Modern Slavery And Bonded Labour In South Asia

Siddharth KaraÕs Sex Trafficking has become a critical resource for its revelations into an unconscionable business, and its detailed analysis of the tradeÕs immense economic benefits and human cost. This volume is KaraÕs second, explosive study of slavery, this time focusing on the deeply entrenched and wholly unjust system of bonded labor. Drawing on eleven years of research in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, Kara delves into an ancient and ever-evolving mode of slavery that ensnares roughly six out of every ten slaves in the world and generates profits that exceeded $17.6 billion in 2011. In addition to providing a thorough economic, historical, and legal overview of bonded labor, Kara travels to the far reaches of South Asia, from cyclone-wracked southwestern Bangladesh to the Thar desert on the India-Pakistan border, to uncover the brutish realities of such industries as hand-woven-carpet making, tea and rice farming, construction, brick manufacture, and frozen-shrimp production. He describes the violent enslavement of millions of impoverished men, women, and children who toil in the production of numerous products at minimal cost to the global market. He also follows supply chains directly to Western consumers, vividly connecting regional bonded labor practices to the appetites of the world. KaraÕs pioneering analysis encompasses human trafficking, child labor, and global security, and he concludes with specific initiatives to eliminate the system of bonded labor from South Asia once and for all.

This book investigates one of the most pervasive forms of modern slavery: bonded labour, whereby labour is linked with a credit agreement, leaving a debtor bound to repay their debt through long-term servitude. Drawing on cases from Nepal and India, the author adopts a human rights-based approach, interpreting slavery as a violation of human rights, and focusing on the empowerment of slaves as rights holders. Ultimately the book aims to explore the links between rights, power inequality and oppression, and to uncover ways to achieve the full liberation of bonded labourers. Identifying the factors and forces that contribute to and reinforce the situation of bonded labour in South Asia, the book demonstrates how systems of bonded labour are connected to long-term processes of colonisation, dispossession, migration, nationalisation of natural resources, and the introduction of private land ownership. Despite the fact that the United Nations has reported debt bondage as the most prevalent form of forced labour worldwide, there it is still little known about the real practical impacts of this approach to the lives of marginalised people. Based on extensive ethnographic research, this book will be a useful guide to students and scholars of modern slavery, international development, and South Asian studies.

Slavery and Bonded Labor in Asia, 1250–1900 is the first collection of studies to focus on slavery and related forms of labor throughout Asia. The 15 chapters by an international group of scholars assess the current state of Asian slavery studies, discuss new research on slave systems in Asia, identify avenues for future research, and explore new approaches to reconstructing the history of slavery and bonded labor in Asia and, by extension, elsewhere in the globe. Individual chapters examine slavery, slave trading, abolition, and bonded labor in places as diverse as Ceylon, China, India, Korea, the Mongol Empire, the Philippines, the Sulu Archipelago, and Timor in local, regional, pan-regional, and comparative contexts. Contributors are: Richard B. Allen, Michael D. Bennett, Claude Chevaleyre, Jeff Fynn-Paul, Hans Hägerdal, Shawna Herzog, Jessica Hinchy, Kumari Jayawardena, Rachel Kurian, Bonny Ling, Christopher Lovins, Stephanie Mawson, Anthony Reid, James Francis Warren, Don J. Wyatt, Harriet T. Zurndorfer.

South Asia is the region with the highest number of slaves globally according to the Global Slavery Index. Bonded labour affects between 15 and 20 million labourers within the region, and is shaped by locally specific interconnections between ethnicity, class, caste and, critically, gender structures. Masculinity and Modern Slavery in Nepal explores the role of masculinity in shaping the structures and experience of slavery and subsequent freedom. While many I/NGOs and human rights organisations use freedom from slavery as a powerful and emotive goal, the lived reality of freedom for many bonded labourers often results in disappointment and frustration as they navigate diverse expectations of masculinity. Taking Nepal as a case study, the book illustrates how men’s gendered experiences of bondedness and freedom can inform perspectives on the transition to freedom and modernity in South Asia more broadly. Researchers of modern slavery, gender studies, and South Asian studies will be interested in the rich analysis on offer in this book.

In the West, human bondage remains synonymous with the Atlantic slave trade. But large slave systems in Africa and Asia predated, co-existed, and overlapped with the Atlantic system—and have persisted in modified forms well into the twenty-first century, posing major threats to political and economic stability within those regions and worldwide. This handbook examines the deep historical roots of unfree labour in Africa and Asia along with its contemporary manifestations. It takes an innovative longue durée perspective in order to link the local and global, the past and present. Contributors trace shifting forms of forced labour in the region since circa 1800, connecting punctual shocks such as environmental crisis, conflict, market instability, and crop failure to human security threats such as impoverishment, violence, migration, kidnapping, and enslavement. Together, these chapters illuminate the historical and contemporary dimensions of bondage in Africa and Asia, with important implications for the fight against modern-day bondage and human trafficking.

NATURE OF THE WORK

An estimated 40 million people are modern-day slaves, more than ever before in human history. Long after slavery was officially abolished, the practice not only continues but thrives. Whether they are women in electronics or apparel sweatshops, children in brick kilns or on cocoa farms, or men trapped in bonded labour working on construction sites, millions of people globally are forced to perform labour through coercion, intimidation or deceit. In a world of growing inequality and trade-offs between the haves and the have-nots, consumers, business and government are all part of the problem and the solution. While we have all become accustomed to fast fashion and cheap consumer goods, the affordability of these commodities often comes at the price of human exploitation. Addressing Modern Slavery examines slavery in the modern world and outlines ways it can be stopped. 'Addressing Modern Slavery is essential reading for anyone committed to understanding and tackling the scourge of modern slavery in contemporary businesses and supply chains.' — Fiona McGaughey, University of Western Australia ‘Justine Nolan and Martijn Boersma have expertly confronted the tragic reality of modern slavery and show us how exploited men, women and children are harmed in global supply chains. A slave may be far away or in our immediate neighbourhood. The book is based on years of careful research and outlines steps we can all take to respond to modern slavery.’ — Jennifer Burn, Professor, NSW Interim Anti-Slavery Commissioner ‘This is a hugely impressive book which builds a compelling argument as to why all organisations must work towards the elimination of modern slavery’ — David Cooke, Managing Director, Konica Minolta ‘The book should be a valuable resource for policymakers, business executives and civil society organisations alike, for it not only assesses the efficacy of existing regulatory initiatives and business practices, but also outlines what needs to change to eliminate modern slavery.’ — Surya Deva, City University of Hong Kong ‘This book exposes both the need and the opportunities to drive reform on modern slavery, particularly on forced labor. From case studies around business practices to examples grounded in the lived experiences of workers, Addressing Modern Slavery presents a comprehensive overview of the issue and empowers us all with the information we need to act.’ — Amol Mehra, Managing Director, Freedom Fund ‘Addressing Modern Slavery shines a light on the terrible human cost of our insatiable consumption. Pervasive labour exploitation is all too often forgotten in our emphasis on growth and GDP. This book is both a wake-up call and a powerful demonstration of how connectivity and collaboration can help us eradicate a systemic and urgent challenge.’ — Kumi Naidoo, Secretary General, Amnesty International