While May 1 marks International Labour Day to celebrate the dignity of labour and workers’ rights, the lives of millions trapped in bonded labour in India serve as a grim reminder of ongoing exploitation.

Examples of Bonded Labour in India

• Trafficked for Sugarcane Labour: In 2023, lured by a job promise, Mukesh Adivasi and his family were trafficked from Madhya Pradesh to Karnataka, enduring 1,400 kilometres of travel and brutal bonded labour on a sugarcane farm.
• Violence and Permanent Injury: After requesting his rightful payment, Mukesh was beaten by armed guards, his right leg shattered, and an escape attempt failed, adding to his physical and emotional trauma.
• Debt-Bound: At just 13 years old, K. Thenmozhi was forced into bonded labour at a brick kiln in Bengaluru, after her family took a ₹2,000 advance due to financial hardship.
• Abuse and Confinement:  Subjected to 12–14 hour workdays, verbal abuse, and beatings, her family’s suffering ended only after the owner fled following a social worker’s visit, allowing them to escape barefoot.

Status of Bonded Labour in India

• Labour Ministry Data: India officially abolished bonded labour in 1975. Yet, the Union Labour Minister in 2016, Bandaru Dattatreya, announced a plan to rescue and rehabilitate 1.84 crore bonded labourers by 2030.
• Rehabilitation Data (2016–2021): In December 2021, MP Mohammed Jawed raised a query in Parliament. The government replied that only 12,760 bonded labourers had been rescued and rehabilitated between 2016 and 2021.
• Widening Gap: This means that of the 1.84 crore estimated bonded labourers, about 1.71 crore remain trapped. 
  • Achieving the 2030 goal would now require rescuing ~11 lakh workers annually, a stark contrast to the ~12,000 rescued in five years, making the target highly unrealistic.
• Forced Labour: Beyond bonded labour, crores of unorganised workers, especially migrants, face forced labour conditions. These conditions are strikingly similar to bonded labour marked by coercion, exploitation, and lack of protections.
• Informal Employment: According to the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO), India’s workforce is 47 crore, of which only 8 crore are in the organised sector. A massive 39 crore workers belong to the unorganised sector.
• Employment Report 2024: As per the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) India Employment Report 2024, India’s labour market is dominated by low-quality, informal employment, often lacking rights and protections.
• Investigative Findings: Investigations since early 2022 reveal how forced labour sustains Indian industry. Workers interviewed  mostly migrants displaced by climate change, poverty, and job scarcity — face unstable wages, meagre pay, and job insecurity.

Issues with Bonded Labour in India

• Supreme Court’s Directive: The Supreme Court has asked the Centre to formulate a proposal addressing inter-state trafficking of bonded labourers, indicating the scale and complexity of the crisis.
• Concerns with Labour Codes: Critics argue that the Code on Wages may inadvertently legalise bonded labour, as it does not robustly address coercive labour practices or debt-based exploitation.
• Triggers of Vulnerability: Factors like medical emergencies, dowry obligations, job loss, or food insecurity push families to borrow money or take advances, often leading to debt bondage.
• Deep Systemic Inequities: Issues such as caste discrimination, illiteracy, lack of information, and monopolised local markets convert economic dependence into a mechanism of exploitation and social control.
• Absence of Collective Bargaining: Unorganised workers, especially migrants, lack unionisation, depriving them of collective bargaining power. This leads to exploitative conditions, absence of formal contracts, and arbitrary dismissal.
• Ambedkar’s Vision Undermined: In the 1940s, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar strongly advocated labour rights, including trade union recognition and the right to strike. 
  • However, the Labour Codes (2019–2020) have eroded these protections, favouring corporate interests over worker welfare.

Conclusion

This is not just oversight , it’s a system rigged for profit over people, turning a blind eye to modern-day slavery. India’s economy, shamefully, thrives on bonded and forced labour, exploiting its most vulnerable citizens.

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