Reality of Bonded Labour

Bonded and forced labour – where a person is made to work through the use of violence or intimidation or more subtle means such as accumulated debt – are some of the oldest forms of slavery in the world.

There are an estimated 46 million people enslaved worldwide with more than 18 million of them in India, the latest Global Slavery Index by the Australia-based Walk Free Foundation shows. While the government cannot verify these figures, the labour ministry recently announced plans to identify, rescue and help bonded labourers by 2030.

Many are villagers lured by traffickers with the promise of a good job and an advance payment, only to find themselves forced to toil in fields or brick kilns. Thousands of bonded labourers are freed every year, activist Basheer from ARD says, but their cases are unregistered, or remain uninvestigated – making it impossible for them to get financial aid, justice or help to rebuild their lives. India.