Gorakhpur Piranhas

Also see Lowly Labour in the Lowlands.

Havaldar (Sergeant) P P Sharma, has his luggage checked at border customs while returning home on leave from the battle fields of Kashmir.
Photo: Usha Tiwari 

One of the greatest sources of distress for Nepali migrants is the exploitation they face on the way back home on the rare holiday. SaysPrem Bahadur Kunwar of Bajhang, a guard in a Marine Drive high-rise in Bombay: "We have to face a lot of atyachar (exploitation) all the way to the border. On the tram and on railway platforms, police and goondas give us trouble starting from as far away as Jhansi all the way to Gorakhpur and the Sunauli border point."

Everyone knows that the Nepalis are returning home with their savings, and that they are aliens without much support while in transit through India. This provides the opportunity for the piranhas to accost the migrants and extort money.