Industrial transition in rural India

This book is about the emergence of indust rial production in South Gujarat since 1900. It is one of the first studies on industrial transition in rural India, covering a lengthy period.

The central focus of this work is the growth of small-scale industrial production in Bulsar district during the 1960s and '70s. The author relates this process to macro level social-economic development and theories on industrialization. Based on field work from an anthropological-sociological perspective in regions around Bulsar and Bilimora, the study extensively deals with several categories of people involved in this process-like artisans, traders and those who became workers in these industries, i.e. small peasants and tribals in the villages. The inquiry goes on to find out the manner in which entrepreneurs invested their funds in industrial production, how they ran their enterprises and the background of these activities. Working conditions, rela- tions between management and workers and among workers themselves constitute another major part of the book. Class formation among owners and workers is also discussed.

The findings of this enquiry are evaluated against the all-India official policy on small scale industries. This adds to the high rele vance of the book not only to scholars who are interested in rural transition in India but also to those who are engaged in im plementing policies at the field level.