It may not be an unusual sight to be swarmed by children in a traffic jam, pleading to give them a penny or two. You may have jerked many of them for knocking the windscreen of your new Indica V2 or have ridiculed the parents of those whom you may see performing aerobics on red light. Many people may be generous enough to offer them money. Your rupee may make his day better but have we ever realized that it could make his life worse. What seems a mere case of poverty forcing these tiny tots into begging is just a myth. The reality is far darker and horrid. Begging is just a small aspect of the giant organized business called child trafficking.

According to a survey by Reuters AlterNet, India is the sixth most dangerous place in the world for children. Reports say around 1.2 million children are trafficked annually for labour or sex. India may be packaged as an IT destination, may be known for its unique Bollywood masala movies, but the reality is far more dark and horrid. But far from this glamour and glitz, children are being brought and sold like commodities for prices less than what you would spend with your friends for coffee at barista or Coffee Day.

Trafficking is said to be the 3rd largest trade after drug and arms and is said to be an operation worth 10 billion US dollars annually. Nearly 1 to 4 million people are trafficked annually, says a report by the UN. The National Human Rights Committee in its finding says nearly 40, 000 children are reported missing every year in India.

Minal Manisha, who has worked with an NGO called HAQ centre for child rights gives some more alarming statistics. She quotes the National Crime Records Bureau, 2005, where 3757 cases of kidnapping and abduction of children up to 18 years had taken place in 2005. Out of this 1693 were for the purpose of marriage, 501 for illicit intercourse, 3 for selling body parts, 117 for prostitution, 15 for unlawful activity, and 41 for adoption, 19 for begging and rest for slavery. A rough estimate says around 200 girls below 15 years of age enter prostitution in India daily.

Children are bought and sold for many reasons, be it sexual exploitation, which includes prostitution, sex tourism and pornography, begging, drug peddling, organ trade, labour, both as domestic servant or bonded labour, entertainment as camel jockeys, performers in circus or as beer bar dancers or even for adoption or marriage. Many may wonder why children. It is because they are vulnerable, easy to be coerced and manipulated. Child trafficking is a complex phenomenon. It has a well organized network. The nexus includes brothel owners, pimps, police as well as peer groups as well as relatives.

Several national and international NGOs are working in this direction. Campaign against Child Trafficking focuses only on child trafficking. It has its chapters in South East Asia, South America, Europe, southern and western Africa. The campaign has been involved in rescuing the victims, addressing the root cause of the problem and drawing government attention for appropriate action. 12 December is observed as Global Day against Child Trafficking, in order to raise public awareness.

The Indian government too should firm its resolve to fight this menace. The Offences against Child bill 2005 has kept Jammu and Kashmir outside its purview. The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act 1956 also needs to be amended to reduce victimization of girls and lay greater culpability on pimps and traffickers and touts. The Ministry of Labour has issued notification to prohibit employment of children as domestic of commercial labrours. The ban has been imposed under Child Labour (prohibition and regulation) Act 1986, but will be effective from 10 October 2006.