Zaad Mahmood

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In contemporary literature, bargaining is often construed as an instrument in the hands of the employer, a practice that is sustained by undermining worker solidarity and promoting interests of privileged unionized workers at the expense of other workers. This article challenges such narratives by foregrounding the idea of solidarity and highlighting the complex interplay of solidarity emanating from the multiple ways consciousness about worker identity plays out. Drawing on the literature on new social movements (NSM) and industrial relations (IR), the article shows that the relevance of bargaining is not merely confined to instrumental economic goals but extends to politically constitutive action. In the process of bargaining the political agency of workers and distinctive articulations of solidarity are identified. This article presents and classifies three kinds of solidarity that correspond to the three dimensions of political consciousness, namely critical solidarity, limited ...

In contemporary literature, bargaining is often construed as an instrument in the hands of the employer, a practice that is sustained by undermining worker solidarity and promoting interests of privileged unionized workers at the expense of other workers. This article challenges such narratives by foregrounding the idea of solidarity and highlighting the complex interplay of solidarity emanating from the multiple ways consciousness about worker identity plays out. Drawing on the literature on new social movements (NSM) and industrial relations (IR), the article shows that the relevance of bargaining is not merely confined to instrumental economic goals but extends to politically constitutive action. In the process of bargaining the political agency of workers and distinctive articulations of solidarity are identified. This article presents and classifies three kinds of solidarity that correspond to the three dimensions of political consciousness, namely critical solidarity, limited ...

As India commemorates its 75th year of independence this essay seeks to take stock of the achievements, challenges and failures of the Indian Republic. Through an sweeping reading of political history of India and focus on specific historical moments it builds a narrative of the journey. The essay highlights the successes of democracy, limited welfarism and political management of conflicts ensuring territorial integrity. These successes, however, run the risk of being undermined with contemporary challenges to the core values of the republic. The essay contributes to the political discourse on India at three levels, first it provides a historical narrative and scrutinises the achievement/ failures of the Indian State against the promises of the republic; second, it provides an analysis of the structural features underpinning the political narrative and third, it highlights the transient nature of republics in general through a reading of the Indian case. Keywords: India; historical...

The literature on industrial relations highlights the gradual subordination of nation specific IR system under conditions of globalisation. The literature, however, pays scant attention to the role of the state in IR framework, an important omission in the context of transitional economies with a legacy of state intervention. This paper examines the changing role of the state and through this seeks to theoretically conceptualise state behaviour in IR. Based on the five planks of wage determination, work and employment condition, collective bargaining, dispute resolution and welfare provision, we critically examine the role of the state and locate it in the spectrum from statist to neoliberal. The case study is based on the study of post-liberalisation
West Bengal, a left governed sub-national state of India. The role of the state
has multiple dimensions and cannot be subject to a singular categorisation.

This case study focuses on the experience of elections in India during the Covid-19 pandemic, specifically between March 2020 and July 2021. It presents a disaggregated account of the parliamentary (national), assembly (regional) and local government elections that were held during this period, highlighting the organizational challenges, the institutional innovations and the implementation issues confronting these elections during Covid-19.
The aim of the case study is to highlight the tensions inherent in conducting elections during natural disasters that, on the one hand, severely compromise opportunities for deliberation, contestation, participation and election management, and, on the other hand, pose the danger of a break in institutional certainty of democratic processes (James and Alihodzic 2020). While both the arguments in favour of and against conducting elections
have a strong democratic basis, it is undeniable that electoral integrity suffers greatly under such conditions. As this case study reveals, disasters magnify the effort required to conduct free, fair and safe elections. Although the electoral administration in India formulated comprehensive and detailed guidelines on prevention measures, these were only partially successful in preventing the elections from becoming conduits for transmission of Covid-19. The case study discusses the parliamentary and indirect legislative elections, followed by state assembly elections and local government elections. Each section presents the underlying context for the elections and the strategies adopted by the election management bodies, and highlights the implementation problems and the tension between democratic processes and electoral integrity. The detailed discussion on the state assembly elections is arranged chronologically, using the framework of ‘pre-election’, ‘during the election’ and ‘after the election’, which has been used to inform the wider discussion on elections and electoral integrity. In conclusion, the case study draws out the centrality of elections in Indian polity where elections were conducted despite the surge in Covid-19 cases. The elections reaffirm the perception of India as a weak–strong state, capable of holding elections but incapable of implementing the guidelines regarding Covid-19. Importantly, the subnational variations in election organization that existed suggest that local-level innovations and institutional capacity may have a crucial role to play in negotiating democracy during disasters. The case study ends with some discussion on the relationship between elections and disasters, and how democratic practices are shaped by their context.

Resumo Enquanto a Índia comemora 75 anos de independência, este ensaio procura fazer um balanço das conquistas, desafios e fracassos da República Indiana. Através de uma leitura abrangente da história política da Índia e foco em momentos históricos específicos, construiu-se uma narrativa da jornada. O ensaio destaca os sucessos da democracia, do bem-estar limitado e da gestão política dos conflitos garantindo a integridade territorial. Esses sucessos, no entanto, correm o risco de serem comprometidos por desafios contemporâneos aos valores fundamentais da república. O ensaio contribui para o discurso político sobre a Índia em três níveis: primeiro fornece uma narrativa histórica e examina as conquistas/fracassos do Estado Indiano em relação às promessas da república; em segundo lugar, faz uma análise das características estruturais que sustentam a narrativa política e, em terceiro lugar, destaca a natureza transitória das repúblicas em geral através de uma leitura do caso indiano.

Limits of Bargaining is an original addition to the political economy analysis of capital-labour relations in the organised industrial sector in the context of economic liberalisation in India. It analyses the dynamics of the capital-labour bargaining process in the context of the changing nature of the state and market as a result of adoption of policies of liberalisation and globalisation for the last two and half decades. It examines the nature of collective bargaining and analyses the underlying structural-political conditions that shape the capital-labour relations. Based on original empirical material from West Bengal, a state long considered pro-labour, the book presents bargaining between capital and labour as endogenous to the interplay of the triad of the market, technology and the institutions of the state. It illustrates everyday interactions between labour and management, different unions and outside actors that shape collective bargaining, and highlights the negotiation, appropriations and compromises that shape bargaining at the operational level.

This dissertation shows the relevance of political agency under conditions of globalisation through a sub-national comparative study of labour market reforms. The study builds upon existing literature by highlighting 'relative autonomy' of political actors and dynamics in determining policy and outcome. Such an assertion contradicts the purely structuralist interpretations of reform and asserts that forces of globalisation can be negotiated by domestic political actors. Based on the study of labour flexibility the dissertation argues that political variables, specifically partisan orientation and nature of party competition, influence the pace and direction of reforms producing sub-national variations. As revealed governments backed by a relatively homogenous dominant support base with business representation undertake greater labour market reforms compared to governments with heterogeneous base. The difference in orientation to reform is due to differences in distributive a...

<p>The chapter discusses the party system in the macro context of politics. It highlights the limitations of political party and interest group analysis without reference to the political competition that shapes behaviour in politics. The chapter discusses theoretically the impact of party system on labour market flexibility and proceeds to show the interrelation between party competition and the behaviour of political parties, composition of socio-economic support bases, and the behaviour of interest groups that influence reform. In the context of labour market flexibility, the party-system operates as an intermediate variable facilitating reforms. The chapter contradicts the conventional notion that party system fragmentation impedes reform by showing how increasing party competition corresponds to greater labour market reforms. It shows that increases in the number of parties, facilitates labour market reforms through marginalization of the issue of labour, realignment of class interests within broader society and fragmentation of trade union movement.</p>

Entre 8 de novembro e 31 de dezembro de 2016, o governo indiano instituiu um dos maiores exercícios de desmonetização do mundo, retirando 86% de todas as moedas, sob a forma das notas deRs 500 e Rs 1000. Este artigo analisa o debate em torno do exercício de desmonetização e tenta fornecer uma narrativa política do evento. Interrogando os vários argumentos em torno da desmonetização, argumenta que a desmonetização foi reduzida a uma postura política, uma vez que as consequências econômicas continuam a ser altamente debatidas.

This article presents the findings of perceptions of electoral integrity survey for subnational elections in India between 2015 and 2017. The perceptions of electoral integrity survey is an attempt to provide a comprehensive, impartial and independent source of information derived from experts about elections conforming to internationally recognized principles and standards. The article then evaluates the factors that account for differences in the perceptions of electoral integrity in India. We show that higher-income states in India tend to have higher levels of electoral integrity. However, we argue that differences in the quality of governance best explain subnational variation in the perceptions of electoral integrity in India.

This paper assesses the role of trade unions in economic reforms in India. The study looks at labor market reforms as the area of negotiation and conflict to determine the role of trade unions in reforms. The paper argues that the importance of trade union as an interest group impeding reform is overstated. In fact all available evidence points to the failure of trade unions to protect the interests of organized sector leading to emaciated labor. What is conceived as union strength is actually partisan political dynamics operating through the unions. It is not the independent strength of trade union but the location in wider politics that determines its relevance in reform process. Introduction Trade unions have often been highlighted as the crucial socio-political agents impeding economic reforms (Horton, Kanbur & Mazumdar, 1994; Rueda, 2007). Trade unions use their collective status to scuttle or extract compensation for reforms that have implications for industrial production and...

Globalization, as commonly understood, limits policy choices of a nation by creating structural and institutional constraints. This leads to an important question: are political actors still relevant in shaping policy in the interest of domestic socio-economic concerns? Locating labour as a critical political economy factor, essential for production and capable of political action, this book examines the political economy of labour reforms. Through a careful study of labour market reforms across subnational states of India, it draws attention to the continuing relevance of local politics in influencing public policy. Drawing on the evidence from the pairs of institutionally and economically alike states, Gujarat–Maharashtra and West Bengal–Andhra Pradesh, this book shows that despite pressures of convergence under conditions of globalization, reforms vary across states, depending on partisan governments, dynamics of interest group negotiations, and party competition. Using both qualitative and quantitative analyses, the book argues that ‘who governs’ matters for how globalization unfolds in any society, and that public policies continue to be nuanced, if not shaped, by politics. By analysing the labour policy in India, the book makes an important contribution to political economy research on transitional economies.

In the previous chapters, we have enumerated the factors that have influenced the bargaining between labour and capital in West Bengal (WB). It has been underlined that economic conditions along with the role of trade unions and the state through their interactions determine the nature and outcome of bargaining. While Chapter 3 provided our observations from the field with regard to collective bargaining in WB, Chapters 4 and 5 enumerated the economic conditions and the role of trade unions and working class politics, respectively. In this chapter, we look at the role of the state in collective bargaining. The state has an intrinsic role in capital–labour bargaining because of its historic claim to legitimacy enabling it to play the mediating role in the relationship between social groups to facilitate common development and welfare. In the production system this intervention between capital and labour is institutionalised through the Industrial Relations (IR) system. The tension an...

Globalization, as commonly understood, limits policy choices of a nation by creating structural-institutional constraints. This leads to an important question: are political actors still relevant in shaping policy in the interest of domestic socio-economic concerns? This book draws attention to the continuing relevance of local politics in influencing public policy, through a study of labour market reforms. Labour, unlike other factors of production, is not only a resource but also an important social group capable of political manifestation. Drawing on evidence from states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and West Bengal, this book shows that despite pressures of policy convergence, labour reforms vary across states, depending on partisan governments, dynamics of interest group negotiations, and party competition. Using both qualitative and quantitative evidence, the book argues that "who governs" matters for how globalization unfolds in any society and that publi...

Limits of Bargaining is an original addition to the political economy analysis of capital-labour relations in the organised industrial sector in the context of economic liberalisation in India. It analyses the dynamics of the capital-labour bargaining process in the context of the changing nature of the state and market as a result of adoption of policies of liberalisation and globalisation for the last two and half decades. It examines the nature of collective bargaining and analyses the underlying structural-political conditions that shape the capital-labour relations. Based on original empirical material from West Bengal, a state long considered pro-labour, the book presents bargaining between capital and labour as endogenous to the interplay of the triad of the market, technology and the institutions of the state. It illustrates everyday interactions between labour and management, different unions and outside actors that shape collective bargaining, and highlights the negotiatio...

Motivation and the context This book primarily examines the status of trade unions and the collective bargaining institutions in the urban labour market of West Bengal (WB) within an analytical framework that views capital–labour relations as an outcome of the interplay of the triad of market, technology and the state with its collective bargaining institutions. The framework that we have adopted here is sufficiently general in the sense that it is capable of explaining capital–labour relations elsewhere as well. West Bengal is the only state in India that had been, until recently, under left rule for more than three decades, and has long been known for its pro-worker stance. The analytical strategy that has been adopted in this book allows us to move back and forth between the general context of weakening of trade union power as a consequence of the changing scenario in the national and global economies on the one hand, and the specific context of a subnational region like the stat...

The literature on industrial relations highlights the gradual subordination of nation-specific IR system under conditions of globalisation. The literature, however, pays scant attention to the role of the state in IR framework, an important omission in the context of transitional economies with a legacy of state intervention. This paper examines the changing role of the state and through this seeks to theoretically conceptualise state behaviour in IR. Based on the five planks of wage determination, work and employment condition, collective bargaining, dispute resolution and welfare provision, we critically examine the role of the state and locate it in the spectrum from statist to neoliberal. The case study is based on the study of post-liberalisation West Bengal, a left governed sub-national state of India. The role of the state has multiple dimensions and cannot be subject to a singular categorisation.

This article presents the findings of perceptions of electoral integrity survey for subnational elections in India between 2015 and 2017. The perceptions of electoral integrity survey is an attempt to provide a comprehensive, impartial and independent source of information derived from experts about elections conforming to internationally recognized principles and standards. The article then evaluates the factors that account for differences in the perceptions of electoral integrity in India. We show that higher-income states in India tend to have higher levels of electoral integrity. However, we argue that differences in the quality of governance best explain subnational variation in the perceptions of electoral integrity in India.

Between 8th November and 31st December 2016 the Indian government instituted one of the biggest demonetisation exercises in the world by withdrawing 86 percent of all currency in the form of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes. This paper looks at the debate surrounding the demonetisation exercise and attempts to provide a political economy narrative of the event. Interrogating the various arguments around demonetisation, it argues that demonetisation has been reduced to a political posturing as the economic consequences remain highly debated.