ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the cases of bonded labour among the Sahariya people in India and the Tharu people in Nepal and provides a short overview of bonded labour in the region through the lens of a fundamental ontological conflict between market-driven modernity and traditional practices of communal ownership over resources. The chapter also introduces the notion of power and explains its role in the creation and recreation of bonded labour. The examination of the links between internalised oppression, the impunity of landlords, incomplete liberation and rehabilitation, and lack of accountability of the government officials demonstrate that bonded labour is a by-product of a complex system of social oppression and deprivation, which means that the elimination of this practice requires a long-term social transformation in favour of the oppressed groups.
