Some aspects of the labour history of Bengal in the nineteenth century : Two Views

Part of the 'Occasional Papers' series of CSSSC, this essay is a brief, and sharply posed, exchange between Dipesh Chakrabarty and Ranajit Das Gupta on working class consciousness in Bengal. it posits that this consciousness is not a mechanical outcome of the capitalist mode of production, it is not a thing but a process; that even failure must be taken on board in order to flesh out that process; that not only was the working class present (and therefore conscious) of its own making, but drew from rich pre-capitalist cultural traditions of dissent, rebellion and republicanism. the essay asks pertinent questions about the morality of labour, history of peasant revolts, capitalist intervention, religious discrimination among labourers etc. N/A Cover Page 2 Halftitle Page 2 Other Titles in the Series 3 Title Page 5 Copyright Page 6 Table of Contents 7 About the Authors 9 About the Editors 10 About the Introduction Writer 11 General Introduction to the Series 12 Preface 15 Introduction: ‘Class Consciousness’—A Concept in Crisis or in Terminal Decline? 16 Some Aspects of the Labour History of Bengal in the Nineteenth Century 25 1 Class Consciousness and Labour History of Bengal: A Critique of Ranajit Das Gupta’s Paper ‘Material Conditions and Behavioural Aspects of Calcutta Working Class 1875–99’ 26 2 A Reply 43 Notes and References 55 Introduction: ‘Class Consciousness’—A Concept in Crisis or in Terminal Decline? 55 1. Class Consciousness and Labour History of Bengal: A Critique of Ranajit Das Gupta’s Paper ‘Material Conditions and Behavioural Aspects of Calcutta Working Class 1875–99’ 58 2. A Reply 62 Index 64