3071-The political economy of new slavery

Krishna Upadhyaya 133
and among the judiciary. Cases of bonded labour were taken to the
Indian courts and court verdicts have played an important part in the
fight against the system. In 1975, Indira Gandhi’s government included
the eradication of bonded labour in its 20-point programme, which was
announced during the State of Emergency. This resulted in legislation.
It was powerful, authorizing local officials to prosecute those employing
bonded labourers. It also provided for the identification, release and
rehabilitation of bonded labourers. In many states during the mid-1980s,
bonded labourers were released and rehabilitated, although corruption,
misappropriation and manipulation were reported in Madhya Pradesh
and elsewhere.
After the 1980s, there was little progress with the identification and
release process. Very few bonded labourers were released in the 1990s.
Nevertheless, organizations working for bonded labourers continued
their efforts. Often, they met with resistance from the employers and
indifference from the law enforcement authorities including Vigilance
Committees, which, under Indian law, are obliged to identify bonded
labourers. Membership of the Vigilance Committees is drawn mostly
from the moneyed and industrial classes, who could be said to have a
vested interest. Another factor to which the slowdown was attributed,
was that some organizations converted from engendering a movement
to running small projects.
Recently, the Supreme Court of India assigned all cases relating to
bonded labour to the National Human Rights Commission. It has been
actively engaged in settling cases and recommending governments to
act when instances are identified. Unfortunately, the actions of most
government agencies seem to be perfunctory. While some governments
in the southern states are taking some action, northern governments,
including Punjab, seem reluctant to recognize the existence of bonded
labour. The government of Tamilnadu is creating a database of bonded
labourers, using reports from various organizations.
It has been said that released bonded labourers could expect help
in connection with rehabilitation for up to three years. The government
of Karnataka has taken the same line as the government of Punjab in
saying that all were rehabilitated in the 1980s. There were denials of the
existence of bonded labourers, until 2000 – when five bonded labourers
were found in iron chains. The government then undertook various
surveys. While many were supposedly released, in most cases this was
not followed up with the required rehabilitation.
A number of organizations, including Volunteers for Social Justice,
Punjab, JEEVIKA, the Bonded Labour Liberation Front and SACCS,