Precarious Labour and Informal Economy : Work, Anarchy, and Society in an Indian Village

An empirical account of one of India’s largest indigenous populations, this book tells the story of the Gonds—who currently face displacement and governmental control of the region’s forests, which has crippled their economy. Rather than protesting and calling for state intervention, the Gonds have turned toward an informal economy: they not only engage with flexible forms of work, but also bargain for higher wages and experience agency and autonomy. Smita Yadav conceives of this withdrawal from the state in favour of precarious forms of work as an expression of anarchy by this marginalized population. Even as she provides rich detail of the Gonds’ unusual working lives, which integrate work, labour, and debt practices with ideologies of family and society, Yadav illustrates the strength required to maintain dignity when a welfare state has failed. An empirical accoutn of one of India's largest indigenous populations, this book tells the story of the Gonds--who currently face displacement and governmental control of the region's forests, which has crippled their economy. Rather than protesting and calling for state intervention, the Gonds have turned toward an informal economy: they not only engage with flexible forms of work, but also bargain for higher wages and experience agency and autonomy. Smita Yadav conceives of this withdrawal from the state in favour of precarious forms of work as an expression of anarchy by this marginalized population. Even as she provides rich detail of the Gonds' unusual working lives, which integrate work, labour, and debt practices with ideologies of family and society, Yadav illustrates the strength required to maintain dignity when a welfare state has failed--back cover Front Matter ....Pages i-xxv Introduction: Urgent Anthropology (Smita Yadav)....Pages 1-42 Local History and the Postcolonial State: The Invisibility of Gonds (Smita Yadav)....Pages 43-82 Basic Income, Forests and Anarchy (Smita Yadav)....Pages 83-105 Family and Kinship: The False Binary of the Subjective and Empirical Definition of a Household (Smita Yadav)....Pages 107-130 Narratives of Kamayee/Dhanda (Income): Modes of Wages (Smita Yadav)....Pages 131-163 State (Sarkar) and Society (Samaj) (Smita Yadav)....Pages 165-198 Conclusion (Smita Yadav)....Pages 199-223 Back Matter ....Pages 225-253