Legal Abolition of Bonded Labour

The existence of bonded labour is an affront to basic human dignity. There has been some change in the nature and incidence of bonded labour in India as a result of various factors, including the impact of social change and social movements, economic modernization and State intervention. While these processes have impacted positively on the unfree status of labour in traditional agriculture and in some other sectors, the incidence of bonded labour still remains high in some segments of unorganised industry, the informal sector and in the relatively modern segments of agriculture in some areas. The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act created a legislative framework for the elimination of bonded labour in 1976. Both the Supreme Court and the NHRC have shown its implementation by the States.