Abstract
Dominated by a strong state sector for the first four decades after independence, alongside a relatively corporatist approach to labour relations focused on formal labour, India has experienced obvious restructuring of its economy since the mid-1990s. This has been particularly in terms of increasing market orientation, deregulation and privatization, the emergence of internationally competitive industrial and technical sectors and growing integration with the global economy, in conjunction with rapid economic growth and very considerable, growing disparity of poverty and wealth. These changes have had an important federal dimension and substantial geographical imbalances, and also, the drive towards greater market domination of the economy has been protracted and contested. Regarding the impact of these changes on labour relations, the following aspects are critical: the formal/informal labour distinction, the ongoing demands for legal reform in favour of employers, the challenge of collective representation of informal workers, the question and dilemmas of political party allegiances of trade unions, the significance of special economic zones, the diverse pattern and periodic intensity of labour relations confrontation, and the impact of central government policies and ascendency of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
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Notes
- 1.
In a recent, important publication, the controversial argument is put that the secular image of India is a myth and that it was essentially a Hindu state from the outset (Anderson 2015).
- 2.
The Indian National Congress was the all-embracing political vehicle of Indian liberation, usually known simply as Congress, and in spite of significant electoral defeats, it remains today a cornerstone of Indian politics nationally. Also, it should be noted that Gandhi’s ideology did not go uncontested during the independence struggle, and some important recent publications seriously challenge Gandhi’s supreme reputation as father of the nation, not least in contrast to the perspective and ideas of B.R. Ambedkar (Ambedkar 2014; Anderson 2013; Roy 2014).
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Beale, D. (2017). India at the Crossroads? Economic Restructuring, Deregulation and the Instability of Labour Relations. In: Noronha, E., D'Cruz, P. (eds) Critical Perspectives on Work and Employment in Globalizing India. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-3491-6_13
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