8000 sexworkers gather in Calcutta

(2002)

Every night scores of identified dead bodies are collected, mostly beggars who died of hunger. They couldn’t survive in the city where an estimated 70.000 fellow paupers roam the streets looking for a few rupees or a scrapnel of food. Quite a few of them are the third generation of refugees from wars, for example the one with Bangladesh. They are born on the street and are nowhere registered, let stand alone that they have papers and an official family name. Another hundred of thousand are homeless and live in makeshift accommodation in their businesses or unlikely nooks and crannies. Their fellow pavedwellers shave and wash themselves with the help of contaminated water out of pumps. The few weeds growing in the cracks in the tarnished pavement are gullibly eaten by stray cows and buffaloes on the loose.
The presence of all sorts of cattle out in the street is not exactly a rural feature. They have to cope with the roaring traffic consisting of scooters, rickshaws, hooting cars, busses, trams, trucks, bicycles, coolies on foot to clog the streets. This  city of dreadful night’’, as the English author Rudyard Kipling  dubbed Calcutta, now Kolkata, is at first sight an unlikely venue for the largest gathering of sexworkers ever. At second sight it is not so strange. When you get to know the hospitable people of Calcutta, you’ll meet very energetic activists  with a great sense of humour and you’ll discover an amazing lively cultural and intellectual scene .They don’t keep aloof of the misery of India, but adopt projects and support them,  inspired by a local brand of socialism rather than by religion. 

The last few years word reached us that India had some very strong sexworkers organisations. In India they seem to be able to gather thousands of women for a meeting. In 2001 30.000 people attended the Mela – a kind of fair- on the compound of a football stadion. That year no less than 60.000 people were expected on the Usha Shanti festival that lasted from 2 till 9 of March.  Something worth hopping on a plane and have oneself parachuted in poverty ridden Calcutta.
It was an amazing sight. There were at least 8000 self-conscious looking female and male sexworkers all dressed up in beautiful saris. Most of the sexworkers came from various parts of India and there was a delegation of some 100 sexworkers from neighbouring Bangladesh. Many women had taken their families. As usual at gatherings of sex workers there was a vast media attendance. And last but not least the festival was attended by local people who came to have a day out.
The project was initiated by dr. Jana, who started peer education. Sexworkers taught their neighbouring sexworkers about safe sex. They managed to reduce the power of the pimps and campaigned against police violence and corruption. There were several workshops. The program was a kaleidoscopic image of culture, demands for rights and the fight against traffic in persons. Their demands were pretty much the same as the demands of sisterorganizations all over the world: no police harassment, involvement of the trade unions, education for their kids, the right to work and the right to refuse to work and the right to proper healthcare.
The event got huge media attention.
Sietske Altink, Calcutta 2001

The Indian law

Until India’s occupation by the English sexwork was reputed to have its own place in Indian society. The skills of high class courtisan were glorified and its teachting In line with ancient writing like the Arthasastra (probably fourth century B.C) and later classical sources like the Kama Sutra, sexwork was treated as part of the entertainment industry and arts.