Every year more than two lakh Adivasis from the Maharashtra-Gujarat border region immigrate to work in sugar mills as sugarcane harvesters—but without any benefits or payscale.
Mitesh Vasava | TwoCircles.net
GUJARAT — Vikram Ramdas (28) works at a sugarcane harvesting field, Shree Narmada Khand Udyog in Gujarat. The only difference between him and a sugarcane farmer in Uttar Pradesh is that he is a victim of what could be called a modern form of slavery.
Ramdas from Talka Sakr village in Dhule district of Maharashtra is one among thousands of Adivasis whose several generations have worked as bonded labourers in sugarcane harvesting. Every year more than 2 lac Adivasis from the Maharashtra-Gujarat border region immigrate to work in sugar mills as sugarcane harvesters.
The Adivasi sugarcane harvesters commonly known as “Kyota” from different regions like Nandurbar, Dhule districts of Maharashtra and Dang district of Gujarat are hired to work on the cooperative sugarcane mills. The mills are owned by influential upper caste individuals who are affiliated with political parties.
‘Mukaddam’ is the person responsible for hiring labourers from their native places. They have grown rich by supplying cheap labourers to the sugar mills. In most cases, the Adivasis take loans from the Mukaddam in their villages at extremely high-interest rates, which go as high as 120% annually. That makes it easier for the Mukaddam to recruit helpless Adivasis who want to earn to pay their debt. Under one Mukaddam there are more than 100 labourers.
The whole labour family gets moved to the assigned sugar mill for 5 to 6 months away from the home. Generations of an Adivasi family work at a sugar mill but they are never able to pay the interest. It has created a cycle of debt and bonded labour over the years amongst Adivasis of Dhule and Nandurbar of Maharashtra and Dang district of Gujarat.
Ramdas told TwoCircles.net that there are no employment opportunities for the Adivasis and there is a complete absence of development in their native regions, forcing them to fall prey to the exploitative practice of bonded labour.
“There is no other option left for us. There is no employment opportunity in our native place. We have a small piece of land for farming, but we can harvest that land only during the monsoon,” he said.
The labourers have to live and work in subhuman conditions.
Social worker Jayesh Gamit highlighted the gravity of the situation, “We have been fighting against the owners of sugar cane harvesting fields since 2015. We have demanded minimum wage under government guidance for harvesters, basic facilities for living, fixed hours of work, and compensation in case of sudden death,” he said.
Gamit said that the matter is in court but workers are suffering a lot. “Workers are in huge debt from loans taken from mukaddam. Their children aren’t getting an education. Even they end up working as child labourers in the field,” he added.
“This whole thing is like a spider web, and very difficult for one to get out of it. Things are changing but at a slower rate, but this is happening under the government’s nose. And that is one reason nothing is changing,” Gamit added.
Living in subhuman conditions
Ramdas said that the living conditions of the bonded labourers are barely minimal at the sugar harvesting fields. There was only one tap/hand pump for 600-700 workers. There is no sanitation facility. They defecate in the open. Drainage water is logged beside slums, which increase the chances of diseases.
During harvesting season children are likely to get training to work on the sugarcane fields. Once they start working they work without getting paid. In some cases, they get married early to avoid sexual exploitation.
37-year-old Ramesh Baiga who belongs to Nandurbar District in Maharashtra works at Shree Narmada Khand Udyog. He started working in sugarcane fields at a very early age.
“I started working at sugarcane fields when I was a kid. But to this date, I don’t know my earnings by the season. I get my earnings after cutting interest on a loan I had taken from mukaddam. My three children work along with me but they don’t get any wages,” he said.
As per the CLRA study, adults toil for 12 to 14 hours a day. The advance amount paid by muqaddams to workers ranges between Rs. 14000-15000.
The average daily wage for these workers is Rs. 119/day which is much less than even half of the minimum wage for agriculture in Gujarat which stands at Rs. 324 per day.
Only 20% of these bonded labourers are marginal landholders. More than 80% of workers are within the age interval of 21-45 years.
Despite several attempts, the deputy secretary of the Gujarat Labour department didn’t respond to calls from this reporter.
Mitesh Vasava is a SEED-Fellow at TwoCircles.net.