Debt Bondage and Bonded Tribes

• Chronic indebtedness among tribals is a universal phenomenon, with many accepting it as an inevitable part of life.
• Debt bondage is found only in some tribes, where a debtor pledges their labour or that of a close family member in exchange for the interest on a loan.
• The pledgee is only released once the debt is fully discharged, often leading to prolonged relationships, sometimes lasting months or even generations, frequently involving the male heir.
• Debt bondage is a consequence of tribals becoming part of the peasantry. The reasons for this situation include:
  • Uneconomic holdings.
  • Poor soil.
  • Primitive cultivation techniques.
  • Lack of irrigation facilities.
  • Lack of credit facilities for unproductive purposes.
  • Lack of alternative economic avenues nearby.
  • Strong cultural values of honesty and truthfulness, making it difficult for tribals to disown any debts, regardless of their age.
• The transformation to a cash economy is the root cause of many of these issues.
• Social institutions also contribute to pushing tribals into debt bondage. Ceremonies related to the life cycle of tribals involve sacrifices, feasts, and gifts, which were manageable in a barter-based economy.
• With the transition to a money-based economy, the financial strain of these ceremonies has increased significantly.
• This provides ample opportunity for exploitative operations by money-lenders and traders, whose dealings with illiterate tribals make it difficult for them to clear their debts.
• Illiterate tribals cannot scrutinize accounts and are unaware of other agencies that might help them.
• The annual report of the Commissioner for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes highlights that debt bondageis widespread across the country.
• Debt bondage is known by different names in different areas.

• Kolta are one of the worst examples of bonded labour among Indian tribes, inhabiting areas in Dehradun, Uttar Kashi, and Tehri Garhwal in Uttarakhand.
• The economic system in this region is technologically primitive, with land cultivation being a traditional way of life for the people.
• Kolta occupy the lowest position in the local caste hierarchy, being untouchable, while artisan groups occupy the middle rung, and Brahmins and Rajputs hold the highest status as landlords.
• The Dastur-ulamal (traditional local code) prohibited Kolta from owning land, but its abolition by the state government has allowed them to acquire land, though the holdings are often uneconomic and insufficient to support a household.
• Kolta households are mostly impoverished, unable to generate surplus from agricultural activities, and their consumption expenditure exceeds their income.
• They have to borrow from Brahmin-Rajput landlords at usurious interest rates (25-60% per annum), with an additional 6¾% commission for “Ganthkhulai” (opening the cloth pouch where the moneylender keeps the money).
• Loans from cooperative societies for agricultural purposes are often diverted to unproductive purposes, such as marriage, medical treatment, and festivals.
• Landlord moneylenders exploit the Kolta, advancing loans under exploitative conditions.
• Since most Kolta are illiterate, they cannot understand the account books and often put their thumb impression, sealing their fate.
• Even if transactions are recorded in the account books, they are legal fiction, with wrong entries and inflated amounts being common.
• The village panchayat, dominated by Rajputs, often fines the Kolta for trying to back out of the loan, maligning them as ungrateful.
• Unable to pay the interest or principal, the Kolta pledge their services as bonded labour, which may continue for generations.
• They work under conditions of semi-starvation, with their personal freedom lost and their labour exploited almost free of cost.
• The first comprehensive study on Kolta bondage (Hasnain, 1982) identifies the following consequences of chronic indebtedness and bondedness:
  • Loss of personal freedom and exploitation of labour for little to no payment.
  • Change in occupation and loss of income.
  • Land alienation, with land being acquired by creditors.
  • Conversion of wives, sisters, and daughters into prostitutes, sold and resold to end the debt bondage.
  • Chronic venereal diseases.
• The bondedness process starts as an economic transaction but leads to servitude, affecting not just the borrower but future generations.