Sumeet Mhaskar

In recent years, the Maratha community has mobilised
for reservations in employment and higher education,
claiming that the lack of reservations has resulted in
socio-economic backwardness. Their opponents have
largely highlighted the political and economic
dominance of the community. This paper examines the
income, education and occupational status of the
Marathas vis-à-vis non-Marathas while scrutinising the
statistical limitations of the Gaikwad Committee report
(2018). Compared to other castes and communities in
Maharashtra, the Marathas have a higher proportion of
the rich and wealthy and the lowest share among the
poorest and poor. It is only in comparison to the
Brahmins and other upper castes that the Marathas lag
behind in education and employment.

The post-liberalisation era in India has witnessed mobilisations among socially superior castes for reservation/affirmative action. I examine why Marathas have intensified their mobilisation in the past few years by using qualitative and quantitative data gathered over a period of 14 months in 2008-2009 and several visits during 2010-2019 in Mumbai and Maharashtra. I argue that a crisis of dominance explains the Maratha's mobilisation for reservation. Understanding this crisis involves paying attention to the link between two crises-'urban' and 'rural'. The former arises from the rapid disappearance of wellpaid jobs since the late 1990s in large-scale manufacturing and other industries in urban areas. The latter refers to the return of retrenched factory workers to their villages and the loss of their social status. It also refers to the inability of the rural youths with low or vernacular education to migrate to urban areas for well-paid employment, and the disturbance of caste hierarchy norms in rural settings. I conclude that the Maratha crisis of dominance will persist under the neoliberal Indian state due to the privatisation of higher education and absence of well-paid, secured jobs for individuals with low level or vernacular education. The price of this crisis will be paid by Dalits, who have been the victims of brutal atrocities carried out by the Marathas.

The " rise " of India on the global economic landscape has been accompanied by the revival of debates regarding the role played by social institutions such as caste, religion and gender in shaping an individual's life chances. This paper engages with this debate by looking at a micro-level case study of the occupational choices of Muslim ex-millworkers in Mumbai city. Religion as a social institution combined with negative emotions and a lack of political patronage creates barriers for Muslims in the labour market, compelling them to seek livelihood opportunities in a ghettoised economy.

The last two decades of the 20th century and the first decade of the 21st century witnessed the decline and eventual closure of large scale industries in Indian cities such as Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Kolkata and Kanpur. The closure of large scale industries not only resulted in the dispersal of once organised workforce into the informal sector but also had negative implications for the politics of labour which saw a major decline since the 1970s, and more particularly since the 1980s. Given the closure of large scale industries and the subsequent retrenchment of the workforce what is happening to the politics of the labour that was organised through the trade unions. This question is addressed in this paper by examining the political mobilisation of Mumbai’ ex-millworkers on the rehabilitation question.

This thesis addresses the central question: how have Mumbai’s ex-millworkers responded to the closure of textile mills? To investigate this question it adopts a mixed methods approach which includes 112 interviews with ex-millworkers, trade union leaders, government officials, social, political and cultural activists, and a survey of 1037 ex-millworkers (924 city based and 113 return migrants). Using this empirical evidence, this thesis focuses on three responses unexplored in the literature on industrial closures and the responses of the retrenched workforce in contemporary India. These themes include first, the fate of the ex-millworkers who returned to the villages, second, the impact of the social identities of various ex-millworkers upon their employment prospects in the post-closure period and third, the emergence of a non-communal, non-nativist, form of political participation among retrenched workers.

The thesis first lays out background to the study by examining the changes that have taken place in the social composition of the workforce and its implications for the working class neighbourhoods, particularly social relations and politics. Following this, it goes on to analyse the phenomenon of return migration: the conditions that led ex-millworkers to opt for return migration, and whether this strategy has ensured their incorporation into the rural milieu. It also tries to understand the political mobilisation of ex-millworkers in rural areas and its implications for their experience of life in the village. Moving towards the city-based ex-millworkers, this thesis looks at the ways in which their occupational choices after the closure of the mills were shaped by social institutions such as caste and religion. Finally, the political mobilisation of the ex-millworkers around the rehabilitation question is the subject of enquiry. This inquiry looks at the interaction of state, labour and capital over the issues of alternative employment and housing for ex-millworkers. 

The thesis makes a strong case for an expanded understanding of ex-millworkers’ experience of post-industrial Mumbai. Millworkers had evolved a complex and unique notion of self-hood connected to the activities of work, leisure and forms of recognition – both political and social – that sprang up around industrial employment. The closure of the mills has, consequently, been more than a mere shrinking of economic opportunities. It has been experienced as a multi-pronged assault upon and refashioning of workers’ identities. Nevertheless, through their protests, ex-millworkers’ efforts to hold onto, and even expand the worker-self continue. The transformation of the landscape of ‘world class’, post-industrial, neo-liberal Mumbai cannot be understood without reference to this contested unmaking of the worker-self.

Der Beitrag untersucht Prozesse politischer Mobilisierung durch Bildung in einem kolonialen Kontext. In Indien entwickelte sich Bildung im 19. Jahrhundert zu einem wichtigen Kristallisationspunkt sozialpolitischer Auseinandersetzungen: Einerseits richtete sich die Forderung nach einer Ausweitung von Bildungschancen unmittelbar gegen bestehende Ausschlüsse im Rahmen der Kasten- und Geschlechterhierarchien. Andererseits sollte über Bildungsangebote eine Solidargemeinschaft der unteren und untersten Kasten gestiftet werden, die sich unter dem Begriff Dalit Bahujan zu einer wichtigen politischen Kategorie im modernen Indien entwickelt hat. Insgesamt beleuchtet der Beitrag das spannungsreiche Verhältnis von kolonialer Herrschaft, Nationenformierung und subalterner politischer Mobilisierung. (DIPF/Orig.)The article analyses political mobilization through education in a colonial context. In the 19th century education became an important field of socio-political contestation in India. Gaini...

Der Beitrag untersucht Prozesse politischer Mobilisierung durch Bildung in einem kolonialen Kontext. In Indien entwickelte sich Bildung im 19. Jahrhundert zu einem wichtigen Kristallisationspunkt sozialpolitischer Auseinandersetzungen: Einerseits richtete sich die Forderung nach einer Ausweitung von Bildungschancen unmittelbar gegen bestehende Ausschlüsse im Rahmen der Kasten- und Geschlechterhierarchien. Andererseits sollte über Bildungsangebote eine Solidargemeinschaft der unteren und untersten Kasten gestiftet werden, die sich unter dem Begriff Dalit Bahujan zu einer wichtigen politischen Kategorie im modernen Indien entwickelt hat. Insgesamt beleuchtet der Beitrag das spannungsreiche Verhältnis von kolonialer Herrschaft, Nationenformierung und subalterner politischer Mobilisierung. (DIPF/Orig.)

This study analyses the range and content of Social Representations (SSRRs) about the COVID-19 pandemic in 21 geographical zones from 17 countries of the Americas, Europe and Asia (N = 4430). Following the theoretical framework of Social Representations Theory, as well as psychosocial consequences of pandemics and crises, we evaluate the perceptions of severity and risks, the agreement with different SSRRs, and participants’ Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) and agreement with Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA). Different sets of beliefs as SSRRs are discussed and their prevalence and association with contextual variables (e.g., new contagions and deaths during data collection). Results show that severity and risk perceptions were associated with different SSRRs of the pandemics. In specific, to SSRRs focusing on Emerging Externalizing zoonotic and ecological factors, to Polemic Conspiracies, a view of Elite and Masses Villains, as well as Personal Responsibility in the pandemic. Fu...

The " rise " of India on the global economic landscape has been accompanied by the revival of debates regarding the role played by social institutions such as caste, religion and gender in shaping an individual's life chances. This paper engages with this debate by looking at a micro-level case study of the occupational choices of Muslim ex-millworkers in Mumbai city. Religion as a social institution combined with negative emotions and a lack of political patronage creates barriers for Muslims in the labour market, compelling them to seek livelihood opportunities in a ghettoised economy.

The last two decades of the 20 th century and the first decade of the 21 st century witnessed the decline and eventual closure of large scale industries in Indian cities such as Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Kolkata and Kanpur. The closure of large scale industries not only resulted in the dispersal of once organised workforce into the informal sector but also had negative implications for the politics of labour which saw a major decline since the 1970s, and more particularly since the 1980s. Given the closure of large scale industries and the subsequent retrenchment of the workforce what is happening to the politics of the labour that was organised through the trade unions. This question is addressed in this paper by examining the political mobilisation of Mumbai’ ex-millworkers on the rehabilitation question.

Looking at the early educational activities of the anti-caste movement in the Western Indian Bombay Presidency (1848–1882), the article sheds light on the diverse, and sometimes contradictory social effects of the colonial encounter. The military defeat of the Maratha Empire, the setting up of colonial educational governance, and the emergence of missionary education had disrupted social and religious certainties. In this moment of crisis, reformers turned to education to intervene in the ongoing social transformation processes. From the perspective of the shudra-atishudra – the serving, labouring, and untouchable castes, who formed the lowest stratum of Western Indian society – the new political situation provided a space to challenge the established structures of caste and gender domination. The article starts with a discussion of colonial-governmental and missionary educational interventions, and proceeds to analyse anti-caste radicals’ educational activities against this background. Schools, popular literature, and public performance aimed to create a reflexive knowledge among the shudra-atishudra about their own position in society, and the ways to change it. Finally, the article explores the anti-caste movement’s varying interpretations of the changes in education and society. While anti-caste writers of the 1850s welcomed the new educational opportunities, their voices were highly critical of colonial education policy in the 1880s. In the nineteenth century’s struggles over caste, gender, and education, privileges and exclusions had been reworked in a colonial-modern framework. Still, important steps had been taken towards democratising and universalising Indian education. DM for Full Copy

The post-liberalisation era in India has witnessed mobilisations among socially superior castes for reservation/affirmative action. I examine why Marathas have intensified their mobilisation in the past few years by using qualitative and quantitative data gathered over a period of 14 months in 2008–2009 and several visits during 2010–2019 in Mumbai and Maharashtra. I argue that a crisis of dominance explains the Maratha’s mobilisation for reservation. Understanding this crisis involves paying attention to the link between two crises—‘urban’ and ‘rural’. The former arises from the rapid disappearance of well-paid jobs since the late 1990s in large-scale manufacturing and other industries in urban areas. The latter refers to the return of retrenched factory workers to their villages and the loss of their social status. It also refers to the inability of the rural youths with low or vernacular education to migrate to urban areas for well-paid employment, and the disturbance of caste hi...