formally employed. The unique class interests of informally employed workers were ignored by the CPM leaders. So the informal sector workers i.e. the class conscious proletariats must transform themselves into a revolutionary class-for-itself so that it can eventually seize political power from the bourgeoisie. This book forces the readers to ponder over the state-labour relations as state is nothing but means of projecting the class interest of the bourgeoisie. The informal sector workers can also be termed as a class for itself that can be liberated by a socialist revolution. Subramanyam Thakur, secretary of AITUC (All India Trade Union Congress), the union federation affiliated with the Communist Party of India (CPI) said “In West Bengal, we admit that we have accepted the below minimum wage rate, because otherwise the employer runs to (neighboring state) Orrisa , that causes unemployment in West Bengal”(p 119).Initially it was common for the informal workers used to work below minimum wages without any social protection but now there is a shift in ideology of the ruling political party. But gradually the ruling party is altering its policies and focusing on the welfare of the informal sector due to the emergence of an opposition party, the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), in the state. This shift in ideology of CPM enables the informal workers to organize themselves as a large vote bank and also they also act as an important resource in manifesting government’s efforts towards flexible production. In the case of Maharashtra, informal workers derived some minimal levels of benefit from the state and the state government is concerned to a limited extend in providing social protection to the informally employed workers.
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The absence of pro-poor electoral competition present in the state but the interest of the political leaders of the state in liberalization and privatization ensured minimal welfare gains of the informal workers in Maharashtra.. The state of Maharashtra lies in between West Bengal and Tamil Nadu as far as the welfare of the informal sector is concerned. The state of Tamil Nadu showed more interest for protecting the informal workers than Maharashtra .But in comparison to West Bengal the state officials of Maharashtra were more eager in protecting informally employed workers. In Maharashtra the private-sector is industrialized very rapidly which has increased the state government’s interest in unregulated, informal labour. The construction workers in Maharashtra received no direct benefits from the state government but they received welfare benefits from the construction workers’ organization like NIRMAN .While the bidi workers in Maharashtra received welfare benefits from the Bidi Welfare Fund and they are organized under unions affiliated with left-wing political parties. Caste also has played a central role in the political sphere of Maharashtra. The politicians of Maharashtra favor the interests of intermediate and elite castes and not the lower castes. The Indian National Congress Party (INC) dominated the state of Maharashtra for a period of time and it gained success by satisfying intermediate castes. The state’s political sphere was dominated by intermediate castes of Marathas and Kunbis and the state did not produce any political leaders that appealed to the poor. As the author in this book depicts “Members of the intermediate castes have become nearly unchallenged leaders, successfully stifling radical movements from below”.(Pg-162) Political parties were created by the Dalits for the poor workers. Jyotibhai Phule created Satyashodhak Samaj for welfare of Dalits and women in Maharashtra. B.R Ambedkar also supported welfare of Dalits by forming political parties like the Independent Labour Party (ILP) and the Republican Party of India (RPI). While Kerala’s political sphere is mainly dominated by INC and CPM which have resisted the liberalizing efforts and they compete among themselves through pro-poor politics. The author mainly conducted her research on the other three states and used Kerala as a comparative …show more content…
She studied four states which differ economically and politically and it can be inferred from the book that the informal workers are a vital part of modern class structure and they have formed new types of political attachments with the state for improving their livelihood rather than placing their demands in front of the footloose employers. These demands of the informal workers are met through industry-specific welfare
The absence of pro-poor electoral competition present in the state but the interest of the political leaders of the state in liberalization and privatization ensured minimal welfare gains of the informal workers in Maharashtra.. The state of Maharashtra lies in between West Bengal and Tamil Nadu as far as the welfare of the informal sector is concerned. The state of Tamil Nadu showed more interest for protecting the informal workers than Maharashtra .But in comparison to West Bengal the state officials of Maharashtra were more eager in protecting informally employed workers. In Maharashtra the private-sector is industrialized very rapidly which has increased the state government’s interest in unregulated, informal labour. The construction workers in Maharashtra received no direct benefits from the state government but they received welfare benefits from the construction workers’ organization like NIRMAN .While the bidi workers in Maharashtra received welfare benefits from the Bidi Welfare Fund and they are organized under unions affiliated with left-wing political parties. Caste also has played a central role in the political sphere of Maharashtra. The politicians of Maharashtra favor the interests of intermediate and elite castes and not the lower castes. The Indian National Congress Party (INC) dominated the state of Maharashtra for a period of time and it gained success by satisfying intermediate castes. The state’s political sphere was dominated by intermediate castes of Marathas and Kunbis and the state did not produce any political leaders that appealed to the poor. As the author in this book depicts “Members of the intermediate castes have become nearly unchallenged leaders, successfully stifling radical movements from below”.(Pg-162) Political parties were created by the Dalits for the poor workers. Jyotibhai Phule created Satyashodhak Samaj for welfare of Dalits and women in Maharashtra. B.R Ambedkar also supported welfare of Dalits by forming political parties like the Independent Labour Party (ILP) and the Republican Party of India (RPI). While Kerala’s political sphere is mainly dominated by INC and CPM which have resisted the liberalizing efforts and they compete among themselves through pro-poor politics. The author mainly conducted her research on the other three states and used Kerala as a comparative …show more content…
She studied four states which differ economically and politically and it can be inferred from the book that the informal workers are a vital part of modern class structure and they have formed new types of political attachments with the state for improving their livelihood rather than placing their demands in front of the footloose employers. These demands of the informal workers are met through industry-specific welfare