Bansal, Prachi <br/><br/>
Persistence of unfreedom in rural Haryana: Evidence from field study 

 - Economic & Political Weekly  
 - 61(12), Mar 21, 2026: p.32-37 
<br/><br/> Unfree labour relations continue to shape agrarian work in rural Haryana, despite their formal abolition in Indian law. Based on a detailed empirical study of 293 households across four villages, this article traces the persistence and transformation of these relations through longitudinal analysis. It outlines the conceptual and definitional frameworks surrounding unfreedom and bonded labour, drawing on Marxist theory, labour history and international legal definitions employed by the International Labour Organization. The article then presents findings from the survey of 2018–19 and analyses changes in unfree labour contracts using earlier survey reports of the 1920s, 1950s, and 2003–04.-Reprodued <br/><br/>https://www.epw.in/journal/2026/12/insight/persistence-unfreedom-rural-haryana.html<br/>