Migrant workers receive their pay at a construction site in Dazu district, Chongqing, on Dec 26. More than 150 workers at the site received a total of 2.2 million yuan ($350,000) of wages that day. (Photo/ China Daily)

How does one describe slavery in these modern times? The Global Slavery Index, a report by the Walk Free Foundation, says slavery includes forced and bonded labor, human trafficking, forced marriages and the use of children in the military. Including these, the Foundation, which claims to include data from 162 countries in its index, says that India has by far the highest number of slaves (nearly 14 million), followed by China (2.9 million) and Pakistan (2.1 million).

Undoubtedly, there is a lot to be desired when it comes to the working and living conditions of workers in many countries, including the developed ones. But it is wide of the mark to describe those who work extra long hours for extra money or in bad conditions as slaves.

A slave is defined as the property of another person and slavery refers to the condition of being a slave.

The Foundation's all-encompassing definition of slavery merely serves to smear the image of developing countries and does little to help prevent the evils of human trafficking and slavery.

Before condemning a practice or cultural tradition as a form of slavery, we have to take into consideration the political, social and economic development levels of the society they are practiced in.

Traditional customs play an important role in a society that may appear antediluvian, even cruel, to observers from the more "advanced world". Arranged, and, at times, forced marriages of women in India is one such custom. Not many people outside India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and, of course, the Middle East, know, let alone practice, this custom. But parents arranging the marriages believe the practice to be in the best interests of their daughters. In other words, they fail, or rather refuse, to see the other side of the coin.