For years, Ranjan Manjhi and eleven families from the Musahar community of scheduled caste members lived under the crushing weight of bonded labor. They had been taken on a long and grueling journey in October 2022 to a brick kiln under the promise of fair wages.
Their lives consisted of 18 hours of daily labor from 4:00 AM to 11:00 PM, with only one hour of rest. Any attempt to seek their wages due or even confirm their weekly brick count was met with verbal abuse from the managers and owners. Their exploitation further included unlawful deductions for firewood, medicine, electricity, and even for bricks damaged by rain or other natural events. At times, 5,000 bricks of every 100,000 bricks were deducted as “expenses,” leaving workers without fair compensation.
A Cry for Help
In the midst of this darkness, a glimmer of hope emerged. Some relatives of these families, who had previously been rescued through a JVI Justice Hub, reached out to share the contact information for Justice Hub investigators. Acting quickly, the bonded laborers called the investigators and triggered a rescue operation that would transform their lives.
The Rescue Operation
A team of Justice Hub advocates submitted evidence of the bonded labor to the district office, hoping for swift action, but what followed was a test of their patience and commitment. However, after seeing videos and hearing detailed accounts of the bonded laborers’ suffering, the labor enforcement officer responsible for the area helped initiate a plan of action. On the morning of the rescue, a team of government officials arrived at the kiln, verified the identities of the laborers, and listened carefully to their grievances. The bonded laborers felt their spirits lift when the officers instructed them to pack their belongings and leave the brick kiln. The Justice Hub team arranged for safe travel by train and provided food and a monetary allowance. Local officials received them upon their arrival to document each survivor’s identity and prepare protection petitions and legal documents.
Steps Toward Restoration
The Justice Hub team provided legal aid, counselling, and guidance to support the survivors on the long journey of rebuilding their lives. Ranjan was taught about financial independence and used his modest savings to invest in goats and poultry. He also took up seasonal agricultural work, paddy farming, ice cream sales, and other income-generating activities that allowed him to save up sufficient earnings to launch a small business. He was even able to send his child to private school, but the highlight of his restoration journey was obtaining legal ownership of a plot of land. For a man once treated as property, owning land represented a profound restoration of dignity and agency.
A Brave Stand for Justice
Finally, Ranjan mustered the courage to assist Justice Hub lawyers in filing a criminal complaint against the contractor who had exploited him, a fitting end for a man who had once been silenced by fear but now stood as a testament to resilience, reclaiming his dignity one brave act at a time.
*Name changed to protect identity
