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17 - Reclaiming Democracy

The Challenge Facing Labor in India

from Part IV - Country and Regional Perspectives

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2022

By
Anibel Ferus-Comelo
Edited by
Angela B. Cornell  and
Mark Barenberg
Angela B. Cornell
Affiliation:
Cornell University, New York
Mark Barenberg
Affiliation:
Columbia University, New York
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Summary

The threat to democracy in India after the 2019 reelection of Narendra Modi as Prime Minister is unprecedented since the country’s independence. This chapter argues that Modi is not only an undemocratic leader, but that his authoritarian hardline Hindu supremacist methods of rule are also unambiguously anti-Labor. Unions face the monumental challenge of expanding their base to include the informal sector, contract labor, and the soaring ranks of the unemployed in the face of severe political and legal constraints. A deep transformation of union culture, institutional framework, and modes of operation are essential to reclaim democracy in twenty-first century India.

Keywords

organizingcivil rightsMuslimsDalitsinformal economylabor reformCovid-19India
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Labor and Democracy , pp. 279 - 292
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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