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The Pandemic in India and Its Impact on Footloose Labour

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  • Jan Breman

    (University of Amsterdam)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic is deepening the divide between people on the safe side of the social order and those at risk. The former are not only better equipped to protect their immunity, but can also count on support and care if they become infected. In a civilization haunted by the purity–pollution syndrome, the virus amplifies the stigma of impurity in which substantial segments of the population are forced to work and live. Social distancing fits well with a customary code of segregation. The transition to an informalized economy should be seen in the context of India’s ingrained social inequality resulting in widespread pauperism. In the havoc the pandemic created, politics and governance have further distorted the already highly skewed balance between capital and labour. An overview of the impact of the pandemic on the workforce kept adrift should also allow for the regional diversity that exists. Underlying my appraisal is the anthropological research I have carried out in the state of Gujarat, a major destination for footloose labour from other parts of the country. Since circular migrants are not allowed to settle down and set up home where they have gone to, they are bound to return to their place of origin after shorter or longer bouts of casual employment without effective legal protection and social security. They are kept floating because both capital and government want it that way.

Suggested Citation

  • Jan Breman, 2020. "The Pandemic in India and Its Impact on Footloose Labour," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 63(4), pages 901-919, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:ijlaec:v:63:y:2020:i:4:d:10.1007_s41027-020-00285-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s41027-020-00285-8
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Breman, Jan, 2016. "On Pauperism in Present and Past," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199464814.
    2. Breman, Jan, 2013. "At Work in the Informal Economy of India: A Perspective from the Bottom Up," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198090342.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Swati Agarwal & Sayantani Sarkar, 2022. "Topical analysis of migration coverage during lockdown in India by mainstream print media," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(2), pages 1-19, February.
    3. Samuel Jayaraman & Hesil Jerda George & Mariadoss Siluvaimuthu & Satyanarayana Parayitam, 2023. "Quality of Work Life as a Precursor to Work–Life Balance: Collegiality and Job Security as Moderators and Job Satisfaction as a Mediator," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-25, June.
    4. Ajit Jha, 2021. "Vulnerability of Construction Workers During COVID-19: Tracking Welfare Responses and Challenges," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 64(4), pages 1043-1067, December.
    5. Alessandra Mezzadri, 2022. "The Social Reproduction of Pandemic Surplus Populations and Global Development Narratives on Inequality and Informal Labour," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 53(6), pages 1230-1253, November.
    6. Isabelle Guérin & Cécile Mouchel & Christophe Jalil Nordman, 2023. "With a Little Help from My Friends? Surviving the Lockdown Using Social Networks in Rural South India," Working Papers DT/2023/02, DIAL (Développement, Institutions et Mondialisation).
    7. Aditya Ray, 2024. "Coping with crisis and precarity in the gig economy: ‘Digitally organised informality’, migration and socio-spatial networks among platform drivers in India," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 56(4), pages 1227-1244, June.

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