Participatory action research on alcoholism and bonded labour in times of prohibition in India

ABSTRACT

This paper analyses our experiences of conducting participatory action research into alcohol abuse in communities living with bonded labour in Tamil Nadu and in Bihar. The action research on alcoholism in these communities is part of a large-scale mixed-methods qualitative and quantitative participatory research programme which was designed to encourage community-based solutions to bonded labour in India. The research was conducted in two ‘slavery hotspots’, both with a high prevalence (over 50%) of households with people in bonded labour, as part of a multi-million dollar programme of interventions funded by a foundation specialising in modern-slavery eradication. The programme focuses on workers in brick kilns and stone quarries and, to some extent, on sex workers in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, and on cotton-mill workers in Tamil Nadu. The participatory research runs in parallel to programme interventions by local NGO’s. This paper examines whether participatory action research methods can transform violent, stigmatising approaches to alcohol consumption in marginalised communities into community-owned, evidence-informed, non-violent harm reduction approaches. In both locations alcohol consumption is a highly stigmatised public secret. Bihar has banned alcohol production and consumption.

KEYWORDS:

• Alcoholism
• India
• participatory action research
• bonded labour
• abolition

Acknowledgments

This article benefited from discussions with many people over the past three years. We would like to express our gratitude to all the partner organisations that participated in the research process. We are also grateful to all the community members who gave their time to participate in the action research. This research has been generously funded by the Freedom Fund. We would particularly like to thank Danny Burns for his contributions to the overall programme design and management, and for his critical input on expert medical knowledge; Stanley Joseph for his co-facilitation and analysis of the action research in Tamil Nadu; Anusha Chandrasekharan for her co-facilitation and analysis of the action research groups in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh; and Sowmyaa Bharadwaj for her insights, co-facilitation and analysis of the work in all the hotspots.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Bonded labour is also labelled as a form of ‘modern slavery’. However ‘modern slavery’ is a highly contested term that can include many forms of exploitation, including bonded labour. To identify whether or not a person is in bonded labour we used the following criteria: 1. The relationship between employee and employer is characterised by, or formed due to, any one or more of the following reasons: a. A loan taken by the employee or their family; b. An advance paid to the employee or their family in cash or in-kind; c. Involves force or compulsion; d. Reinforced by custom; e. Entry into the relation by the employee is voluntarily because of economic compulsions. 2. Bonded labour can be paid or unpaid labour (the individuals might have started off the arrangement voluntarily but now the employer uses force as part of the arrangement or will not let them work for someone else). 3. In such a relationship, the employee: a. Does NOT have the freedom to choose their employer; b. CANNOT negotiate the terms and condition of their working arrangement.

2. The Freedom Fund, a foundation specializing in the eradication of modern slavery invests in about a dozen NGO’s in UP and Bihar (with a c. $8 million dollar investment between 2014–18) and 12 NGO’s in Tamil Nadu (with a c. $4 million investment between 2015–18).

3. Educational Action Research. 2019. ‘Aims and Scope.’ https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=aimsScope&journalCode=reac20 [Google Scholar].

4. Source: https://www.globalslaveryindex.org/2018/findings/regional-analysis/asia-and-the-pacific/.

5. See: The Constellation Website https://www.communitylifecompetence.org/.

6. http://api.ning.com/files/Qbk3GkuhZdOIUnEEYQ0tb2PLkpYH-jSTCqrBoV-TqL6inUyaOE84YoN5gvMTb2ZEnROmLaoKpzjAhentPLZ230xtq5J1P*9P/TheConstellation.pdf.