Rethinking Economic Change in India: Labour and Livelihood (Routledge Explorations in Economic History)

As author of the hugely influential The Economic History of India 1857-1947, Tirthankar Roy has established himself as the leading contemporary economic historian of India. Here, Roy turns his attention to labour and livelihood and the nature of economic change in the Subcontinent. This book covers: economic history of modern India rural labour labour-intensive industrialization women and industrialization. Challenging the prevailing wisdom on Indian economic growth - that it is bound up with Marxian, postcolonial class analysis - Roy formulates a new view. Commercialization, surplus labour and uncertainty are seen as equally important and the end result reconciles the increasingly opposed view of economists and historians. Book Cover......Page 1 Half-Title......Page 2 Title......Page 6 Copyright......Page 7 Dedication......Page 8 Contents......Page 10 List of Figures......Page 11 List of Tables......Page 12 Preface......Page 14 1. Introduction......Page 17 2. Economic History and Modern India: Redifining the Link......Page 39 3. Rural Labour and Colonialism......Page 60 4. Agricultural Labour: Lessons from Wage Data......Page 90 5. Was there an Industrial Decline in India in the Early Nineteenth Century?......Page 108 6. Labour-intensive Industrialization......Page 119 7. Women and Industrialization......Page 132 8. Women in the Crafts......Page 147 9. Labour and Power: A Critique of 'Subaltern Studies'......Page 159 10. Conclusion......Page 170 Notes......Page 174 References......Page 181 Index......Page 190 Introduction -- Economic History And Modern India : Redefining The Link -- Rural Labour And Colonialism -- Agricultural Labour : Lessons From Wage Data -- Was There An Industrial Decline In India In The Early Nineteenth Century? -- Labour-intensive Industrialization -- Women And Industrialization -- Women In The Crafts -- Labour And Power : A Critique Of 'subaltern Studies' -- Conclusion. Tirthankar Roy. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [190]-200) And Index. Explores the historical roots of India's high levels of poverty by placing labour history in the context of economic change within the region. Considers the role of markets and resources in shaping the condition of rural labour, the transition in the economic position of women, the condition of informal labour in Indian industry and labour-intensive industrialization Tirthankar Roy turns his attention to labour and livelihood and the nature of economic change in the Indian Subcontinent, challenging prevailing wisdom and formulating new views.