عنوان

Tamil warps and wefts :

Number

TLets313760

Title Proper

Tamil warps and wefts :

General Material Designation

[Thesis]

First Statement of Responsibility

De Neve, Geert Raymond.

Title Proper by Another Author

an anthropological study of urban weavers in South India.

Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.

London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London)

Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.

1999

Dissertation or thesis details and type of degree

Ph.D.

Body granting the degree

London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London)

Text preceding or following the note

1999

Text of Note

The thesis consists of two parts. The first part focuses on the nature and dynamics of labourrelations in two neighbouring textile towns of Tamilnadu (South India), Bhavani andKumarapalayam. In Bhavani, handloom carpets are still woven, while in Kumarapalayamhandlooms have been replaced by power-loom production since the 1950s. An ethnographyof the workplace is provided, and the different work regimes and work rhythms within theseindustries are described, as well as the structure of authority, and the workplace as a socialenvironment where friendships are forged and conflicts rooted. Particular attention is paidto the marked contrast between the labour militancy of the handloom weavers in Bhavani andthe lack of labour organisation among the power-loom workers of Kumarapalayam. Thehandloom weavers have been firmly organised in a Weavers' Union and developed a classconsciousness based on a weavers' identity, which transcends solidarities of caste. In thepower-loom industry, on the other hand, workers' resistance appears much moreindividualised and indirect. Here, labour relations are to a considerable extent shaped by theemployers' practice of giving advances to the workers they employ. It forms a crucial partof their recruitment strategy, profoundly affects their relations with labour, and gives rise tonew problems of labour control and discipline.In the second part of the thesis the study of the workplace and labour relations is related toan examination of the role of caste, kinship and 'community' in the formation of labourrelations and the development of industries. The pioneering role of particular caste groupsis investigated and it is indicated how various communities deployed their own strategies ofdevelopment ('business cultures') to move ahead in a competitive environment. Attentionis drawn to the interrelationship between the domestic sphere and the workplace. The effectof waged job opportunities on the formation of workers' households, women's duties in thehousehold in relation to their opportunities in the labour market, and the impact offriendships and love in the workplace on marital stability are explored. Finally, a sociopoliticalanalysis of local temple organisation and the annual goddess festival seeks tounderstand how the entire town is integrated into a single 'community' and how boundariesof caste and class are transcended under the patronage of the local 'big men' or wealthyindustrialists. Their role as patrons and benefactors of the local 'community' is directlyrelated to their constant search to control and discipline labour within the industries.

Sociology

De Neve, Geert Raymond.

London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London)

Electronic name

p

[Thesis]

276903

a

Y