Survivors of bonded labour share harrowing stories, renewed hope after rescue

In 1976, the Central Government abolished the bonded labour system with the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, freeing all bonded labourers, liquidating their debts, and making bondage a cognisable offence punishable by law. 

Bonded labour is a form of slavery where a person is forced to work in exchange for a loan. It robs individuals of their freedom, tears families apart, and perpetuates generational poverty, with the looming threat of violence ensuring compliance. It thrives on the vulnerability of the oppressed, and denies them dignity, education, and basic human rights. 

According to government data, around 315,302 people were released from bonded labour between 1978 and January 2023, of which 94% have been rehabilitated.

Despite these efforts, bonded labour cases continue to surface, highlighting the deep-rooted nature of this issue, particularly in the marginalised communities. 

In November this year, the Supreme Court directed the central government to collaborate with states and union territories to formulate a proposal to address inter-state trafficking of bonded labourers.

On World Human Rights Day, it’s imperative to confront the grim reality of bonded labour, a system that traps people in unending cycles of debt and despair. 

Three survivors share their lived experiences with SocialStory that highlight the cost of bonded labour and also talk of hope after being rescued and rehabilitated.

Murthy and Thayamma, Karnataka

Murthy has never gone to school and does not know how old he is. He recollects different stages of life by the events that occurred during that time.

Until his father was alive, the family was happy with the money earned from agricultural work. After his death, Murthy became a tractor operator. 

When his wedding was finalised, he took a loan of Rs 30,000 from a money-lender and took another loan of Rs 80,000 from a sugarcane farmer in Maddur taluk in Mandya district to build a house.

Murthy says their life went dark after this as they could never live in one place and call it home. They had to travel to different farms to harvest sugarcane.

“We were made to work from 4 am to 4 pm every day. Women harvested the sugarcane while the men loaded the trucks. We were not allowed to take days off to rest. There was no water supply in the places we worked and often went without drinking water,” Murthy says. 

Their twins—Ajay and Anita—were toddlers and their boy Surya was an infant. 

“We used to tie and leave the kids in the shade and go to work. It was difficult,” recounts Thayamma.

In 2017, they were rescued along with 12 other families by government officials though Murthy has no idea who told them of their plight. All he remembers is being terrified as the owner had threatened them not to talk to anyone. 

The officials advised them not to take loans and also assured them their debts were written off. 

After their rescue, Murthy and Thayamma have become part of Udayonmukha, Karnataka’s first association for released bonded labourers. 

Murthy serves as its secretary and helps people access government benefits. Thayamma is the head of Udayonmukha Handicrafts alongside another survivor leader, Poornima. She has learned sewing and sews laptop bags, shopping bags, and blouses, and also teaches other women so that they can earn an income.

Murthy and Thayamma now live in Hunsur in Karnataka’s Mysuru district. Murthy also takes orders to supply tender coconuts and earns Rs 1,500 on the days he has work. 

“Our dark days are over. My children are going to school. We are happy with what we earn. Life is good,” says Murthy.

Ranjita, Odisha

When Ranjita was 12 years old, her parents migrated from Odisha to work in a brick kiln in Bengaluru. The rains were erratic that year, and the region faced drought and there was no work. They had no option but to take their three daughters, including Ranjita, along with them.

They had taken Rs 90,000 from a labour agent in lieu of work at the brick kiln, a decision that would bond them to insufferable working conditions and back-breaking work. 

Ranjita remembers living in a house so tiny that her parents had to bend to enter inside or walk around the house, a far cry from the open spaces they lived in Odisha. While her parents joined in molding and firing clay bricks, the children would turn the bricks to dry them in the sun.

“Henchmen would force us out of our homes before sunrise and make us work till 10 pm. They would threaten us that they would give us electric shocks or peel our skin if we didn’t work. My sisters and I would turn as many bricks as possible fearing this,” Ranjita recounts the horrors she and her family faced.

In December 2012, Ranjita’s family and many others were rescued by the Karnataka government. The owner tried to hide the children but local officials rescued them from the nearby woods and reunited them with their parents.

After the families were resettled in Odisha, they received help from the government and local civil society organisations to avail of government benefits. Ranjita enrolled into a school and later went to college in a nearby city. To fund her education, she worked as a house help first and moved onto other jobs as a beautician, salesperson, and security guard.

Today, Ranjita is a formidable leader in Shramavahini—the Odisha chapter of the Released Bonded Labourers Association (RBLA). She advocates for entitlements for bonded labor survivors and raises awareness on the subject. 

Addressing the injustice of bonded labour requires stronger legal enforcement, community empowerment, and sustainable rehabilitation efforts to break these chains and restore the fundamental rights and freedoms of those affected.