Problems of rural labour, bondage, migration | Sociology Optional for UPSC (Notes) PDF Download

Bonded Labour

• Bonded labour is a social condition where individuals or families essentially sell themselves or their services to employers in exchange for economic privileges, typically as a means to repay debts or interest accrued on debts. It is a system of institutionalized slavery where laborers lack independence and the freedom to choose their work. The service is rendered as a form of repayment for debt.

Characteristics of Bonded Labour

• Indebtedness: Bonded laborers are typically individuals or families who have incurred debt, and as a result, they agree to mortgage their services or the services of their family members for a specified or unspecified period.
• Forced Labour: Bonded labor is often characterized by forced or coerced labor, where individuals are compelled to work against their will as a means of repaying their debts.

Types of Bonded Labour in India

The National Commission on Rural Labour identified four main types of bonded labor practices in India:

• Inter-generational Bondage: This form of bondage is passed down through generations, with families remaining in debt bondage over extended periods.
• Loyalty Bondage: Bondage is maintained through loyalty to a particular landlord or employer.
• Bondage through Land Allotment (Attached): Laborers are bound to the land they work on, and their services are attached to the landowner.
• Bondage of Distressed Widows: Widows in distress may become bonded laborers as a means of survival.

Causes of Bondage

The origins, growth, and perpetuation of the bonded labor system are driven by a combination of economic, social, and religious factors:

1. Economic Factors:

• Extreme poverty among the people.
• Inability to find suitable work for livelihood.
• Inadequate land holdings to support families.
• Lack of access to small-scale loans for rural and urban poor.
• Natural calamities such as droughts and floods.
• Insufficient income from forest produce (common among tribal communities).
• Inflation and rising prices.

2. Social Factors:

• Expenses related to social occasions like marriages, funerals, feasts, and childbirth can lead to heavy debts.
• Caste-based discrimination.
• Lack of concrete social welfare schemes to address hunger and illness.
• Non-compulsory and unequal educational systems.
• Migration from rural to urban areas in search of better opportunities.

3. Religious Factors:

• Reference to religious texts is used to justify the servitude of low-caste individuals to those of higher castes.
• Illiteracy, ignorance, and a lack of professional training contribute to sustaining these attitudes.

Contemporary Analysis

• Bonded labor persists in India, especially in agriculture and various industries.
• The persistence of feudalism in Indian agriculture, where traditional landlords often come from upper castes, contributes to the continued existence of bonded labor.
• New forms of bonded labor have emerged, such as organized begging rings, forced prostitution, and child labor, particularly among females, disabled individuals, and transgender people.
• Various NGOs and government initiatives are working toward the abolition of bonded labor and the rehabilitation of affected individuals.

Steps Taken and Suggestions

Efforts to combat bonded labor in India include:

• The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act of 1976, which aims to eradicate debt bondage.
• The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and other organizations working to identify and rehabilitate bonded laborers.
• Centrally-sponsored schemes offering financial assistance for the rehabilitation of bonded laborers.
• Raising awareness about the issue and providing legal protections.
• To address the problem effectively, there is a need to:
• Alleviate poverty through targeted measures.
• Eliminate feudalistic ideologies.
• Address caste-based inequalities.
• Promote gender equality and women's empowerment.
• Provide social security and welfare measures.
• Modernize agriculture to create more employment opportunities, particularly for women.

Labour Migration

Labour migration is the movement of individuals or families from one region or place to another in search of employment opportunities and better living conditions. In India, labor migration has been a significant socio-economic phenomenon for several decades, and it plays a crucial role in shaping the country's workforce and economy.

Nature of Labour Migration

• Gender and Family Structure: The majority of labor migrants in India are male, although in certain sectors, such as construction and agriculture, entire families may migrate together. This family migration is often preferred by employers as it can be more cost-effective.
• Social Background: Many labor migrants come from socially disadvantaged backgrounds, including scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, and other marginalized groups. These individuals often face a lack of opportunities and resources in their places of origin, which motivates them to seek employment elsewhere.
• Seasonal and Circular Migration: Labour migration in India takes various forms, including long-term, short-term, seasonal, and circular migration. Seasonal migration is common in agriculture, where workers move to different regions based on crop cycles.

Magnitude of Migration

• According to the 1991 Census, around 226 million people changed their places of residence within India.
• However, this figure primarily accounts for long-term migration and may underestimate the total number of migrants, particularly short-term or circular migrants.

Main Reasons for Labour Migration

• Economic Factors: Economic push and pull factors are significant drivers of labor migration. Push factors include poverty, lack of employment opportunities, and low wages in the migrants' places of origin. Pull factors encompass the promise of better wages and living conditions in destination areas.
• Agricultural Changes: The adoption of advanced technology and mechanization in agriculture has reduced the demand for permanent labor in rural areas, leading to labor migration.
• Resource Constraints: Many rural areas face resource constraints, pushing people to seek additional income through labor migration.
• Failure of Land Reforms: Inadequate land reforms have resulted in unequal land distribution, leading to landlessness among many rural households.

Conditions and Exploitation of Migrant Labourers

• Migrant workers in India often encounter the following challenges and exploitation:
• Low Wages: Migrant workers are typically paid lower wages than local workers, and in many cases, their wages fall below the legally mandated minimum wage.
• Middlemen Exploitation: Middlemen or labor contractors often exploit migrants through exploitative recruitment practices. These intermediaries may retain a significant portion of the workers' wages as commission.
• Living Conditions: Migrant workers often live in makeshift shelters or illegal settlements with inadequate access to basic amenities like clean water, sanitation, and healthcare.
• Health Hazards: Migrant workers are exposed to occupational health hazards, particularly in sectors like construction and mining, where safety regulations may not be adequately enforced.
• Social Marginalization: Migrant workers often face social marginalization, as they are excluded from electoral rolls and may lack access to political representation.

Some interesting insights on migration provided by Census of India 2001

• During the reporting period 30% reported as migrants by place of birth.
• During the last decade (1991-2001), the number of migrants in India (excluding J & K) rose by 32.9%, the total number of migrants by place of last residence in India (excluding J & k) grew by 34.7% during1991- 2001.
• High growth (53.6%) among inter-state migrants was also observed
• Total migrants by last residence (0-9 yrs.) accounted to 98.3 million.
• 43.8% moved due to marriage, 21.0% moved with their households, 14.7% migrated due to work, 6.7% moved after their birth, 3% for educational purpose, 1.2% for business and 9.7%specified other reasons.
• About 42.4 million migrants out of total 65.4 million female migrants cited marriage as the reason for migration.Among males the most important reason for migration was ‘Work/Employment’,12.3 million out of 32.8 million total male migrants migrated due to this reason.
• During the decade, out of the urban growth of 30.3 per cent, 6.6 per cent is accounted for by migration to urban areas.
• If one takes away those migrants who moved due to marriage, the total number of migrants falls from 98.3 million to 55.2 million. Total number of migrants among males and females were 32.2 million and 22.9 million respectively.
• Migration streams (during the last decade)
  • Rural to rural migration within the country: 53.3 million
  • Rural to urban migration: 20.5 million
  • Urban to rural migration: 6.2 million
  • Urban to urban migration:14.3 million.
• Uttar Pradesh (2.6 million) and Bihar (-1.7 million) were the two states with largest number of net migrants migrating out of the state.
• The total number of inter-state migrants was 42.3 million and those who were born abroad account for 6.1 million. About 97% of these migrants by last residence were from the eight neighboring countries (including Afghanistan).

Major Problems Encountered By Migrant Labourers

Some major problems encountered by the migrants in their areas of employment include,

• Premature termination of job contracts,
• Hanging the clauses of contract to the disadvantage of the workers,
• Delay in making payments,
• Violation of minimum wage standards,
• Forced over-time work without returns,
• In the case of most intra-state and inter-state unskilled and semiskilled migrants, migrant labourers run high risks of exploitation for they are exposed to large uncertainties and lack access to information and knowledge. Thus making it very difficult for them to switch jobs in case of dissatisfaction with the current employer.
• Because of their optionless situation, these labourers lack bargaining power and thereby fail to negotiate reasonable pay scales and fair working conditions with the contractors.
• Most migrants live in open spaces; make shift shelters or illegal settlements, which lack the basic infrastructure and access to civic amenities. They have no local ration which can provide them their food at subsidized rates through the Public Distribution system.
• They are highly prone to occupational health hazards and vulnerable to epidemics including HIV/AIDS.
• Since the migrants are mobile, their children have no creche facilities or access to schooling. They do not come under the purview of either the local government or the NGO Programmes for they do not belong to that particular region. So citing the problem of monitoring, most agencies leave them outside the scope of development intervention.
• In India, migrant labours are largely found in the developed states. The traditional migrants coming from underdeveloped regions of the country are the most marginalized sections of society, namely the Tribals and the Scheduled Castes.These migrants are entirely without legal protection or social security. They are “invisible”,and are not acknowledged They are denied access even to basic amenities in most of the cases. They have no identity in the places where they live and no voice in the places they have left behind
• Migration offers a very fertile ground for traffickers. In India, migrants who leave their homes in search for better employment opportunities and marital prospects, fall easy preys to traffickers for want of adequate information. Alongside cross-border trafficking, internal trafficking of women, children and men for purpose of sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, bonded labour and indentured servitude too is widespread.

Cooperatives

• Historical Background:
  • The modern cooperative movement in India began in 1904 with the Cooperative Societies Act.
  • Its primary objective was to liberate farmers from the exploitation of zamindars (landlords) and moneylenders.
• Cooperative Principles:
  • Equality among members and democratic management are essential principles of cooperatives.
  • Cooperatives involve people working together associatively under common interests to achieve specific goals.
• Types of Cooperatives:
  • Various types of cooperatives operate in India, including credit societies, agricultural societies, industrial cooperatives, consumer cooperatives, housing cooperatives, and multi-purpose tribal cooperatives.
• Emergence of Cooperatives:
  • Leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru advocated for cooperative farming to address agrarian inequality and exploitation.
  • The Kumarappa Committee in 1949 recommended state-level implementation of different cooperatives for various levels of farming.
  • Nehru was a strong supporter of cooperative farming and was inspired by the Chinese model's positive outcomes.
• Challenges and Efforts:
  • Cooperative farming faced resistance, especially from landowners who sought to evade land reforms.
  • Cooperative farming was implemented as pilot projects on infertile land, but these often proved to be cost-ineffective.
  • Service cooperatives aimed to provide agricultural services to enhance individual productivity.
• Social Consequences of Credit System:
  • The cooperative credit system saw significant growth in terms of credit volume.
  • However, many benefits went to big landowners, leading to limited impact on vulnerable groups.
• Success Stories:
  • The Amul cooperative in Gujarat and the Anand Model significantly improved the livelihoods of milk producers and promoted gender empowerment.
  • The success of Amul inspired similar initiatives in various sectors.
  • Sugar mills in Maharashtra also served as successful examples of cooperatives.
• Anand Model:
  • Anand's milk producer cooperative, inspired by Gandhian Tribhuvan Das Patel and led by Verghese Kurien, saw remarkable growth in milk production.
  • It led to an enhancement in the lifestyle of villagers, especially poor farmers.
  • The Anand Model promoted democratic functioning and eliminated discrimination based on caste, class, religion, or gender.
  • It inspired the establishment of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) in 1965 and had positive consequences for women's empowerment and children's education.
• Expansion Beyond Dairy:
  • The success of the Anand Model extended to other sectors like fruits, vegetable oil production, and salt production.
  • NDDB's 'Dhara' brand became famous, and experts from developed countries studied these models in India.

Evolution of Cooperative in India: An article by Daniel Thorner

Daniel Thorner's article provides valuable insights into the evolution of cooperatives in India, their policy framework, challenges, and significant achievements. Here is a summary of the key points from the article:

• Policy Evolution
  • First Plan (early years of Indian independence) recommended encouraging small and medium farms to form cooperative farming societies.
  • The First Plan suggested that if a majority of landowners and tenants in a village owning at least half of its land agree, their decision should be binding on the entire village.
• Early Expectations:
  • Early planners expected critical institutional changes in Indian agriculture, including land reforms, voluntary labor for community work, and cooperative formation, to lead to rapid increases in agricultural production.
  • The Second Five-Year Plan aimed to have a substantial proportion of agricultural land cultivated cooperatively within ten years.
• Influence of China:
  • Exaggerated reports of China's rapid agricultural growth through cooperativization led to higher expectations.
  • Indian delegations were sent to China in 1956 to study their cooperative practices.
  • India aimed to achieve agricultural growth without significant increases in investment.
• Push for Cooperativization:
  • Jawaharlal Nehru advocated for higher food production through institutional changes like cooperativization.
  • National Development Council and AICC set ambitious targets for agricultural production, promoting major institutional changes such as cooperativization.
• Third Plan and Cooperativization:
  • The Third Plan took a more pragmatic and cautious approach to cooperativization.
  • It set modest targets, focusing on pilot projects, and included cooperation in credit, marketing, distribution, and processing.

Cooperative Structure

• India's cooperative structure comprises primary societies, central banks, state cooperative banks, and apex organizations like the National Cooperative Union of India.
• Primary societies serve various functions, including credit, irrigation, marketing, and transport.
• Credit societies constitute a significant portion of primary societies.
• Central banks and state cooperative banks offer financial support and supervise primary societies.
• Land Development banks provide long-term loans for agriculture.

Significance of Cooperatives

• Cooperatives are essential institutions for the poor, illiterate, and unskilled in India.
• They promote mutual help, reduce class conflicts, and overcome bureaucratic inefficiencies.
• Cooperatives create a conducive environment for small and cottage industries and support agricultural development.

Limitations of Cooperativization

• Joint farming cooperatives were often formed to evade land reforms and access state incentives.
• Government-sponsored cooperative farms on poor-quality land were generally unsuccessful.
• Service cooperatives, particularly credit cooperatives, played a crucial role but suffered from loan defaults.
• Well-to-do peasants often took advantage of credit cooperatives, using loans for non-agricultural purposes.
• A growing bureaucracy became a hindrance to cooperative progress.

Impact of Service Cooperatives

• Credit cooperatives provided cheap credit and facilitated the Green Revolution.
• They helped provide improved seeds, modern implements, and fertilizers.
• Service cooperatives also contributed to marketing agricultural produce.

Operation Flood and Women Empowerment

• Operation Flood led to increased milk supply, benefiting the poor, including women.
• The initiative empowered women through women dairy cooperative societies (WDCS).
• WDCS allowed women to control their incomes, participate in decision-making, and contributed to education by keeping children in school.
• Milk cooperatives resulted in an indigenous dairy equipment manufacturing industry and technological expertise.

Expansion to Other Sectors

• The success of milk cooperatives inspired the establishment of cooperatives for fruits, vegetables, oilseeds, salt production, and tree growing.
• Despite challenges and opposition, these cooperative initiatives expanded in various parts of India.
• Cooperatives for fruits and vegetables became widespread, similar to milk outlets.
• Dhara, a vegetable oil brand, represented success in vegetable oil cooperatives.

Conclusion

This has been one of the major achievements of post-independence India.The search for cooperatives led to Indian delegations going to China in the mid-fifties; today scores of countries send delegations to India to study and learn from the Anand experience.An indication of the impact this experiment had at the grassroots level was the statement made by a poor farmer in a village near Anand in 1985, ‘Gujarat is fortunate to have one Kurien; if only God would give one Kurien to every state, many of India’s problems would be solved.’ This poor Gujarat peasant who in his personalized way trying to explain to us the magnitude of the success of this experiment with reference to Kurien, a Syrian Christian from Kerala, will surely feel out of tune with the Hindu communal upsurge his state witnessed in early 1999, where Christians were hounded and attacked their religion presumably making them anti-National!