CHENNAI: It took S Raman 35 years to realise that he had been a bonded labourer. He was born, raised and married within the rice mill’s compound, where his grandfather and father worked all their lives. He was the fifth child and was born with his twin Lakshman. Raman and Lakshman, like their siblings, started working at the age of 12.
“After the first few years of sweeping and cleaning, I started lifting rice sacks at the mill for 15 hours a day, trying to settle my family’s loans,” he said. Raman’s only memories of childhood were confined within the walls of that rice mill in Tiruvallur district.
Despite being outlawed four decades ago, thousands of bonded labourers like Raman continue to suffer at rice mills, brick kilns, textile companies, factories, yarn industries and fields, trying to pay back debts with their unreasonably meagre pay.
The Bonded Labour System Act 1976 dwells on prohibition of human trafficking and forced labour, intended to free all bonded labourers, cancel their debts, rehabilitate the victim and punish the offender.
However, a survey, conducted by the International Justice Mission (IJM) and National Adivasi Solidarity Council (NASC) in 2015, suggests that over four lakh bonded labourers work in 11 industries across 31 districts in Tamil Nadu. The survey has also found that 60.8 of them were paid below minimum wages. The survey was not conducted in Chennai.
Raman’s grandfather died one day and a grieving Raman wanted to inform his relatives and mourn with them. He claimed that his owner refused and asked him to finish the day’s work before leaving for his village. “The same thing happened when my father and uncle died,” said angered Raman. He said that even if permission was given to visit weddings and other family events, only one member of the family was allowed to go as the others had to compensate for an “advance” all the time.
“I wanted to leave so badly, but I had no idea what I’d do for a living. I didn’t know any other profession,” he said. Many like Raman grew up within the mill, trapped and unaware of the world outside.
A Chinnarasu from Vellore, another bonded labourer, started working at a brick kiln when he was 18. “I had to repay my father’s loan and got an advance from the kiln’s owner and had to work to repay it. Little did I know that I wont be able to pay so many thousands with my meagre wage,” he said, adding that medical emergencies and family functions meant a little more advance and more days of work.
Fear of being persecuted for not repaying loans and not finding an alternative career leaves bonded labourers with limited options.
“At 132 work sites, enumerators documented violence, physical, psychological, or verbal, and also whether labourers were forced to work,” the survey by IJM and NASC noted. With no exposure to education of human rights, bonded labourers like Raman and Chinnarasu remain unaware of their fundamental rights and get trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty and hopelessness.
On Thursday, members of Released Bonded labourers’ Association came together and addressed the media, sharing their tales and ordeals. They urged the government to ensure timely rescue and rehabilitation of bonded labourers.
“The government cannot significantly reduce prevalence of bonded labour unless they first conduct a detailed survey identifying areas and industries where bonded labourers are trapped,” said Kandasamy Krishnan, secretary-general of NASC.
The first official survey on bonded labour was commissioned in 1995, by Felix N Sugirtharaj, former Supreme Court-appointed Commissioner for identification of bonded labour in Tamil Nadu.
The study concluded that there were at least 10 lakh bonded labourers in the State. The next survey in 1997 was conducted by the Government of Tamil Nadu, which reported that the prevalence of bonded labour was only 25,005. This was the last available government data on the number of bonded labourers in the State.
“The lack of coherence between the figures shows the need for a detailed study to be conducted in the State,” said Krishnan, adding that the government should equip the survivors with skill development, housing, land, entitlements and basic needs.
Raman, now 48, reached out to the government and social workers and was finally freed in 2003 along with 72 bonded labourers who were working in the same rice mill. Since then, he has been rescuing others who faced similar fate and has worked to rehabilitate them.
Raman still works as an informal daily-wage worker, but all his children are educated and he gets to visit his grandchildren on weekends.
Life not lived for a lifetime
Firms employing the largest numbers of bonded labourers in Tamil Nadu
Demographics of bonded labourers in