Sham recruiters dupe Christian tribals in eastern India, force them into prostitution

Ranchi – The Christian community of eastern India are under fear and shock after an alarming survey revealed that some recruiters lure tribal Catholic women into slavery and prostitution, using "religious ways" to trick them.

Domestic Workers' Wing (DWW), an organization affiliated with the Catholic Church, started the survey last December. It presented the findings on July 29 to a regional bishops' meeting in Ranchi. The meeting drew 18 bishops from Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Orissa states and the Andaman Islands. According to the survey, recruiting agencies from New Delhi and Mumbai use procurers based in Ranchi to gain access to remote tribal villages.

Father Cherubim Tirkey, spokesperson of the regional bishops' council, exclaimed that the bishops "expressed grave concern over the modus operandi of those involved in the flesh trade in the guise of placement agents." He lamented that the brokers even use religious trappings to lure the women.

According to the survey, the agents often carry name cards bearing Christian names and religious symbols. Some of their agencies also have seemingly Catholic names such as Holy Cross, Mother Mary and Sacred Heart.

The survey noted that the recruiters give "advance payment" to the young women's parents to win over their confidence. "In most cases, the girls do not get any more money and are either forced to work as domestic help without wages or are handed over to brothels." In many cases, nothing more is heard of the young women, most of whom are between the ages of 15 and 22.

Cardinal Telesphore P. Toppo of Ranchi termed the matter "a very big problem for the tribal Church of Jharkhand." The cardinal, from the Oraon tribal group, said Church leaders have yet to identify the forces that lure tribal women into prostitution. "But it is a kind of attack on Church," he remarked.

During last year's meeting, the bishops also discussed the plight of tribal maids. Cardinal Toppo, now president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India, then termed the matter "most humiliating" and a serious national issue.

The recent survey found that about 400 tribal girls from Simdega diocese recently fell prey to agents and another 35 from a single village in Gumla district. Several villages of Latehar district in Daltonganj diocese are also hit by the "illegal and shoddy migration," the survey reported. These areas, all in Jharkhand, have high Christian tribal concentrations.

The report said the government has not kept its promise to set up village checkpoints and to have local district officials monitor recruitment agents.

The bishops' council termed the "illegal migration" as the "greatest problem" young tribal women face and held the state government responsible for not checking "the menace" despite media raising alarm over the issue.

When asked if the CBCI had suggested any Church move to curb the migration, Father Tirkey said, "The Church cannot fight a menace of such proportions alone." However, he added, the council has resolved to carry out mass awareness programs through street plays in villages.