Answer

Introduction

Article 23 prohibits forced labour and the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976 legally ended debt bondage. Yet, five decades later, bonded labour persists in sectors such as construction, brick kilns and agriculture, exposing gaps between constitutional intent and ground-level enforcement in India’s labour governance framework.

Reasons for Continued Existence

• Non-payment of Living Wages: Chronic wage denial and advance-based payments trap workers in debt cycles.
• Migrant Vulnerability: Displaced workers, far from social networks, are easily coerced through subcontracting chains.
• Caste-based Hierarchies: Traditional practices like begar continue in disguised forms due to entrenched social discrimination.
  Eg: The practice of bitti chakri compels Dalit families to render unpaid hereditary labour
• Weak Enforcement & Bias: Administrative apathy and judicial scepticism dilute the Act’s implementation.
• Technological & Systemic Exclusion: Aadhaar-linked wage failures and absence of wage-tracking mechanisms leave workers unprotected.

Institutional Reforms 

• Guaranteed Direct Wage Payments: Ensure mandatory digital transfer of minimum wages to workers’ bank accounts.
• Transparent Supply-Chain Tracking: Use blockchain-based systems to trace contractor payments to the last worker.
• Strengthened Labour Inspections: Reorient labour facilitators towards worker protection and accountability.
• Robust Identification & Rehabilitation: Proactive rescue, compensation, and social reintegration measures.
• Social Inclusion Measures: Address caste discrimination and migrant vulnerabilities through targeted welfare access.
  Eg: Targeted portability of welfare benefits under One Nation One Ration Card for migrant workers.

Conclusion

Bonded labour reflects not merely legal failure but governance deficits in wage security and social justice. Bridging enforcement gaps, ensuring payment transparency, and centering vulnerable workers in policy design can translate constitutional guarantees into lived reality and restore faith in India’s democratic promises.

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