Debt bondage in India () was legally abolished in 1976 but remains prevalent due to weak enforcement by the government. Bonded labour is a system in which lenders force their borrowers to repay loans through labor. Additionally, these debts often take a large amount of time to pay off and are unreasonably high, propagating a cycle of generational inequality. This is due to the typically high interest rates on the loans given out by employers. Although debt bondage is considered to be a voluntary form of labor, people are forced into this system by social situations.
Debt bondage has deep roots in Indian history, dating back to the period when India was under colonial rule. On a more recent note, according to the 2016 Global Slavery Index, India has the 4th most slaves with 19 million Indians enslaved in some form, including debt bondage. Many Indians enter debt bondage to reduce alternative risks of financial burden and violence. Additionally, the Indian caste system has led to social inequality and corruption which collectively allow this system to persist. Agricultural and brick kiln workers, including child laborers, are the main Indians involved in this practice. Although the Indian government has committed to awarding compensations for freed workers, most workers face negative consequences such as further inequality and health effects, which often results in these laborers committing suicide.
The rise of Dalit activism, government legislation starting as early as 1949, as well as ongoing work by NGOs and government offices to enforce labour laws and rehabilitate those in debt, appears to have contributed to the reduction of bonded labour in India.Hart, Christine Untouchability Today: The Rise of Dalit Activism, Human Rights and Human Welfare, Topical Research Digest 2011, Minority Rights Additionally, both domestic and international organizations have been involved in the legal and rehabilitation process of ending this practice. However, according to research papers presented by the International Labour Organization, there are still many obstacles to the eradication of bonded labour in India.Ravi S. Srivastava Bonded Labor in India: Its Incidence and Pattern InFocus Programme on Promoting the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work; and International Labour Office,(2005). Forced Labor. Paper 18
History
Before Independence
Although there were far more cases of involuntary slavery in eighteenth and nineteenth century India, the colonial history of India set a precedent for debt bondage. Specifically, Indian indentured workers were in high demand from European colonial powers, and many Indians were sent to Australia to reduce the costs and societal effects of indentured servitude. France, who had an economic and political presence in India, created a system of indentured servitude in the Indian Ocean which about 3,000 Indians were a part of in the 1830s. By 1847, there were over 6,500 indentured servants in the Indian Ocean, including those in India. These French settlers traditionally held onto wages which initiated a system of debt bondage. In the second half of the nineteenth century, many Indians successfully formed unions and utilized trials to free these workers. Nevertheless, India felt the impacts of these historical systems of labor in the twentieth century.
In 1935, the colonial government passed the Government of India Act with the goal of developing the Indian economy. Unfortunately, this further stratified the social hierarchy in India, contributing to the debt bondage system. Before India gained independence in 1947, the caste system and hierarchy of land ownership allowed the Indian social system to mirror feudalism. Specifically, members of the high castes in India gave out loans to members of the lower castes. These lenders forced their borrowers to repay these loans through labor. The fact that these borrowers could not purchase land allowed this practice to perpetuate across generations.
Bonded Labor System Act of 1976 In 1976, Indira Gandhi and the Indian government passed the Bonded Labor System Act of 1976 which released bonded laborers and stated that the practice of debt bondage in India was no longer allowed. This act also allowed the Indian judicial powers to set up trials for labor offenses at both the national and local levels. This legislation canceled all debt against bonded laborers and delegated the enforcement of this set of rules to district magistrates. These individuals were responsible for distributing credit to former laborers and making sure that local systems of labor were not corrupted once again. However, due to poor enforcement, many workers stayed under debt bondage. According to the Ministry of Labor and Employment in India, nearly 300,000 Indians were still under debt bondage in 2009. Many researchers, such as Augendra Bhukuth, Jérôme Ballet, and Nicolas Sirven, argue that this is part of a larger effort of employers looking to exert a strong sense of discipline and control over their workers. Authors such as Isabelle Guérin argue that this act did not clearly define debt bondage which made the policies created by this legislation up to one's interpretation. Additionally, many Indians are not educated about this act.
Forms of debt bondage
It is estimated by Siddharth Kara that 84 to 88% of the bonded laborers in the world are in South Asia. Out of all forms of systems in slavery in the world, the Indian debt bondage system has one of the highest numbers of forced laborers. According to the Ministry of Labor and Employment of the Government of India, there are over 300,000 bonded laborers in India, with a majority of them in the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Odisha. Many historians such as Tom Brass debate the ethics of the debt bondage system. Whereas some analysts say that bonded labor is a form of anti-capitalism and limits the freedom of choice for laborers, others say that this system is voluntary.
Agricultural workers Debt bondage in India is most prevalent in agricultural areas, with 80% of workers in the debt bondage system being involved in agriculture. Many farmers take out loans to be able to work on land, and landlords generate high amounts of profit by paying these workers less than minimum wage. These farmers inevitably accumulate interest due to the need of health care and basic resources. Farmers taking out small loans can find themselves paying interest that exceeds 100% of the loans per year. Additionally, many lenders only let the value of labor pay off interest and require the principal loan amount to be paid off through cash. According to a 2012 study, farmers receive as little as US$180 and accumulate penalties for taking sick days. This reduces the potential that farmers have to develop their land. Agricultural workers that are close to entering debt bondage have recently looked toward maistries who offer interest-free loans and more money to borrowers.
According to a study about labor in Andhra Pradesh located in South India, the Palamur debt bondage system began in the 1930s. Workers in this system rely on a district leader who is in charge of distributing work, money, food, and resources. These laborers face poor living conditions, intense work and long hours, and are not able to unionize or effectively communicate with other workers. Additionally, district leaders often do not employ workers during the monsoon season, forcing workers to look towards other occupations and sources of income.
Children
In 2013, India had the highest number of child laborers in the world. Most Indian child laborers are centered in rural India in the agricultural industry. As of 2009, most of these children worked in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, and Bihar. According to both 1997 and 2003 studies in India, there were 15 million bonded child laborers centered in India. 98% of these individuals were a part of the Dalit caste, which is the lowest Indian caste, or the indigenous Adivasi group. The presence of a large number of child laborers is regarded as a serious issue in terms of economic welfare. These children are often tied to in this debt bondage system to work for their employers for a time period that could be stretched to a lifetime, and usually with minimal or no pay. This contributes to a long term employer-slave relationship. Child laborers are typically put into the debt bondage system by their parents to pay off economic and social costs. According to a 2001 study by the Physicians for Humans Rights, most child laborers are working to pay off loans for their parents and receive as little as 18 rupees a day. Although Articles 24 and 39 of the Indian constitution protect Indian children from debt bondage labor, these individuals cannot form unions and are more vulnerable to low wages and exploitation. Recent initiatives to end the participation of children in debt bondage has led to the creation of an underground market for the labor of these individuals. Whereas some researchers argue that eradicating child labor will lower wages for children that will continue to work despite institutionalized rules against this form of labor, others such as Augendra Bhukuth argue that getting rid of this institution is necessary.
Other workers Workers in the brick kiln and sugarcane industries often enter debt bondage. Researchers specifically categorize the brick kiln industry as a form of debt bondage since workers in this institution receive money in advance which they must later pay off. According to a 2003 study, although most Indian laborers in the brick kiln industry did not enter debt bondage, the number of workers entering debt bondage was increasing due to a lack of trust between brokers, or lenders, and borrowers. Although employers in charge of this industry do not employ children, workers inevitably turn to their children to improve their chances of completing their tasks and receiving a loan in the first place. According to a 2007 study in Chennai and Madurai in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu about the brick kiln industry, many Indians hold different views on the relationship between brokers and workers. Whereas some argue that this relationship is built upon mutualism, others cite the harms of this connection since workers in this industry are seasonal, receive conditional advances, and receive low wages, often only covering the costs of food. Additionally, workers are continually exploited by the wage system as they are often paid per brick laid, encouraging them to work for long hours and even when ill to meet their requirements. Wage discrepancies also continue to exist between what these migrant workers are owed and what they actually make. As of 2019, there are over 23 million Indians involved in the brick kiln industry, many of whom are involved in debt bondage.
Additionally, industries such as the quarrying, mining, and manual cleaning businesses hire cheap workers through debt bondage. Although the Indian government passed the Manual Scavengers and Rehabilitation Act in 2013, there were over 12,000 laborers in this industry in 2016, mostly centered in Uttar Pradesh. One other form of debt bondage is that of Sumangali in which families of lower caste levels enter debt bondage to pay off high dowries.
Contributing factors Caste system