BENGALURU: Shiva Kumar, a bonded labourer who was rescued at age 10, has fought the odds and earned a BCom degree. He now plans to pursue a Masters of Social Work. Kumar, now 25, shared his struggles at a symposium on release, recovery and rehabilitation of bonded labourers.
A native of Tamil Nadu, Kumar lost his father at the age of seven. After his father’s death, he stayed with his aunt at Anekal, near Bengaluru. “My aunt’s children worked at a brick kiln, I joined later,” he said.
Kumar worked in inhuman conditions for three years. “I would work from 4-5 am until 5-6 pm, and was given very little to eat. The kiln owner would beat me regularly,” he recalled.
In 2003, Kumar was rescued. He then expressed interest to continue studying, and joined a school for dropouts. He went on to complete his BCom this year. IPS-Superintendent of Police, SCRB, Sirigowri D R, said that when it came to bonded labourers, the police are not provided with the budget or resources for rehabilitation, as this does not fall under their purview. “People say the police ignore complaints regarding bonded labour — this is not true. We do not have the budget for rehabilitation, and need other departments to take over after the rescue,” she said.
In a breakthrough move, a document called ‘Karnataka State Action Plan on the Rehabilitation of Bonded Labourers’ was released by the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Dept (RDPR) in November, 2018.