THE RENTED BABY

Publishment of The Telegraph by Dean Nelson in New Delhi


A wealthy Indian family discovered their seven month old son was being rented out to beggars by their own nanny while they were out at work.



It is common for female beggars to carry babies with empty milk bottles at traffic lights in India's main cities



Every day, the baby boy's mother would lay out his clothes for the day and leave him with his nanny while she went out to work for one of Bangalore's multinational companies.
But no sooner had she left than the child was dressed in rags, sedated with drugs, and handed over to a beggar gang which used him as a prop to generate sympathy and persuade passing motorists to part with their cash.

While the child was out the nanny relaxed on the couple's sofa, watched television soaps, and helped herself to contents of the fridge.
The family discovered their baby's double life when the mother came home early one day and found the nanny watching the television with no sign of the child.
The nanny or "ayah" as they are known in India, confessed that she had rented out the baby to a beggar gang for 100 rupees per day (around £1.25) and that the child had been spending his days on the streets for the last three weeks.
It is common for female beggars to carry babies with empty milk bottles at traffic lights in India's main cities, and rumours that babies are rented as props to increase the number of donations they receive, but there have been few proven cases.
The case has highlighted the extent to which organised begging operates as an industry in India.

DALAI LAMA's VIST TO TAWANG (ARUNACHAL)

Speaking to his followers, the Dalai Lama declared that Arunachal Pradesh was an important part of India, and spoke emotionally about his attachment to the town were he first arrived when he fled China's invasion on Tibet in 1959.
"My stand that Tawang is an integral part of India has not changed," he said, and recalled his relief at being met in the town on his arrival from Tibet by an Indian foreign ministry official.
"There was a feeling of hopelessness when I first came here in 1959. But I felt safe when I saw a long-time friend from the Indian foreign ministry waiting for me at the border. That is why I have visited Tawang so many times. People here take a genuine interest in Tibetan Buddhism and Buddhist culture. Right from Ladakh to Tawang, Tibetan Buddhism is practised traditionally," he said.





His comments will further inflame Beijing's anger at the visit, not least his reference to Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir being areas of strong Tibetan Buddhist influence.
China claims vast swathes of both areas as its own and rejects the 1913 Shimla Convention at which the Tibet government ceded Tawang to British India and agreed the McMahon Line as the border between India and China.
China now regards the McMahon line as its last disputed border and has escalated tensions over the issue to pressurise India to make new concessions.
Beijing renewed its attack on the Dalai Lama's visit yesterday accusing him of visiting the area at India's behest to bolster its claim to the area China calls "Southern Tibet". Its official media has also denounced him as a "liar" for comments on fear among his people in Tibet.