The Plight of Bonded Laborers in India: Experiencing Exploitation and Bondage in the Brick-Kiln Industry

Abstract

Atrocities in the form of forced labor, forced servile marriage, debt bondage, and human trafficking, known as modern-day slavery, continue to be used to exploit the most vulnerable. Despite efforts to curb these atrocities, their continued presence reflects deeply entrenched social and economic inequalities. Unfortunately, in India, like in many other South Asian countries, these atrocities are rooted in caste hierarchies, colonial policies, and feudal land ownership practices that continue to shape contemporary realities. Around the 1970s, India made efforts to mitigate such incidents by enacting the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976, and designed targeted policies such as the central sector scheme for rehabilitation. At the same time, civil society organizations emerged as the fourth pillar, increasing the system’s accountability. In this essay, we delve deeper into understanding why one of the most exploitative forms of modern slavery, bonded labor, persists in India and how policies have failed to combat such atrocities.