Jaipur: Eminent social activist and Arya Samaj leader Swami Agnivesh today exposed
the blatant lie of the UPA government by questioning its advertisement campaign in which it has
claimed that the implementation of MGNREGA has led to complete abolition of bonded labour in
the country.
At an interaction with the media at Pink City Press Club here, Swami Agnivesh said even
the MGNREGA was promoting the practice of bonded labour, as labourers engaged under it were
often denied minimum wages. He resolved to utilize minimum wages as an instrument to abolish
the menace of bonded labour, while pointing out that there were 45 crore labourers working in the
unorganized sector in the country. A large number of them could be described as bonded labourers,
as per various judgments of the Supreme Court.
Swami Agnivesh cited a report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), which has
pointed out that eight to nine states were paying only Rs. 43 per day as minimum wages to
labourers, and demanded formulation of a national minimum wage policy in which a uniform wage
must be paid in all states. The minimum wage should be equivalent to the salary paid to the lowest
government functionaries, which is Rs. 500 per day.
The Arya Samaj leader, who has been working for rescue and rehabilitation of bonded
labourers through his organization Bandhua Mukti Morcha, said bonded labour was a reality in
states like Rajasthan, where there was a significant population of tribals and poor people. The
advertisement blitz was a ploy to influence the people and get their votes, he said.
Rescued bonded labourers from different parts of Rajasthan narrating their tales of pain and
suffering at the interaction also belied the state government’s claim that there is no bonded labourer
as of now. Thousands of bonded labourers are forced to work in the agricultural fields, factories,
industrial units and brick kilns across the state.
Kadhu Lal from Baran district said he borrowed Rs. 20,000 from a Zamindar for Mata Ki
Rasoi. After working for a year, when he asked the Zamindar for the balance, he was told the loan
amount had increased to Rs. 30,000. He continued working for 20 hours a day, but could not repay
his loan even after nine years.
Sankalp, a partner organization of Action Aid in Baran, rescued Kadhu Lal after the
Zamindar’s employees tried to kill him. But the administration is not ready to recognize him as a
bonded labourer. Kadhu Lal says there are thousands of persons like him in Baran who are forced
to work in lieu of repayment of loans.
Omwati, working at Hukmeshwar brick kiln in Ajmer district, said she had taken an
advance of Rs. 1 lakh from the owner Preetam Bhati after her husband’s death. In return, she, her
five children and one son-in-law worked there for seven months. The owner beat them mercilessly
when they asked about the balance. They somehow escaped on February 26 and reached the
District Collector, but the owner is still threatening them and they are not able to return home.
Hemraj Saharia from Sunda Chainpura village in Baran district said the Action Aid and
Jagrat Mahila Samiti had rescued him and 139 other bonded labourers and set free their land
measuring 250 acres. They were earlier working as bonded labourers on the same land.
“This land is our identity now. We grew crops worth Rs. 7 lakhs on this land and also
earned Rs. 25,000 by giving it on rent. We have also established a foodgrain bank, in which each
family getting wheat from Public Distribution System contributes 5 kilograms,” said Hemraj. This
is a unique initiative to protect Saharia tribe, in which several hunger deaths were earlier reported.
Action Aid head for Rajasthan, Ms. Shabnam Aziz, addressing the media said the narratives
of rescued persons were enough to contradict the claim of Rajasthan government, made in the
Vidhan Sabha recently, that there are no bonded labourers in the state. She demanded that a team
headed by the Chief Secretary be appointed to monitor the despicable practice and all district
officers be asked to identify, rescue and rehabilitate bonded labourers.
Prayas Programme Director, Mr. Sudhir Katiyar said the labourers working in brick kilns
should be given minimum wages and all other facilities of a workplace. Resource Institute for
Human Rights head Mr. Vijay Goyal said thousands of children were working in the factories of
Aari Tari, Zari and bangles in the state capital. He said the officers of Labour Department must be
trained in dealing with the practice of bonded labour and their accountability in the matter should
be ensured.
Kalyan Singh Kothari