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CHAPTER XX,

With free recruitment, this stage will lose much of its importance, and we
believe that the responsibility can be adequately discharged by district
officials. Attention will have to be directed mainly to the second and
third stages, namely, during the journey and after the emigrant’s arrival on
the garden. From the point of view of recruiting, the third stage is the
most important one, for irregularities generally come to light after the
emigrant has left the recruiting area and it becomes necessary to trace
him in Assam. By this time he has passed beyond the reach alike of the
Government of the recruiting province, its district staff and the Assam
Labour Board ; and the only authorities to whom recourse can be had are
the administrative authorities in Assam. These are burdened with
other duties and have inadequate powers, and in practice the attempt to
deal with a recruiting offence after the recruit has left his province is
attended by delay and is not always successful. - The second stage is
also important, for it is advisable to exercise some closer supervision over
the transit of the emigrant in order to prevent the regular emigrant being
sent otherwise than by the licensed depéts.
Protector of Immigrants.
What is wanted is an effective authority working mainly in
Assam and definitely charged with responsibility for the emigrant
during his journey and after his arrival, and entrusted with adequate
powers to protect his interests. In other words, we desire to see
not two authorities covering much the same ground, but two comple-
mentary authorities, securing the protection of the emigrant in different
areas. We recommend the appointment by the Government of India
of an officer in Assam who will look after the interests of emigrants who
have not yet decided to make Assam their permanent home. He would
be required to keep in touch with the recruiting provinces and would have
the right at all reasonable times, with or without notice, to enter any
garden in order to inspect the condition of the workers from other pro-
vinces, and of their housing accommodation, ete. He should also have
the right to talk to them either in public or in private, and any person
hinderipg or molesting him in the discharge of his duties should be liable
to be dealt with as for a summary offence. It would be the duty of
the Protector to bring cases of wrongful recruitment to the notice of
the provincial Government concerned and to advise on all matters con-
nected with the migration of labour to Assam. The Protector should
also be entrusted with responsibility for the emigrant during the journey
and should be in a position to take up the prosecution of persons for-
warding emigrants otherwise than in accordance with the Act and of
ensuring that the emigrant is cognisant of his rights under the law before
he reaches the garden. The statute regulating recruitment should
give the Government of India power to make rules for the protection
of the emigrant during transit, and the Protector would be responsible
for the administration of these rules and for advising the Government
of India on matters arising out of their operation. We would add here
that what. we saw of the arrangements for the emigrant on the journey
reflects credit on the Association principally responsible for them.