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eBOOK
Labour, state and society in rural India
A class-relational approach
eBook | 8 February 2016 | Edition Number 1
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Behind India's high recent growth rates lies a story of societal conflict that is scarcely talked about. Across its villages and production sites, state institutions and civil society organisations, the dominant and less well-off sections of society are engaged in antagonistic relations that determine the material conditions of one quarter of the world's 'poor'. Increasingly mobile and often with several jobs in multiple locations, India's 'classes of labour' are highly segmented but far from passive in the face of ongoing exploitation and domination.
Drawing on over a decade of fieldwork in rural South India, the book uses a 'class-relational' approach to analyse continuity and change in processes of accumulation, exploitation and domination. By focusing on the three interrelated arenas of labour relations, the state and civil society, it explores how improvements can be made in the conditions of labourers working 'at the margins' of global production networks, primarily as agricultural labourers and construction workers. Elements of social policy can improve the poor's material conditions and expand their political space where such ends are actively pursued by labouring class organisations. More fundamental change, though, requires stronger organisation of the informal workers who make up the majority of India's population.
Industry Reviews
Henry Bernstein, Emeritus Professor of Development Studies, SOAS, University of London
'This outstanding book, based on more than a decade of richly textured research illuminates the character of agrarian social relations in contemporary India and is a major contribution to understanding of the social implications of India's pursuit of neoliberalism.'
John Harriss, Professor of International Studies, Simon Fraser University
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ISBN: 9781784996406
ISBN-10: 1784996408
Published: 8th February 2016
Format: ePUB
Language: English
Number of Pages: 216
Audience: Professional and Scholarly
Publisher: Manchester University Press
Edition Number: 1