Caste Power Still Governs Migrant Labour in Rajasthan
This is no isolated tragedy. Rajasthan, once dominated by feudal rajas and zamindars, has formally dismantled structures of servitude through land reforms, the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976, and the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. Yet, the social logic of feudalism persists, repackaged through migratory labour networks that continue to discipline Dalit and Adivasi workers.
‘Upper' caste labour contractors and kiln owners – often from dominant groups such as Jats, Rajputs, Gurjars, and others, regularly recruit workers from economically vulnerable communities with promises of stable wages. What frequently follows, however, is coercion, withheld payment, violence, and in some cases, death.
In early 2025, a police complaint filed in Bhilwara described how a young Adivasi man, Mulchand Bhil, was allegedly repeatedly pressured by contractor Jagdish Jat to migrate to Maharashtra for work. The complaint states that despite initial refusal, Mulchand was allegedly lured through advance payments and threats, physically assaulted when he attempted to withdraw, and forcibly taken out of the village. The family later received information from Maharashtra authorities that he had died under circumstances of an uncertain nature, highlighting how recruitment itself can become coercive.
The police complaint filed by Mulchand Bhil's family.
In April 2025, another case exposed the brutality underlying such labour chains. Two young Dalit men, Abhishek and Vinod Bhambi from Bhilwara district, were allegedly tortured after demanding wages. According to police complaints and video evidence, they had been recruited with promises of Rs 10,000 monthly wages by Mukesh Sharma and Chotu Gurjar, operators of an ice-cream unit. When they sought payment, they were reportedly beaten with sticks, electrocuted, stripped, and assaulted with pliers. The incident revealed how labour mobility becomes a site of caste-based control when workers are removed from their social support systems.
Abhishek and Vinod Bhambi's police complaint.
Such incidents are not exceptional. Rajasthan’s brick kiln sector continues to mirror debt-bondage structures. In Churu district, four Dalit labourers from Kekindda village in Jaitaran tehsil, Beawar district, alleged that their wages and tractor were forcibly retained by kiln owner Sampat Jat at KBC Bricks in Boonditibba village. In Ajmer district, similar allegations surfaced against Kanhaiyalal Mali, owner of Balaji Eent Udyog in Fatehgarh, Sarwar tehsil, who has been accused of forcing 18 labourers from Chhattisgarh into bonded labour conditions. Separately, complaints have also emerged that 25 Dalit labourers from Nagaur district were being held in bondage at Yadav Brick Kiln in Raythal village, Ahore tehsil, Jalore district, with appeals made to the administration for their release.
By late 2025, reports from Pali district added another troubling episode. In Rani town, labourer Ramlal Bhil died under suspicious circumstances while working in an allegedly illegal factory. The victim’s family publicly demanded an investigation, alleging attempts by the factory management and local authorities to suppress the case. Though investigations remain contested, the episode reinforced concerns that Dalit and Adivasi labourers often face institutional neglect when workplace deaths occur in informal industrial units.
A police complaint filed by Ram Lal Bhil's family.
Violence also accompanies wage disputes. In Rajsamand district’s Kelwara region, Adivasi worker Sohanlal Bhil was allegedly attacked after demanding pending wages and left for dead. Despite formal complaints, local communities reported limited administrative response. Another disturbing case emerged in December 2025 in Jalore district. Chetan Kumar, a 23-year-old Dalit man from the Meghwal community, was working as a farm guard for Lala Ram Chaudhary in Kaleti village when he was found hanging under suspicious circumstances. His family rejected the suicide narrative, documented inconsistencies at the scene, and staged protests demanding an independent investigation.
The pattern continued into 2026 with the suspicious death of Ramesh Bhil, a migrant worker from Bhilwara district. According to his family's complaints, he was taken to Maharashtra by contractors Balvir Singh and Sanjay Singh Rajput. Communication reportedly stopped for several days before the family received calls seeking identity verification documents, followed shortly by information that he had died and had already been buried.
Taken together, these incidents illustrate a disturbing continuity between historical feudal authority and contemporary labour contracting. The jajjmani and zamindari systems once operated through hereditary dependency and caste hierarchy. Today, labour recruitment networks often replicate those power relations through wage advances, contractor monopolies, and social intimidation. Workers’ caste location continues to determine their bargaining power, mobility, and access to justice.
India possesses robust legal protections, including the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act and atrocity prevention laws. Yet enforcement remains uneven. Informal labour sectors rarely face systematic inspection, and inter-state coordination remains weak. Most critically, social power discourages families from pursuing prolonged legal battles.
If Rajasthan’s development narrative is to be credible, labour rights must be treated as fundamental rights. Mandatory contractor registration, inter-state worker monitoring, and stronger local legal awareness mechanisms are urgently needed. Without structural reform, caste-anchored labour exploitation will continue to masquerade as employment opportunities.
Feudalism in Rajasthan has not disappeared. It has simply adapted to modern labour markets, and continues to claim lives.
Dr Neeraj Bunkar is a researcher specialising in caste and Indian cinema.
This article went live on February twenty-fifth, two thousand twenty six, at one minutes past one in the afternoon.The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
