Context

• Every year on May 1, International Labour Day is observed globally to honour workers' rights and the dignity of labour.
• Yet, for millions in India, this day serves as a grim reminder of their continued entrapment in bonded and forced labour, a form of modern-day slavery that strips individuals of their basic freedoms and human dignity.
• The harrowing stories of survivors like Mukesh Adivasi and K. Thenmozhi underscore the systemic exploitation that persists despite decades of legal prohibition and policy pledges.

Personal Stories of Entrapment and Abuse

• Ordeal of Mukesh Adivasi
  • The ordeal of Mukesh Adivasi, a 35-year-old from Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh, reflects the devastating consequences of bonded labour.
  • Lured with the promise of work, he and his family were trafficked over 1,400 kilometres to Karnataka in 2023, where they were enslaved on a sugarcane farm.
  • Working up to 16 hours daily under brutal conditions, Mukesh faced violence for demanding wages, culminating in a shattered leg and long-lasting trauma.
  • Although eventually rescued, the scars of physical abuse and psychological torment linger.
• Story of K. Thenmozhi
  • Similarly, the life of 13-year-old K. Thenmozhi from Andhra Pradesh took a tragic turn when poverty forced her family into bondage at a brick kiln in Bengaluru.
  • A mere ₹2,000 advance bound the family into long hours of backbreaking labour. Instead of school, Thenmozhi endured beatings, verbal abuse, and confinement.
  • Their escape, triggered by a social worker’s visit, was perilous, fleeing barefoot by train back to their village.
  • Their story is emblematic of countless others who are trapped, tormented, and only occasionally rescued.

Structural Causes of Bonded Labour

• These cases are not isolated. They stem from a complex web of socio-economic factors.
• Immediate crises such as illness, dowries, food insecurity, or job loss often drive impoverished individuals to accept advances from employers or agents.
• But it is the deeper structural inequities, caste-based discrimination, illiteracy, lack of access to financial and legal systems, and the monopolistic power of local elites, that entrench bondage.
• What begins as a financial transaction swiftly morphs into a mechanism of exploitation and control.
• India legally abolished bonded labour in 1975, and ambitious goals have been set to eradicate it.
• In 2016, the government unveiled a 15-year plan to rehabilitate 1.84 crore bonded labourers by 2030.
• However, the actual progress has been dismal. By 2021, only 12,760 had been rescued, a mere fraction of the target.
• To achieve the goal by 2030, India would need to rescue approximately 11 lakh bonded labourers annually, a task that seems increasingly unrealistic given current efforts.

The Broader Context of Forced Labour in India

• Informality, Migration, and Policy Failure
  • Beyond bonded labour, the broader context of forced labour in India reveals a bleaker picture.
  • The majority of India’s workforce, 39 crore out of 47 crore, is employed in the unorganised sector, according to the National Sample Survey Organization.
  • These workers, largely migrants, often work without contracts, protections, or union representation.
  • The absence of collective bargaining rights and unionisation leaves them vulnerable to exploitative practices, low pay, and job insecurity.
  • Historically, labour rights championed by figures like Dr. B.R. Ambedkar recognised the importance of unionisation and the right to strike.
  • However, recent labour reforms, particularly the Labour Codes introduced between 2019 and 2020, have diluted these protections.
  • Critics argue that these changes favour employers and prioritise profit over people, further weakening the ability of workers to demand fair treatment.
• A System Built on Exploitation
  • Investigative reports and interviews with hundreds of workers reveal the grim underbelly of India’s industrial growth: an economy that, in many cases, thrives on forced labour.
  • Displaced by climate change, rural poverty, and lack of opportunity, migrant workers move to urban and industrial centres only to face systematic exploitation.
  • They endure long hours, meagre wages, and a constant threat of dismissal, all while the system turns a blind eye.
  • This deliberate erosion of worker dignity constitutes not just an economic issue, but a profound moral failing.

Conclusion

• International Labour Day should be a celebration of workers’ contributions and rights.
• In India, however, it serves as a reminder of unfulfilled promises and deep systemic injustices.
• The persistence of bonded and forced labour demands more than token policy responses, it requires genuine political will, robust enforcement of labour laws, and social mobilisation.
• Until India confronts and dismantles the structures that sustain this exploitation, its economic progress will remain tainted by the suffering of its most vulnerable citizens.