A History of Assam c15.s1.4

c15.s1.4

The owning of slaves, however, was by no means confined to the nobles, and all persons of a respectable position had one or more of them, by whom all the drudgery of the household and the labour of the fields were performed. The widespread prevalence of the institution is shown by the fact that David Scott is said to have released 12,000 slaves in Kāmrup alone. Many of these unfortunates were free-men who had lost their liberty by mortgaging their persons for a loan, or the descendants of such persons. They were bought and sold openly, the price ranging from about twenty rupees for an adult male of good caste to three rupees for a low-caste girl.