...[A]round 7,000 former bonded labourers, agricultural workers, members of self-help groups, along with Rural Development and Panchayat Raj minister for Karnataka, H.K. Patil were in attendance at a protest to eradicate bonded labour and rehabilitate labourers...Patil, addressed the crowd and assured the rehabilitation of 3,119 bonded labourers who had been released in the state between 2010 and 2016...The protesters belonged to minority, backward castes and Dalit communities, put forward 19 points, which included demands pertaining to the cause.