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{{Short description|Indian Act to abolish bonded slavery}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}{{Use Indian English|date=November 2018}}

{{Infobox legislation
| short_title = Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976
| long_title = An Act to provide for the abolition of bonded labour system with a view to preventing the economic and physical exploitation of the weaker sections of the people and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
| citation = Act 19 of 1976
| territorial_extent = Whole of India
| enacted_by = [[Parliament of India]]
| date_enacted = 9 February 1976
| date_assented = 9 February 1976
| date_commenced =
| date_effective = 25 October 1975
| status = in force
}}

The '''Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976''' is an Act of the [[Parliament of India]] aimed at abolishing the [[Debt bondage in India|bonded labour system]]. The Act was enacted on 9 February 1976 but was deemed to have come into force on 25 October 1975, the date on which the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Ordinance, 1975 was promulgated.<ref name="IndiaCodeAct">{{cite web |title=The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976 |url=https://www.indiacode.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/1491/1/197619.pdf |access-date=19 May 2024 |website=India Code}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Bonded Labour Ministry of Labour & Employment {{!}} Government of India |url=https://labour.gov.in/bonded-labour |access-date=2025-05-19 |website=labour.gov.in |language=en}}</ref> The Act freed unilaterally all the bonded labourers from bondage and erased their debts. Further, the practice of bondage was made a cognizable offence punishable by law.<ref name=":0" /> The Act is a landmark piece of legislation in India's efforts to combat forced labour, which is prohibited under Article 23 of the [[Constitution of India]].<ref name="NHRCAct">{{cite web |title=The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976 And the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act |url=https://nhrc.nic.in/sites/default/files/Bonded%20Labour.pdf |access-date=19 May 2024 |website=National Human Rights Commission India |format=pdf}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Article 23: Prohibition of traffic in human beings and forced labour |url=https://www.constitutionofindia.net/articles/article-23-prohibition-of-traffic-in-human-beings-and-forced-labour/ |access-date=2025-05-19 |website=Constitution of India |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Background ==
{{Main article|Debt bondage in India}}

The practice of bonded labour, a system where a debtor enters into an agreement with a creditor to render services (either by themselves or through family members) for a specified or unspecified period for nominal or no wages as repayment of a debt, has deep historical roots in India, often linked to social structures like the [[Caste system in India|caste system]] and rural indebtedness.<ref name="ILOBondedLabourIndia" /> Interest structures were typically usurious and interest often exceeded effective wages earned. Further, because of illiteracy and social backwardness of debtors, the debt may pass to future generations contributing to [[extreme poverty]] under this system.

== Key objective ==
The primary objective of the Act is:<ref name="IndiaCodeAct" />

{{Quote|text=to provide for the abolition of bonded labour system with a view to preventing the economic and physical exploitation of the weaker sections of the people and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.}}

The Act was preceded by the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Ordinance, 1975, promulgated by the President of India on 24 October 1975, which came into force on 25 October 1975.<ref name="IndiaCodeAct" /> The Act replaced this ordinance with permanent legislation.

== Provisions ==
The Act emphasizes the economic and social rehabilitation of freed bonded labourers. To facilitate this, Central Government launched a rehabilitation scheme in May 1978, which was subsequently updated in 2016 and 2021. The schemes provide financial assistance as well as provisions for surveys, evaluatory studies, and awareness generation activities.

The primary responsibility for implementing the Act lies with the State Governments.<ref name=":0" />

== Aftermath ==
While the act legally abolished the system and freed individuals from bondage debts, the practice of bonded labour continues to persist in various forms across different sectors, including agriculture, brick kilns, stone quarries, mining, and domestic work.<ref name="NHRCAct" /> Difficulties in accurately identifying bonded labourers, weak enforcement and inadequate legal oversight, ineffective rehabilitation, and emergence of new and disguised forms of bonded labour, particularly involving [[Migrant workers in India|migrant workers]] and informal sectors have contributed to the persistence of the practice.<ref name="CambridgeHRWBook">{{cite book |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/human-rights-and-law/problems-in-the-implementation-of-bonded-labour-system-abolition-act-1976/B2E44FCCAE60980B249C1773D703AC0D |title=Human Rights and Law |date=26 October 2011 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |chapter=Problems in the Implementation of Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976 |access-date=19 May 2024}}</ref><ref name="HRWSmallChange">{{cite web |date=January 2003 |title=Small Change: Bonded Child Labor in India's Silk Industry |url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/2003/india/India0103-01.htm |access-date=19 May 2024 |website=Human Rights Watch}}</ref><ref name="ILOBondedLabourIndia">{{cite web |title=Bonded labour in India: its incidence and pattern |url=https://www.ilo.org/sites/default/files/wcmsp5/groups/public/@ed_norm/@declaration/documents/publication/wcms_081967.pdf |access-date=19 May 2024 |website=International Labour Organization |format=pdf}}</ref> Socio-economic factors like [[Poverty in India|poverty]], landlessness, [[Caste discrimination in India|caste discrimination]], and lack of access to formal credit continue to drive people into bondage.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Finn |first=Devin |date=2008-01-01 |title=Bonded Labor in India |url=https://digitalcommons.du.edu/hrhw/vol8/iss1/28/ |journal=Human Rights & Human Welfare |volume=8 |issue=1}}</ref> The [[National Human Rights Commission of India]] (NHRC) has been actively involved in monitoring the implementation of the Act since 1997.<ref name="lawjournalsanalysis">{{cite journal |year=2022 |title=Critical Analysis of Bonded Labour system in India |url=https://lawjournals.celnet.in/index.php/jlil/article/view/1075 |journal=National Journal of Labour and Industrial Law |volume=5 |issue=1 |access-date=19 May 2024}}</ref>

==References==
<references responsive="1"></references>
[[Category:Abolitionism in Asia]]
[[Category:Debt bondage in India]]
[[Category:Acts of the Parliament of India 1976]]
[[Category:Slavery in India]]

Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976 - Revision history

DoreenDiggs540 at 23:49, 25 March 2026