New Delhi: On New Years eve, Bhuvneshwari, who is in her mid 20s, sits with her child in her lap in the lawns of Parabhatara hostel at the Institute of Social Service, in R.K. Puram, with 90 other people. These men, women and children mostly Dalits and Gond Adivasis hail from nondescript tribal villages in Chhattisgarh. Three days ago, on December 29, 2019, these 91 daily-wage labourers were rescued from brick kilns in the Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir.

He said we were sold to him for Rs 20 lakh, Bhuvneshwari said, referring to her maalik-thekedar or principal employer.

Enslaved for more than 500 days inside the campus area of Tiranga and BBK brick kilns in Rajouri, the daily-wage labourers were forced to work for more than 12 hours a day, often without breaks and proper meals. According to Bhuvneshwari, she and 90 others were duped by two men, Raju and Raja, who she claimed were zamindars from Chhattisgarh.

Their ordeal began last August. Even before they were forced into bonded labour in the brick kilns, the touts confiscated their cellphones and identification documents like Aadhaar cards. According to the labourers, they were often made to sign blank sheets or other papers, the purpose and contents of which they were not told about.

Daily-wage labourers at the Parabhatara hostel on December 31, 2019. Photo: Bhumika Saraswati

Manisha Bai, from Raveli village in Kabirdham district of Chhattisgarh, said that they first worked for seven months in Jammu. Later, they were taken to Srinagar for five months, followed by another five months in Rajouri. During this entire time, they received little or no wages.

Kishan Lal (27), who comes from the Janjgir-Champa district in Chhattisgarh, said that he would often plead for proper food with his employer. How will we work with an empty stomach, I used to tell him, said Lal. However, such pleas went unanswered. The living conditions were also deplorable, workers said. They had no access to clean drinking water or proper clothes, and were forced to live in shanties made of plastic and tins.

Also read: Modern-Day Slavery: How Dalits From Lalitpur Became Bonded Labourers in Delhi

As the temperature in Kashmir dropped to the sub-zero levels, many of the labourers, especially children, suffered. Laxmi, a 30-year-old mother of five, revealed that she managed to take her nine-month-old son to a nearby government hospital, only to find that he had been suffering from pneumonia. That was the only time she was allowed to leave, but not without a guard. In fact, guards and sometimes Durgesh, the landowner himself, would accompany the labourers everywhere they went sometimes even when they went to bathe, Laxmi and other women said.

Daily-wage labourers at the Parabhatara hostel on December 31, 2019. Photo: Bhumika Saraswati

Towards the end of 2019, a labourer, Amit Kumar, escaped and reached Delhi. Then, with the help of an activist, Nirmal Gorana, who is the convener of the National Campaign Committee for Eradication of Bonded Labour (NCCEBL), and the district magistrate of Rajouri, a raid was successfully planned and executed on December 26-27, 2019.

After being freed, all the rescued labourers reached Delhi on December 29, 2019. However, none of them received a release certificate an essential document that is needed to claim the rehabilitation package due by law, as mentioned in the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, and the rehabilitation scheme of 2016.

An Anti-Slavery International Volunteers for Social Justice report from September 2017 highlighted that 100% of brick moulders were from traditionally marginalised classes and castes and that children made up one-third of the total population in brick kilns making it the worst form of child labour under international law.

Part of the problem lies in the fact that in India, there is no understanding of the bonded labour system, Choudhary Ali Zia Kabir, an advocate with Human Rights Law Network (HRLN) organisation, said.

Daily-wage labourers at the Parabhatara hostel on December 31, 2019. Photo: Bhumika Saraswati

Anyone who is not being given the minimum amount as per The Minimum Wages Act, 1948 is a bonded labourer because he/she is being exploited by the employers, Kabir said. Nearly negligible conviction rates in such cases indicate that the courts and the administration, do not acknowledge it as a crime.

Watch | Bonded Labourers From Chhattisgarh Rescued in Srinagar, Demand Release Certificates

Lack of awareness problem is with the lower rung; it cant be the case with the cabinet secretaries, labour commissioner and labour ministry, they obviously know the law, but they dont keep the accountability, highlights Kabir. Apathy and the lack of accountability to hold the administration responsible continues to provide fertile grounds for the exploitation of hundreds, including minors.

Daily-wage labourers at the Parabhatara hostel on December 31, 2019. Photo: Bhumika Saraswati

Seven-year-old Arjun, playing with a punctured ball in the laws of Parabhatara hostel while the elders pass time chit-chatting, said, Khelte the toh thekedar marta tha. Marke-marke kam karwata tha, phir ham eith palti karte the (If we used to play, the employers would beat us up and force us to lift bricks).

While Arjun and 90 others pass time in Parabhatara hostel, activists and lawyers are reaching courts to seek their release certificates, which will help them receive some interim compensation to help them reach their villages and start anew. They are also planning to file a PIL in the Supreme Court.

Bhumika Saraswati is an independent journalist based in Delhi. She is currently pursuing her masters at AJK MCRC, Jamia Millia Islamia.

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A Cycle of Slavery Thrives Inside Jammu and Kashmirs Brick Kiln Industry - The Wire