Click the star to add/remove an item to/from your individual schedule.
You need to be logged in to avail of this functionality.
Log in
- Convenor:
-
Crispin Bates
(University of Edinburgh)
- Discussants:
-
Charu Gupta
(University of Delhi)
Anastasia Piliavsky (King's College London)
- Location:
- 44H05
- Start time:
- 23 July, 2014 at
Time zone: Europe/Zurich
- Session slots:
- 2
Short Abstract:
This interdisciplinary panel re-addresses the role of intermediaries in S. Asian economy and society. The hypothesis explored is that they are not merely parasites but often perform necessary and essential functions, habitually overlooked by development economists and economic historians.
Long Abstract:
The current stories of 'development' and its practices in South Asia demand a re-assessment of the social and political order in which the role of dalals, brokers, labour recruiters, and other intermediaries have acquired unprecedented prominence in shaping local politics, economics and social life. Contemporary development literature views them as (political) intermediaries between development institutions and peasant society: the outcome of a weak state presence in areas where the institutions of formal governance are not yet established. They are regarded as a negative form of patron-client relationship within civil society. In this scenario, the image of brokers is that of a influential yet marginal and vulnerable local elite. But are they really so marginal? Do they undermine state authority and market functions or act to reinforce them? And are they an integral aspect within complex indigenous structures of governance?
Colonial literature is filled with tales of corrupt middlemen. It was as if the existence of intermediaries was the only thing standing between the peasant and prosperity - which we know is not the case. This discourse has been inherited by successive, paternalistic, developmental regimes. One of the consequences is a continuing obsession with low-level corruption, which acts as a surrogate for addressing the more substantive problems in delivering services and information in rural areas. This inter-disciplinary panel calls for a re-appraisal of the subaltern intermediary, broker or 'go-between' and seeks to resolve a contradiction that lies at the heart of contemporary developmental thinking.
Accepted papers:
Session 1Paper short abstract:
A critique of colonial discourse on Indian migrant labour in the nineteenth century with particular reference to the role of intermediaries.
Paper long abstract:
Arkatis, maistries, sardars and other intermediaries in the movement of indentured Indian labourers overseas have traditionally been the target of criticism from Indian employers, labour commissioners and missionaries as well as nationalist historians. But a closer exploration of their origins, role, and agency suggests a more nuanced interpretation of their contribution and their pivotal function as vectors of information concerning the perils and opportunities that lay in store for long-distance labour migrants. The paper draws upon examples across the Indian Ocean of Indian overseas migrants after 1857 and makes connections to contemporary debates on migrant labour and the role of intermediaries in the Indian economy.
Paper short abstract:
This paper aims to understand the functioning of ‘manpower agencies’ and informal brokers (or dalals) that mediate migration of labourers from a peripheral country of Nepal to the global labour market that transforms young Nepali men and women into ‘global commodities’
Paper long abstract:
Labour migration from Nepal to India and more recently to different global destinations has been a major and vital source of income for impoverished rural communities within the troubled Himalayan state. The latest estimate suggests that almost half of all households have at least one migrant or a returnee, and that a quarter of Nepal's GDP is supported by migrant remittances. In the last two decades, the recruitment of Nepali migrants in the global labour market has been facilitated by an 'agency system' that has acquired a growing intensity in Nepal. This paper aims to understand the functioning of 'manpower agencies' and informal brokers (or dalals) that mediate migration of labourers from a peripheral country of Nepal to the global labour market that transforms young Nepali men and women into 'global commodities'. The recruitment agencies and associated brokers remain important players who help the potential migrants by providing information and by facilitating their transit. However, the costs they impose on the migrants are extremely high, unjust and outsight abuse of basic human rights.
Paper short abstract:
Brokers of foreign employment are ubiquitous in Nepal, yet hardly visible. A bad reputation has driven many agents underground. However, private recruitment companies are a booming business. Migration brokers present an important bridge and perform multiple roles in society, economy, and politics.
Paper long abstract:
In Nepal, the reputation of brokers (Dalals) is still very negative. Recent fraud cases and media reports have reinforced the bad image. Especially facilitators of international labour migration and foreign employment are frequently under critique. Therefore, many brokers remain invisible and work from the underground. Consequently, monitoring and control is difficult, despite various efforts by the Government of Nepal. Current political instability as well as a lacking documentation increase this problem. Nevertheless, migration brokers play diverse important roles, both for Nepalese men and women considering working abroad as well as for foreign companies in search of labour force. In addition, recruitment agents could contribute to economic growth and poverty reduction, as well as to empowerment of disadvantaged groups and peace building in Nepal. Current developments indicate a growing interest of private agents to register themselves at the Department of Foreign Employment, aiming at more independence from the more than 750 Nepali recruitment companies. While some agents see themselves as business men, others highlight their role as social workers. The main goal of the newly established Agent Association is to raise awareness of their importance in society and politics. Thus, the big existing gap between law and practice, between self-presentation and public expectations might decrease in future. This could lead to a safer migration on the one hand, and to more respect for the multiple functions of the labour brokers on the other hand.
Paper short abstract:
For defining urban space, the transport sector needs to be attributed a quintessential role, and even more so in (mega)cities. At the same time, it is also one of the major labour markets, particularly for new rural migrants, and access is highly regulated through multi-layered networks.
Paper long abstract:
When analysing access to major labour markets of Dhaka city, the transport sector is a complex "system" of highly regulated rules and regulations ("Institutions").
Our paper/presentation will be based on a case study about the core labour markets related to the transport sector. In Dhaka, until today a large share of transport services is made by non-motorised forms of transport, and a most prominent one is bicycle rickshaws. Our paper will start off with a brief analysis of the core stakeholders, such as the Dhaka City Corporation or the different types of owners' and workers' associations. We will then look into practices of how access to this crucial labour market is being (re-)negotiated among the core stakeholders, with their the multi-layered networks of middlemen.
Paper short abstract:
The paper discusses socio-economic dimension of contemporary gurus’ activities in Punjab with a focus on the recent performance of largest and most controversial deras (religious/pseudo-religious communities) in the state and neighboring areas.
Paper long abstract:
In recent decades, the so-called "dera culture" has become a characteristic feature of Punjab's social, economic and political life. Deras (religious/pseudo-religious communities of all sorts) and their gurus act as effective economic and political agents and are extremely popular among the lower caste groups residing in rural areas of Punjab and adjacent districts of neighbor states. The rising presence of deras' leaders in all spheres of Punjab's life has become a matter of great concern for the state authorities and - since a majority of deras are Sikh-related - for the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, the highest religious body of the Sikhs.
Punjab's most influential deras are large landowners as under the Punjab legislation no size restrictions apply to religious and charitable institutions; their premises are intensively used for agricultural purposes. Some deras have grown into powerful "industries" providing workplaces for their followers and offering shelter to the deprived. Reasons for the deras' popularity include their extensively publicized commitment to comprehensive social work and involvement in charity projects such as blood donation camps, free medical check-ups, anti-drug addiction campaigns etc., which in certain cases also evolve into profitable businesses (as in the case of Dera Sacha Sauda). The paper discusses the ambiguous role of gurus as modern managers addressing the needs of most vulnerable social groups in Punjab.
Paper short abstract:
In warscapes in the north and east of Sri Lanka, Catholic Priests have taken on exceptional roles of brokerage, crossing and reconfiguring physical and discursive borders.
Paper long abstract:
Although in the 1990s Stirrat described the Sri Lankan Catholic Church as 'politically defeated', in the north and east of the island a paradox has emerged. Somehow, the protracted experience of everyday violence and uncertainty has promoted an invigorated Church which has held the power to act in sometimes exceptional manners to protect, negotiate and facilitate small and large moments and spaces of 'peace'. Amidst the shifting and dangerous borders (discursive, political and physical), Catholic priests have been able to act as brokers, at times navigating and negotiating borders in order to cross over, and at other times reinforcing and hardening them. This research considers the agencies through which Catholic priests have been able to perform such complex and dangerous maneuvers, as well as the ways in which these have reconfigured warscapes and the everyday lives of those living within them. Not only does the project speak to the study of religion, violence and conflict but to the importance of the role of brokerage in marginal spaces, as people and communities forge methods for and spaces of survival in harsh and fluctuating circumstances.
Paper short abstract:
This paper focuses on the role of brokers and intermediaries who emerge from the implementation of nature conservation projects in rural Southern Sri Lanka.
Paper long abstract:
Since the end of the civil war in 2009, rural Southern Sri Lanka is facing growing tensions between fast economic development and the conservation of biodiversity, which contributes to the notoriety of the island. In order to preserve the green areas of the country, both the government and international institutions have made great efforts to implement projects combining biodiversity protection and poverty reduction as their objectives.
Within that context, this paper focuses on a specific category of stakeholders, emerging from the implementation of the aforementioned projects: a wide range of intermediaries between local communities and the State, or international institutions. Based on an ethnographic study of two protected areas in Southern Sri Lanka, the paper will examine the role of those intermediaries in the implementation of environmental governance models and ideologies in local arenas. I will also analyze the complex relationships between those brokers and other categories of individuals or groups within the community: people living in protected areas, traditional figures of power, social and political elites. Using fieldwork illustrations, I will stress how the emergence of brokers and intermediaries in the context of nature conservation may lead to the reorganization of social and political relationships at the local scale.
Paper short abstract:
This paper will look at the political significance of Mastaans in Banglades, focusing on their emergence in rural settings.
Paper long abstract:
To date Mastaans have been studied mostly in urban contexts, and are normally portrayed as intermediaries operating between the worlds of criminality and politics. In this paper, I will examine the emergence of Mastaans in rural contexts, and reflect on their significance in relation to both the practice of clientelism and the development of democracy.