In August, the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), which provides free legal services to the weaker sections of society, submitted a report to the Supreme Court with recommendations for the prevention of trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation and for the rescue and rehabilitation of its victims. This was following a directive of the court while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by the Human Rights Law Network on behalf of the anti-trafficking organisation Prajwala in 2004 seeking the creation of a victim-protection protocol. The NALSA report exposes several gaps in the existing law.
It has recommended the setting up of a nodal agency at the national and State levels and a district-level task force to deal with the issue of prevention of trafficking and rescue and rehabilitation of rescued sex workers. Additional Solicitor General Neeraj Kishan Kaul told the bench consisting of Justices Anil R. Dave, Madan B. Lokur and Kurien Joseph that the Centre had examined NALSA’s recommendations and was “in agreement with most of them”.
A Central Advisory Committee on Combating Human Trafficking, which met thereafter, said that there was a need to differentiate between voluntary sex workers and those who were forced into such activities and that the current report was prepared with reference to trafficked victims only. Several States, too, put forth their ideas. Gujarat, shockingly, said that there was no serious problem of trafficking in the State that it was not advisable to have a separate police station for trafficking, and that corporate social responsibility (CSR) funding may be tapped for the rehabilitation of victims.
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How Not To Handle An Epidemic
The lockdowns were meant to buy time to put in place appropriate health measures and contain the coronavirus’ spread, but they have failed to achieve the objective and heaped immense misery on the marginalised sections of society. India is still in the exponential phase of the COVID-19 infection and community transmission is a reality that the government refuses to accept.
Tragedy on foot
As the COVID-19-induced lockdown cuts the ground beneath their feet in Tamil Nadu, thousands of migrant workers are trudging along the highway to the relative safety of their upcountry homes.
Sarpanchs as game changers
Odisha manages to keep COVID-19 well under control because of the strong participation of panchayati raj institutions and the community at the grass-roots level under the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Scapegoating China
As the COVID-19 death rate spikes and the economy tanks in the United States, Donald Trump and his advisers target China and the World Health Organisation with an eye to winning the forthcoming presidential election.
New worries
Kerala’s measured approach to the pandemic and lockdown has yielded results. But it still has to grapple with their huge economic impact on its economy, which it feels the Centre’s special financial relief package does little to alleviate.
No love lost for labour
Taking advantage of the lockdown and the inability of workers to organise protests, many State governments introduce sweeping changes to labour laws to the detriment of workers on the pretext of reviving production and boosting the economy.
Capital's Malthusian moment
In a world that needs substantial reorienting of production and distribution, Indian capital is resorting to a militant form of moribund neoliberalism to overcome its current crisis. In this pursuit of profit, it is ready and willing to throw into mortal peril millions whom it adjudicates as not worth their means—an admixture of social Darwinism born of capital’s avarice and brutalism spawned by Hindutva. .
Understanding migration
When governments and their plans are found to be blatantly wanting in addressing reverse migration, exercises such as the Ekta Parishad’s survey of migrant workers throughout India can be useful to work out creative long-lasting solutions.
Waiting for Jabalpur moment
The Supreme Court’s role in ensuring executive accountability during the ongoing lockdown leaves much to be desired. Standing in shining contrast is the record of some High Courts.
An empty package
The Modi regime, which has been unable to control the COVID-19 infection, restore economic activity and provide relief to millions exposed to starvation, trains its sights on Indian democracy, making use of the panic generated by fear and a lockdown that forecloses paths of resistance.
