CHENNAI: Ten years ago, when his parents borrowed Rs 20,000 from a landlord in exchange for the family’s labour, little Murugesan never thought the not-so-small amount would cost him his five precious teenage years. Along with the four adults in his family, the 13-year-old too was made to work in a sugarcane farm from 3 am to 10 am.
The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act came into existence on February 9, 1976 and the Tamil Nadu government, five years ago, announced that the date would be observed as Bonded Labour System Abolition Day in the state.
Almost half a century after the legislation to eradicate this inhuman practice was enacted, bonded labour still persists, affecting the most vulnerable segments of the society, which includes the Irula tribal family of A Murugesan (27) from Tiruvallur.
Being someone who went through the inhuman practice for years, Murugesan is now committed to not let his fellow humans go through the same plight. The youngster, president of the Released Bonded Labour Association (RBLA) in Tiruvallur, helps rescued bonded labourers to rebuild their lives.
It was in 2014 that Avinash and Desambal borrowed Rs 20,000 from a sugarcane farm owner in Nemmeli in exchange for their labour. Initially, the owner promised to send their teenager son Murugesan to school but the boy ended up toiling in the farm with his parents, elder sister Dhanalakshmi (31), and her husband Vijay.
“We used to earn Rs 200 per week and 25 kg of rice per month. As it was impossible to purchase and cook anything else with the meagre income, we used to mix salt in tamarind water and have it with rice most of the days,” recalled Murugesan.
When the owner didn’t allow the family to hospitalise a pregnant Dhanalakshmi, they defied him. From then on, he stopped giving them rice and the family starved for months. “We also encountered frequent physical and verbal abuse from him,” added Murugesan.
In 2019, officials who got informed about the bonded labourers in the sugarcane field rescued all of them. Thanks to government schemes, the family slowly started rebuilding their life.
“We conduct regular meetings at RBLA to ensure that rescued labourers are financially stable and don’t fall into a debt trap again. The government has started various initiatives including Siragugal, where brick kilns have been set up for such labourers. I am part of Varnam, a block printing unit,” said Murugesan.
While the government has set a goal to declare Tamil Nadu as a bonded labour-free state in 2030, Murugesan said this can only be achieved by creating awareness and ensuring vulnerable communities make use of the schemes to improve their financial status.