Kathmandu, Sept. 30 -- The history of slavery is as old as human civilisation. One explanation was that slaves became necessary when there was an abundance of land, but lack of labour. It was profitable for landlords to use forced labour to increase production.

In the Subcontinent and Nepal slavery was linked to powerful land-owning classes and their power. People, usually from 'lower' castes in pre-modern Nepal did not own property, and paid off debts through inter-generational bonded labour. They were also subjugated to enslavement as a punishment for criminal offences.

A new book, Slavery and Unfree Labour in Nepal: Documents from the 18th to Early 20th Century, delves into this dark side of history using documents and manuscripts f...