By this word it is understood that it's the concept of "action" or "deed", took as that which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect originating in ancient India and treated in Hindu, Jain, Buddhist and Sikh philosophies.
Here won't set a discussion about religion, but the concept of karma itself.
It is preset that when everything goes wrong is due to be paying karmic debts. This version comes especially from India where people die starving in the streets. In some other parts of the Globe, a poor person (material) has the chance to get a worker, a surgeon, a president, a powerful person, a rich person. She/he or her/his offspring will do it, will also have the chance. In India if that person is born in the poor caste, knows that the person himself/herself and his/her offspring will die in the same penury. This is terribly tragic. To set in mind of poor they are the only guilty of the conditions of her/his present life and this is the way to pay for the damage they caused before, is politically convenient to some administrations and it leads to decrease social protests.
If it is real that we all come and go (live and die) several times, when we are on the other side, we choose our future life, what challenges we cross, guided by those who advice us (call them as you wish). So we have choices, we put the obstacles to learn whatever we consider necessary (free will idea resides here).
Instead of being a punishment, let's consider the idea of karma as the way we set in order to learn and to fulfill our aims in life.