Articles by Sharit K Bhowmik

As part of its attempt to improve growth, the government has put forth the Labour Code on Industrial Relations Bill, which amalgamates the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act and the Trade Union Act. In spite of some positive features, the bill's aversion to the rights of workers and trade unions is quite apparent. For instance, penalties are imposed on individual workers for illegal strikes, but for illegal lockouts, the fine is borne by a collective entity; this is but one of many unequal provisions.

Witches, Tea Plantations, and Lives of Migrant Laborers in India: Tempest in a Tea Pot by Soma Chaudhuri (New Delhi: Foundation Books), 2014; pp xiii + 193, Rs 695.

Opium City: Making of Early Victorian Bombay by Amar Farooqui; Three Essays Collective, Delhi, 2006;
SHARIT K BHOWMIK The city of Bombay (now Mumbai) is regarded as the first city of the country. Though at present, the services sector is the main source of employment, till a few decades ago Bombay was known as an industrial city. Most people believed that the textile industry was the mainstay of the city since 1850s. In fact, the census commissioner of the 1931 Census had stated

This paper attempts to examine recent research done on street vendors in Asia with the aim of assessing the magnitude of street vending in different countries and the composition of the vendors. Further, it collates information on the extent of unionisation of the vendors and other organisations, such as non-government organisations (NGOs), self-help organisations (SHOs), advocacy groups, etc, that work for their welfare.

This paper tries to examine the socio-economic adjustments of families that have undergone decline in living standards within a brief period of time. The main earners in these families were once employed in the textile mills where most often, employment was regular and permanent with some degree of social security. These people have lost their jobs and all the other facilities which they were entitled to, becoming a part of the urban poor which draws its sustenance through employment in the informal/unorganised sector. How have they adjusted to their new economic status and what are the social institutions through which they are able to survive?