The global total of people enslaved is estimated at between 28 million and 31 million. The global slavery index claims India holds between 13.3 million and 14.7 million. This is by far the largest number, representing over thrice as many slaves as China, which ranks second with three million.
India's slaves are mostly employed as forced or bonded labour in construction, factory casual labour, agriculture, brick-making, mining and quarrying, textiles, domestic work and forced begging. Plus there are sex workers, a significant proportion of whom are underage, and some of whom are trafficked out of Bangladesh and Nepal. And yes, kids are forced into begging, "servile" marriages and the sex industry.
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None of this is news. Nor is it surprising that slaves work in high-sweat, low-IQ, low-value-add industries. It's difficult to motivate slaves to perform in ways that require thinking. All nations with large enslaved populations have relatively low per capita, low educational levels, high poverty levels and poor governance. Nations with low prevalence of slavery such as Iceland, Ireland, the UK, New Zealand and Switzerland display the inverse characteristics of high per capita, low poverty, high educational standards and good governance.
The Walk Free Foundation put a great deal of research and thought into developing the metrics and methodology of this study (available at bit.ly/1gptfaa). Modern slavery is defined as "slavery, slavery-like practices such as debt bondage, forced marriage, the sale or exploitation of children, human trafficking and forced labour".
The index estimates the prevalence of modern slavery across 162 nations by population, including measures of child marriages and trafficking. The index is heavily weighted (95 per cent) in favour of the number of slaves held.
While one may quibble about the estimates, India, like its neighbours, ticks all the relevant boxes. The global slavery index estimate is actually much lower than a comparable figure from the 2013 US State Department's Report of Trafficking in Persons. The report estimates that between 20 million and 65 million Indians are engaged in forced labour due to debt bondage.
There are large variations, state to state. Uttar Pradesh and Bihar not only have high levels of trafficking due to borders with Nepal, they also suffer more from historic abuses such as caste and debt bondage. Karnataka and Odisha seem to have better law enforcement and more apparent determination to tackle such issues.
Apart from poor governance, poor law enforcement and a slow justice system, India has massive gaps in the laws that could reduce slavery. Bonded labour is criminalised, but the maximum punishment is only three years. Sex workers are criminalised and, therefore, receive no legal protection.
India has also refused to ratify the Domestic Work Convention, which would give legal protection to domestic workers. It has refused to sign the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention. Recently, it refused to sponsor the first-ever UN resolution on early and forced marriage of children, though it accepted the resolution.
Will the right to education and the Integrated Child Protection Act make a difference? These might reduce child abuse if enforced. Aadhaar may also make a difference if it makes it easier for citizens to prove identity and, thus, more difficult to force them to disappear into quarries or whorehouses.
Given lacunae in laws, and reluctance to even pay lip service by ratifying global norms, the underlying message is that these are not vote-winning issues. Everyone who's anyone, including you and me, stands to gain from maintaining the status quo. Perhaps the shame of being tagged global slave owner number one will make a difference to attitudes. Unfortunately, India's political establishment isn't exactly known for possessing much in the way of shame.