Paper short abstract:

To what extent does using participatory methods to develop the rights of bidi (hand-rolled leaf cigarette) workers in India constitute making research relations with the tobacco industry?

Paper long abstract:

What constitutes 'the tobacco industry'? This paper draws on the experience of two different research projects that have been addressing this question in the Indian context, where the 'tobacco industry' is somewhat different to the transnational tobacco corporations that are subject to the opprobrium of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). Our particular focus is the bidi (hand-rolled leaf cigarette) industry. Structured as a devolved set of companies across the country, the bidi industry is a complex web of 'bidi barons', agents, contractors and subcontractors. While bidi manufacturing companies are not as bid as the cigarette manufacturers, their political patronage is generally higher. Bidi barons are often politicians at state and national levels, sometimes even playing an active role in committees established to further the goals of tobacco control. At the other end of the spectrum are 4-7 million 'bidi rollers', 90% of them women. Their working conditions are extremely precarious and open to exploitation and they lack power and influence in policy making circles. In undertaking pilot research for a non-industry funded 'Network for the development of participatory methods to investigate current and alternative livelihoods with bidi workers in South India network', under the aegis of the FCTC's Article 17 'Provision of support for economically viable alternative activities', we have come up against the issue of whether and if so how working for the rights of bidi workers constitutes 'research relations with industry'.