Modern-Day Slavery: Bonded Labour Spares Neither Young Nor Old

The Probe Investigation | Heartbreaking Testimonies Uncover India's Bonded Labour Crisis. Young and Old Share Harrowing Experiences, Revealing a Generational Cycle of Servitude. Pintu Kumar, a 16-year-old from Chhapra in Bihar, describes the severe hardships he faced starting at the age of 14 when he was coerced into bonded labour. Pintu's account of his experience is chilling: "I was forced into being a bonded labourer. They would make me carry heavy loads. When I said it was too heavy, they would abuse and hurt me. They had locked me up and forced me to work. I had no freedom. I was a slave." There are many like Pintu. Some children are trafficked, while others are sent off by parents who are extremely poor and have no other means to raise their children. Mohammed Ullah's decision to send his 14-year-old son, Sakib, to work in a factory resulted in unforeseen consequences when Sakib was forced into slavery in Bihar. Reflecting on his decision, Ullah expressed the economic desperation that led to this grave situation: "Hum majdoor hain. Hum majboor the. Hum gareeb hain" — "I am a labourer. I was helpless. I am poor." Lukas Lomga, rescued bonded labourer | Photo courtesy: Self Similarly, 24-year-old Lukas Lomga from Simdega in Jharkhand shares a painful recount of his childhood ensnared in bonded labour. Forced into this brutal reality at just 12 years old, Lukas was trafficked to various cities including Delhi and Jaipur for bonded labour. "Until I was finally rescued, as a child I was trafficked to many places. I had no freedom. My employers would beat me. I would be abused. My entire childhood went off in being a bonded labourer," Lukas recounts. Trafficked, Tortured, Hands Chopped Off Dayalu Nial | Bonded labour Dayalu Nial, a former bonded labourer was trafficked, tortured and his hand chopped off | Photo courtesy: Self The heart-wrenching story of Dayalu Nial, a resident of Odisha, alongside Nilambar Dhangdamajhi, offers a stark glimpse into the brutal realities of debt bondage in India. Both men had initially taken money from an agent, ostensibly for work, but soon realised they had been ensnared in a trap. Their situation took a dire turn when they discovered they were being taken to Andhra Pradesh, not Chhattisgarh as they had been led to believe. Their attempt to escape was tragically foiled; they were captured, imprisoned, and their hands were chopped off in 2013. In 2014, the Supreme Court stepped in, urging the Odisha government to expedite legal proceedings against the traffickers and to ensure rehabilitation for Nial and Dhangdamajhi. By 2016, justice seemed to prevail somewhat as a court in Odisha sentenced eight men to life imprisonment for trafficking the labourers and subjecting them to torture. Tragically, in the same year, Dhangdamajhi succumbed to illness. In an interview with The Probe, Nial recounts the harrowing ordeal: "We were locked up in a room and we were beaten up very badly. They closed our mouths and then they chopped our hands. We really suffered a lot. It’s even difficult to think about that suffering. I can’t explain it. It is that painful.