Debt bondage in India

Debt bondage in India (Hindi: बंधुआ मज़दूरी bandhua mazdoori) was legally abolished in 1976 but remains prevalent due to weak enforcement by the government.

[1] Additionally, these debts often take a large amount of time to pay off and are unreasonably high, propagating a cycle of generational inequality.

[4] 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.

[5] 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.

[3] 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.

[1][5] 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.

[18] Agricultural workers that are close to entering debt bondage have recently looked toward maistries who offer interest-free loans and more money to borrowers.

[6] These laborers face poor living conditions, intense work and long hours, and are not able to unionize or effectively communicate with other workers.

[14] 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.

[7] 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.

[5] Researchers such as author Sarah Knight believe that the caste system and its contribution to social stratification makes debt bondage more acceptable.

[5] Due to the millions of pending cases in the court system, many workers who entered debt bondage have issues with access to judges.

[5] Additionally, due to the tendency for monopolies to form in India, lenders often force debt laborers to borrow more money through high interest rates.

[26] When workers encounter unexpected expenses, such as paying for religious ceremonies or medical care, they run an even higher risk of accumulating even more debt and interest.

[9] For example, the National Sample Survey Office under the Ministry of Planning and Program Implementation is responsible for collecting and spreading information about job counts and statistics about labor.

[8] However, according to 2019 data, most laborers have not received these additional compensations, leading to an influx of workers taking out loans and entering debt bondage again.

[8] Author and academic Siddharth Kara believes that: Bonded labour is a relic of history that should have long ago been eliminated from South Asia, but greed, corruption, and government ineffectiveness allow this caustic mode of exploitation to persist well into modern times.

In order to ensure basic human rights, guarantee untainted global supply chains, and protect international security, the forces that promote bonded labour must be tackled immediately.

[9] Researchers such as Jan Breman claim that the motivations of employers under this system is not primarily economic but is rather marked by a drive to develop political power and dominance over others.

[9] This system is characterized by work which requires long hours and an environment that fails to allow laborers to organize or find other jobs.

[2] According to a study about the brick kiln industry in India, many workers under the debt bondage system suffer from enduring high levels of heat during the summer.

[19] Child laborers in the debt bondage system often receive cuts and burns or contract liver disease due to their participation in the silver, beedi, and silk industries.

[14] Additionally, laborers in the agriculture industry are vulnerable to snake bites and pesticide poisoning due to a lack of protective gear and clean drinking and cleansing water.

[19] They also regulated the hours and conditions of child labourers and utilized a team of inspectors to prohibit these individuals from working in dangerous industries.

[14] Later on, in 1994, the Elimination of Child Labour Act incorporated more vocational training into schools to help students find opportunities for social mobility after graduation.

[31] Additionally, this organization has been active in advocating for a higher minimum wage and more government efforts in ending debt bondage in India.

[5] Additionally, the Academy of Development Science created a grain bank to tackle the issue of food scarcity and help Indians stay out of debt.

[32] Anti-Slavery International is involved in relieving thousands of Indian brick kiln and agricultural workers from debt bondage in Chhattisgarh, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh.

[33] This organization has been careful to use microfinance – the distribution of small loans at low interest costs – to help Indians who have a high risk of entering debt bondage or falling back into this form of forced labour.

[26] Additionally, this has led to more initiatives which involve teaching employers about alternatives to debt bondage, increasing educational opportunities for students, and providing aid for the costs of health care.