Description
Book SynopsisIn the days of the British Raj Calcutta was a great port city. Thousands of men, women, and children worked there, loading and unloading valuable cargoes that sustained the regional economy, and contributed significantly to world trade. In the second half of the nineteenth century, in response to a shift from sailing ships to steamers, port authorities in Calcutta began work on a massive modernization project.
This book is the first study of port labor in colonial Calcutta and British India. Drawing on primary source material, including government documents and newspaper records, the author demonstrates how the modernization process worsened class conflict and highlights the important part played by labor in the shaping of the portâs modernization. Class Conflict and Modernization in India places this history in a comparative context, highlighting the interconnected nature of port and port labor histories. It examines how the portâs modernization affected
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. The Last Days of Sail
2. The Beginnings of a Modernization Project
3. A Dangerous and Difficult Workplace
4. The Culmination of a Crisis
5. The Limits of Resistance
Conclusion
