The recovery of 31 children between the age group of 5 to 17 years from a woman who was supposedly taking them for their studies to Greater Noida by the Members of the Child Welfare Committees of Imphal West, Thoubal and Imphal West recently is yet another indicator of the vulnerability of the state to child trafficking. As in many earlier cases, the children were being taken away with the explanation that their studies would be taken care of. But unlike earlier cases where police have been known to have taken the issue of child trafficking lightly by saying that parents have sent their children for their studies willingly, there is now a gradual realization and proactive step towards preventing such cases from taking place. But more needs to be done to intervene, rescue and repatriate, rehabilitate victims of trafficking for it is clear that Manipur is a soft target for children and youths to be taken away for various purposes. The North Eastern region, but mostly Manipur, Assam and to some extent, Nagaland are prone to cases of trafficking. Parts of Assam but more so, Lower Assam which is still to catch up with the rest of the state in terms of development, progress and peace is often in the spotlight when the news of trafficking hits the headlines. In Nagaland and Manipur, it is the fringe areas where the remoteness and the lack of equitable development yet again, but also the trust placed in community leaders lead to parents blindly believing the promises for a better life. Lower Assam with its history of strife was always in the trafficking spotlight but it was mostly Nepal that was the most vulnerable given its volatile political history of armed conflict. Once political stability set its roots with armed conflict declining and steps towards development being taken up in Nepal, the market for trafficking had to shift its sight to other similar areas. In fact, the fall out of sustained armed violence, the break down of the education system and other developmental programs in the state, aided by the poverty of people and their lack of awareness are common features to areas where trafficking hits.
The ethnic violence in the 90’s, followed by the forced migration and displacement of people due to ‘development programs’ such as the construction of Mega dams and such to places alien to them created new situations and contexts where support systems for food, education, health and security were compromised but it was women and children who were most vulnerable and in need of special care and attention. The fall out of these circumstances in the state led to women and young girls taking up sex work, getting into drug use and abuse or involved as couriers, getting inducted into crimes or falling prey to trafficking. Even as there is still no strong police action being taken in cases of human trafficking yet, what must be pointed out is that non state forces are also encouraging trafficking of children through their acts of child soldier recruitment. In the first half of 2008, at least 20 children in the age group of 10 to 16 went missing from various parts of Manipur with the number of other reported cases increasing to near about 60. In the beginning, it was believed that the disappearances or abductions of the children could be related to trafficking but it emerged that most of the children were in the custody of armed groups. Yet again, the link to child trafficking emerged after it was found that the point persons who had taken the children away or made contact with the children were being paid money per child that they brought in to the fold.
Children are the most vulnerable targets for trafficking as they can be easily lured away and then passed off for various purposes ranging from sex work to being used as beggars or as work force in what are known as sweat shops where they are made to put up with inhuman work conditions and shortchanged when it comes to their payment. Girls and young women who are trafficked are also increasingly found to be used as womb carriers to act as surrogate mothers in sex skewed parts of Northern India where female infanticide and foeticide has led to near absence of women in the population. The destination of children being taken to NGO run centers or to schools where they end up being taught in languages that children do not know or understand perhaps point to a larger game plan where children being trafficked from the state are being used as program beneficiaries to get more financial backing.