University of Hyderabad scholars gain recognition in Supreme Court verdict

Research by University of Hyderabad scholars on human trafficking has been acknowledged in the Supreme Court’s judgment in the Prajwala vs Union of India case. The verdict highlights critical social science perspectives on trafficking, rehabilitation, dignity and consent in India

Hyderabad: In a unique recognition of social science research and achievement, studies by University of Hyderabad scholars on human trafficking in India were recently acknowledged and mentioned by the Supreme Court in its judgment in the Prajwala vs Union of India case. The verdict marks a new chapter in India’s legal understanding of human trafficking, rehabilitation, dignity and consent.

The judgment acknowledged interdisciplinary debates that emerged through the 2016 Economic and Political Weekly (EPW) “Review of Women’s Studies” special issue on human trafficking in India, edited by renowned historian Geraldine Forbes, distinguished Professor Emerita, State University of New York Oswego, USA.

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The EPW special issue brought together critical feminist and sociological perspectives questioning simplistic binaries of “victimhood”, “rescue” and “rehabilitation”. It included contributions by scholars such as Samita Sen, Kimberly Walters, Paula Banerjee, Ajailiu Niumai, Barnali Das and Baitali Ganguly.

Among the academic works reflected in the judgment are the writings of Dr Barnali Das, an alumna of the UoH, and Prof Ajailiu Niumai of the Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion & Inclusive Policy, UoH. Both scholars have spent years researching human trafficking, rehabilitation practices, borderland vulnerabilities and the lived experiences of trafficked women and children in India’s Northeast region and the States of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

The special issue critically examined how anti-trafficking interventions sometimes reproduce institutional violence through forced rescue, confinement, surveillance and inadequate rehabilitation practices. Dr Barnali Das’s article, “‘Who Would Like to Live in This Cage?’: Voices from a Shelter Home in Assam,” explored the lived realities of women housed in rehabilitation institutions.

Similarly, Prof Ajailiu Niumai’s article, “Unspoken Voices of Trafficked Women and Children in Manipur,” drew attention to the invisibilised experiences of trafficked persons. Her research situated trafficking within the broader realities of borderland insecurity, ethnic conflict, militarisation, migration vulnerability, poverty and fragile State infrastructures.

“Many people in the natural sciences perceive that social science research is not scientific research like that conducted in laboratories. After the Supreme Court acknowledged and mentioned the six articles on human trafficking and issues related to women in the EPW special edition, I hope that natural scientists will recognise social scientists as equals,” said Prof Ajailiu Niumai.