Paid well below the legal minimum, denied basic dignity, and bound to labour through medical debt disguised as “assistance”, the story of two domestic workers reflects the condition of thousands trapped in forms of unfreedom the law abolished nearly half a century ago. From brick kilns and farms to urban living rooms, bonded labour persists—disproportionately ensnaring Adivasi workers—normalised by social hierarchy, administrative indifference, and an economy structured around informal, disposable work.