{{Short description|Bonded labor activist}} {{Use Pakistani English|date=October 2024}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}} {{Infobox person | name = Manu Bheel | image = Manu Bheel.jpg | caption = | native_name = منو بھیل | birth_date = 1954 | birth_place = Tharparkar Sindh, Pakistan | death_date = | death_place = | native_name_lang = ur | other_names = | known_for = Activism | occupation = Humanitarian | relatives = | spouse = Motan (Kidnapped) }} '''Manu Bheel''' ('''Urdu''' : منو بھیل ) (born 1954) was bonded laborer and human rights activist. Nine of his family members were abducted in 1998.<ref>{{cite web |title=HYDERABAD: Inquiry into Manu Bheel's case begins |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/167180/hyderabad-inquiry-into-manu-bheel-s-case-begins |website=Dawn News |date=26 November 2005 |access-date=26 Nov 2005}}</ref> He advocates for the rights of marginalized communities and bonded laborers in Pakistan.<ref>{{cite book |title=Pakistan's "lower caste" Hindus: Equality denied |publisher=International Dalit Solidarity Network |url=https://idsn.org/wp-content/uploads/user_folder/pdf/Old_files/asia/pdf/FACTSHEET_PAKISTAN.pdf}}</ref>
== Personal life == Manu Bheel was born to a poor Hindu Scheduled Caste agricultural laborer's family in the Tharparkar region of Sindh, Pakistan.<ref>{{cite web |title='نو سال دیوانہ وار' پھرنے والا |url=https://www.bbc.com/urdu/miscellaneous/story/2005/11/051128_hasan_column_rza |website=BBC Urdu |access-date=29 November 2005}}</ref> He, along with his family, was bonded to a landlord in Sanghar District before being freed through the intervention of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and community leaders <ref>{{cite web |title=Peasant narrates his 18-year search for 'missing' family |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1238486 |website=Dawn News |date=10 February 2016 |access-date=21 October 2024}}</ref>
== Struggle == After being freed from bonded labor in Sindh in 1996 through the intervention of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP),<ref>{{cite web |title=Denial and Discrimination Labour Rights in Pakistan |url=https://piler.org.pk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Denial-Discrimination-Labour-Rights-in-Pakistan.pdf |publisher=Pakistan Institute of Labour Education & Research |accessdate=21 October 2024}}</ref> Manu Bheel became involved in activism, focusing on the rights of marginalized communities. His advocacy efforts took a more personal turn in 1998,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sahoutara |first1=Naeem |title=10 years on, 70-year-old Mano Bheel yet to receive justice |url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/1398501/10-years-70-year-old-mano-bheel-yet-receive-justice |publisher=The Express Tribune |date=2 May 2017}}</ref> when his family was kidnapped, an incident he attributed to his former landlord.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mannu Bheel: lone man out for justice |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/306222/mannu-bheel-lone-man-out-for-justice |website=Dawn News |date=6 June 2008 |access-date=6 June 2008}}</ref>
In 2003, Manu began a hunger strike outside the Hyderabad Press Club,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sahoutara |first1=Naeem |title=Continuing struggles: The hunger of Thar that has taken 15 years of Mano Bheel's life |url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/692202/continuing-struggles-the-hunger-of-thar-that-has-taken-15-years-of-mano-bheels-life |publisher=The Express Tribune |date=7 April 2017}}</ref> aiming to draw attention to the disappearance of his family and the wider issue of bonded labour.<ref>{{cite web|title= 10 years on, 70-year-old Mano Bheel yet to receive justice |first= Naeem|last=Sahoutara|url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/1398501/10-years-70-year-old-mano-bheel-yet-receive-justice |website=The Express Tribune |location=Karachi |date= 2 May 2017 }}</ref> His protests gained national and international attention, including appeals from organizations such as Anti-Slavery International.<ref>{{cite web |title=Pakistan: Manu Bheel, Sindh Province |url=https://idsn.org/pakistan-manu-bheel-sindh-province/ |website=The International Dalit Solidarity Network |date=10 December 2014 |access-date=21 October 2024}}</ref>
== List of kidnapped family members == The names and ages of the kidnapped family members of Manu Bheel, as claimed by him on February 4, 1998:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dalits.nl/pdf/LongBehindSchedule.pdf |title=Information on Caste Based Discrimination in South Asia, Long Behind Schedule, a Study on the Plight of Scheduled Caste Hindus in Pakistan |first1=Zulfiqar |last1=Shah |date=December 2007 |publisher=Indian Institute of Dalit Studies (IIDS) and International Dalit Solidarity Network (IDSN) |access-date=12 June 2020 |archive-date=26 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226222513/http://www.dalits.nl/pdf/LongBehindSchedule.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" |- ! Sr. No !! Name !! Age !! Relation |- | 1 || Khero || 70 || Father |- | 2 || Akho || 60-65 || Mother |- | 3 || Motan || 40 || Wife |- | 4 || Jalal || 25 || Brother <ref>{{cite web |title=Private Jail By Aziz Sanghur |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWSkUwpoLng |website=Youtube | date=11 March 2011 |publisher=Aziz Sanghur |access-date=21 October 2024}}</ref> |- | 5 || Momal || 13 || Daughter |- | 6 || Chaman || 10 || Son |- | 7 || Kanjee || 8 || Son |- | 8 || Dahnee || 1½ || Daughter |- | 9 || Kirto || N/A || Family guest |}
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links ==
* [https://idsn.org/pakistan-manu-bheel-sindh-province/ Manu Bheel on IDSN]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bheel, Manu}} Category:1954 births Category:Scheduled Castes Category:Missing Pakistani people Category:Living people Category:Pakistani activists Category:Pakistani human rights activists Category:Bonded labourers in Pakistan Category:Pakistani Hindus Category:People from Mirpur Khas District Category:20th-century slaves