BONDED LABOUR IN INDIA:

ORIGIN TO ABOLITION
SUBMITTED BY:
SUNIDHI SACHDEVA
ROLL N0. 20176369
B.A. LLB. (Hons.) REGULAR
OF
FACULTY OF LAW, JAMIA MILLIA ISLAMIA
UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF
Prof. RASHEED CA
 CERTIFICATE
The project entitled BONDED LABOUR IN INDIA: ORIGIN TO
ABOLITION submitted to the Faculty of Law, Jamia Millia Islamia for
LAW AND POVERTY as part of my internal assessment is based on my
original work carried out under the guidance of Prof. Rasheed CA .
The research work has not been submitted elsewhere for award of
any degree. I understand that I myself could be held responsible and
accountable for plagiarism, if any, detected later on.

Signature of the candidate:

Date:
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION
2. ORIGIN AND CAUSES.
3. CONSTITUTIONAL VALIDITY OF THE BONDED
LABOUR.
4. THE BONDED LABOUR SYSTEM (ABOLITION)
ACT, 1976.
5. JUDICIAL APPROACH TOWARDS THE
PROBLEM OF BONDED LABOUR.
6. ROLE OF NHRC.
7. PENAL PROVISION UNDER THE IPC, 1860.
8. CONCLUSION.
 INTRODUCTION
Bonded Labour, which is characterized by a long term relationship between
employer and employee is usually solidified through a loan, and is embedded
intricately in India’s socio-economic culture- a culture that is a product of class
relations, a colonial history and persistent poverty among many citizens. The
phenomenon of Bonded Labour is a vicious circle where each factor is
responsible for further subjugation and apathy of the bonded labourers. The
bonded labour is a social system. This system constitutes those destitute and
other labourers who even after 72 years of independence are being exploited
in one form or the other. This system is based on 3 broad pillars:

1. Debt obligation.
2. Force
3. Curtailment of liberty.

The term Bonded Labour is not capable of any precise definition. The Royal
Commission of Bonded Labour in India has defined Bonded Labour as follows:
“the labourer borrows money from the landlord under a contract to work until
the debt is repaid. The debt tends to increase rather than diminish and the
man, and sometimes his family, is bound for life.”1

The Commissioner for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (1971-72 and
1972-73) has defined the bonded labour system as “ the practice under which
a man pledges his own person or a member of family against a loan. The
pledger or the nominee is released only on its discharge. Until then, the man
himself or the member of his family is required to work for his creditor against
his daily meals or low wages. Since he gets very little money, he has to depend
upon someone in the family to procure the sum required for his release and
this, of course, is rarely available. The relationship lasts for months and
sometimes years, occasionally and entire life time and not infrequently follows
the male heir.”2

AE Punit, Profiles of Poverty in India, 1982 at 57-581

2
21st report of The commissioner for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, 1972-73
 ORIGIN AND CAUSES
The system of Bonded Labour has been prevalent in various parts of the
country during the pre-independence era. This system was based on
exploitation by a powerful section of community of the poor and deprived
people who have continued to be held in bondage for years together. It stems
from a variety of causes:

1. An ingrained legacy of caste-based discrimination.

2. Vast poverty and inequality
3. Lack of livelihood options.
4. Poor family planning system.
5. An inadequate education system.
6. Unjust social relations.
7. Government’s unwillingness to alter the status quo.

However, the most important cause from which this menace is originated is
the CASTE SYSTEM in which the person belonging to the so-called high caste
such as Rajputs and Brahmins exploits the persons belonging to the lower
castes such as Shudras. Due to their weak and the poor conditions in the
society, they are forced to sell their labour for little or no remuneration to the
landlords and the moneylenders. The COLONIAL SYSTEM of the British is
another very important reason for this oppressive system. One of the worst
forms of bonded labour all over the colonial world was the Slave Trade.
Basically, India’s restrained freedom in the colonial era and the social evil of
Caste System have made it difficult to delineate the history of labourers’
“unfreedom”, as termed by several authors, and to understand legal and actual
differentiations between slavery under the British rule and Debt bondage
today.
CONSTITUTIONAL VALIDITY OF BONDED LABOUR
This system of Bonded Labour was prevalent in various parts of the country
during the pre independence era. With the dawn of independence in 1947, this
evil system could no longer be allowed to plight the national life of people and
hence, the makers of the Indian constitution incorporated various special
provisions to put an end to put an end to this evil social practice, part III and
part IV of the constitution which consists of the fundamental rights and the
directive principles of state policy gave a new hope to these downtrodden
people for a better tomorrow.

Article 14 of the Constitution guarantees equality before law and equal

protection of law to all persons residing within the territory of India3. Article 21
talks about securing a right to life and human dignity4. The supreme court has
interpreted the term “Right to life and liberty” to include, among other things,
the right to sleep and work when one pleases, the right to be free from
inhumane and degrading treatment, the right to integrity and dignity of a
person, the right to speedy justice, etc.

Similarly, Article 23 prohibits traffic in human beings and Begar and other
forms of forced labour5. Begar is a form of forced labour under which a person
is compelled to work without receiving any remuneration. Other similar forms
of forced were interpreted by the Supreme Court in the Asiad worker’s case6
that both paid and unpaid labour were prohibited by article 23, so long as the
element of force or compulsion were present in the workers ongoing services
to the employer. The Supreme Court also interpreted the term forced labour
to mean providing labour or service to another for remuneration which is less
than minimum wage. All labour rewarded with less than the minimum wage,
then, constitutes forced labour and violates the Constitution of India.

3
Article 14, The Constitution of India: EQUALITY BEFORE LAW
4
Article 21, The Constitution of India: PROTECTION OF LIFE AND PERSONAL LIBERTY.

5
Article 23, The Constitution of India: RIGHT AGAINST EXPLOTATION.
6
AIR 1982 SC 1473
Also, the provisions contained in Articles 39(e), 39(f), 41 and 427 which are
enshrined in the chapter of Directive Principles of State Policy makes it
obligatory upon the State to protect the health and strength of workers, men
and women, and the tender age of children against the exploitation. It also
compels the state to provide just and human conditions of work to all the
citizens. These are some of the basic human requirements that are necessary
for the development of a civilized society governed by the Rule of Law. This is
the philosophy of the Constitution of India which promises to secure every
Citizen Justice- Social, Economical and Political.

THE BONDED LABOUR SYSTEM (ABOLITION) ACT,

1976
The makers of the Constitution took some very bold steps to abolish the
system of Bonded Labour by incorporating various special provisions in the
Constitution in the post-independence era. However, the Union and the State
governments took some half hearted measures to fulfil the objectives of the
Constitution (primarily, Social and Economic Justice). Hence, the problem of
Bonded labour could not receive any special attention till the enactment of the
BONDED LABOUR SYSTEM (ABOLITION) ACT in 1976.

The various studies conducted by the Gandhi Peace Foundation, New Delhi,
the National Sample Survey Organisation as well as by the various State
Governments have reported a large number of Bonded Labourers in various
parts of the country.8 This implied that there has been complete lack of
concern on the part of the Government for human values enshrined in part III
and part IV of the Constitution.

The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act purports to abolish all debt
agreements and obligations arising out of India’s long standing bonded labour
system. It is the legislative fulfilment of the Indian Constitution mandate
against beggar and forced labour. It frees all bonded labourers, cancels any
debt outstanding against them, prohibits the creation of new bondage

7
The Constitution of India
8
The GPF Study recorded the existence of 26.17 lakh bonded labourer, the NSSO Study recorded over 3.45
lakh and the State Government recognised the incidence of 2.55 lakh.
agreements, and orders the economic rehabilitation of freed bonded labourers
by the State9. It also criminalises all post-act attempts to compel a person to
engage in bonded labour, with maximum penalties of 3 years in prison and a
2,000 rupees fine.10

Sec. 2(e) of the bonded labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976 defines bonded
labour to mean any labour or service rendered under the bonded labour system.
Under Sec. 2(f) bonded labourer means a labourer who incurs, or has, or
presumed to have incurred a bonded debt.

Under Sec. 2(g)11 "bonded labour system “means the system of forced, or partly
forced labour under which a debtor enters...or is presumed to have entered,
into an agreement with the creditor to the effect that:

(i) in consideration of an advance obtained by him or by any of his lineal

ascendants or descendants (whether or not such advance is evidenced by any
document) and in consideration of the interest, if any, due on such advance, or

(ii) in pursuance of any customary or social obligation, or

(iii) in pursuance of an obligation devolving on him by succession, or

(iv) for any economic consideration received by him or by any of his lineal
ascendants or descendants, or

(v) by reason of his birth in any particular caste or community, he would-

(1) render, by himself or through any member of his family.... labour or

service to the creditor, or for the benefit of the creditor, for a specified period or
for an unspecified period, either without wages or for nominal wages, or

(2) forfeit the freedom of employment or other means of livelihood for a

specified period or for an unspecified period, or

(3) forfeit the right to move freely throughout the territory of India, or

9
Article on Bonded Labour, International Journal of Technical Research, Vol.3, Issue 1, Mar-Apr 2014, p.29-33
10
Section 16, The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976.
11
The Bonded Labour System (abolition) Act, 1976.
 (4) forfeit the right to appropriate or sell at market value any of his property
or product of his labour or the labour of a member of his family or any person
dependent on him.

Lastly, the Salient Features of the Act are as follows:

1. Totally abolishes Bonded Labour.

2. Identify and rehabilitate bonded labourers.
3. Identify certain schemes and committees to be formed at the district
level.
4. Punishment of up to 3 years imprisonment and/or fine.
5. Any attachment of property of bonded labourers stand cancelled from
the date of enforcement of the act.
6. Employers not to evict the bonded labourer from the accommodation
provided.

JUDICIAL APPROACH TOWARDS THE

PROBLEM OF BONDED LABOUR
In Sanjit Ray v. State of Rajasthan12, the SC restricted the state from extracting
labour by paying less than the minimum wages in the name of public utility
services, considering such amounts to forced labour and is violative of article 23
of the constitution. Therefore, labour must be compensated with wages even
when they are under law compelled to render service in the larger public
interest.

In P. Sivaswamy v. State of A.P13, the courts found that the rehabilitation money
payable under the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976 came down to
Rs. 738/- per family. The Court observed that the assistance was certainly
inadequate for rehabilitation and unless there was effective rehabilitation the
purpose of the Act would not be fulfilled. Up-rooted from one place of bonded
labour conditions the persons are likely to be subjected to the same mischief at

12
AIR 1983 SC 328
13
AIR 1988 SC 1863
another place, the net result being that the steps taken by the Supreme Court
would be rendered ineffective.

In Neerja Choudhary v. State of MP14, the main issue in this case was related to
the effective rehabilitation of the released bonded labourers. The petitioners
alleged that even after a lapse of a long time 135 labourers of the Faridabad
stone quarries were not rehabilitated. They further alleged that it was the
obligation on the part of the state government to rehabilitate the bonded
labourers according to the provisions of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition)
Act 1976 and it is the fundamental right of the bonded labourers under article
21 of the constitution. The petitioners, therefore, prayed for a direction to the
State Government to take steps for the economic and social rehabilitation of the
labourers who were released from the shackles of bondage. The SC ruled that
“the plainest requirement of articles 21, 23 that the bonded labourers must be
identified and released and on release, they must be suitably rehabilitated. The
act has been enacted with a view to ensuring human dignity to the bonded
labourers and any failure of action on part of the state government, in
implementing the provisions of this legislation would be the clearest violation of
articles 21, 23 of the Constitution. The courts also said that it is not enough
merely to identify and release bonded labourers, but it is equally important that
after identification and release, they must be rehabilitated, because without
rehabilitation, they would be driven by poverty, helplessness and despair into
serfdom once again.”

In Balram and others v. State of M.P.15, the main issue was to determine
whether the state and central governments had given the benefit of the scheme
framed under the Bonded Labour Act (whereby each bonded labourer was to be
paid Rs. 6, 250/- as rehabilitation money) . The court directed that the Additional
Collector and such, other officers who have been assigned the responsibility of
supervising rehabilitation to ensure that the full amount intended for the freed
labourer reaches them. Therefore, all such persons who were willing to have an
account opened in their respective names for facilitating credit of the amount in
such account shall have accounts opened and the money shall be credited in
such accounts. The Union of India was also directed to release adequate funds
under the Scheme to meet the liability under the Scheme framed under the
Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976 within four weeks to enable
compliance of the directions now made.

14
AIR 1984 SC 1099
15
AIR 1990 SC 44
In Bandhua Mukti Morcha v. Union of India16, the main issue concerned the
existence of bonded labour in the Faridabad stone quarries near the city of
Delhi. It was alleged that majority of the workers were compelled to migrate
from other states, and turned into bonded labourers. The workers were living in
sub-human and miserable conditions. A violation of various labour laws and the
Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act 1976 was alleged. The SC stated that
before a bonded labour can be regarded as a bonded labourer, he must not only
be forced to provide labour to the employer but he must have also received an
advance or other economic consideration from the employer, unless he is made
to provide forced labour in pursuance of any custom or social obligation or by
reason of his birth in any particular caste or community.

ROLE OF THE NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS

COMMISSION IN COMBATING THIS EVIL
The Supreme Court has guided that the NHRC should be involved in dealing with
the menace of the Bonded Labour. A central action group has been constituted
in the NHRC17 keeping in consideration the above order. This group holds regular
meetings and the matter is being pursued with the various State Governments.

In Bandhua Mukti Morcha case18, the Supreme Court had issued certain
guidelines to the Central Government, the state of Haryana and various other
authorities. In order to ensure compliance of the above directions, the Ministry
of Labour constituted a Task Force, comprising of the officers of the Central and
the Government of Haryana who are responsible for the enforcement of various
labour laws. The Task Force was required to undertake periodic visits and
inspections of the Stone quarries and crushers to ascertain facts about the
working and living conditions of the workers. The Task Force carries out its
assignments regularly and submits its report to the Central as well as State
government indicating, therein, status of compliance on the part of the
concerned authorities with the statutory provisions and the directions of the
Supreme Court.

PENAL PROVISION UNDER IPC, 1860

16
AIR 1984 SC 802
17
National Human Rights Commission
18
AIR 1984 SC 8021`
Section 374 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 penalises forced labour. It talks
about Unlawful Compulsory Labour. According to this section, whoever lawfully
compels any person to labour against the will of that person, shall be
punishable with imprisonment of either description for a term which may
extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.

CONCLUSION
The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act was enacted in 1876. Even after
so many years of the Parliament passing this act, the abominable practice still
exists. Human Rights Watch has found that the objectives of this law-to punish
employers of bonded labour and to identify, release, and rehabilitate bonded
labourers have not been met. The bonded labour system continues to thrive.

However, it has changed over the years. It is no longer confined to the

traditional power equation in agriculture, in which the lower castes are expected
to perform menial tasks in exchange for guaranteed subsistence. The prevalent
system today is one of the debt bondage.

Even after the enactment of the proper act and various constitution and legal
provisions, many poor people are forced to work. This is because the laws are
not properly implemented by various concerned authorities. The eradication of
bonded labour in India depends on the Indian government's commitment to two
imperatives: enforcement of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, and the
creation of meaningful alternatives for already-bonded labourers and those at
risk of joining their ranks. In addition to genuine government action, it is
essential that non-governmental organizations be encouraged by the
government to collaborate in this effort. The government has the resources and
authority to implement the law, while community-based organizations have the
grass-roots contacts and trust necessary to facilitate this implementation.
Furthermore, non-governmental groups can act as a watchdog on government
programs, keeping vigil for corruption, waste, and apathy. The elimination of
current debt bondage and the prevention of new or renewed bondage,
therefore, require a combination of concerted government action and extensive
community involvement. Neither standing alone is sufficient. Bonded labour is a
vast, pernicious, and long-standing social ill, and the tenacity of the bonded
labour system must be attacked with similar tenacity; anything less than total
commitment is certain to fail.