Where slavery persists in all but name

Nov 3rd 2012 | DELHI | from the print edition

BONDAGE, says Harsh Mander, a prominent Indian social activist, “is endemic. It is an essential factor of labour relations across India.” On October 31st Mr Mander and a host of others launched a new campaign against the practice. The desperately poor, especially indebted villagers, are often forced to toil for no wages and denied a chance to work elsewhere. They are slaves in all but name.