Fighting Bonded Labor in Rural India: Village Activist Gyarsi Bai Tackles an Entrenched System of Coercion Harvard Case Solution & Analysis

A suite of 3 Video Shorts is an intrinsic part of the case study. It features three former bonded laborers, in addition to brief interviews with Gyarsi Bai, the case protagonist. In October 2010, the beating of a 30-year-old bonded laborer-his punishment for staying home sick from work-in India's northwestern state of Rajasthan activated a movement to terminate the custom of bonded labor in the region. A holdover from feudal times, bonded labor was outlawed in India in 1976, but was still prevalent in certain pockets of rural India. Entrenched power systems shielded the practice, with the lower castes most changed. In this instance, the bonded workers were members of an indigenous tribe known as the Sahariyas.

It describes how Bai built coalitions with bigger activist groups and worked with them to acquire media visibility and safe support at the national and state levels. These alliances demanded hamlet authorities to make changes. A couple of years later, bonded labor continued to exist in the region, however an increasing variety of laborers had sought and received official independence. Additionally, a group of small options - village, a local grain bank -run system of microcredit, and an enlarged government work guarantee-gave bonded laborers feasible alternatives to the debt trap of yesteryear. The case also demonstrates how bigger activist groups were effective at locating strategies that enabled the Sahariyas to be representatives for their very own change.

PUBLICATION DATE: April 11, 2013 PRODUCT #: HKS736-HCB-ENG

This is just an excerpt. This case is about LEADERSHIP & MANAGING PEOPLE

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