Bonded Labor

Drawing on his eleven years of research in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, Siddharth Kara uncovers the brutish realities of labor-intensive industries such as hand-woven-carpet making, tea and rice farming, construction, brick manufacturing, and frozen-shrimp production. He describes the violent enslavement of millions of impoverished men, women, and children who toil in the production of numerous products at minimal cost to the global market. He also follows supply chains directly to Western consumers, vividly connecting regional bonded labor practices to the world's material appetites. Kara concludes with specific policy initiatives to eliminate the system of bonded labor from South Asia once and for all.