Children For Sale
For as little as Rs 3,000, impoverished parents sell their children to adoption centres and unscrupulous operators in Andhra Pradesh, who in turn earn up to Rs 3 lakh from foster families. A look at the people involved, the law and where the process went wrong.

Amma Turns Red
J. Jayalalitha's hopes for contesting the elections have been dashed with the rejection of her nomination papers. But this does not deter her from stepping up her campaigning efforts for the AIADMK and assuming an aggressive stance.

Past Tense
The muted reaction of the Government to the massacre of the BSF troops raises many questions. A look at the past skirmishes between the BSF and BDR gives an insight into what led to the heightening of tension at the border.

Coming To Life
With the end of state monopoly, private insurance companies are offering wider risk coverage and better customer relations.

Starting Over
It's been three months since nature shook Gujarat, killing over 30,000 and shattering dreams. Despite government promises and generosity of individuals, rehabilitation is still to touch the lives of many. The story in pictures.

FROM THE EDITOR IN CHIEF

It's something the poorer nations of the world have had to live with: that they must be the provider of children to the childless across the world. This is not so bad. If we cannot take care of our orphans and the abandoned, then there's nothing wrong if an adopted child brings some joy into the lives of childless couples. But this demand also feeds an illegal pipeline of human cargo.

Last week, a horrified country watched images of dead infants, abandoned by a Hyderabad-based adoption agency fearful of police investigating its racket. As far back as April 1999 ("Nobody's Babies") we had investigated how children of Lambada tribals were bought by touts for less than Rs 2,000. In turn, they were sold to buyers abroad for upwards of Rs 2 lakh under the guise of adoption. Then as now, the unscrupulous use lax government monitoring to turn a social contract into a paying proposition. Poverty is not restricted to Andhra Pradesh, nor is this trade in human life and yearning.

We put together a team to investigate every aspect of the adoption racket. Associate Editor Amarnath Menon, who reported the earlier story, led the team that included Principal Correspondent Sayantan Chakravarty, who tracked the human chain from Hyderabad, and our medico-legal expert Supriya Bezbaruah, who looked at adoption law and penalties. "An unwanted child usually does find a home and that's good," says Menon. "But greedy adoption agents needlessly put babies at great risk."

The issue will surely renew focus on India's adoption laws, among the most confusing in the world ("Adoption: Obstacle Course", March 31, 1997). It varies according to the whim of the agency-some won't give children to persons of a particular religion, others to single parents, still others to categories of professionals considered "fast". A gauntlet of official agencies need to be approached, with mounds of paperwork to wade through and legal formalities to clear. And because of the time consuming nature of the business, collusion is an easy next step. The government, law enforcers and adoption agencies must urgently address these problems for the sake of our children.

(Aroon Purie)

MetroScape

Focusing On Art
The brief for participants at
"Exhibit 'A' 2001" organised by the
200-member
Photographers'
Guild of India at the Nehru Centre, Mumbai, was clear—no advertisement and portfolio photos. more...

Looking Glass

Delhi Poster:
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Calcutta Pub:
London Pub

Bangalore & Mumbai Rock Concert:
Bryan Adams

West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya reflected optimism about winning the state election when he spoke to INDIA TODAY Senior Editor Sumit Mitra at the CPI(M) headquarters in Kolkata, minutes before rushing off for campaigning.
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