Click to play videoNew Delhi: Zari and zardozi are the signature styles of India's fashion Industry. Designers, models and the who's who, they all just love zari.
On the ramp, zari does make for a pretty picture. But the story of thousands of nimble hands working in inhuman conditions to create zari isn't a pretty one.
CNN-IBN's correspondent Iram Mirza posed as a foreign buyer to get into zari units in New Delhi and found that from manufacturer to contractor to exporter, everyone is involved in exploiting children.
Sarai Kale Khan is a slum in Delhi, famous for its zari units, most of whom use child labour. Afzal is a 10-year-old boy from West Bengal. He claims to be 18.
CNN-IBN: How old are you?
Afzal: 18 years
CNN-IBN: You are not 18. Who told you ?
Afzal: My brother told me to say this.
Afzal says there are hundreds like him, working inside rooms littered with Zari frames in various parts of Delhi.
CNN-IBN: How long do you work?
Afzal: Sometimes, 14-15 hours.
And garment exporters rake in crores annually from Zari exports. When CNN-IBN approached Zenith Exports as a foreign buyer, insisting on cheap labour, officials at the export house said it's the kids who want to put in more hours in order to earn more.
Rajiv: It's not our problem if they work for 12 or 14 hours. We are not saying work more. It's they who want to earn more.
CNN-IBN: Does every export house use child labour?
Rajiv: Every export house.
CNN-IBN: Can you guarantee that?
Rajiv: I guarantee you. It's a part of India.
Another retail and export house, PS Zariwala, located in Delhi's Karol Bagh area, went a step further.
Rishi Zariwala: In the villages, we don't even pay them. We just give them food.
CNN-IBN: Isn't it illegal?
Rishi Zariwala: If you want to save money, if you want to make money, you have to do a lot of things.
Supervisors at zari units too defended child labour. Pappu, a zari unit contractor, says, "Like we go to college, for these kids zari is school."
And they confirmed that the police were part of the racket. "The police are also shameless. They take Rs 4,000-5,000 every month," says Pappu.
On their part, the children seem resigned to their fate. Aslam, a child worker says, "I want to study, but I have to work or my parents will go hungry."
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