P Amsavalli (L) and her sister Usha, after casting votes for the first time. (Photo | Express)
Chennai

Freed from bonded labour in 2019, Cuddalore sisters vote for first time

Bonded to labour for 20 years, the sisters’ presence in the queue outside the booth on Thursday marked a deeply personal victory over years of hardship and invisibility.

Binita Jaiswal

CHENNAI: A bright smile emerged, overpowering the years of toil writ large on the face of 33-year-old P Amsavalli and her sister, 25-year-old Usha when they exercised their franchise, for the very first time, at the polling booth at Kadampuliyur village in Cuddalore. Bonded to labour for 20 years, the sisters’ presence in the queue outside the booth on Thursday marked a deeply personal victory over years of hardship and invisibility.

Finding it hard to hide her excitement, Amsavalli, in a quavering voice, said though they were rescued by the time of last election, they were not able to vote as they were not having voters ID. “This time, with the help of officials, we two, out of a total of six siblings, managed to get voter ID. It feels like a new beginning,” said the mother of four.

Amsavalli’s story is rooted in Membattu village in Cuddalore, where her mother Booma, now 63, struggled to raise eight children. A loan of Rs 10,000 taken to feed the family spiralled into a cycle of bondage. Unable to repay, the family was forced into years of labour, moving from one farm to another.

“My greatest sorrow is that my children never had the chance to study or enjoy their childhood,” Booma said.

Recollecting the painful past, Amsavalli said for over two decades, they all lived and worked as bonded labourers in sugarcane fields across the state and they knew nothing beyond the fields.

Their rescue from bonded labour at Veeradipatti village near Gandarvakottai in Pudukkottai in 2019 brought an end to their physical confinement, but the process of rebuilding their lives has been gradual.

For Amsavalli and Usha, the ballot is not just a symbol of democratic participation, but a voice reclaimed after years of being unheard. “We want the new government to understand the pain of people like us,” added Usha.

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