Bandhua Mukti Morcha (BMM) ( hi, बंधुआ मुक्ति मोर्चा, or Bonded Labour Liberation Front (BLLF) is a

non-governmental organisation A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from g ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

working to end

bonded labour Debt bondage, also known as debt slavery, bonded labour, or peonage, is the pledge of a person's services as security for the repayment for a debt or other obligation. Where the terms of the repayment are not clearly or reasonably stated, the pe ...

. Based in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

, it was founded in 1981 by

Swami Agnivesh Swami Agnivesh (born Vepa Shyam Rao; 21 September 193911 September 2020), was an Indian social activist and the founder of Arya Sabha, a political party based on the principles of Arya Samaj.

who continued as its chairman until his death in 2020. Bonded labour was legally abolished in India in 1976 but remains prevalent, with weak enforcement of the law by state governments. Estimates of the problem vary. Official figures include a 1993 estimate of 251,000 bonded labourers while BMM says there are 20 - 65 million bonded labourers. A 2003 project by

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

has reported a major problem with bonded child labour in the

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...

industry.

Achievements

BMM's efforts are credited with the passing of legislation to abolish child labour in India (the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 1986. This followed a 1984

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

decision in a case brought by BMM. Other cases on

brought to the

by BMM have also extended the interpretation of the Constitution in areas of

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

Notes

External links

Bandhua Mukti Morcha website
Political advocacy groups in India Human rights in India Organizations established in 1981 Debt bondage in India {{India-org-stub

Achievements

See also

Notes

External links