Slavery in India
The early history of slavery in the Indian subcontinent is contested because it depends on the translations of terms such as dasa and dasyu used since the Vedic period. Greek writer Megasthenes, in his 4th century BCE work Indika or Indica, states that slavery was banned within the Maurya Empire, while the multilingual, mid 3rd Century BCE, Edicts of Ashoka independently identify obligations to slaves (Greek: δούλοις) and hired workers (Greek: μισθωτοῖς), within the same Empire.