Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explores the lives of bonded labourers and their fight against bondage. It aims to demonstrate that slavery and slavery-like practices are closely related to social structures and power relations in society. The book discusses the establishment of modern forms of bonded labour in the region, arguing that bonded labour can be seen as a by-product of long-term processes of social exclusion and dispossession of indigenous peoples. It introduces the cases of bonded labour among the Tharu people in Nepal and the Sahariya people in Nepal. Bonded labour is one of the oldest and most widespread forms of slavery. Modern bonded labour can be found in almost all continents of the world and in almost all spheres that require manual labour. The first anti-bonded labour law was adopted in India in 1976, followed by similar laws in Pakistan and Nepal.