# Manu Bheel

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{{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](/source/Tharparkar_District) [Sindh](/source/Sindh), [Pakistan](/source/Pakistan)
| death_date       = 
| death_place      = 
| native_name_lang = ur
| other_names      = 
| known_for        = [Activism](/source/Activism)
| occupation       = [Humanitarian](/source/Humanitarianism)
| relatives        = 
| spouse           = Motan ([Kidnapped](/source/Kidnapping)) 
}}
'''Manu Bheel''' ('''[Urdu](/source/Urdu_language)''' : منو بھیل ) (born 1954) was [bonded laborer](/source/Debt_bondage) 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](/source/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](/source/Scheduled_Caste_of_Pakistan) agricultural laborer's family in the [Tharparkar](/source/Tharparkar) region of [Sindh](/source/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](/source/BBC_Urdu) |access-date=29 November 2005}}</ref> He, along with his family, was bonded to a landlord in [Sanghar District](/source/Sanghar_District) before being freed through the intervention of [Human Rights Commission of Pakistan](/source/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](/source/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)](/source/Human_Rights_Commission_of_Pakistan),<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](/source/Dawn_News) |date=6 June 2008 |access-date=6 June 2008}}</ref>

In 2003, Manu began a [hunger strike](/source/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](/source/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](/source/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]

{{Authority control}}

{{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

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Manu Bheel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manu_Bheel) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manu_Bheel?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.