By Ankur Paliwal In a pristine forest in central India, the multibillion-dollar mining giant Adani has razed trees – and homes – to dig more coal. How does this kind of destruction get the go-ahead? In a lined notebook, Bhole Nath Singh Armo, a lean 28-year-old man wearing a blue shirt and matching baseball cap, drew a… Read More ‘It was a set-up, we were fooled’: the coal mine that ate an Indian village
Murali Krishnan Although over 8% of India’s population belongs to a tribe, according to the latest census, tribal communities are increasingly being squeezed to the margins of society. “Despite more than two decades of impressive GDP growth, India’s growth has remained confined to enclaves of prosperity surrounded by vast hinterlands of deprivation,” an excerpt of… Read More India’s tribes living on the margin of society
Gaby Hinsliff A wave of industrial action affecting everything from the Christmas post to new year getaways, with border officials at some of the country’s busiest airports due to walk out later this month, means everyday life is about to get more difficult for most of us, and actively frightening for some. But, to put it bluntly,… Read More Britain is braced for a winter of strikes
After decades of spectacular “move fast and break things” growth, Zuckerberg’s empire is now looking a little fragile. Meta’s share price has fallen by more than 70% this year. Moneyspinners Facebook and Instagram are losing market share and Gen Z users to fresher rivals like TikTok and Snapchat. Apple’s changes to data privacy last year also decimated revenues – its introduction of an… Read More Is Facebook losing its $100bn gamble on virtual reality?
Arafat Ara These days, Suman Mia works a power loom in a factory on the outskirts Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. He stands 15 hours a day. “I go to work at 3pm, and come home at 7am,” he said. “I have very little time to sleep, but there is nothing I can do about… Read More Migrant workers still paying off debts that brought them to Qatar
The Congressional decision to prohibit railroad workers from going on strike and force them to accept a contract that meets few of their demands is part of the class war that has defined American politics for decades. The two ruling political parties differ only in rhetoric. They are bonded in their determination to reduce wages; dismantle social programs, which the Bill… Read More Chris Hedges: Time to Strike for American rail workers
First posted March 01, 2015 his interview has appeared in Scroll.in. The two parts may be read here and here. The Modi government has issued a special coin to commemorate the 175th birth anniversary of the Tata Group founder, Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata. In honouring him, what is the message the government is seeking to convey to the people? The… Read More Democracy and workers’ movements – stories from Jamshedpur
First posted May 1, 2021 NB: Today is International Labour Day, May 1, 2021. As a tribute to India’s workers, I post a chapter from my monograph on the history of the labour movement in Jharkhand during the 1930’s. It was titled The Politics of Labour Under Late Colonialism: Workers,Unions, and the State in Chota Nagpur, 1928-1939. The… Read More 1938: the year Indian workers fought for themselves
First posted June 14, 2017 NB: This paper was first presented to the Association of Indian Labour Historians conference in Delhi, March 2000. It refers to material presented in my book, The Politics of Labour Under Late Colonialism: Workers, Trade Unions and the State in Chota Nagpur, 1928-1939. It was also presented to the Nehru Memorial… Read More Strike-breaking or the Refusal of Subalternity? Ethnicity, Class & Gender in Chota Nagpur: The Tatanagar Foundry Strike of 1939
In 2020, the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, announced one of the harshest Covid lockdowns in the world, causing nearly 200 million migrant labourers to be stranded without wages, food and housing. Many undertook long journeys to return to their home villages, while others, caught in limbo with their families, were forced to wait, living… Read More The Great Abandonment: the extraordinary exodus of India’s migrant labourers
After the truth-shower 