India's labouring poor: historical studies, c. 1600- c. 2000

Recent years have witnessed a renewed interest in the historical studies of labour in India. In the context of globalisation, the prospects of India as a major manufacturing hub and a prime destination for outsourcing services have become prominent. This has pushed the question of labour to the centre stage. The concerns of this new labour history are not confined to the traditional working class alone. Much attention is also paid to migrants and the persistent phenomenon of labour mobility; indentured labourers and issues of free and unfree labour. It also addresses the issues of the self-employed and process of informalisation of labour. Contemporary labour historians are now giving more attention to pre-colonial and pre-industrial Indian labour history. This volume seeks to showcase some of the significant research inspired by these developments. This collection is dedicated to the memory of Rajnarayan Chandavarkar, one of the foremost Indian labour historians, who died unexpectedly in April 2006.