The Indian Institute for Technology Delhi’s sprawling campus is a relative haven compared to the chaos of Delhi. Set amidst 320 acres of gardens with an abundance of wildlife, including peacocks, squirrels (or chipmunks, to us Brits) and birds, it provides a peaceful and relaxed atmosphere for over four thousand students and faculty that live and work on the campus. For those that don’t know, IIT Delhi is one of seven national institutions which form the most reputable Engineering institutes in India. Competition to secure one of the 5500 coveted seats on approximately 700 courses is fierce. The admission process is tough, with around 400,000 potential undergraduates completing the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) and five day interview process each year. It is little wonder that so many students clamor over relatively few places; The Times Higher Education Supplement (2008) ranked IIT-Delhi 157th best overall universities in their respected World University Rankings.
Following government legislation, IITs have been reserving 22.5% of seats for SC/ST students since 1973 with a marginally different reservation policy (from the quota policy) than elsewhere in India. 15% of the students admitted each year must be of Scheduled Caste origin and 7.5% must originate from Scheduled Tribe backgrounds (however, many of these seats remain empty- some reports indicate up to half of places). These students are required to take the difficult JEE examination like other applicants, but the admission criteria for SCTs is somewhat relaxed (securing 55% in the examination and higher age limits for applying) and those that do not make the grade are offered a ‘Preparatory Course’ before being admitted to the full undergraduate programme. However, once on their individual courses, all students are subject to the same marking system.
I recently found myself at IIT-Delhi (or IITD as it’s known to IITians) as part of a (a non-publicized) response to the events of May 2008 when twelve Dalit students (eleven of which were in the first two years of undergraduate study) were expelled from the institution. The students received a letter reporting that they had been expelled from IIT-Delhi and in response some of formed a group, submitting a petition to the National Commission for the Scheduled Castes (NCSC) arguing that they had been subject to caste-based discrimination. The case highlighted the feelings of many IIT students, who spoke out to reveal that many IIT Delhi faculty members resented the 'easy ride' they were perceived to have and behaved with prejudice towards the SCT students who gained entry through the affirmative action policies (and not, they perceived, on merit). Some even argued that despite good performance, they were still rewarded with poor grades. In response. IIT Delhi issued a report revoking the expulsion of two students and further argued that in their review committee, no case of caste based discrimination was found. The reporrt further reiterated the view that IIT is especially sensitive to the needs of SCT students. Dalit students contested this and student activism, including rallies and the organization of a case filed against IIT at the Supreme Court, led to the readmission of seven of the students.
So. just over two years later I found myself at IITD’s substantial campus (in the substantial heat and surrounded by an abundance of mosquitos...) located in Hauz Khas, South Delhi. In an attempt to illustrate their commitiment towards the inclusion of SCT students, IITD invited the autonomous Kerala government organization, ‘The Centre for Research and Education for Social Transformation’ to conduct a ten day workshop for entry-JEE SCT students (although, surprisingly, nowhere was the term ‘SCT’ used). Ninety three students (although only around ten were girls- but that’s another story...) attended the programme developed with modules to improve communication skills, introducing students to personal and professional development, promote the importance of working as a team and imbuing students with the necessary knowledge and skills to enable them to adapt easily to the challenges of IIT life. There was also a theatre workshop, designed to weave in the elements of body language, role play, confidence building and the practical lessons taught in the other modules into a practical performance presented to the Directors and senior faculty on the final day.
Despite IIT’s outward commitment to providing a socially inclusive learning environment for its students and undertaking affirmative action to prepare this new batch of SCT engineers for the rigors of study at such a renowned institute, I discovered that the same cannot be said for its treatment of staff. It was during my first day staying at the IIT Faculty Guest House that one of my colleagues pointed out a very tiny baby, no older than about six months old, lying amidst the dust on a very tattered piece of cloth. I thought no more about it, realizing that parents probably do take their very young children along to work with them if they have no other choice. However, the following day, on going for breakfast, I noticed very young boys aged between about twelve and seventeen working on the building site in the substantial heat, carrying back-breakingly heavy piles of bricks, sheets of glass and building materials.
According to the International Labor Organization, there are approximately 12.6 million out of a total of 253 million children working between the ages of 5-14 in India. The practice of child labor contravenes international legal frameworks such as the Article 32 of the widely ratified Convention of the Rights of the Child which ensures children have the right to: " be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child's education, or to be harmful to the child's health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development."
Sadly, it is widely acknowledged that it is the children of the socially excluded and marginalized communities, the poorest of the poor, who experience such exploitation. In real terms this translates to lower-castes and Dalits who form a substantial amount of India's deprived. The disadvantages and cruelty involved in child labor are widely acknowledged as affecting children’s physical, emotional and intellectual development. The practice has been denounced in India and the international community alike and in many states the legal age to begin work is fourteen (which contradicts the ILO suggestion of fifteen and the CRC legislation that recognizes all individuals below the age eighteen to be children).
The reality of the situation is that laws are frequently ignored and children continue to work in grueling and harrowing conditions, mainly due to the heartbreaking fact that it is an economic necessity for many children in India to work. Low literacy, poor health outcomes, gender disparity and social exclusion all contribute to the fact that a third of India’s population live below the poverty line, according to the UNDP. Many parents have no choice but to send their children out to work instead of sending them to school, despite what they may otherwise wish. Indeed, it is widely recognize that the poor in India have at their disposal a ‘portfolio of assets’ which they are required to manage to keep them fed. Unfortunately, children often translate to a form of human capital, which can be sent to work for a wage.
Approximately 14% of Delhi’s sprawling population live below the poverty line according to the newly developed Multidimensional poverty index. One only has to step outside the IIT compound to be hit head-on by street children, begging men and women and very visable poverty. It is impossible to predict exactly how many children are working in Indian cities such as Delhi, Save the Children’s Marc Silver explains. Although, one only has to browse the local news to discover how many children are ‘liberated’ from the shackles of labor each day to gain an insight into the scale of problem.
When teaching began, I was horrified to discover that the ‘tea boy’ (or chai wallah) was also a young boy, dressed in dirty, old clothes and no more than about fourteen years old. I mentioned this to my colleague and asked whether we should mention this to the Director and Dean, both of whom we had met previously that day. I was told not to and that an anonymous letter would be written on our return to Kerala- there was obviously a reluctance to ‘rock the boat’. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing; a government organization committed to social change and inclusion effectively not wanting to challenge the institutionalized power of IITD (presumably because IIT were providing them with excellent business and exposure...).
On questioning the matter further, it was later brought to my attention that IIT do not directly employ children but instead go through a contractor, thus absolving them of any responsibility. Unsurprisingly it is incredibly difficult to find information on this. Surely the highly praised academics at IITD realize that it is the marginalized groups that partake of child labor out of economic necessity (exactly those students IITD have invested money in trying to empower!)? Despite the legality of employment above the age of fourteen, it is only poorer sections of society that work at such a young age and it would be unthinkable for many Indian families for a fourteen year old to be working on a building site when they could be studying…
This very obvious paradox shocked me. Exactly what kind of example is this setting to the rest of the world? India’s premier engineering institution, one of the world’s best learning environments employs children to complete their manual building work and bring the tea. What horrified me further was the student’s ignorance towards the boy, somewhat younger than them, who brought the tea- many didn’t even acknowledge him or find it strange that he was working there and had to actually be prompted by the faculty to say ‘Thank you’. When one considers the very effective, organised and prompt student outcry and activism in swift response to the expulsion case of 2008, it is almost perplexing why IITD's students, some if India's brightest and most capable young talent, have not come forth and protested the presence of child labor on their campus.
Do they too fail to notice the links between caste and social exclusion and child labor and social exclusion; that it is the poorest (and most likely the lower caste) children who work instead of attending school? It is definitely not the case that students lose their caste identity on joining IIT, one only has to recall the outcry concerning the explusion of Dalit students and accusations of discriminations heavily hitting the faculty. Why then are IIT students chosing to ignore the presence of child labor on their campus? Perhaps it is a case of 'ignorance is bliss', that once admitted to IITD and the subsequent stresses and pressures of academic study, students are simply unaware of what else is happening on their campus? On considering the outcry in 2008, this is definitely not the case. Perhaps it is a case of student elitism and students are only concerned with their studies and their fellow students, broader issues of poverty become inconsequential? Either way, the students of IITD need to sit up and take notice.
The depressing fact remains: IITD employs children to working in the grueling Delhi heat, in the shabbiest of clothes for (I presume) very little money. Okay, so maybe I’m not being fair... Maybe, just maybe, the chai wallah attends the on-campus school allocated for the faculty’s children (unlike the builders who spend all day toiling in the heat outside). Call me a cynic and a pessimist, but I think that’s unlikely…
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