Migrant Workers, Super-Exploitation and Identity-Case of Sugarcane Cutters in Gujarat

The growth of the sugar industry in south Gujarat has led to a large demand for seasonal workers to cut cane. The report of a committee appointed by the Gujarat high court to enquire into the conditions of employment and living of the migrant sugarcane cutters brings out, first, their abysmally low wages and, second, the connection between such super exploitation of the cane cutters and their nationality or caste identity.