About the Book

Most Indian States and UTs are in denial mode about the existence of bonded labour. Law enforcers have mostly not lived up to the laudable intentions of the framers of the Bonded Labour (Abolition) Act, 1976. Governments failed to translate into action the directions of the Supreme Court and recommendations of the National Human Rights Commission. This book seeks to change the mindset of those tasked with removing modern-day bondage. It seeks to promote a broad awareness and critical consciousness about the provisions of the Constitution in the minds of all stakeholders, especially non-profits. This has been done through a dialectical exercise or Q&A format. It should enable every reader to think, reflect, critically analyse and act accordingly. The author, Dr Lakshmidhar Mishra, is uniquely placed to write on this subject, as he was during his long career Union Labour and Parliamentary Affairs Secretary (1996-200), Special Rapporteur, National Human Rights Commission (2006-2011) and Special Advisor, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (2011-2012) and Advisor to the ILO (2000-2003). He is currently an Independent Advisor to International Justice Mission, an international NGO, a position he has held since October 2013. He was also a Member of a Committee constituted by the High Court of Delhi to investigate labour irregularities connected with the Delhi Commonwealth Games, 2010.

About the Author

Lakshmidhar Mishra joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1964. He holds a doctorate in educational planning from Inter-Cultural Open University, Amsterdam. He held important positions in the Government of Odisha (1964-78 and 1994-95) and Central Government (1979-2000), during which time was also appointed by the Supreme Court as Socio-legal Investigating Commissioner into bonded labour. In 2000, he took voluntary retirement to join ILO as Senior Advisor. A prolific writer, he has twenty books and about 350 articles to his credit, as well as seven prestigious awards, including the Mother Teresa International Award for outstanding contribution to promotion of human rights.