NELLORE: She carries no badge, no official seal, and yet district officials often wait for her before launching a bonded labour rescue operation. For Thenmoyi’s authority comes from something far harder to earn: survival.
Across parts of Andhra Pradesh, when rescue teams arrive at brick kilns, farms or construction sites, they often find Thenmoyi already there—calm, steady and speaking to frightened workers in a voice they trust. She is not a government official, but a survivor of bonded labour who now leads a collective of more than 900 survivors across the State.
Her role goes far beyond presence. Thenmoyi accompanies district teams during rescue operation, explains legal rights to newly freed families, and follows up persistently with officials to ensure survivors receive release certificates, compensation and rehabilitation. In a system where rescue operation is often swift but justice is delayed, she has become a crucial link between liberation and rehabilitation.
As India marks 50 years of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act on February 9, 2026, Thenmoyi’s journey reflects both the promise of the law and the fragile manner in which it is implemented on the ground. Born into a vulnerable family, her father was a daily-wage labourer. When Thenmoyi was in Class 7, a labour contractor promised her family a small advance and steady work at a brick kiln near Bengaluru, where she faced exploitation. Thenmoyi currently resides in Chittoor district with her husband, Kannayya, and their two sons. She runs a small fruit and vegetable stall to support her family.
Much of her time is spent following up on bonded labour release certificates, compensation claims and ongoing rescue operation. Her work includes ensuring the proper identification of bonded labour cases.
For many families, she is the first person to explain that what they endured was not fate or misfortune, but a crime—and that the law is meant to stand with them.
Bonded labour still exists in Andhra Pradesh. Fresh cases continue to emerge from districts such as Prakasam, Nellore, Chittoor, Tirupati, Annamayya and Sri Sathya Sai, particularly in brick kilns, agriculture, construction and migration-linked work.
Civil rights organisations report that rescues have continued steadily over the past year. Yet for many survivors, freedom remains incomplete. In Andhra Pradesh alone, at least 190 identified bonded labour survivors are currently awaiting rehabilitation, stuck without release certificates or compensation.
It is precisely this gap between rescue and rehabilitation that makes Thenmoyi’s leadership critical. In 2025, after the brutal murder of a young boy in Andhra Pradesh shocked the State, Thenmoyi stood beside the child’s mother, Ankamma, through police questioning, hospital visits, media interactions and legal proceedings.
“They thought no one would question them. There was no one to stand with her. When we stood together, everything changed. Ankamma is not alone anymore,” Thenmoyi says.