Bhanu has had to work on fields picking cotton after his father committed suicide.
The death of an indebted farmer often pushes his family and children into a worse crisis, especially when the administration doesn't come forward to support. In Chebarthy Village of Telangana, two orphaned children, who have just passed out of 6th and 7th class, may turn into bonded labour because the family is under pressure to repay outstanding loans.
Bhanu tries to be brave. But then he is only 13. His mother died two years ago. Bhanu was still in 7th class when his father hanged himself two months ago. The crop grown on leased land had failed, and debtors had threatened to take away the children because he was unable to repay any loan. A father's pride and heart were broken.
The family is living in a makeshift home with an asbestos roof. Bhanu tells us they live in constant fear and apprehension. "There is nothing in the house, even to eat. But debtors are coming and putting a lot of pressure on us. They come to our house and demand that we repay the money. We get scared. My sister and I go to pick cotton and get up to 100 rupees a day. But that is only on some days, and that is not enough to repay debts," he says.
Bhanu's maternal grandmother, Bharathi, had come to live with her daughter's three children, ever since their mother died. "Now he has also left them. I feel so helpless. There was so much debt to repay. He didn't know what to do, how to face his children," she says.
Bharathi with her granddaughter Vijayalakshmi."I am begging to feed my grandchildren. I am not young or healthy to get work and feed them," says Bharathi, sobbing.
Bhanu and his younger sister, Vijayalakshmi, just out of 6th class, have been going to work on the fields, along with the grandmother, so that the family doesn't go hungry.
"After my mother and father died, my maternal grandmother has come to live with us and look after us. I also go to work. I give the money I earn to my grandmother so that she can buy rice or vegetables for us," says Vijayalakshmi.
The grandmother is worried that with pressure from debtors mounting to repay Rs 3 lakh, she may not be able to stop the children from becoming bonded labour, when some outstanding amount will be adjusted against the child's free labour.
"Unless the government helps, what can I do? I may be forced to pledge them to the debtors, so that at least some loan is adjusted and repaid," she says.
The eldest grandson, Bhaskar, is studying his second year in junior college. He has to be able to finish college at least to find some employment, to support the family.
While ministers and political parties play the blame game on who is to blame for farmer suicide deaths, no help is forthcoming to families desperately in need and innocent children like Bhanu are paying the price with their childhood and lose even Constitutionally guaranteed rights.