3071-The political economy of new slavery

126 Bonded Labour in South Asia
than simply providing subsistence. This brought about a change in the
kamaiya system.
While the patron–client relationship did not disappear altogether,
often a more ‘businesslike’ contract was introduced. Traditionally, on
New Year’s Day, known as maghi, the Tharu would settle loans and the
elders in villages would make plans for the forthcoming year. Also,
labourers would ‘contract’ with the landlords to continue to work
during the coming year, in return for an advance loan, popularly known
as saunki. Sometimes, at this point, another landlord, in return for the
kamaiya working for him during the coming year, will repay a loan.
Indirectly, therefore, the labourer is bought. Usually, such loans are
taken to meet medical expenses within the family, or the costs of a
marriage or funeral, or festival. As in India and Pakistan, generally it is
the labour of a whole family that is required. The wives of labourers,
known as bukarahi, their unmarried daughters or sisters (kamlari) and
children are employed in different ways. Typically, they are provided
with a small hut (bukura) near the landlord’s premises. They may ask
for a further loan from time to time, increasing the total outstanding.
In one survey, the amounts of loan taken ranged from R500 (nearly £5)
to R91,000 (nearly £900). In many cases, the loan has been passed from
one generation to another. Also, loans tended to grow with the worker’s
length of service. It appears that Tharu labourers who worked for
non-Tharu landlords were in a worse position than the Tharus working
for Tharu landlords. Often, the larger a landlord’s holding of land, the
greater would be the abuse to the workers. This was especially true in
Bardia.
After the government announced he banning of kamaiya labour in
Nepal in 2000, landlords have moved slowly towards other arrangements
– mainly share-cropping. While there does not appear to be any
loan involved, money is needed to meet the cost of bulls, tools and other
resources. This may be taken as a loan, which is then deducted from the
shared crop. While no study has yet been undertaken, it appears that
part of the land remaining after share-cropping arrangements is tilled
by the kamaiya families without any wage being paid. The system,
therefore, appears to be changing into other forms of forced labour, but,
at the moment, the situation is not entirely clear.
Apart from the kamaiya system, permanent debt-bondage is said to
exist in the western districts of Rupandehi and Nawalparasi, although
no comprehensive survey has been made. In the eastern plain, debtbondage
is mainly of a seasonal nature, and the labourers are low caste
dalits. They are known as haruwas (meaning ‘ploughmen’). Similar