CHENNAI: The air hung heavy with the stench of sweat and fear. Tiny hands, calloused and scarred, clutched at the rough fabric of a tattered shirt. Two-year-old Vinoth, his eyes wide with confusion and terror, watched as his parents were bound, their cries echoing through the cavernous rice mill in Ponneri.
This was not a playground, not a loving home, but a prison forged from debt and despair, a consequence of the advance his parents had taken from the mill owner. The chains that bit into his parents’ wrists seemed to bind his own spirit, a chilling premonition of the childhood that would be stolen from him.
For four agonising years, the rice mill became their world. Vinoth, a mere toddler, witnessed his parents’ struggle, their bodies bent under the weight of crushing labour.
Even after their rescue in 2006, the scars remained. Relocated to Tiruvallur, Vinoth’s family and community continued to face hardship. The struggle for basic necessities, the humiliation of bureaucratic indifference when seeking ration cards, community certificates, and even Aadhaar cards – these experiences fuelled a burning desire for change within him.
“We Irula community members are connected by our history of bondage,” Vinoth, now a 24-year-old graduate, explains. “Due to low literacy and poor awareness, many are harassed and exploited. I’ve seen them struggling to get basic rights, with officials demanding bribes.”
This realisation, coupled with a teacher’s initiative in his government school to collect community data for census work, ignited a fire in young Vinoth. At just 12 years old, while studying in class 5, he began meticulously recording details of his community members, determined to assist them. He has since helped nearly 400 people obtain essential documentation.
Vinoth’s dedication bore fruit. He became a lead with the Released Bonded Labour Association (RBLA), working tirelessly to rescue and rehabilitate others trapped in bondage. “Earlier, officials made me run pillar to post,” he recalls. “Now, they listen patiently. My hard work has earned their trust.”
But Vinoth’s vision extended beyond rescue. He became a part of Varnam, a self-help group providing livelihood skills to rescued labourers. “Through Varnam, we’ve set up a block printing unit,” he says with pride.
“I can never forget the days my family spent in the rice mill,” he shares, his voice heavy with memory. “With no proper meal or sleep, my parents toiled endlessly. I helped them spread the paddy, a tiny shadow in that oppressive space. I wasn’t allowed to go to school, to play... I peeped through the windows and dreamt of freedom.”
But those dreams are now a reality. “Today, I am educated,” he affirms. “I want to dedicate my life to the betterment of my people. Earning the love of my community is much more valuable than money for me.”
He strides forward, not towards the rice mill of his past, but towards a future where those chains are forever broken.
(Edited by Dinesh Jefferson E)