Discussion about entry: Empowering bonded labourers, landless agricultural workers, dalits and adivasis to eradicate bonded labour.

My deep conviction and the guiding spirit of VimuktiTrust/Jeevika is that lasting social change is brought about only by empowering the margianalised and the victims of social evils and bringing about changes at the policy levels by influencing the civil society and the governmental agencies. If we succeed in getting suitable legislations passed, required policies promulgated and necessary institutional processes established at the levels of society and government, then we can strike at any social evil systemically. For this to take place and be maintained continuously, the affected people must be consicentized and organised to keep an vigilant eye and pressure on societal and governmental agencies. The dimensions of any evil all must also be assessed scientifically. After the situation of bondedlabour in Anekal taluk was gathered painstakingly from 1987 to 1989, a question was raised in Karnataka legislature in 1990. The minister concerned readily agreed to take action according to law, which resulted in sanctioning INR 12,00,000 for 192 bondedlabourers. Efforts at orgnaising and conscientizing bondedlabourers were also undertaken simultaneously. After this intial success, there was a lull from 1993 till 2000, with the government refusing to take action on the 20,000 bondedlabourers identified by VimuktiTrust/Jeevika in different parts of karnataka from 1993 to 1995. Yet VimuktiTrust kept up its organisational and conscientizing efforts. Karnataka/India has strong constituional and legal provisions in Article 23 as a Fundamental Right and BondedLabour Act, 1976. But the bureaucracy which consists mainly of so called 'higher' castes is reluctant to take action according to those provisions. From 2000, GOK invited Jevika activists to conduct trainings to officials. In 2007, it approved an ActionPlan written by KirankamalPrasad to tackle bondedlabour. VimuktiTrust now wants to use the ActionPlan to train various officials-administrative,police,judicial,and peoples'representatives and also to see that proper institutional processes are set up at various levels of the administration to tackle bondedlabour. VimuktTrust will strengthen 29district, 55sub-district VigilanceCommittees on bondedlabour with dalit representatives.

I greatly appreciate Thomas your recommending Vimukti Trust for the award. As the commuincation from the Ashoka changemakers team reveals, if selected for the award will mean a greater visibility to our organisation and its work internationally and a vast possibility of mobilising support from a wide range of persons and institutions, which we direly need to strengthen our work and support our activists.

Thank you Thomas for recognising effective interventions our organisation has been been able to make. I attribute the main reason for this to the commitment and zeal of all our activists.

Thank you Saravanan for singling out the commitment of grass root workers as the first strength of our orgnisation. I strongly feel that Vimukti Trust and Jeevika are what they are and achieve what they achieve is becuase of the dedication and zeal of so many of our colleagues who are all from poor dalit families in the villages of the different corners of Karnataka. In this context what pains me is that I have not been able to moblise sufficent financial support for their life and families. I fondly hope this situation would be remedied at the earliest. The activites are chosen not on their academic records or skills of presentation but talented dalit youth are chosen from villages and for their sense of commitment and desire to serve their community. But they have have been exposed to a number of trainings and skills. They have become trainers in various fields like street theatre, panchayat raj, bonded labour, child rights, self help groups, school development and monitoring committees. The knowledge and skills the activists have acquired are regulary passed on to other members of their community through regular meetings, programmes and trainings. While keeping the primary focus on Karnataka state, the concern is to reach as much of karnataka through building up amovement.

thank you Chand Peer. In the highly inegalitarian, hierarchical caste society of India, it is a daunting task to put into practice democratic, participatory and transparent principles of functioning. further, if we want to fight against the unjust forces against us, we also require to give witness to a counter culture in our own life and functioning. With that concern, Vimukti Trust and Jeevika have attempted to put into practice democratic and participatory processes in their functioning. We are also aware that we have a long way to go to give full witness to our ideals. I also earnestly hope that the team spirit and the team structures will go from strength to strngth.

It was so nice of you claude to highlighted some of my 'achievements' and concerns. You have rightly idtfied my main contributions in the field of bonded labour, Siddis (Afircan Disproa in Karnataka/India) and adult literacy based on Freire. In all these areas, involvement was accompanied by research and study and publication and, while identifying with the people concerned, also worked towards bringing about the necessary policy changes and tackling the evil systemically so as to make a lasting contribution. I am happy to note the work on bonded labour has just now resulted in the policy document approved by the government of Karnatka on action on bonded labour. (Our current task would be to see that the GOK follows that policy document.) Similary the invovlement with siddis resulted in the publication of a monograph on their identity and making them included in Scheduled Tribe list in 2003. The booklets on adult education based on Freire's methods were used in the first experimental year of National Literacy Mission in Karnataka for achieveing universal adult literacy. Because of those booklets, the director of Adult education invited me to lead the adult education efforts in one taluk and told me that they were very effective and would be used for the whole state. But much more important for me is the fact that bonded labourers, agricultlrual workers, dalit youth and siddi youth (including women) have taken up effective leadership in their communities and the movements, which I feel is ultimate guarantee for bringing about any lasting change

Thank you Radhika for your appreciation for our work with bonded chidlren, aiming to prevent child labour through universalisation of quality elmentary education and exapnding it to newer areas where the exploitation of children is rampant. But for lack of adequate finances we have not been able to do much. From the initial emphasis in 1990 on lobbying and advocacy with the governement to implement the law on bonded labour and organising and consicentizing bonded labourers, who were mainly adults, in 1997, we moved to specifically concentrate on bonded children through taking up back to school programme involving activities like tracking bonded and working children, bringing them together for one year intense residential bridge courses enabling them to get admitted to goverment schools and government run hostels in standards appropriate to their age, educating the parents and villagers against child labour and on child rights. The inspiration for this was the suggestion by two lecturers participating in a seminar organised by us on Bonded Labour Day on January 26, 1997. They told us that bonded labour could be effectivley stopped if we saw to it that every child went to school and acquired a good education. We took up the sugggestion in right earnest the same year. In the very next year we carried out a survey of child labour in 16 other taluks with support from UNESCO; but could not take up concrete activities for lack of funds. Now we are able to run four batches of 50 children each. I adopoted my earlier programme on adult education based on Freire's methods to suit the children and through that programme our teachers are able to make children appear for the 5th standard after four months. Now we are busy working our a course to make the children speek English in six days. We also want to develop orientation courses in maths and science to inculcate in them a laove and eagerness tolearnthem.

You have rightly noted that VimuktiTrust/Jeevika reaches out effectively to a large number of bonded labourers including children and dalit youth activists in a large geographic area, now covering almost the entire state of Karntaka, i.e., having dalit youth and bonded labourers being identified in at least five villages in nearly 150 taluks (sub-districts) out the 176 in Karnataka. I consider sustainability has two aspects, one, ensuring continuity of involvement through building up a committed cadre of activists and two, ensuring viable financial resources both for supporting personnel and programmes. Of the two, I consider the former of greater importance, though the latter is also necessary. Vimukti Trust has spent most of its energy so far in building up committed, motivated and enlightened dalit youth activists to take up the cause of bonded labour. Since a majority of the bonded labourers are dalits, the activists chosen are mostly dalits. It is my experience, that in tackling issues of bonded labour, child labour or any social evil that pertains to dalits, mostly non-dalits hardly show any interest or commitment. I have also come across a policy directive from the Government of India to all the states that personnel dealing with bonded labour issues must be recruited from dalit and adivasi communities. And I find that a large number of dalit youth can be mobilised and motivated to take up the cause of bonded labour and related issues. But the greatest difficulty we have faced so far is mobilising adequate finances to support activists and activities. The dalit youth, though talented but coming from rural areas with faulty education face immense difficulties in getting remunerative jobs and they come from a background of abject poverty. Vimukti Trust so far had not concentrated on mobilising adequate financial resources. Even then a large number of activities are carried out covering vast areas. It has a great concern to pool together the finances required.

Till VimuktiTrust/Jeevika started championing the cause of bondedlabourers in Karnataka in 1990, the Karnataka Government was making declarations since 1980 that it had wiped out bondedlabour, because, in 1978-1980, it had identified the highest number of bondedlabourers in the country. When the GOK was challenged with the evidence of bondedlabour from Anekal taluk(sub-district), the minister concerned readily agreed to take up action accroding to the law. However, the bureaucracy refused taking action for the entire state and reverse its proclaimed stand. It was thinking that BondedLabaour Act istelf was defunct. VimuktiTrust however undertook many agitations and made continuous representations to the authorities. The legal Ministry told the minstry handling bondedlabour in 1992 that the Act was still in operation and the government was bound to take action. From 1992 till 1999, the GOK carried out surveys on bondedlabour three times. But the administration reported no case of bondedlabour though VimuktiTrust through its surveys in 48 out of the 175 taluks had identified nearly 20,000 bondedlabourers. In 2000, the conscience of the govenrment was shaken when a case of five bondedlabourers, made to work in stone quarry for more than three years with both their legs in chains weighing 15 kgs each and soldered at the ankles, was reported on front pages of all the dailies in the state on 22 June 2000. The GOK immediately took a firm resolve to identify and rehabiltate bondedlabourers wherever they were found. From that time, GOK has ben seeking the activists of VimuktiTrust to train its officials on the concept of bondedlabour and the methodology of idetifying it; it has involved them on the task froces and vigilance committees on bondedlabour in taluks and districts. It also invited Kiran Kamal Prasad to draw up a Plan of Action on bondedlabour which has been approved in 2007 and now is the task to make the GOK take continuous action according to it and advocate other states to follow suit.

I appreciate your support Sanjit. You have highlighted our work on eradication of bonded labour, education of chold labourers and Siddis. Bonded labour can be effectivly eradicated if we see that all children get quality education. With universalisation of quality elementary ducation, child labour will be definitely stopped and hopefully, also bonded labour. But for universalisation of qulaity education, there should be a change in the policies of the government and enhancement of allocation of finances. While Vimukti Trust joins other networks in campaigning for the universalitation of education, it also undertakes a few residential bridge courses for child labour in some areas of its involvement. But there is a need for carrying out many such bridge courses in many other areas. We have developed some effective methods for the remedial education of child labourers and are still devising some more modules.

Thank you vijesh for your support. You have rightly noted the deep divisions of 'high' and 'low' castes in Indian villages and the challenge to change the attitudes of people taking several generations. Bonded labour in India cannot be tackled just with economic measures or with legal sanctions. Vimukti Trust believes that bonded labour is initmately linked to the caste sytem, becuase a majority of the bonded labourers are dalits and adivasis. Bonded labour can be effectively abolished when we do away away with the pernicious system of caste, which is not only about social inequality but also disregard of sweating labour. While implementing the legal provisions of the Bonded Labour System abolition Act through teh judiciary, the administration and the police, we also devote a oot of energy in "psychological rehabilitation", making bonded labourers and dalits appreciate their rights and dignity enshrned in our Constitution and building up their agency through unionisation and organisation building.