondents mentioned that the promise that the facilitator made was not met
and one among them was helped by friends or relatives while the other had sought the
help of some contractor. Almost 78 per cent of the migrants who had sought
someone’s help reported that the promise made to them had been fulfilled (Table
2.39). Looking at the data from a more meaningful perspective, we may conclude that
for 6 per cent of the people migrating via a contractor, the promise was unmet while
the same was true for 8 per cent of the individuals seeking help from friends and
relatives.

46
Almost 17 per cent of the migrants who had been made a promise by a facilitator did
not respond to our query on the fulfilment of the promise. In the element of our study,
the magnitude of non-responses must be taken note of because it is an index of the
sensitivity and stigma attached with the issue of trafficking and it, thus, raises doubts
with regard to the safety of the migrants during and after migration. The high degrees
of non-response noted in our study which is indicative of an unwillingness to testify
may be due to an innate fear of retribution by traffickers. However, we also cannot
rule out the possibility that the respondent or head the household may not be fully
aware of the circumstances of the migrant.

Table 2.40 reads that about 54 per cent of the migrants stated that they neither gave
nor took money from the facilitators but almost 34 per cent of the migrants had
exchanged money at the time of migration. There is also a considerable degree of
non-response to this question, which may be attributed to the respondent’s lack of
knowledge, hesitancy to disclose the information or tendency to maintain the hush
and secrecy associated with such unlawful undertakings. Financial exchanges can be
deemed as a sign that things may be more complicated than they appear and indicate
vested interests of the middlemen involved.

Table 2.40: Amount Given/Taken by the Migrants

Response Received
Amount Given/Taken by the Migrants N %
Given 35 20.2
Taken 23 13.3
Neither 94 54.3
No Response 21 12.2
Total 173 100

Of 106 migrants who specified the type of facilitator involved in the process of
migration, 55 per cent of the people reported that their migration did not involve any
monetary transaction, whereas 30 per cent had given money and 15 per cent had
reportedly received money for migrating (Table 2.41). Almost 61 per cent of the 49
people seeking assistance from some contractor had transacted an amount while 35
per cent of the ones migrating with the help village acquaintances had taken money
for migrating. Around 36 per cent of the people taking the help of friends or relatives
had paid money for migrating while the same was true for the only person migrating
with the help of a placement agency.

47
 Table 2.41: Monetary Transactions with the Facilitators
Response Received
Facilitator of Migration Given Taken Neither No Response Total
N % N % N % N % N %
Contractor 21 42.9 9 18.4 19 38.7 0 0.0 49 100
Agent 0 0.0 0 0.0 3 100 0 0.0 3 100
Known person from village 0 0.0 7 35.0 13 65.0 0 0.0 20 100
Friends/Relatives 10 35.7 0 0.0 18 64.3 0 0.0 28 100
Placement agency 1 100 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 100
Co-worker 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 100 0 0.0 1 100
Others 0 0.0 0 0.0 4 100 0 0.0 4 100
Total 32 30.2 16 15.1 58 54.7 0 0.0 106 100

Self 3 6.7 7 15.6 34 75.6 1 2.1 45 100

No Response 0 0.0 0 0.0 2 9.1 20 90.9 22 100
Grand Total 35 20.2 23 13.3 94 54.3 21 12.2 173 100

From Table 2.42, we can deduce whom the migrants migrated with and if they sought
someone’s assistance in the process. Among the 93 people who had migrated alone
from home but were later accompanied by friends, 67 per cent had taken the help of a
facilitator to migrate, whereas 33 of the 52 individuals who had migrated alone from
home and without friends, had resorted to someone for help. Even amongst the 9
people who had migrated with family and without friends, 6 had sought someone’s
help.
Table 2.42: Help Taken by the Migrants Travelling with Known Persons
Migration with Known Persons Help Received during Migration
Yes No No Response Total
Alone from Home and with no Friends 33 17 2 52
Alone from Home but with Friends 62 25 6 93
With Family but no Friends 6 1 2 9
With Family and with Friends 4 1 0 5
No Response 0 0 1 1
Total 108 45 20 173

Among the 93 people who had migrated alone from home but in the company of
friends, 28 of them had either given or taken money for migration. About 42 per cent
of the people who had migrated completely alone had also exchanged money in order
to perpetrate the process of migration (Table 2.43). This table highlights the
vulnerability of those people migrating alone from home, whether or not in the
company of friends.

48
 Table 2.43: Monetary Transactions by Migrants Travelling with Known Persons
Migration with Known Persons Given Taken Neither No Response Total
Alone from Home and with no Friends 15 7 27 3 52
Alone from Home but with Friends 15 13 59 6 93
With Family but no Friends 3 0 4 2 9
With Family and with Friends 2 0 3 0 5
Not Applicable 0 0 0 1 1
Total 35 23 94 21 173

From the table below which charts the type of payment received after work, we can
note that 67 per cent were fully paid whereas 10 per cent were partially paid and 8 per
cent were not paid at all (Table 2.44).

Table 2.44: Types of Payment Received by the Migrants

Response Received
Type of Payment N %
Full 115 66.5
Partial 18 10.4
Not Paid 13 7.5
No Response 27 15.6
Total 173 100

The table below cross-examines the nature of payment received by migrants mapped
against the types of facilitators of migration.

Table 2.45: Type of Payment Received by the Migrants based on the Facilitator of
Migration
Type of Payment Received
Full Partial Not Paid No response Total
Facilitator of Migration N % N % N % N % N %
Contractor 35 71.4 7 14.3 2 4.1 5 10.2 49 100
Agent 3 100.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 3 100
Known Person from Village 11 55.0 2 10.0 4 20.0 3 15.0 20 100
Friends/Relatives 17 60.7 4 14.3 4 14.3 3 10.7 28 100
Placement Agency 1 100.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 100
Co-worker 0 0.0 1 100.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 100
Others 4 100.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 4 100
Total 71 67.0 14 13.2 10 9.4 11 10.4 106 100
Self 34 75.6 3 6.7 3 6.7 5 11.0 45 100
No Response 10 45.5 1 4.5 0 0.0 11 50.0 22 100
Grand Total 115 66.5 18 10.4 13 7.5 27 15.6 173 100

From Table 2.45, it is interesting to note that almost 76 per cent of the 45 people who
had not taken anyone’s help and had arranged their own migration had received full
payment after work. Of the 49 people who had sought the help of contractors, 4 per
cent had not been paid at all and 14 per cent had been partially paid while 20 per cent

49
of the migrants who had resorted to acquaintances from their village for help had also
not received any remuneration for their work. Even among the ones taking assistance
from friends or relatives, 14 per cent had been partially paid and a similar proportion
of migrants had not received any money even after working for months. As is evident
from the discussion above, out of the 13 people who reportedly received no
emoluments for their work, 2 had migrated with the help of some contractor and
another 8 had sought assistance from friends, known persons from the village and
relatives. This data implies that the multiple instances of people not getting paid even
after completion of their work may indicate a modest presence of trafficking in the
state of Himachal Pradesh and the chances of being underpaid or not paid even after
working is multiplied for the people seeking assistance from intermediaries. This is
because, more often than not, these middlemen have vested interests. The research
team observed during the household survey that while the respondents were hesitant
or ambivalent to give responses to specific questions related to the modus operandi
through which their migration was facilitated, the migrants were willing to highlight
their experiences at their workplace.

Table 2.46 Issues Faced by the Migrants

Issues Faced by the Migrants Yes No No Response Total
N % N % N % N %
Availability of Doctors 122 70.5 44 25.4 7 4.1 173 100
Breaks for Lunch and Breakfast 118 68.2 44 25.4 11 6.4 173 100
Discrimination 108 62.4 53 30.6 12 7.0 173 100
Drinking Water 109 63.0 54 31.2 10 5.8 173 100
Housing 43 24.9 93 53.8 37 21.3 173 100
Place to Rest at Work 39 22.5 95 54.9 39 22.6 173 100
Safe Place to Keep Children 37 21.4 120 69.4 16 9.2 173 100
Schooling for Children 37 21.4 116 67.1 20 11.5 173 100
Sexual Harassment at Work 70 40.5 84 48.5 19 11.0 173 100
Theft and Loot 75 43.4 65 37.6 33 19.0 173 100
Toilet/Bathroom 93 53.8 64 37.0 16 9.2 173 100
Work Place Hygiene and 75 43.4 82 47.4 16 9.2 173 100
Cleanliness
Work Place Risk 81 46.9 76 43.9 16 9.2 173 100
Work Place Safety 62 35.8 93 53.8 18 10.4 173 100
Work Place - Freedom to Quit 58 33.5 92 53.2 23 13.3 173 100
Job
Working Hours (Beyond 8 12 6.9 142 82.1 19 11.0 173 100
Hours)
Others 3 1.7 95 54.9 75 43.4 173 100

50
 About 41 per cent of the respondents complained of sexual harassment at the
workplace, 37 per cent mentioned the lack of toilet/bathroom at their workplace, and
53 per cent mentioned that they did not have the freedom to quit the job. The absence
of freedom to terminate from one’s services indicates the possibility of bonded
labour. About 69 per cent of the migrants did not find a safe space to keep their
children while they were at work and 62 per cent complained of being victims of
some form of discrimination at their place of work.

2.5 Estimating Likely Cases of Trafficking by Generating Vulnerability Tracking

Matrix for Migrants in Himachal Pradesh

Types of Trafficking: The quantitative aspect of the household survey seeks to

estimate instances of trafficking in persons by studying the modus operandi of out-
migration of individuals from the interviewed households. Trafficking has been sub-
categorized into three forms or types on the basis of the nature of exploitation faced
by the migrants.

 Type I trafficking pertains to the migrants classified as ‘missing’ because there has
reportedly been no communication between these individuals and their respective
families. The linkage between trafficking and missing persons is an established
reality and the number of missing migrants from the source can help us form a
meaningful estimator of the levels of trafficking from a state.

 Type II trafficking relates to the lack of freedom reported for migrants to terminate
from their services at the destinations.

 Type III trafficking considers the migrants who have been partially paid or not paid
any remuneration at all for their services. Untimely, irregular non-payment of wages
qualifies for exploitation of labour.

Table 2.47: Types of Trafficking

Types of Trafficking Modus Operandi Forms of Exploitation
Type I Someone Helped Money Given/ Migrant not in Contact with
in Migration Taken Family
Type II Someone Helped Money Given/ No Freedom to quit the Job
in Migration Taken
Type III Someone Helped Money Given/ Migrant given Partial/No
in Migration Taken Payment

51
Modus Operandi: The modus operandi considers all the migrants who mentioned that
someone had helped them during the process of migration, suggesting the
involvement of a mediator or facilitator, and those who disclosed that a monetary
transaction had taken place with the middleman.

Continuum of Vulnerability: The migrants have been classified on the basis of the
levels or degrees of vulnerability in the following manner:

 Low Vulnerability: The migrants who have exclusively experienced any of the
three forms of trafficking described above have been segregated as individuals
with low vulnerabilities. This indicates that the migrants who are either not in
communication with their families, or do not have the freedom to quit their job, or
have not received any emoluments /have been partially paid for their work will fall
under the purview of migrants with relatively lower vulnerabilities of becoming
victims of exploitation or trafficking. The conceptualization implies that a migrant
who has been subjected to Type I trafficking has not faced Type II or Type III
forms of trafficking and a similar idea applies for the other types as well.

 Medium Vulnerability: The migrants who are expected to have experienced any
of the three combinations obtained when choosing two out of the three total types
of trafficking defined above, [3C2 = 3! / {2! * (3-2)!} = 3], may be demarcated as
the ones with medium vulnerabilities of falling prey to exploitation or trafficking
in persons. The migrants with medium levels of vulnerability can be
conceptualized as being victims of either of the three following combinations of
trafficking:

 Type I + Type II: This category constitutes migrants who are not only
out of touch with their respective families, but they also reportedly do
not have the liberty to quit their job.

 Type II + Type III: This segment comprises of migrants who not only
reported lacking the freedom to terminate their services at the
destinations, but they had also reportedly received only partial payment
for their job or had not been paid at all.

52
  Type I + Type III: This type of trafficking captures all the migrants
who were missing at the time the household survey was conducted and
had also not received full or any remuneration for their work at the
destinations.

 High Vulnerability: The migrants who have been subjected to all the three types of
trafficking defined above can be deemed to be individuals at a heightened risk of
being victims of human trafficking because they satisfy all the three parameters of
measuring vulnerability. The information on lack of freedom to quit the job when
combined with partial or non-payment of remuneration as well as lack of contact
with families directs us in understanding the extent of bonded labour or debt
bondage, a modern form of slavery which binds a person to his services as security
for the repayment of a financial debt or a debt of gratitude for some favour but the
terms of the pay-off are not fairly stated. Victims of debt bondage are not only made
to work against their will and without any emoluments, but they are also subjected
to psycho-social stress stemming from physical or emotional punishment and
isolation, thus, preventing them from connecting with their families. A migrant who
is suspected to have been victims of all the three forms, Type I, Type II and Type III
trafficking, manifests much higher risk of being trafficked.

Vulnerability Tracking Matrix:

On the basis of the definitional constructs above, we have tried to estimate the extent
of probable or likely cases of trafficking in Himachal Pradesh disaggregated by the
severity of vulnerability. From amongst the migrants who had reportedly taken
someone’s help for migration and had paid money to the facilitator, 14 can be
estimated to be at relatively lower levels of vulnerability because they are exclusively
victims of only any one of the three types of trafficking. As can be read from the
vulnerability matrix below, 13 reported that they did not have the freedom to resign
from their job and 1 migrant has either been partially paid or not paid at all for the
work. There are 3 who can be estimated to be at a medium degree of vulnerability
because they have been subjected to exploitation associated with any of the
combinations formed when choosing two out of the three defined types of trafficking.
In Himachal Pradesh, 1 migrant from our sample was not only presumably missing,
but they also reportedly lacked the freedom to quit their job while 2 migrants neither

53
had the liberty to terminate nor were they paid for their work or were only partially
paid. From a total sample of 173 migrants in Himachal Pradesh, we can infer from a
combination of the three levels of measuring vulnerability that the proportion of
trafficked victims among the migrants who had paid money to some mediator can be
estimated to be almost 10 per cent.

Among the migrants who had received money from some facilitator for their own
migration, 6 have been estimated to be at comparatively lower levels of vulnerability.
The vulnerability matrix presented below conveys that 1 migrant was disconnected
from his/her family when the survey was conducted while 5 expressed the lack of
freedom to terminate from their services. Therefore, we may conclude on the basis of
our survey that from amongst migrants who had received money for migration,
almost 4 per cent are estimated to have been trafficked.

Table 2.48: Tracking Vulnerability of Trafficking

Migrants
Vulnerable
Medium High
Low Vulnerability to
Vulnerability Vulnerability
Trafficking
(N=584)
Modus
Type
Operandi Type Type
I
I II Type I +
Trafficking Trafficking Trafficking +
+ + Type II + N %
Type I Type II Type III
Type Type Type III
Type
II III
III
Migrant
took
someone’s
help 0 13 1 1 2 0 0 17 9.6
+Given
money for
migrating
Migrant
took
someone’s
help 1 5 0 0 0 0 0 6 3.6
+Taken
money for
migrating

Economics of Trafficking

Human trafficking is a product of a complex interplay of the market forces of demand

and supply. While the supply, although nonconsensual because the victims are
coerced and duped, is one side of the coin which helps in the subsistence of human
trafficking, the demand for trafficked victims is what really makes the industry thrive.

54
Based on our survey, the economics of trafficking have been estimated separately for
all the three levels of vulnerability, on the basis of whether money was paid by the
migrants or taken as an advance, by multiplying the number of migrants falling under
a particular tier by the average amount of money paid by these individuals. In sum,
INR 9,300 can be estimated to be in circulation in the trafficking market for the 17
possibly trafficked migrants from our sample who had paid money to some
intermediary.

Table 2.49: Economics of Trafficking when Migrants Pay Commission

B : Average C: Economics of
A : No. of
Vulnerability Amount Paid Trafficking (in INR):
Migrants
(in INR) (Total Amount=A x B)
Low 14 7,658
Medium 3 1,641
High 0 547 0
Total Economics of Amount Paid by Migrant (in INR) 9,299

INR 50,400 can be gauged to be in circulation in the trafficking market for only the 6
possibly trafficked migrants from our sample who had taken advance money from
some intermediary.

Table 2.50: Economics of Trafficking when Migrants Take Advance Payment

B : Average C: Economics of
A : No. of
Vulnerability Amount Paid Trafficking (in INR):
Migrants
(in INR) (Total Amount=A x B)
Low 6 50,400
Medium 0 0
High 0 8,400 0
Total Economics of Amount Paid by Migrant (in INR) 50,400

Our qualitative findings from various states have shown that traffickers make use of
the advance system to entrap victims in a mesh of debts by creating a situation of
indebtedness. The migrants often have to forego their remuneration or receive very
little money because there are unfair deductions from their pay on the pretext of the
employer providing for their food or accommodation expenses. While it is true that
the wage calculations for such workers are usually much below the prevailing market
rates, the heavy deductions ensure that the underpaid/unpaid migrants can almost
never repay the outstanding debt. Sometimes, the worker even borrows additional
money to meet family expenses, therefore, the outstanding loan only perpetuates. The

55
victims end up pledging their services and the burden may even pass on to the
following generation. One can only imagine the exorbitant profits or returns which
can motivate the traffickers to make such large investments in the initial stages.

56
 Chapter 3
Forms of Trafficking

This chapter discusses the different forms of human trafficking in Himachal Pradesh
and points out some emerging trends in the processes involved. The forms of
trafficking, the profile of the victims, modus operandi used, economics involved, and
kinds of exploitation faced, have been presented based on the information shared by
victims, traffickers, KIs and crime data. This can help us ascertain the magnitude of
human trafficking in the state of Himachal Pradesh.

3.1 Prevalence of Trafficking in Himachal Pradesh: Crime Data Analysis

Secondary data was also collected from various key stakeholders, which substantiated
the presence of certain criminal activities having a direct link with the research. Data
on Immoral Trafficking Prevention Act, 1956 (ITPA) cases registered in Himachal
Pradesh from 2012 to 2017 was collected from SCRB, Himachal Pradesh. Over the 6
years, 35 cases of ITPA were recorded in the state. Sirmaur, Shimla, Kangra and
Kullu have recorded the highest number of cases over the years. The numbers of
cases were found to be too few to establish a clear trend. Crime in India reports
helped understand the registration of cases.

In 2015, 4 of the 9 cases were registered under section (u/s) 5 of ITPA and 14 victims
were rescued. The other 5 were recorded under ‘others’ which include sections other
than 5, 6, 7 and 8. In 2016, out of the total number of cases, 5 were u/s 5 of ITPA
where 6 victims were rescued and 2 were under ‘others’ where 2 victims were
rescued. Out of the 5 cases recorded in 2014, 3 were u/s 5 of ITPA where 3 victims
were rescued, 1 was u/s 6 of ITPA where 1 victim was rescued and 1 was recorded
under ‘others’ with 1 victim being rescued. Such data was available for only three
years. Of the 35 cases, trials for two cases were completed, one resulted in an
acquittal and the other resulted in a conviction. In 8 cases police investigation was
ongoing since 2015-17 and 22 cases were undergoing court trial.

The crime reviews state that most cases under kidnapping and abduction were of
elopement but some of these were forceful for the purpose of marriage or sexual
exploitation. As far as section 370 and 370A of Indian Penal Code (IPC) are
concerned, only one case was registered in Himachal Pradesh which was in 2014

57
after the section was amended and only one victim was rescued in this particular case.
No cases were registered in the state u/s 372 and 373 of IPC in any of the years under
analysis. U/s 366A of IPC, 4 cases were registered, 3 in 2012 and 1 in 2013.21

3.2 Sex Trafficking

Sex trafficking is a form of human trafficking in which a person is trafficked to be

induced in commercial sexual activity, for example, prostitution/CSE or pornography,
through the use of force, fraud, or coercion (or any combination of these). In the state
of Himachal Pradesh, the existence of a nexus between Commercial Sexual
Exploitation (CSE) and tourism has been observed. In a few of the districts of
Himachal Pradesh, there are a higher number of hotels and guest houses that receive a
large number of tourists. Tourism has become the largest employment and money
generating sector in the hill state and simultaneously has also emerged as a centre for
drug abuse. The internet has become the medium for people to promote trafficking on
the pretext of offering escort service. An intensive search on the internet revealed that
there were more than two hundred websites offering ‘call girls’ and escort service for
tourist and residents in the state.22 In most of the cases, different persons or group of
persons from the neighbouring states including Punjab and Haryana have been found
to be involved in this.23

As discussed above, Himachal Pradesh is a tourist destination. As a result, there is a

proliferation of commercial activities to cater to the demands of the tourists. Shimla
particularly is a tourist destination where every year lakhs of tourists come to visit.
According to several KIs, commercial sex work is prevalent in Shimla and nearby
tourist areas. Commercial sex work is carried out in Shimla in hotels and is home
based as there are no brothels in Shimla. The lodges, especially on the highway site,
are known to let out rooms for the purpose of commercial sex work. From

21
Crime Review published by State Crime Records Bureau.
22
Lohumi, B. P. (2018). Escort services flourish at tourist spots. The Tribune, [online].
Available at: https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/weekly-pullouts/himachal-tribune/escort-
services-flourish-at-tourist-spots/619965.html [Accessed 12 November 2018]
23
The Tribune. (2018). Tourism & flesh trade are linked. [online] Available at:
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/weekly-pullouts/himachal-tribune/-tourism-flesh-trade-
are-linked/619966.html [Accessed 12 November 2018]

58
preliminary findings, it is unclear whether the women engaging in commercial sexual
activities in these spaces have been trafficked.

Profile of the Victims

According to the Director of an NGO, girls aged 18-25 years from Shimla, Kinnaur,
Rohru, Chopal, Sirmaur live in Solan and are in situations of CSE. They have
contacts in beauty parlours and the owner of the parlour often acts as a pimp and
connects them to the customers. The customers are often businessmen. According to
a member from an NGO, for the purpose of CSE women are bought from other states
to Himachal Pradesh. In Himachal Pradesh, commercial sex work is prevalent but not
under compulsion girls are not treated as a commodity in Himachal unlike in West
Bengal and Bihar. Mostly, commercial sex work runs in small resorts during the
weekend. Mostly, people feel secure because CSE runss either in home and hotel.

Modus Operandi

According to a senior police officer in Shimla, there is a prevalence of CSE and the
maximum numbers of girls are brought from Chandigarh, Delhi, Ludhiana etc. The
girls are known to operate through mobile apps including Instagram, WhatsApp and
other social networking sites and connect with the clients. Due to these sites, the sex
worker, agent and client are connected easily and the agents find it easy to fulfil the
requirement of the client by sharing the pictures of the girls with them.

According to KIs from Himachal Pradesh AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency

Syndrome) Control Society (ACS), the total number sex workers registered with them
in Shimla district are 700 and the estimated figure is around one thousand. In Shimla
city, according to the ACS, the number of commercial female sex workers is
approximately three hundred and MSM (Men have sex with Men) is one hundred.
Most of the commercial female sex workers and MSM are local people. Also, there
are commercial sex workers from other states. Due to their poor economic situation,
conflict in the family, alcoholic husbands, etc. they are forced into commercial sex
work or some of them are lured by agents with a luxurious lifestyle. In some cases,
their husband or partner work as agents and bring clients to them. There may be
pimps as well which bring girls from the remote areas of Himachal Pradesh by luring
them and push them into commercial sex work.

59
It was revealed by one of the members from an NGO, that it is very difficult to
differentiate between sex trafficking cases and those sex workers who work on their
wish. April to June is peak season and many domestic tourists, as well as foreigners,
come to visit Himachal Pradesh. During this period, the demand for commercial sex
work is high. Girls from countries such as Uzbekistan and Russia also come for 2-3
months on a tourist visa to serve the clients. There is a network of agents, who help
them connect with clients and make logistical arrangements for them. In Solan city,
migrant women from different districts of Himachal Pradesh are involved in CSE,
which is carried out in hotels and houses of agents etc. Throughout the day they carry
out household chores, or work as maids or sell vegetables in the market, and at night
they are sent off to clients.

Trafficking for CSE was visible in the Kullu district of Himachal. The tourist hubs
remain the major destination/demand areas during peak seasons. Villages like Kasol,
Manikaran and Manali have seen a surge in these activities where girls from
Chandigarh, Punjab and Delhi are usually bought for customers. A number of girls
from Nepal are also brought as per the demand and these girls have been found to be
most susceptible to exploitation because they do not have any local links or support.
A respondent from Jari, a village close to Kasol revealed, ‘Once a Nepali girl was
found dead in Kasol. She was bought for commercial sex work night before and we
only heard of her mysterious death the other day.’

Though Kullu has not emerged as a source area for sex trafficking its tourist hotspots
surely are destination areas. One of our respondents in Jari village said, “It depends
on the demand of the customers whether they want a local girl, or a girl from
Chandigarh, Punjab, Nepal, Israel or any other foreigner. The hotel owners have the
contacts of the agents who bring and arrange for the girls as per the demand.”

There have been instances where the girls in Manali and Kasol are bought from local
regions in Kullu as well. A respondent who is also a taxi driver (from Jagatsukh area)
for tourists said, “once I met a commercial sex worker from Chandigarh on my way
who was left in the middle of nowhere. She was emotionally shattered and kept
crying a lot.” Another respondent from another village, who has observed the
activities of local vehicles and tourists passing through Kasol said, “Many girls from

60
Nepal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and local areas of Kasol are also bought for commercial
sex work and for entertainment during rave parties.”

The clients/tourists often ask the hotel managers to make arrangement for girls. Most
of the managers in these tourist spots have their connections with the agents who
arrange for girls as per the demand of the client. These agents are associated with the
placement agencies in Delhi, Chandigarh or Punjab which often look after the work
of luring women into commercial sex work. Most of these girls come from poor
families who were either cheated on the pretext of providing them domestic work or
had to get into the profession to earn some income. Even if we look into the case of
local girls from within Kullu, it has emerged that the girls from relatively poorer
regions are found to be more prone to CSE.

It is difficult to separate the strands of commercial sex work and CSE in the case of
Himachal Pradesh Since the modus operandi used in the two cases is similar but not
identical. The tourism industry adds an additional intersection to understand the
continuities and discontinuities between CSE and commercial sex work. The
qualitative data from Himachal Pradesh presents a spectrum to understand the same.
The element of confinement and exploitation is definitely a criterion to separate the
two but it is not easily identifiable. For instance, as discussed above, cases where the
traffickers have earned enough profit to open their own hotels and coerce women into
CSE presents a complex scenario and only a nuanced engagement with the issue will
provide a way forward for a particular case.

Economics and Exploitation

Sexual exploitation is a severe form of trafficking and has multi-layered

consequences on the victims. Dharamshala is known to be a sex tourism destination.
Girls and women are forced into commercial sexual exploitation in hotels rooms and
also as ‘flying sex workers’ who work in beauty parlours, massage parlours, and
increasingly agents have begun to provide online services. Tourists can book any girls
online and girls are sent to the hotel rooms directly. It was noticed that demand of
girls from Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Nepal is very high and to meet this demand
more girls are being trafficked from these areas. The girls, who are lured with a
promise of money in the city, often become trapped in this form of exploitation

61
because of the threats and blackmailing used by the traffickers. There are instances
where their act is recorded and used against the victim.

Dharamshala is also used as a transit city for trafficking of girls and women from
Nepal, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan. They are lured to become actresses in Mumbai
but are later forcefully pushed into commercial sex work. Hotel owners also provide
girls for commercial sex work, some traffickers have opened hotels to aid their
network to aid their business of CSE. When a group of men check-in the hotel they
get various kinds of offers for commercial sex work services.

Route

Table 3.1: Route for Sex Trafficking

Source Transit Destination
Within Himachal Within Himachal Within Himachal
Banjar, Kasol, Kala Aam, Jari village, Kasol Macleod Ganj,
Paonta Sahib Dharamshala, Kangra.

Outside Himachal Outside Himachal

Chandigarh, Punjab, Delhi, Chandigarh, Delhi, Pakistan,
Bihar, UP, Ludhiana Nepal,
Bangladesh
Outside India
Uzbekistan, Nepal,
Afghanistan, Russia, Israel

Map 3.1: Route Map for Sex Trafficking

62
3.2 Trafficking for Child Labour

Child trafficking can be understood as the recruitment, transportation, transfer,

harbouring or receipt of a child for the purpose of exploitation, where a child is
defined as being a person below the age of 18 years. Child trafficking can be done for
the purpose of forcing victims into beggary, labour, or sexual exploitation. Children
are often engaged in factories or accompany their parents to worksites, where they are
made to work, with or without payment. It has also been seen that children of
trafficked victims fall prey to trafficking, for reasons including the absconding or
death of their parents, in which case they are made to work to pay off the ‘debts that
their parents had incurred’.

Child trafficking is a major issue in both developed and developing countries.

Trafficked children are used for prostitution, forced into marriage, illegally adopted
and used as cheap or unpaid labour etc. These children are exposed to violence,
abuse, neglect and exploitation.24 Almost 20,000 women and children were victims of
human trafficking in India in the year 2016, a rise of nearly 25 per cent from 2015
government data.25 Despite stringent laws to curb child labour across the country,
organised human trafficking for child labour is rampant in different districts of
Himachal Pradesh.26 Data received from Childline for financial years 2013-2014,
2014-2015 and 2015-2016 reveal that in these three years 40, 97 and 78 cases were
registered respectively under ‘protection from abuse’ which mainly includes child
labour and sexual abuse. As far as missing children are concerned, Childline
registered 8, 0 and 2 cases in the three years respectively.

During the discussion with different organisations and various key stakeholders
connected and working on child issues such as Childline, CWC, staff of Open Shelter

24
Childline. (n.d.). Child Trafficking. [online] Available at:
http://www.childlineindia.org.in/child-trafficking-india.htm [Accessed 12 November 2018]
25
Bhalla, N. (2017). Almost 20,000 women and children trafficked in India in 2016.
REUTERS. [online] Available at: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-trafficking/almost-
20000-women-and-children-trafficked-in-india-in-2016-idUSKBN16G29G [Accessed 12
November 2018]
26
Manta, D. (2016). Child Trafficking in Lahaul-Spiti. The Tribune Available at:
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/himachal/community/child-trafficking-in-lahaul-
spiti/332711.html [Accessed 12 November 2018]

63
Home, Children’s Home, etc brought forth that child labour issue is quite prevalent in
Shimla. There are a number of rescue operations taking place. most of the resuced
child labourers come from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Nepal and they work in dhabas,
garage, or as domestic workers and at tourist places like Kufri where they facilitate
the tourists to take a ride on the horse for sightseeing. Some children were also
rescued from slaughterhouses.

Profile of the Victims

The age group of these children varied from 12 to 17 years. Some of these children
were bought to Kullu valley in the early age of 11-12 years and have grown up
working here itself without having seen their parents for years.

Modus Operandi

Children are brought through agents from Nepal, Uttar Pradesh (Gorakhpur) Bihar
(Gaya and Darbhanga), Jharkhand (Gumla and Dumka). The agent gives advance to
their parents ranging from INR 5,000 to 15,000 and from the facilitator, the agent
receives INR 40,000 to INR 50, 000. This happens mostly in the case where children
are placed to work as domestic workers. Parents get lured by the agent as they are in
need of money and have to take care of their other children.

Box 3.1: Case Study of Child Labour in Shimla

Khatri, 13-year-old boy from Nepal left school when he was in class V, because of the long
distance he had to travel to reach the school. His father got married a second time and left
him, his sister and mother to fend for themselves. His mother works in a farm as a daily wage
labourer; however, the income is not enough to fulfil the needs of the family. Khatri went to
Manali with his uncle who belongs to his native village. For three years, he worked in a
garage where his uncle was working and was getting INR 3000 per month. He learnt
mechanical work like fitting, welding, etc from there. During three years, he said that
whatever he earned, the uncle would send to his mother. He worked for eight hours from
Monday to Saturday. Sometimes he received a small amount of pocket money of INR 50 or
100. Once in a year at the time of Dussehra he visited his native place. Khatri was later
employed in a dhaba where he worked day and night without any remuneration. He only
received food in exchange for his work. He ran away from the place and was found by
Childline, Manali. The staff of shelter home was trying to connect him with his family in
Nepal. The process of repatriation of Khatri is a long and cumbersome one as he is from
Nepal.

64
Child labour at various dhabas and hotels is very rampant in Solan since it is a tourist
place. Childline personnel spoke about child labour cases in Solan. From the year
2012 to February 2017, 33 child labourers were rescued from hotels, dhabas and
outside temples as beggars. According to the KI, “these children come with the
families or with relatives who come to Solan to work as agricultural labourers or as
helpers in shops. Minor boys work in hotels and dhabas and carry out cleaning jobs.
They get a payment of INR 3,000 to 3,500 per month for working for 8 to 9 hours a
day. In a number of cases, children do not get wages and work as bonded labourers.
After their rescue from the workplace, Childline in Solan help children in getting
their complete wages from the owner”. Primary and secondary data revealed that a
large number of children who catered to the tourism industry in Kullu valley, were
from Bihar (Bodh Gaya, Fatehpur and Wazirganj), Jharkhand, parts of Chhattisgarh,
Odisha (Kamlapur), Haryana (Yamuna Nagar) and Nepal (Dailek and Mansi), West
Bengal (Bijapur). Locally children are mostly found to be from Bhunter, Manali,
Kullu, Patlikuhl, Sainj and Jagatsukh27 working in the guest houses, dhabas and as
domestic workers in the tourist hotspots.

Economics and Exploitation

Another member from Childline laid emphasis on the fact that they have found a
large number of children being bought specifically from Bodh Gaya in Gaya district
of Bihar. He said, “These children can be largely found working in the chow mein,
Momo and thukpa shops in Manali region as well as being used for domestic work in
the houses of a number of Tibetan residents in Manali. This has helped us trace the
connection of Bodh Gaya as a pilgrimage site for Tibetans and a large Tibetan
settlement in Manali where children are being bought from and sold. The Tibetans go
to Bodh Gaya from time to time and often bring back Bihari children for work.” The
children are bought back along with the Tibetan families to Kullu, sometimes in the
disguise of Lamas. The Bihar report confirms the trafficking of children in the guise
of Lamas. The local agent usually convinces the family of the child or lures the child
to directly run away with him/her. He pays around INR 5000 in advance to the child’s
family. The family is further promised the monthly earnings of the child through the

27
Information received from CWC Kullu

65
post. The local agent gets around INR 10,000 per child from the main agent. The
main agent takes the responsibility of bringing the child till destinations where he gets
INR 30,000- 40,000 from the family which requires the child for work. The child
earns around INR 2,500- 4,000 per month, which is never given to the child directly.
They are assured that the money is being sent to their families, which sometimes take
a number of months to actually reach the family. The children are given shelter and
some food in the place where they work.

Sites of Exploitation

These children usually engage in washing dishes, washing clothes, cooking, cleaning
the guest houses/hotels, carrying the luggage of tourists, providing room services to
tourists. The menial work involved in running guest houses is done by these children.
The CWC director highlighted an incident when a trafficker was caught in a case of
trafficking of two children from Gaya.

A resident in Mohanpur district, Bihar, had been engaged in the business of bringing
children from Bihar to Kullu since the last 15 years. He would often lure children,
convince them to run away from home and bring them to Kullu and sell them. He had
a secret place to keep the children for a few days near Manali bus stand in Sayali
Mahadev Saray before finally selling them off to their owners. As per the CWC,
Kullu data, it was found that ‘around 45 per cent of the children are being trafficked
particularly from Bodh Gaya district in Bihar for labour work in Kullu. Some
children are bought from Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha as well for work.’

Route

Chamba is a destination for child trafficking and child labour. Though the
government data says nothing about the incidence of child labour and related child
trafficking, one can walk through any road to have a piece of evidence otherwise. All
the possible small or middle scale hotel establishments have children working in
them. In dhabas, stalls, shops, one can spot a larger number of children instead of
adult workers. The observation and primary data revealed that all the four blocks
(Bharmour, Chamba, Chouari and Tissa) under study are regular destinations of child
labour into Chamba from other cities of India and from Nepal. The newer trends
show the movement of trafficked children being sent to North Eastern states as well.

66
The trafficking of children is also done to meet the demands of cheap and flexible
labour in the district of Chamba. All orchards owners keep these children seasonally
for plucking of apple from trees and for packaging due to the fact that young children
are known to be very fast in packaging and plucking.

Table 3.2: Route Map of Child Trafficking

Source Transit Destination
Within Himachal Within Shimla
Silai, Sirmaur
Kurfi

Outside Himachal
Uttar Pradesh: Saharanpur, Badaun,
Chaundausi, Moradabad, Raibrailey,
Aligarh, Rampur, Srawasti, Gonda,
Bahraich

Bihar: Saharasa, Darbhanga, Kishanganj, Outside Himachal Within Himachal

Gaya, Sitamarhi, Purnia, Araria
Pathankot, Delhi Kullu, Manali, Kosal,
Assam: Nagaon, Sonipur, Raja Bahar Gaon Solan, Within
Chamba all seven
Punjab: Ludhiana, Ropar blocks of Chamba

Chhattisgarh: Jaspur

Outside India
Nepal: Sibano, Derling, Mahettoli, Delik

Map 3.2: Child Trafficking for Labour

67
3.3 Bride Trafficking

Bride trafficking involves the purchase of girls and women with or without consent
for the purpose of marriage. They may be transferred to a different location away
from their family, and may end up being sexually and physically exploited or abused,
or made to work as forced labourers. Sometimes, the victims are also abducted and
coerced into such forced marriages. The women in such marriages are often kept in
isolated and bonded situations.

Skewed sex ratio, more often than not, is a result of sex-selective abortions and
preference for male children. This shortage of brides is leading to an increase in
human trafficking.28 States like Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan have a skewed sex
ratio where bride trafficking has been booming as a business and they have often
found brides from Himachal Pradesh. In several cases, these migrated brides were
sent back home, allegedly after facing mental and physical abuse. In many cases,
these marriages are not even registered.29

During the survey in Himachal Pradesh, district Sirmaur emerged as the only source
district where cases of bride trafficking were found. The district touches the
boundaries of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Due to the skewed sex ratio in the state of
Haryana, there is a demand for brides. It was found in almost all the surveyed villages
that girls have been married in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Haryana. A
KI reported five specific cases of bride trafficking during the year 2016.

Profile of Victims

To understand the nuances of bride trafficking, this research attempted to understand

the marriage pattern of Himachal Pradesh, the age of the girls and age differences
between girls and boys. Other relevant questions were also asked to capture the issue
of bride trafficking. Table 3.3 presents the responses to the question on the number of
28
Raghavan, S. (2015). There’s a shortage of brides in India, and it’s a problem. The
Washington Post. [online] Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/
wp/2015/09/10/theres-a-shortage-of-brides-in-india-and-its-a-problem/? noredirect=on&utm_
term=.c3ceb735fd61 [Accessed 12 November 2018]
29
Bisht, G. (2016). Himachal’s migrated brides: You are cordially not invited. Hindustan
Times. [online] Available at: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/himachal-s-
migrated-brides-you-are-cordially-not-invited/story-Zme3NehG6Zyg9yNKAzrRLK.html
[Accessed 12 November 2018]

68
marriages that have occurred in the family in the last 3 years. A total of 155
households reported that a marriage had taken place in their family in the last 3 years,
among which 40 per cent had taken place within the village and 8 per cent within the
district. About 44 per cent of respondents did not respond to the question and about 5
per cent stated that they did not know where the marriage had taken place. Lack of
response and knowledge about the place of marriage are crucial indicators because
this highlights the fact that the people are either naïve about the whereabouts of their
daughters or they are holding back information for some reason. Of the families
where marriage had taken place, 16 per cent reported that someone had paid the
family money at the time of the wedding.

Table 3.3: Occurrence of Marriage in the Family (2014 – 2016)

The occurrence of Marriage in the
N %
Last 3 Years
Yes 155 13.4
No 1,006 86.6
Total 1,161 100

Where Did They Get Married?

Within Village 62 40.0
Within District 12 7.7
Outside-District 6 3.9
Don't Know 7 4.5
No Response 68 43.9
Total 155 100

How did They Get Married?

With the Consent of Family 39 25.2
Without Consent of the Family 11 7.1
Others 14 9.0
No Response 91 58.7
Total 155 100

Did Anyone Pay for the Marriage

Yes 25 16.1
No 42 27.1
No Response 88 56.8
Total 155 100

Further, while examining the age of the girls at the time of marriage, it was reported
that 21 per cent of girls were married before 18 years of age.

69
 Table 3.4: Age of Girls at the Time of Marriage
Age of the girls N %
Less than 18 33 21.3
18-24 35 22.6
25 and Above 2 1.3
No Response 85 54.8
Total 155 100

While comparing the age difference between the bride and the groom, in 24 per cent
of the cases, spousal age gap was found to be less than 5 years while it was 5 years
and above in 6 per cent of the cases.

Table 3.5: Age Difference between the Girls and the Boys
Age Difference between Girls and Boys N %
No Difference 17 11.0
Less than 5 Years 37 23.8
5 years and Above 9 5.8
No Response 92 59.4
Total 155 100

According to a KI, “more than 90 per cent of the brides trafficked from Sirmaur
district are known to be in Haryana. In some cases, the girls were found to be minors
as well. Some of the girls are happily married, have children, come regularly to their
parental home on different occasions, festivals, emergency situations and marriages.
However, it was also found that some of the girls went through sexual and physical
exploitation and are living under constant psychological duress and mental distress.
Most of the girls trafficked are from the underprivileged and weak financial
background. Irrespective of their caste identities, the girls are married in exchange of
money by these poor families.” This phenomenon therefore, supersedes all the caste
equations as the girls belong from all the categories and show the willingness of the
groom’s family to overlook endogamous marriages. It was also reported that the caste
of the groom’s family was introduced as the caste of the bride even if it was not the
same in order to win the bride easily.

Modus Operandi

Elopement and Sham Marriages: In a relatively lesser gender-biased society of

70
Himachal Pradesh, young girls and boys usually run away if they wish to get married
and the marriage eventually gets sanctioned after the birth of their first child. Inter-
caste marriages are not socially acceptable, especially if the groom belongs to a lower
caste. Some cases of elopement have been recorded by a research team from the
respondents of villages where the girl belonged to Sirmaur district but the boy was
from Haryana. The relationship, which results in elopement, begins when the girl and
the boy talk over the phone and fall in love. Sometimes women from the same or
adjoining village facilitate the elopement with a man who is already married in
Haryana. It was reported that such grooms are either from the same village or from
the nearby village of the women who act as conduits. The grooms and their families
are well known to the woman and they often ask the latter to arrange girls to get
married.

Marriages for the purpose of trafficking are either simple or there is no marriage
ceremony at all. The marriages are solemnised in a temple close to the bride’s house
or in a temple, which is situated in Haryana or elsewhere like in Solan, Kala Aam and
Paonta Saheb etc. Sometimes the girls are taken away from the village on the pretext
of getting them married in the groom’s village. The parents do not accompany the
groom’s family and are often not aware whether the marriage has actually taken place
or not.

Chunni Paratha30 is a prevalent form of marriage in Himachal Pradesh with no

expenditure. Poor families find it convenient to marry their daughters easily,
particularly in cases where there is number of daughters. This tradition suits the
groom’s family as they get a bride and do not get noticed by everyone. It was
reported by the KIs that marriages with the motive of bride trafficking are not
registered by the groom’s family nor is there any documentation of the bride in the
destination area. The main objective of the traffickers is to keep the names of the
trafficked bride anonymous at the destination to avoid unnecessary attention from
outsiders. Before taking the bride with them to other states, the traffickers prepare
them, so that if something goes wrong, they can change the route.

Marriages through Formal Proposal: Some of the KIs reported that people from

30
A small wedding ritual in which a bride and groom tie the knot under a sheet.

71
Haryana come to the villages in Sirmaur and a formal proposal is presented to the
family for the marriage. Some of the women from local villages in Himachal Pradesh,
who are married in Haryana often, bring the groom's family members to the villages
where she would have already identified the bride. Marriages are done by the
traditional rituals and practices like Baraat arriving at the village, Pheras and feast/
party/reception. They also enquire about the potential brides.

The KIs have reported that in such marriages, “Often the bride’s exact location is not
known to the family or any of the villagers. Most of the villagers are only aware of
the fact that the girls are married in Haryana or say that they are now living in the
plains. In some of the villages, the people including the family members only know
the name of the district. Some of them have never visited their daughter’s marital
home.” In some of the cases, girls often visit their parent’s home but some of them
never return. Apart from a local woman facilitator helping in such marriages, at
times, the people from Haryana come to the villages independently as well. They
build rapport with locals who they think can help them in getting the brides.

Allurement and Deception: The local agents and the girls in the village, who have
married in Haryana before, try to lure the young girls by saying that life is easier in
the plain areas. The life in hilly areas is quite tough, as the women have to work hard,
graze the cattle, perform household chores, cut grass for everyday fuel etc. The
traffickers take advantage of this life and highlight the contrasting advantages of
living in the plain areas by telling the women that they will not have to cook meals or
work in the agricultural field nor graze cattle. Easy availability of transport services,
accessibility, markets etc in the plains is also used as a lure to entice women and girls.
The problems/disadvantages of living in the hilly areas are pitted against the
imaginary easy life of the plains. It was reported by the KIs and respondents that the
brides who are married seem to get good food as they usually gain weight, have good
expensive clothes, jewellery and makeup. The change in the bride’s married life in
Haryana has projected in such a way that it appears that they have changed only
because they have been married in Haryana. The aspiration to get a good life is
exploited by the agents.

Another modus operandi applied by the traffickers is that of deception of both parents
and the girl. Presenting the grooms as rich, having a good house and a decent job

72
deceives the parents of the girls. However, in many cases, it was later found to be a
lie. The groom usually does not have a secure job and a stable income; on the
contrary, they are from a poor background. The family usually does not have pakka
house and the bride’s family is shown a building, which is not owned by the groom’s
family but is presented as theirs. The agent and the groom’s family withhold
information about the age of the groom, previously failed marriages and children of
previous marriages. In some cases, the groom has children as young as the age of the
bride he wants to buy for himself. It was found in a few cases that the photograph
that was shown to the bride’s family was fake and the groom turned out to be
someone else. Often, in cases of elopement, the boy who spoke to the girl on the
phone was only used to entrap the girl in love and to take her to Haryana. Later, the
marriage was arranged with someone else. Once the girl eloped and reached the
destination, she was rendered powerless and was forced to marry anyone without her
consent.

Box 3.2: Controversy around Bride Trafficking

It was reported by one of the KIs that families of some of the trafficked women and those who
returned complained to the Sub Divisional Officer (SDO/SDM) of the Shillai block. The
Anganwadi Worker (AWW) on the instruction of the SDM conducted a survey. More than
500 women from the block were found to be married in Haryana and it was confirmed that
some of the cases were related to trafficking. Amar Ujala published the official version, which
rocked the district administration, and the SDM was transferred to another district as a
punishment. Later the issue took a political turn and leaders from different parties dubbed it as
disrespect to the Pahadi people. Political pressure was exerted on Amar Ujala paper to issue
an apology. A survey was conducted again and all the findings were reported to be
diametrically opposite to those reported in the previous report. According to the new survey
report, all the women had married with their consent and were happy; and only five had
returned willingly. The cases of trafficking were denied altogether.

The researcher visited the Amar Ujala office and found that all the old staff had been replaced
and the reporter who had reported the news had left the job. According to the subeditor of the
paper, he was working with some other paper. As the news spread, the Chairperson of the
Women’s Commission also visited the block to verify the occurrence of the incident. She also
said that some of the girls married in Haryana might have been trafficked.

Economics and Exploitation

An advance amount is also paid to the bride’s family in the name of arranging the
marriage. It was reported that in some of the surveyed blocks, that the bride’s family
receives between INR 5,000 to 40,000 before the marriage. More often than not, the

73
amount varies between INR 5,000 - 10,000. A case was reported in one of the blocks
where the father had taken INR 80,000 for his daughter’s marriage in Haryana. In this
case, it was apparently evident that the father had sold his daughter to the groom’s
family in Haryana. The agents also took money from the groom’s family for
arranging the marriage. The money taken from the groom’s side ranged from INR
5,000 to 15,000. It was reported that instead of giving cash to the family, the groom’s
side makes all the arrangements for the marriage like buying the clothes, food and
vehicle etc. According to the KIs, the expenditure for all these arrangements does not
exceed more than INR 20,000. The false perception of the groom’s family wealth
lures poor families, who cannot marry their daughters only due to financial issues,
and they believe that their daughter will lead a happy and safe life.

Route
Table 3.6: Route for Bride Trafficking
Source Transit Destination
Within Himachal Renuka/Dadahu, Outside Himachal
Nahan, Kala Aam, Haryana: Kiathal, Karnala, Panipat, Sonipat,
Nahan Paonta Saheb and Yamuna Nagar, Hisar, Narayangarh, Ambala Cant,
Pachad Kurushetra
Uttar Pradesh: Saharanpur, Mewat
Uttarakhand: Vikasnagar, Rishikesh
Punjab: Chandigarh

74
 Map 3.3: Route Map for Bride Trafficking

3.4 Labour Trafficking

Labour trafficking refers to the extraction of work from an individual through the use
of force, fraud, and coercion or by means of enticement, violence, or threat. It is not a
situation merely involving low payment of wages or poor working conditions; but
also includes forced labour, involuntary child labour, deprivation of freedom and
abuse of authority.

Forced labour and human trafficking for labour exploitation are pervasive issues in
India. This leads to common practice like forced labour and bondage in different parts
of the country in industries including brick kilns, carpet weaving, embroidery, textile
and agriculture etc.31 According to a survey by the Global Slavery Index 2016, India

31
Labour Exploitation Accountability Hub. (n.d.). India. [online] Available at:
http://accountabilityhub.org/country/india/ [Accessed 14 November 2018]

75
has the highest number of forced labour in the world, with about 18 million children
and adults being victims of modern slavery.32 There are various factors, which
motivate people to migrate for a better livelihood but later they get trapped into
human trafficking.

Profile of the Victims

The state of Himachal Pradesh is a destination for people to migrate from all over the
country. Due to high mountainous topography, low level of urbanisation and absence
of industries, Himachal Pradesh was never a place for in-migration but since the last
two decades, due to an increase in development of industrial clusters, connectivity of
the state with roads, flourishing tourism and hospitality industries have attracted
many migrants to the state for better livelihood options.33 Poverty is often seen as a
contributing factor in the operation of trafficking-related trade and migration.

Modus Operandi

It was reported that most of the migrant workers in the industrial areas come alone
but their families also accompany few. The involvement of agents and contractors
and an advance payment ranging from INR 5,000 to 10,000 were reported by the KIs.
The labourers are taken to the destination area in groups. The agents provide
accommodation and food, which gets deducted from their wage. A big contractor
takes the work of getting the labourers for the employer and then gives it to a small
contractor. The small contractor is generally from the local area and collects the
labourers from villages to transport them in groups by small vehicle and tractors. The
contractors are from the same state in case of labourers from outside the state.

It was reported by the KIs that the contractors get the labourers from the local naka.
More than five hundred labourers can be seen at Parshuram chowk in Paonta Sahib
every day. Most of the construction labourers are brought from Hrishikesh, Haridwar
and Rohtak from the neighbouring state of Uttarakhand by local state bus service.

32
Deccan Chronicle. (2018). Forced labour highest in India: Report. [online] Available at:
https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/in-other-news/220118/forced-labour-highest-in-
india-report.html [Accessed 14 November 2018]
33
Sharma, A. (2018). Changes in Patterns of Interstate In-migration in Himachal Pradesh: A
District Wise Analysis, 1991-2001. International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews
5(1): pp. 93-96

76
According to the KIs, most of these labourers are from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The
employers do not deal with the labourers directly. The contractors are responsible for
the work and the payment of the labourers and the contractors also take commission
from the labourers. Some of the contractors who arrange labour for the industries and
pharmaceutical companies are associated with the companies for many years and the
payment is done to the contractor for the work done by the labourers. Some of the
labourers have also become contractors over the year.

Economics and Exploitation

It was reported by a respondent that the contractors take 10 per cent of the labourer’s
wages as their commission. It was further reported by the KIs that the migrant
labourers do not get equal pay. They are paid less in comparison to local labourers. A
respondent from the village reported that in some of the cases the contractors fled
with the advance money given by the employer for labourers’ wages. The labourers
were then kept in bondage till the work was completed. These instances have
occurred in building construction, road construction and forest-related work.

Route

While doing the survey in Himachal Pradesh, Sirmaur district emerged as a source
and destination for labour trafficking. The in-migration occurs for road construction,
building construction, cutting wood and work in the industrial area.

Table 3.7: Route for Labour Trafficking

Source Destination
Within Himachal Within Himachal
Nahan Paonta Saheb and Kala Aam (Sirmaur), Shimla, Solan, Kinnaur
Tourist spots of Himachal Pradesh like Kangra and Kullu
Outside Himachal
U.P and Uttarakhand, Outside Himachal
Bihar, Haryana, Odisha, New Delhi
Jharkhand and Bengal
Outside India
Outside India Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Gulf states, Australia and New Zealand
Nepal

77
 Map 3.4: Route Map for Labour Trafficking

3.5 Trafficking of Youth for Transporting and Selling Drugs

Profile of the Victims

No clear relationship that could be established between human trafficking and drug
trafficking in Himachal Pradesh. However, the research team suspected that young
adults are coerced initially as customers or suppliers and later as sellers. This needs
further research to establish the linkages between human trafficking and drug
trafficking.

Modus Operandi

In the state of Himachal Pradesh, Chamba produces the finest quality of charas,
which is being exported to different parts of the world. Traffickers are known to trap
young boys to sell weed and charas to tourists visiting Chamba and other parts of

78
India. These boys are first exposed to the drugs till they get addicted and then they are
lured by the traffickers to sell these drugs and earn money for them. They are paid a
good amount for transporting drugs to various parts of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab,
Haryana, Delhi, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh. These boys are trained to visit
different universities, colleges to make good contact with students and from them,
they reach out to bigger suppliers of that city. They make contacts with regular
peddlers and supply drugs to other states.

Route
Table 3.8: Route Map for Drug Trafficking
Source Transit Destination Mode of transport
Chamba, Kullu Pathankot, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Railways, Bus and
Shimla, Nepal Haryana, Delhi, Maharashtra, car, ship
Uttar Pradesh.

Outside India
United Kingdom, The United
States of America, Bhutan,
Nepal, Pakistan

Map 3.5: Route Map for Drug Trafficking

79
3.6 Organ Trafficking

Organ trafficking involves an illegal organ trade where individuals in a position of

vulnerability are tricked or forced into selling organs and other body parts which
involves a commercial transaction. Organ trafficking is a fast-growing but one of the
least reported crimes in India. It holds a critical place within transnationally organised
crime groups due to high demand and relatively low rates of law enforcement. There
were a few suspected cases of trafficking for organ transplant were reported during
the survey. Out of the 1,161 HHs surveyed, 45 reported that at least one person in
their household had undergone surgery (Table 3.9) and only 2 reportedly did it for
financial benefit and 18 did not state the reason for the surgery being carried out. Of
those who reportedly underwent a surgery 3 reported C-section and 10 reported
appendix operation (Table 3.10). Of the 17 who underwent surgery for kidney, 1 had
done it for financial benefits.

Table 3.9: Occurrence of Health-Related Surgeries: 2014 - 16

The occurrence of Health-Related Surgeries N %
Yes 45 3.9
No 1,107 95.3
No Response 9 0.8
Total 1,161 100

It is also important to note that though one person stated blood donation as the reason
for undergoing surgery, he/she underwent a procedure for a kidney. Likewise, three
women reportedly underwent surgery for blood donation and the procedure carried
out was for uterus removal (Table 3.10). These two figures for blood donation are
indicative of deception that may be involved in the process of carrying out surgeries
and hence point towards the possibility of organ trafficking. Moreover, the fact that
18 individuals did not state the reason for surgery indicates that they were probably
unaware of the reason for surgery or the procedure that was going to be followed. In
either case, it increases their vulnerability to organ trafficking (Table 3.9).

80
 Table 3.10: Different Types of Surgeries and their Reasons
Reasons for Surgeries
Types of Surgeries Financial Registered Blood No
Others Total
benefits Donor Donation Response
C-Section
1 1 0 0 1 3
(Delivery)
Appendix 0 0 0 5 5 10
Stone 0 0 0 1 0 1
Kidney 1 0 1 11 4 17
Uterus Removal 0 0 3 3 8 14
Total 2 1 4 20 18 45

3.7 Trafficking Through Illegal Adoption

In India, children can be adopted as per the Indian Adoption Act of 1956 and the
Juvenile Justice Act of 2000. All domestic and international adoption can be done
under the guidelines of the Central Adoption Resource Authority. Adoption through
other channels is considered to be illegal.34 During the survey in Himachal Pradesh,
out of the 1,161 households, 84 (7 per cent) reported that there had been an instance
of child adoption in their village (Table 3.11).

Table 3.11: Perceived Child Adoption Cases at the Village Level

Whether Child Adopted N %
Yes 84 7.2
No 1067 91.9
No Response 10 0.9
Total 1,161 100

The age-sex distribution of the adopted children as reported by the surveyed

households has been documented in Table 3.12. Out of the 84 households which
claimed knowledge of cases of adoption at the village level, 35 reported that the child
was male while 22 mentioned that the adopted child was a female. Almost 37 per cent
reported that the child was aged below 5 years at the time of adoption. About 69 per
cent of the households reported that the adopted child was from within the village
while 7 per cent mentioned that the child was adopted from outside the village.

34
ACT. (2017). ILLICIT SALE OF CHILDREN IN INDIA: Adoptions and trafficking of
children, a diffuse line. [online] Available at:
http://www.againstchildtrafficking.org/2017/07/illicit-sale-of-children-in-india-adoptions-and-
trafficking-of-children-a-diffuse-line/ [Accessed 14 November 2018]

81
 Table 3.12: Perceived Characteristics of Children Taken or Given Up for Adoption at
Village Level
Gender of the Adopted Children N %
Male 35 41.7
Female 22 26.2
No Response 27 32.1
Total 84 100
Age of the Adopted Child
0-5 Years 31 36.9
6-10 Years 16 19.1
11-15 Years 6 7.1
16-20 Years 0 0.0
21 Years and Above 6 7.1
No Response 25 29.8
Total 84 100
Place of Child Adoption
Within Village 58 69.1
Outside Village 6 7.1
No Response 20 23.8
Total 84 100

Of the households which stated having knowledge of child adoption within their
village during 2014-16, 73 per cent stated childlessness as a reason for adoption
whereas 1 per cent reported the preference for a particular gender as a motivating
factor. While this data does not provide a direct indication of the linkage between
child adoption and child trafficking, lack of response or ambivalent answers suggest
that there may be a need to further explore why individuals do not want to divulge the
reasons for child adoption (Table 3.13).

Table 3.13: Reasons for Child Adoption at the Village Level

Reasons for Child Adoption N %
Childlessness 61 72.6
Gender Preferences 1 1.2
Others 7 8.3
No Response 15 17.9
Total 84 100

While the information summarised above is related to the perceived cases of child
adoption in the households of Himachal Pradesh, the ensuing table describes if any of
the interviewed households had themselves given up a child for adoption during the
stipulated tenure and 19 mentioned that a child had been given up from their family
for adoption (Table 3.23).

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 Table 3.14: Child Adoption at the Household Level
Whether Child Given for Adoption
N %
Yes 19 1.6
No 1,142 98.4
Total 1,161 100

Age of the child.

N %
Less than 5 Years 15 79.0
5-10 Years 2 10.5
10 Years and Above 2 10.5
Total 19 100

Marital status of the mother

N %
Married 3 15.8
Single 11 57.9
No Response 5 26.3
Total 19 100

Place of delivery of the child.

N %
At home 15 79.0
Institutional (Hospital) 4 21.0
Total 19 100

Financial transaction if any

N %
Yes 4 21.0
No 15 79.0
Total 19 100

Among these 19 households, 79 per cent respondents stated that the age of the child
was less than 5 years. It was also reported that in 58 per cent of the cases, the mother
of the child was single. We can also observe that in 79 per cent of these cases, the
baby had not been institutionally delivered. The involvement of a monetary exchange
signifies the scope for child trafficking in the form of child adoption. In this state,
almost 21 per cent of the households directly stated that a financial transaction had
taken place when giving up the child for adoption (Table 3.14). The involvement of
financial exchange points towards the possibility of vested interests and unlawful
dealings.

83
3.8 Missing Persons and Trafficking

A link between missing persons and human trafficking was first reported in the
National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) action research. 35 There is a high
possibility of untraced people being trafficked or trapped in trafficking like situations.
In most of the cases, it was noticed that rescued trafficking victims had been
previously registered as missing.

What is peculiar about the missing person data received from the state of Himachal
Pradesh is that the number of missing adult males is the highest among the four
categories.36 In fact the highest number, 530 adult males remained untraced over a
period of five years between 2012-2017. Compared to adults very few cases of
missing minors were reported. A slightly higher number of minor males (26)
remained untraced than the number of untraced minor females (24) during the same
period. A total of 370 adult females remained missing during this period.

During the period 2014-16, we received responses from about 166 migrants about
their pattern of communication with their families. There were 13 migrants who were
not in touch with their family at the time of the survey. We assume them to be in the
category of ‘missing person’.

Table 3.15: Whether in Contact with the Family

Whether in Contact N %
Yes 148 85.6
No 13 7.5
No Response 12 6.9
Total 173 100

Almost 92 per cent of the migrants classified as missing were males while only 1
migrant was female (Table 3.16). The age distribution of the migrants who were not
in contact with their families is presented in Table 3.17. A total of 39 per cent
migrants not in contact with family are observed to between 19 - 25 years of age and
8 per cent was between the age of 13-18 years (Table 3.17).

35
Sen, S. and Nair, P.M. (2005). Trafficking in Women and Children in India. New Delhi,
Orient Longman.

36
The four categories include: Adult Male; Adult Females; Minor Males; and Minor Females

84
 Table 3.16: Gender of the Missing Persons
Response Received
Gender of the Missing Persons
N %
Male 12 92.3
Female 1 7.7
Total 13 100

Table 3.17: Age of the Missing Persons

Age Group N %
Adolescent (13-18) 1 7.7
Young Adult (19-25) 5 38.5
Adulthood (26-40) 3 23.0
Middle Aged Person (41-59) 2 15.4
Older Person (60+) 1 7.7
No Response 1 7.7
Total 13 100

The number of missing cases from different social groups has been presented in Table
3.18. Of the 13 missing individuals, 54 per cent are SC and 31 per cent are OBCs.
This further indicates the vulnerability of the SC and OBC groups to being trafficked.

Table 3.18: Categories of the Missing Persons

Social Groups N %
General 1 7.7
Scheduled Caste 7 53.8
Other Backward 4 30.8
Classes
No Response 1 7.7
Total 13 100

We got responses from 13 migrants about whom they migrated with; for instance,
whether they migrated with family and/or with friends or he/she migrated alone
(Table 3.19). A total of 62 per cent migrated alone from their household but with
friends and were not in contact with their family. As indicated earlier, those who
migrate alone from their household but in the company of friends have a heightened
vulnerability of falling prey to trafficking; the data on missing persons received from
the household survey further corroborates the same. There is a high possibility that
these friends are either traffickers or groups, which are trafficked together.

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 Table 3.19: Migration of Missing Persons with Known Persons
Mode of Migration of Persons not N %
in Contact with their Families
Alone from home but with Friends 8 61.5
With Family but no Friends 1 7.7
With Family & With Friends 0 0.0
Not Applicable 0 0.0
No Response 4 30.8
Total 13 100

Despite the fact that 13 migrants are not in touch with their family, only 1 case of a
missing person had been filed with the police. This either raises questions about the
complicity of the family and the community in the process of human trafficking or
their lack of faith in the police. Further, 8 per cent of the respondent stated that the
police did not file their complaint and 77 per cent stated that the police had asked for
a bribe (Table 3.20). Therefore, the lack of reporting can be corroborated to both the
inaction on the part of the police as well the role of known people in the process of
trafficking.

Table 3.20: Complaint against Missing Persons and Police Response

Complaint against Missing Persons N %
Yes 1 7.7
No 12 92.3
Total 13 100

Police Response N %
Police did not File the Complaint 1 7.7
Police asked for Bribe. 10 76.9
Others 2 15.4
Total 13 100

The vulnerability of the missing migrants is quite high especially considering the
involvement of facilitators in the process of their migration. Out of 13, 15 per cent
had sought the help of a known person from the village for the purpose of migration
and 15 per cent had taken the aid of a contractor. The person whose help was sought
for the purpose of migration by the missing persons has been presented in Table 3.21
below.

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 Table 3.21: Facilitator with whom Missing Persons Migrated
Persons not in Contact with Family
Facilitator for Migration N %
Contractor 2 15.4
Agent 0 0.0
Known Person from 2 15.4
Village
Friends/Relatives 0 0.0
Placement Agency 0 0.0
Co-Worker 1 7.7
Self 3 23.1
Others 0 0.0
No Response 5 38.4
Total 13 100

Of the 13 missing persons, 8 per cent had given money for migrating and 31 per cent
had taken money for migrating (Table 3.22).

Table 3.22: Monetary Transactions made by Missing Persons

Missing Persons
Monetary Transactions N %
made by Missing Persons
Given 1 7.7
Taken 4 30.8
Neither 3 23.1
No Response 5 38.4
Total 13 100
Amount Given/Taken by Missing Persons
Given/Taken %
Less than 5,000 2 15.4
5,000-9,999 3 23.1
10,000 and Above 1 7.7
No Response 7 53.8
Total 13 100

From the table, we can note that 23 per cent of migrants who were not in contact with
their family, paid an amount between INR. 5,000 – 9,999 to facilitate their migration
(Table 3.22). These individuals come from households where the average income is
about INR 10,897 per month for a household with an average of 6 members. The
payment to the facilitator causes a great burden on the family.

87
All missing individuals were offered some kind of promises by agents/contractors
before they migrated to the destination. The kind of promises that were made to the
missing individuals has been represented in Table 3.23. Only 1 response could be
obtained Which essentially means that there was only 1 migrant to whom the promise
of employment was made and now he is not in contact with his family .

Table3.23: Nature of Promise Made to Missing Persons

Nature of Promise Made N %
Employment 1 7.7
No Response 12 92.3
Total 13 100

For the only respondent for whom it was stated that a promise of employment was
made at the time of migration, it was also mentioned that the promise had been met
(Table 3.24).

Table 3.24: Whether the Promise Made to the Missing Persons was Met
Whether Promise Met N %
Yes 1 7.7
No Response 12 92.3
Total 13 100

We have portrayed the information regarding the fulfillment of promises made by the
intermediaries to the missing persons even though they had not been in touch with
their families in the last three years because we are also encompassing the possibility
that the person might have communicated with the family prior to the three years to
which our study is limited. It is also plausible that some known persons or friends
accompanying the missing migrant might have returned to the source or hometown
and reported about the conditions surrounding the migrant.

88
 Chapter 4
State and Civil Society Responses and Recommendations

To combat human trafficking, it is necessary to look into the role of both the state and
non-state organisations. In order to understand the state's response system towards the
different types of trafficking in the state, caused by several factors including distress
migration, interviews with different agencies of the government at both the state and
district level were conducted. The responses of these institutions along with those of
non-state agencies are recorded below. These have been classified into three broad
categories: Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation.

4.1 Prevention

4.1.1 State Response

Childline: It has emerged that Childline had been doing good work in Solan district.
It has registered a total of 40, 97 and 78 cases during the years 2013-14, 2014-15 and
2015-16 respectively under ‘protection from abuse’ which mainly includes child
labour and sexual abuse. As far as missing children were considered, Childline
registered 10 cases in the three years.

Recommendations

 Childline should work in coordination with local NGOs working on various

issues relating to child rights and these NGOs should be oriented to issues of
human trafficking so that they can extend help in terms of prevention of child
trafficking.

 The work of Childline should be extended to all source and destination

districts in the state.

4.2 Protection

4.2.1 State Response

Anti Human Trafficking Unit: To take action against all forms of trafficking, an
AHTU was established in the state capital in 2011. From all the surveyed districts,
only Solan did not have a functional AHTU. According to the one of the officials of

89
AHTU, human trafficking is not prevalent in Himachal Pradesh and no cases were
registered under the section of human trafficking. However, they acknowledged that
child labour was prevalent and they often carried out rescue operations with the help
of women police station. Their role involves rescuing the children and handing them
over to CWC to take further action and register cases against the perpetrator.
However, the number of such kind of cases is not that high.

The AHTU in Kullu seems to be active. They have filed a number of cases of ITPA.
However, the kind of sections, which are being used in the cases does not prove
human trafficking as such. Only one case has been registered under Sec 370, which
punishes a person for the act of trafficking, along with the other Sections 363, 365
and 367.

Sirmaur and Chamba AHTU did not seem to function efficiently and there was no
designated staff in this department. According to the staff of the Sirmaur AHTU,
“multiple responsibilities directly affect the efficiency of the policemen. There is no
regular posting in the same place and responsibilities are often changed, which
prevents us from making an intervention in a focused manner. No government
facilities are provided during the investigation: like fare for going to different places,
vehicle, money to stay etc. Insufficient manpower and fund crunch are other
problems which affect the work of the AHTU”. It was observed that some of the staff
members were not well aware of the nuances of human trafficking. Lack of evidence
of human trafficking was put forth as a reason by the Chamba staff, but during data
collection, evidence of bonded labour and child labour were observed.

Recommendations

 AHTUs should be closely monitored by the SP of the district. They need to

be located at places where the public can have easy access to it.

 The AHTU should be set up with all necessary infrastructure and human
resources.

 Regular training of the AHTU staff should be carried out to keep them
updated about the laws, judgments and issues related to human trafficking.

90
  Professional investigation and prosecution have to be ensured by the SP.
There is a need to have a closer hand-holding and mentoring by the SP.

Police Department: KIs shared that there were missing people’s cases, but it is
difficult to say that they are trafficked. Shimla is said to have a good record of tracing
missing people. He shared that they faced administrative difficulties during the rescue
of women and children. It is a challenge to make arrangements for the children if they
are rescued at night. Sometimes, female constables are not available at the time of the
rescue.

About the migrant labourers, the police officials expressed that most of these
labourers work in the unorganised sector and there is no proper mechanism to keep a
record and verify the identity of the labourers. They acknowledged the fact that
labour exploitation is a reality in the lives of the migrant workers, and it is important
that the labour department keep a record of migrant labourers. This would enable the
labourers to claim compensation in case of an emergency.

The police often refrain from filing FIRs in cases of human trafficking to avoid going
through the cumbersome processes of investigation that it involves. It was observed
from the police register in Kullu that cases of child trafficking have been updated in
the registers but FIRs were not lodged in most of the cases. As per the data from
DCRB Kullu, ten cases of “crimes against children” were registered over the past five
years under the Prevention of Child Labour and JJ Act. However, the conviction and
acquittal rate in all of these cases remains zero. Only two of the cases were charge-
sheeted, two are under pending investigations and the remaining six are pending in
court. As far as crime against women is concerned, five cases of ITPA have been
registered in DCRB over the past five years. While there are no charge sheets for any
of the cases, four of them are still pending in court and one is a pending investigation.
This amply depicts the delay in the processes of trial and justice.

Similarly, in Sirmaur, non-acknowledgement of the issue has resulted in only five

cases being registered under trafficking in the district in the last 4 to 5 years.
Government officials were in denial of the scale and the prevalence of human
trafficking in the district. Some of the KIs informed that the police denied lodging
FIRs.

91
There is a lack of coordination between the police, court and government departments
like DWCD, Labour office and DCPU etc. and the civil society organisations. KIs
observed that the police lack sensitivity towards the victims of child labour and bride
trafficking. The cases take two to three years or more to get disposed and in most of
the cases, the offender gets acquitted by the court which then casts doubt upon the
effectiveness and competence of the police for not appropriately framing charges
against the offender. The case is not strengthened due to the exhaustive nature of
investigation like collecting the evidence and preparing the witnesses to testify, to
travel to other states to collect information etc. It was reported by KIs that first as an
immediate response, the police include the section on kidnapping in the complaint but
as the case proceeds and there is a possibility of including other sections, it is often
not done and as a result the charge sheet is not strong enough and does not reflect the
gravity of the crime committed.

It was reported by the KIs that the police have often represented the trafficking cases
like missing persons’ cases. In some of the cases, the women were found to be
trafficked but were registered as a missing person. Some of the cases are settled out
of the court between the offender and the complainant, which are mediated by the
police.

Recommendations

 Prioritising human trafficking cases by the law enforcement agencies is

essential in order to improve the recognition, reporting and registration of
crime.

 Compulsory filing of FIR should be supplemented with proactive

investigation strategies such as courteous behaviour of the police personnel in
the registration of complaints and investigation of crimes.

 There should be a simultaneous improvement in law enforcement training,

especially on interviewing techniques.

 The police force needs to be sensitised regarding the importance of human

trafficking and its impact on the population.

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  A special police officer should be present in every police station in the state
and should be instructed on how to handle the children/migrants/trafficked
victims.

 Special Juvenile Protection Unit (SJPU) should be set up in the police station
for child victims.

Women Police Station: The in-charge of a women’s police station expressed that
most of the children were rescued from dhabas and from a place called Kufri point
where horse riding is famous and children are employed there. For five years prior to
the fieldwork, only two cases were registered under the Child Labour (Prohibition
and Regulation) Act, 1986 and the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976
(Bonded Labour Act), but neither had any trafficking sections in it. In Women’s
Police Station most of the cases registered to pertain to sexual harassment or domestic
violence. There is no case of sex trafficking registered so far. As per the KIs, even
cases which show elements of luring, transportation, physical and mental abuse, and
exploitation are not registered as the police are unable to identify elements of
trafficking.

One of the Women's police stations near the surveyed slums in Solan district was
started in the year 2015. They have received cases related to section 354, 376, 363,
498(A) of Indian Penal Code (IPC). According to the Additional Station House
Officer (SHO), they have not received a single case of trafficking in the past 5 years
as in slums cases go unreported. So far, they received about 2-3 cases of elopement
on an average in a quarter. With regard to CSE, the officer had no information on the
prevalence of CSE in the slums.

The state government has established three Women’s Police Stations at Shimla,
Dharamshala and Mandi. The state government has also posted sufficient women
police staff in these police stations, with an assumption that the victims may approach
them without any hesitation.

There are plans to deploy the same in other districts as well. The state government
has also set up “Mahila Twarit Bal” at the Police Headquarters to increase the

93
vigilance and reaction time to any calls of distress by women and for instant response
to a crime against women.37

Recommendations

 Adequate infrastructure and staff should be made available for the women
police stations

 The staff at the Mahila Twarit dal and police station should be well equipped
with the information about different forms of trafficking prevalent in the state

 The effectiveness of women’s police stations vis a vis appointing adequate

number of women staffs in regular police station needs to be reviewed before
starting more all women’s police stations

Labour Department: It was reported by some of the KIs that the labour department,
has a major role to play in the rescue and rehabilitation of a child was reportedly not
present at the time of rescues. It is indeed a matter of concern that the Labour
Department in Kullu does not maintain any data of out-migrants or in-migrants. Even
though Kullu receives a large number of in-migrants from the Eastern part of the
country, as well from Nepal. The Labour Department does not maintain records of
their origin, destination or work, thus making it really difficult to quantify the number
of migrants and find their details.

Recommendations

 Resources should be made available by the government to organise

sensitisation workshops for labour officers, police and others working on the
issue of human trafficking.

 These training and workshops should focus on the laws relating to human
trafficking and gaps in its implementation.

 The labour department should work in coordination with the police and
NGOs working with women and children so carry out effective rescue
operations.

37
Ibid

94
  The labour department should work through the village panchayats to keep a
record of persons migrating from the village and issue them migration cards
specifying details about the person, ID proof, place of migration, name and
contact details of the agent, etc. This data can be of use if persons go missing.

 Labour officials should send inspection teams to places of informal sector

work like eateries, construction sites, etc. on a regular basis to keep a check
on labour exploitation.

Samarth Scheme: The state government has tried to take some measures to empower
girls and protect them from crime, under the “Samarth Scheme”. To install
confidence in girl students of schools and colleges in the state, the scheme has been
started and under this, the state police personnel are giving unarmed combat (UAC)
training.38

Recommendations

 Basic information about the phenomenon of human trafficking and its

implications should be provided to the school kids through the scheme.

4.3 Rehabilitation

4.3. 1 State Response

Government Shelter Homes: The research team visited a shelter home for Gujjar
boys in Chamba, which was very well maintained and funded by state government.
As discussed, since there is only one shelter for girls in Himachal Pradesh and it is
located in Solan, the police do not rescue any girls from districts. One of the officers
exclaimed, “what will we do if we rescue girls from hotels? We will have to face the
burden as there is no shelter home, no safe place to keep them in the police station,
and we will have to take these girls to Shimla shelter home. Lot of burden will be in
our head.”

38
Information and Public Relations, Government of Himachal Pradesh. (2016) ‘Samarth’
empowering women for self defence. [online] Available at:
http://himachalpr.gov.in/PressReleaseByYear.aspx?Language=1&ID=2982&Type=2&Date=1
4/02/2016 [Accessed 15 November 2018]

95
As far as governments rehabilitation measures for rescued children and women is
concerned, there is only one Bal Ashram and Children’s Home in Kalheli
administered by the Himachal Pradesh Council for Child Welfare, which is
supposedly only for minor boys. The rescued girls have to be sent to shelter homes in
Shimla.

Recommendations

 Separate shelter home facility should be made available for girls.

 The shelter home should be adequately staffed and provided with necessary
infrastructural facilities.

4.3.2 Civil Society Response

Shelter Home for Boys and Children's Home for Girls: There were two temporary
shelter homes for boys in Shimla and one in at Dharamshala. There was one girl’s
shelter home which was at Solan district. The team visited the shelter home and did
not find a single girl in the home. The home has eight staff members. There is no
shelter home or preventive home in the Sirmaur district. All the children are sent to
the rehabilitation/ shelter home in Shimla. Foster care centres are also not available in
the district but the children are handed over to families for foster care under a
government programme where financial assistance is given to the families to look
after the children.

Majority of the children who stayed in shelter home were child labourers who were
rescued from Kinnaur, Lahul and Spiti, Kullu and Manali. Some of them were
beggars, street vendors or missing children. As there is no shelter home in these
districts, the children are transferred to Shimla or Solan. In this shelter home, children
are referred from different places of Himachal Pradesh and they can stay there for up
to 3 months. However, in some cases they can stay for more than 6 months;
especially children with mental health conditions. It is difficult to contact their
parents, as most of the time the children are unable to state their home address. It has
also been observed that some parents abandoned the children with mental health
conditions or physical disability.

96
The staff shared that the local (Himachali) children rarely come to the shelter home
after a rescue operation. Moreover, there are very few instances of missing children
being from Himachal Pradesh. The shelter home provides non-formal education to
the children. If the families of the children have not been traced, they shift the
children to permanent Ashrams. The shelter home had recorded 133 children in
shelter home for three years from the time of the fieldwork.

The superintendent of a children’s home for girls shared, “the girls’ home has
recently been shifted to Tutikandi. There is a capacity of 50 girls and presently 43
girls are staying in the home. Most of the girls staying at home are abandoned,
orphan, single parent child, etc and come through the referral of CWC. Most of them
are from Himachal Pradesh. The home provides vocational training like computer
courses, pickle making, tailoring, beauty parlour, etc. to children and have tie ups
with some industries in Baddi in order to place the children for jobs there. There is no
victim of trafficking in the shelter home”.

Thus, it seemed clear enough that there was a consensus on the absence of trafficking
among the shelter home authorities, which can objectively indicate that either the
homes refrain from providing admission to a child rescued from human trafficking
rackets or they do not want to put it on records that they are present in the homes.
Since the data shows that trafficking is very much a reality, the complete denial of the
same from all the in-charges, makes a stronger case for further exploration.

Recommendations

 Additional shelter homes should be established in the state with facilities of a

counsellor, special educators for the children with learning, physical or
mental disabilities.

 The shelter homes should also provide life-skill programmes and extra-
curricular activities for the inmates in the homes.

 Appropriate and regular training should be provided to the staff and

authorities at the shelter homes to make them understand the gravity of
trafficking situation in the state.

97
Special Adoption Agency: The in-charge of a Special Adoption Agency shared, “the
agency can house about 25 children between the age group of 0 to 6 years. At the
moment (at the time of the fieldwork), there are two boys and four girls. The police
usually referred majority of the children. These are abandoned children found on the
road side, bus stand, and railway station or near hospitals etc”. When asked about the
prevalence of illegal adoption, she expressed that she had not heard of any case.

Recommendation

 There is a need to educate the authorities of the adoption agency regarding

the issue of trafficking and its relation to adoption

Broad Recommendations

 Government should establish grievance centers in every district to address the

problems of the migrant workers from other states.

 Government should issue identity cards to migrants in order to access welfare

measures, including PDS, and to open bank accounts and also health care
schemes.

 An enabling policy should be developed to help migrants access their basic

rights on education, healthcare, sanitation, and social security at national
level.

 The role of government and non-government departments needs to change to

victim-centric approach and develop gender and child-right sensitiveness and
adopt policies to ‘prevent, prosecute and protect’ by building the capacity of
the officers.

98
 Chapter 5
Summary of Findings and Conclusion

The present report documents the influencers of trafficking, different forms of

trafficking, as well as accounts of the victims, particularly to Himachal Pradesh. The
study engages in the mixed methods approach where primary data is collected in the
form of FGDs, interviews and observations while secondary data which is the crime
data is gathered from the police department. In Himachal Pradesh, Sirmaur, Chamba,
Kullu districts were selected as source districts to conduct the survey and Shimla and
Solan were identified as primarily destination districts. The survey was done during
the period of March – April 2017.

The report gives a detailed account of the socio-cultural as well as the political
characteristics of Himachal Pradesh. These features play an important role of in terms
of understanding the underlying reasons for trafficking.

While agriculture is the main source of livelihood, hydroelectric power projects,

tourism, and horticulture also form an important part of the state’s economy. About
95 per cent of the population reside in rural areas and as per world bank standards
more than 70 per cent people are poor. Access of essential infrastructure in any state
denotes their development status as well as vulnerabilities associated with the
population. It was documented that 46 per cent of the population lacked access to a
college while 44 per cent lacked access to a police station. About 39 per cent did not
even have access to markets. While the social ordeals showed that alcoholism and
drug abuse was rampant in the state, child labour and child marriage was also
reported by significant population. These social, infrastructural and individual
vulnerabilities have a profound impact on the livelihood of the people and can force
them into the trap of trafficking. Additionally, flood, cyclone, draught and landslides
were the natural catastrophes which the population had to face. Although the
calamities were reported only by 21 per cent of the villages, about 50 per cent
reported not receiving any government help afterwards. As a result, about 6 per cent
reported having at least one person from their household moving out in search of
work.

99
Most of the interviewed households possessed some landholdings however, often the
income from it was meager.

More than 90 per cent of the migrants were males, young, belonging to 19- 40 years
of age group and almost all were married. Nearly half of the migrant population was
SC and the main cause of migration was in search a job.

Himachal Pradesh report documents several forms of trafficking. In terms of

trafficking flows, the hilly state which did not see much population movement, has
been seeing in-migration from the last two decades because of the flourishing tourism
industry. While the children were trafficked for various forms of labour work
including working in hotels, dhabas, or forced begging, CSE was evident amongst
young girls. Bride trafficking is usually carried anonymously, without any
registration. Often the poor families get lured to the false wealth showcased by the
groom side or in some instances the family sells the girl in the exchange of money. A
newer form of trafficking that was identified was trafficking of young adults into the
drug racket. Young boys are coerced to sell weed and charas.

The research finds that this moving population face a lot of exploitation as part of
their work and are often trafficked into deceptive work conditions. The economic
exploitation was evident through all these forms of trafficking. Further to add to the
plight of the victims, the children as well as the adults faced serious health hazards
due to the working conditions, however lacked safety measurements or did not
receive any compensation in case of the hazard. Appropriate steps should be taken by
the government in order to curb this issue, in the form of either rehabilitation of the
present victims as well as providing essential employment opportunities.

In the report, various migration patterns have been outlined; they look at the reasons
for migration, the manner in which it is carried out, whose help is taken to migrate
and the consequences of different kinds of migration in terms of payment received
and ability to leave work. Various livelihood vulnerabilities operate at the
community, HH and individual levels arising out of inequitable structures existing in
the community and places where people migrate to. In cases of high vulnerability,
migration can turn into trafficking. Based on findings of the research likely cases of

100
trafficking were estimated and a vulnerability tracking matrix was created for the
migrants.

Information from the matrix revealed that from a total of 173 migrants in Himachal
Pradesh, we can infer from a combination of the three levels of measuring
vulnerability (migrant not in contact with family, no freedom to quit job, given partial
or no payment) that the proportion of trafficked victims among the migrants who had
paid money to some mediator can be estimated to be almost 10 per cent while 4 per
cent of the migrants who had taken advance money is likely to have been trafficked.

Approximately, INR 93,000 can be estimated to be in circulation in the trafficking

market for only the 17 possibly trafficked migrants from our sample who had paid
money to some intermediary while the economics amount to INR 50,400 for the mere
6 likely to be trafficked migrants who had received advances. The economics
distinctly brings out the profits earned by the human trafficking industry at various
tiers by luring and exploiting vulnerable populations who migrate in pursuit of better
livelihoods or quality of life. These profits then ensure the continuation of existing
forms of trafficking and the emergence of newer forms of trafficking.

The present report thus documents different forms of human trafficking, that exist in
Himachal Pradesh. It reiterates that the underlying poverty, unemployment are the
root causes of trafficking of men, women and children in Himachal Pradesh. There is
a need for a multi directional approach and the recommendations given in the report
can be useful in that regard.

The trajectory of trafficking and nature of involvement of different agents denote that
this is becoming an organised crime and government is facing various difficulties in
order to combat the issue. Trafficking is multifaceted and is evolving, therefore
making it a matter of concern. The present state report of Himachal Pradesh puts forth
the needed evidence related to the different forms and mechanisms of trafficking
which should be used to propose relevant policy changes explicitly for Himachal
Pradesh.

101
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 ANNEXURES

Annexure 1
Crime Data Analysis

Table 1: Cases Registered Under ITPA from 2012- 2017

Name of District 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Total
Mandi 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
Kangra 1 2 1 1 1 0 6
Hamirpur 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Una 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
Kullu 0 0 0 3 2 0 5
Chamba 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
Lahaul & Spiti 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Shimla 2 0 0 2 1 1 6
Bilaspur 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Sirmaur 2 0 1 1 2 1 7
Solan 0 2 0 1 0 1 4
Kinnaur 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
PD Baddi 0 0 1 0 2 0 3
CID 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
Total 6 4 5 9 8 3 35
Note: Police districts and administrative districts may vary. The data discussed in this section
is as per police districts.

Table 2: Number of Cases of Kidnapping and Abduction Recorded From 2012-2016

Name of District 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
W C W C W C W C W C
Mandi 18 13 35 36 33 33 38 28 30 35
Kangra 49 28 53 31 26 24 35 38 33 35
Hamirpur 2 3 11 9 13 10 10 18 10 8
Una 7 5 18 12 10 12 17 9 17 17
Kullu 5 3 26 21 4 18 11 16 14 13
Chamba 14 10 13 10 19 18 20 20 13 12
Lahaul & Spiti 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1
Shimla 25 18 40 27 32 31 36 44 16 38
Bilaspur 5 4 43 21 43 10 23 7 20 15
Sirmaur 11 6 11 16 15 17 20 22 24 25
Solan 8 1 14 10 18 19 12 12 10 15
Kinnaur 1 0 2 4 3 5 5 4 2 3
PD Baddi 7 6 22 16 10 12 12 14 12 13
CID 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 152 97 288 213 227 210 239 232 201 230
Note: W- Women, C- Children

106
 Table 3: Missing and Traced Minor Females
Name of District 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Total
Untraced
M T M T M T M T M T
Mandi 18 18 8 8 4 4 2 2 1 1 0
Kangra 12 12 5 5 0 0 8 8 6 5 1
Hamirpur 4 4 6 6 12 12 2 2 5 5 0
Una 17 17 6 5 0 0 6 6 10 6 5
Kullu 19 19 7 7 2 1 3 2 2 1 3
Chamba 1 1 5 5 0 0 0 0 1 1 0
Lahaul & Spiti 0 0 1 1 3 3 0 0 0 0 0
Shimla 14 14 20 20 23 23 16 16 10 8 2
Bilaspur 7 7 17 17 9 8 10 10 13 12 2
Sirmaur 35 35 14 14 14 13 6 5 7 6 3
Solan 24 24 11 10 11 11 17 16 11 11 2
Kinnaur 4 4 2 2 3 2 2 2 0 0 1
PD Baddi 19 18 3 3 5 3 11 9 12 10 7
Total 174 173 105 103 86 80 83 78 78 66 26
Source: State Crime Records Bureau, Himachal Pradesh
Note: M- Missing, T- Traced

Table 4: Missing and Traced Minor Males

Name of 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Total
District Untraced
M T M T M T M T M T
Mandi 17 17 14 14 9 9 2 2 1 1 0
Kangra 20 20 10 9 4 4 4 4 10 9 2
Hamirpur 12 10 10 10 5 4 10 5 5 5 8
Una 11 11 4 4 0 0 1 1 3 3 0
Kullu 17 17 9 9 2 2 3 3 0 0 0
Chamba 4 3 6 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Lahaul & Spiti 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Shimla 31 31 34 34 33 31 20 19 22 17 8
Bilaspur 6 5 12 11 3 3 1 1 6 6 2
Sirmaur 19 19 8 7 1 1 3 3 3 3 1
Solan 9 9 1 1 7 7 1 1 9 9 0
Kinnaur 5 5 4 4 2 1 2 2 1 1 1
PD Baddi 11 11 6 6 3 3 3 2 1 1 1
Total 162 158 118 115 69 65 50 43 61 55 24
Source: State Crime Records Bureau, Himachal Pradesh
Note: M- Missing, T- Traced

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 Table 5: Missing and Traced Adult Females
Name of 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Total
District Untraced
M T M T M T M T M T
Mandi 138 132 124 116 101 97 107 99 90 81 35
Kangra 143 132 123 111 63 56 59 49 77 58 59
Hamirpur 40 40 64 62 33 30 23 18 37 33 14
Una 52 44 51 44 54 48 36 27 36 30 36
Kullu 79 65 81 58 49 39 40 26 41 17 85
Chamba 30 28 28 27 30 26 13 12 12 9 11
Lahaul & 0 0 1 1 4 2 6 4 1 1 4
Spiti
Shimla 66 63 85 79 91 87 70 69 69 43 40
Bilaspur 59 45 49 46 19 18 19 8 29 21 37
Sirmaur 79 76 43 43 40 37 50 50 41 29 18
Solan 54 48 57 52 72 70 44 42 37 34 18
Kinnaur 11 11 7 5 13 13 10 10 7 6 3
PD Baddi 74 73 42 41 29 29 29 24 25 22 10
Total 825 757 755 685 598 552 506 438 502 384 370
Source: State Crime Records Bureau, Himachal Pradesh
Note: M- Missing, T- Traced

Table 6: Missing and Traced Adult Males

Name of 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Total
District Untraced
M T M T M T M T M T
Mandi 48 39 56 42 58 49 47 42 31 20 48
Kangra 72 63 79 66 55 45 63 47 66 40 74
Hamirpur 16 14 26 21 25 24 16 12 19 12 19
Una 35 25 41 29 41 27 30 16 27 16 51
Kullu 35 14 33 16 35 22 33 18 37 17 86
Chamba 26 19 30 23 20 15 20 13 18 8 36
Lahaul & Spiti 1 1 2 1 3 0 4 4 3 2 5
Shimla 29 27 50 41 67 53 59 44 55 35 60
Bilaspur 25 18 24 19 38 30 29 19 29 17 42
Sirmaur 31 29 18 14 14 11 40 32 16 8 25
Solan 39 36 30 23 38 30 26 21 31 22 32
Kinnaur 14 13 9 6 17 11 14 8 5 2 19
PD Baddi 34 31 31 28 29 22 33 23 32 22 33
Total 405 329 429 329 440 339 414 299 369 221 530
Source: State Crime Records Bureau, Himachal Pradesh
Note: M- Missing, T- Traced

Table 7: Details of Cases Registered by Childline in 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17 in

Sirmaur
Year Begging Missing children
2014-2015 - 11
2015-2016 - -
Source: State Crime Records Bureau, Himachal Pradesh
Note: M- Missing, T- Traced

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 Table 8: Children Rescued by Childline Sirmaur: 2016-2017
Category Source State/ District of Age Range Total
Rescued Children Cases
Child Labour Sirmaur, Himachal Pradesh- Males- 11- 16 years 12
7 males and 1 female Female- 12 years

Madhya Pradesh Males- 4- 7 years

3 males
Chhattisgarh Female- 8 years
1 female
Begging Sirmaur, Himachal Pradesh- Males- 7-14 years 31
7 males, 7 females, 8 unknowns Females- 6- 12
years
Unknown- 9-12
years
Haryana Males- 5 years
2 males, 5 females Females- 5-10 years
Uttar Pradesh Females- 7 years
1 female
Madhya Pradesh Female- 7 years
1 female
Child Marriage Sirmaur, Himachal Pradesh- Females- 12- 18 16
16 females years
Domestic Labour Sirmaur, Himachal Pradesh- Male- 10 years 1
1 male
Missing Sirmaur, Himachal Pradesh- Female- 15 years 1
1 female

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Annexure 2
List of Key Informants39
Kullu
Sr. no Name Department/ Organisation
1 Manasi Sahay Director, Department of Women and Child
Welfare
2 Omkar Thakur Secretary, Department of Women and Child
Welfare
3 R.P Chauhan State Co-ordinator, State Resource Centre for
Women
4 D.W Negi Superintendent of Police, Shimla
5 Ravindra Guleria Joint Director, Integrated Child Protection
Schemes
6 Sanjay Kumar Director General of Police, Shimla
7 Vinod Dhawan Deputy Inspector General, Crime Branch,
Shimla
8 K.R Bharti Director, HPVHA Shimla
9 Sanjeev Mahajan Professor, Public Administration, Himachal
Pradesh University, Shimla
10 Sonam Rohta Professor, Social Work, Himachal Pradesh
University, Shimla
11 Dr. Hata Indian Institute of Himalayan Sciences,
Shimla
12 Raghubir Singh District Program Officer
13 Shiv Singh Director, Child Welfare Committee, Kullu
14 Md. Yunus District Collector
15 Padam Chand Superintendent of Police
16 Shalini Vats Director, Childline
17 Madhu Beena Director, Mahila Kalyan Mandal
18 Vimla Bhati Superintendent, District Panchayat
19 Amar Singh In charge, Anti Human Trafficking Unit
20 D.R Kayastha Labour Officer, Labour department
21 Amit Kumar Member, Childline, Manali
22 Ashok Kumar Director, Bal Ashram, Kalheli

39
Some of the KI names have been withheld to maintain anonymity

110
Shimla
Sr. no Name Organisation/Department
1 Mansi Sahay Thakur Director, Department of Women & Child
Development
2. Mr. Onkar Thakur Deputy Director, Department of Women &
Child Development
3 Ravinder Singh Joint Director, Department of Women &
Gulleria Child Development
4 D.W. Negi Superintendent of Police
5 Arjit Sen Thakur Additional Superintendent of Police
6 V.K. Dhawan Deputy Inspector of Police, Crime
Investigation Department (Crime)
7 Sakshi Verma Additional Superintendent of Police, Anti
Human Trafficking Unit
8 Ranjana Kumari Women Police Station
9 Bharti Director, NGO, HPVHA
10 Rakesh Sharma, Childline, HPVHA
11 Dinesh Kumar Childline, HPVHA
12 Viral Plan Foundation
13 Meena Kumari Himachal Pradesh AIDS Control Society
14 Rachita Outreach Worker, HPVHA
15 Jagdish Kumar Outreach Worker, HPVHA
16 Keshav Coordinator, Childline
17 TR Azad Joint Labour Commissioner
18 KC Verma Building & Construction Workers Welfare
Board
19 Rounam Kaushik Advocate & Child Welfare Committee
Member
20 Shankuntla Sharma Course Educator, Open Shelter Home
21 Santosh Sharma Balika Ashram, Tutikandi
22 Tikinder Deputy Mayor of Shimla
23 Ashwini Bureau Chief, The Statesman
24 Archana Phull Journalist, Indian Express
25 Ajai Srivastava NGO, Umang Foundation

111
Solan
Sr. no Name Organisation/Department
1. Mayank Negi Block Development Officer, Dharampur Block
2 Arjun Negi District Probation Officer
3 Dr. Vijay Sharma Block Development Officer
4 Brij Lal Women’s Cell
5 AS Krishna Additional Station House Officer, Women Police
Station, Baddi
6 Ravinder Kumar Station House Officer, Sadar Police Station
7 Balak Ram Pratham Foundation
8 Rajendra HPVHA, Baddi
9 Usha NGO, Bal Vatika
10 Subash NGO, Sutra
11 Vinay NGO, Magic Bus Foundation
12 J R Tomar NGO, KASA VISA
13 Neelam Mehta Child Welfare Committee Chairperson
14 Anita Childline
15 Aman Childline Coordinator
16 Prakash Chand Coordinator, Open Shelter Home
17 Ambika Journalist, Indian Express
18 Shashibala Worker, Aaganwadi

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Sirmaur
Sr. no Name Organisation/Department
1. - District Collector
2 - Addl Collector
3 - Superintendent of Police
4 - Additional Superintendent of Police
5 - Anti Human Trafficking In charge
6 Manjeet Singh Women Cell
7 Ira Tanvar Data Protection Officer
8 Kuldeep Kumar Social worker and District Child Protection Unit
staffs
9 Meena Sood Child Development Project Officer Rajgarh Block
10 Priya Tomar Child Development Project Officer Sangrah Block
11 Madan Chauhan Child Development Project Officer Shillai Block
12 Mr. Rupesh Child Development Project Officer Paonta Saheb
13 Niti Agarwal Child Welfare Committee
14 Anita Parmar Child Welfare Committee
15 Tara Childline
16 Ajay Das Childline
17 Veena Sharma Childline
18 Vinita Childline
19 Rajendra Childline
20 Mahinder Bhangaria Aarti NGO, Rajgarh
21 Shradha Shillai NGO
22 Kuldeep Verma PAPAN NGO
23 Sumitra PAPAN NGO Staff
24 P.S. Verma Labour Superintendent, Labour Department
25 Ashu Choudhry Counsellor, ICTC Zonal Hospital
26 Sanjay Bhardwaj Sub-Editor, Amar Ujala Newspaper
27 - Public Information officer, District Women and
Child Department
28 - PRAYAS society

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Chamba
Sr. no Name Organisation/Department
1 Virender Tomar Superintendent of Police
2 D. K Choudhary Head, Anti Human Trafficking
3 Gautam Sharma District Probation Officer
4 Sudesh Kumar District Collector
5 Kuldeep Singh Additional District Collector
6 Arun Child Welfare Committee
7 Navjot Green Valley Organisation
8 Vinod Kumar News Reporter
9 Krishan Choudhary SDM Bharmour
10 Anup Sharma Block Development Officer Tissa
11 Ashwani Sood Sub Divisional Magistrate Bhattiyat
12 Rahul Chouhan Sub Divisional Magistrate
13 Varinder Arya Child Development Project Officer
14 S.R Kapoor District Employment Officer
15 Ram Kumar Sharma District Labour Officer
16 Ravi Das District Development Manager

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Annexure 3
List of Parameters and Sub parameters
Child Labour:

Age Group: 5- 9 Years Old

1. Work Participation Rate- Main Workers

2. Work Participation Rate- Marginal Workers (Seeking/ available for work)

3. Work Participation Rate- Non-Workers (Seeking/ available for work)

Age Group: 10- 14 Years Old

4. Work Participation Rate- Main Workers

5. Work Participation Rate- Marginal Workers (Seeking/ available for work)

6. Work Participation Rate- Non-Workers (Seeking/ available for work)

7. Communal Riots (Affected Districts)

8. Infant Mortality Rate:

9. BPL Populated Districts

10. Less Electricity Facility Districts

11. Living in Pukka Houses: (Vulnerable Districts)

12. Toilet Facility: (Vulnerable Districts)

13. Using LPG: (Vulnerable Districts)

14. Kidnapping and Abduction of children

15. Kidnapping and Abduction of women

16. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA):

good districts

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17. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA): Bad
Districts

18. Literacy Rate (age 7+) of Total Population at district level

19. Literacy Rate (age 7+) of Female Population at district level

20. Literacy Rate (age 7+) of Male Population at district level

21. Literacy Rate (age 7+) of SC Population at district level

22. Literacy Rate (age 7+) of ST Population at district level

23. Good Performance: Work Completion Rate; Average days per Household

24. Bad Performance: Work Completion Rate; Average days per Household

25. National Highways: Districts

26. Cruelty by Husband/ Relatives: Cases Registered (Vulnerable Districts)

27. Female Headed Households

28. Sex Ratio: Vulnerable Districts

29. Major Tourist Districts

30. Left Wing Extremism: Vulnerable Districts

31. Proportion of ST population

32. Proportion of SC population

116