Freed from 25 years of bondage in Sivaganga, shepherd searches for his family

CHENNAI: Freed after nearly 25 years of bondage, a shepherd wants to return to his family. However, he lost contact with them in Andhra Pradesh. The sexagenarian was unaware that he was under bondage for over two decades.

On January 31, officials from the district task force in Sivagangai spotted the frail man, Appa Rao, in his 60s, tending a herd of sheep on the outskirts of Kandamkulam village in Kalayarkoil taluk. Upon enquiry, the officials discovered that Appa Rao had been working for V Annadurai of the same village for over 20 years, yet he had never been paid a penny during this time.

“I’ve always wanted to return to my family. Whenever I asked for money to visit them, he (Annadurai) would tell me to wait a few days. But he never gave me any money,” Appa Rao told DT Next over the phone from a home for orphans and destitute elders in Madurai district.

Interestingly, he was unaware that he had been trapped in bondage for almost a quarter of a century, continuously pleading with his employer for money to return home, but to no avail.

However, he has no complaints against the employer and said that he provided them with ‘good food and chicken curry’.

Though he speaks incoherently in a mix of Tamil and Telugu, Appa Rao communicated to the officials in broken Tamil, telling them that his wife Seetha, and sons Suri and Suresh, along with his daughter Saya, were living in Parvathipuram near Jamuna Valasa.

He had landed in the southern district of TN 25 years ago, when he alighted at a railway station for a cup of tea on his way to Puducherry with a group of men from his native place. However, the train left the station before he boarded.

When he was found wandering near the railway station without food, he was offered a job to look after cattle by his first employer, whose name he had forgotten.

“After working for nearly four years, Appa Rao was handed over to Annadurai. Since then, he has been grazing sheep and performing other chores in Annadurai’s field and home,” said E Muthu, Assistant Commissioner of Labour.

Having spent most of his time with the herd and limited interaction with others, Appa Rao’s speech became incoherent. However, he can understand what others say. “His responses are always monosyllabic,” said a staff member at the home where he has been staying since his rescue.

The officials have initiated action against Annadurai for exploiting Appa Rao’s ignorance, charging him under the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976, and remanding him in judicial custody. Meanwhile, a release certificate has been issued to Appa Rao.

District Collector Asha Ajith has taken legal steps to recover the back wages owed to Appa Rao from his employer.

“With the help of NGOs and civil rights activists, we tried to locate Appa Rao’s family. However, we learned that they are no longer in the village. They may have moved to another village,” added the official.

The officials are planning to hand over Appa Rao to the district administration of Srikakulam, under which jurisdiction his village falls, through an official channel, as he was insisting they take him to his village. "He desperately wanted to go home. It is understandable," said the ACL.