"Millions of people working as virtual slaves to repay debts throughout." 12 January 2018

Tamil Nadu state must compensate the parents of a girl who was electrocuted to death in a textile mill where they worked as bonded labourers, India's human rights panel has ordered.

...[The] order highlights the plight of millions of people working as virtual slaves to repay debts throughout India, including Tamil Nadu where the textile industry is concentrated...

Employers often hold children to ensure that their parents return when they travel home for weddings or funerals...

India banned bonded labour in 1976 but it remains widespread across brick kilns, rice mills and other industries.

Many bonded labourers are essentially enslaved, as they work to pay off heavy debts that are compounded by interest and shady accounting practices. Activists say they often end up paying 10 times the amount borrowed.

Employers commonly restrict the freedom of movement of bonded labourers, forcing them to live within the premises of their work site...

Some 500,000 manual labourers in 11 industries in Tamil Nadu, including the multi billion dollar textile industry, are trapped in debt bondage, according to the International Justice Mission, an anti-slavery organisation.