Nanny Rents Out Baby for Begging - My Reflections

Written on 8th November 2009

Recently, I came across the below news item and I experienced a series of emotions from anger, angst, shock, sick and hopelessness. How could a human being become so inhuman was my question. Is this a preview of what the world has come to. I spent some time reflecting on this and I saw the need for rethinking many aspects of our life today.


The need for better scrutiny, police checks, reference checks when hiring people not because we don't trust and respect people but because we rather be safe than sorry.


What the maid did was shocking and unpardonable. However, what bothers me is that where was her humaneness lost when putting the 7-month old child through so much pain and hardship. Was it desperation or greed? Was it a personal need or was it a personal greed? The question arises around how much was the couple paying her and if they were paying her fair wages?


It also puts into question the highly unorganized nature of the domestic work sector. What can we do to organize this sector so that not only fair wages are paid but also proper background checks can be conducted.


A big question concerning me is the insensitivity of the couple to leave the baby in the care of a stranger. Again, was it their need or greed that both the couples had to go to work? What kind of understanding and sensitivity was built in them that a 7-month old baby cannot be left along without intensive parental care. Didn't they realize that or didn't they care? Can we just point fingers at the maid and not at the couple? Where is their responsibility for their child?


A larger issue is around the policy around maternal / paternal leave. Do we need to relook at that especially in the current context where families are becoming nuclear, both parents need to work to make ends meet and leave policies currently don't support this lifestyle change. In many european countries, mothers get upto 1-year maternal leave and sometimes even fathers have the option for flexi-time. Doesn't this raise the larger question around some of our archaic labour policies and maybe these need a relook.


The parents didn't file a complaint. Which I found surprising and disturbing. Didn't they want the guilty maid to be tried in the court of law or were they too worried about their own embarrassment of the mistake they had done. Didn't they realize that letting the maid go could be dangerous as the maid might do the same in another household and where is the couple's responsibility towards the larger community here. Aren't they just being self-centered there?


I understand a lot of the above is speculation based on a news report but the questions remain and I think a larger debate is needed around the protection of the rights of children in our country which get violated every minute in this developing country.


Nanny sedates baby, 'rents' him out to beggars
TNN 6 November 2009, 01:07am IST


BANGALORE: The worst nightmare of working parents entrusting the care of their children to nannies became a reality for a city couple recently.


As soon as they would kiss their little one goodbye, the nanny would feed him and get him ready - for a day of begging on the streets of Bangalore. Instead of milk, the baby was fed sedatives; instead of the clothes carefully put out by his parents, she would dress him up in rags. Read more...


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/Nanny-sedates-baby-rents-him-out-to-beggars/articleshow/5201477.cms