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Adikasu and the Precarity of Women Vendors in Puducherry, India

Author

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  • Raveena Esther Ravichandran
  • Lalatendu Keshari Das

Abstract

Adikasu vendors are a distinct category of street vendors. Drawing on a qualitative study of women adikasu vendors in the Goubert Market area of Puducherry, this article explores questions pertaining to their identity, the nature of work and the meanings associated with their occupied sites. The authors show that the women adikasu vendors inhabit a liminal space between legality and illegality in a semi-formalised market structure. They are rendered illegitimate because they are not formally recognised by the municipal corporation, but they are simultaneously regulated because they are asked to pay a daily adikasu (or base fee) of ₹10 to the corporation for occupying a vending site in the market. The precarity of the women adikasu vendors is caused by the simultaneous certainty and uncertainty they face as they seek a living while maintaining the dignity of their work.

Suggested Citation

  • Raveena Esther Ravichandran & Lalatendu Keshari Das, 2025. "Adikasu and the Precarity of Women Vendors in Puducherry, India," Indian Journal of Gender Studies, Centre for Women's Development Studies, vol. 32(1), pages 94-105, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:indgen:v:32:y:2025:i:1:p:94-105
    DOI: 10.1177/09715215241301575
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