The Rs.30,000 interim compensation mandated under the Bonded Labour Act has not been released to him yet. It should not happen to anyone.” Raju’s experience raises an uncomfortable question: what does abolition mean, 50 years after bonded labour was declared illegal? Fifty years of the banIn February, the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act completes 50 years. Vision versus realityIn 2016, the Union government articulated an ambitious vision for the “total abolition” of bonded labour by 2030. Shah never received a bonded labour release certificate, the document that formally recognises bonded labour and enables access to long-term support.