Networks, Labour and Migration Among Indian Muslim Artisans ECONOMIC EXPOSURES in ASIA
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Networks, Labour and Migration among Indian Muslim Artisans ECONOMIC EXPOSURES IN ASIA Series Editor: Rebecca M. Empson, Department of Anthropology, UCL Economic change in Asia often exceeds received models and expecta- tions, leading to unexpected outcomes and experiences of rapid growth and sudden decline. This series seeks to capture this diversity. It places an emphasis on how people engage with volatility and flux as an omnipres- ent characteristic of life, and not necessarily as a passing phase. Shedding light on economic and political futures in the making, it also draws atten- tion to the diverse ethical projects and strategies that flourish in such spaces of change. The series publishes monographs and edited volumes that engage from a theoretical perspective with this new era of economic flux, exploring how current transformations come to shape and are being shaped by people in particular ways. Networks, Labour and Migration among Indian Muslim Artisans Thomas Chambers First published in 2020 by UCL Press University College London Gower Street London WC1E 6BT Available to download free: www.uclpress.co.uk Text © Thomas Chambers, 2020 Images © Thomas Chambers, 2020 Thomas Chambers has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as author of this work. A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from The British Library. This book is published under a Creative Commons 4.0 International licence (CC BY 4.0). This licence allows you to share, copy, distribute and transmit the work, to adapt the work, and to make commercial use of the work, provided attribution is made to the authors (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work). Attribution should include the following information: Chambers, T. 2020. Networks, Labour and Migration among Indian Muslim Artisans. London, UCL Press. https://doi.org/10.14324/111.9781787354531 Further details about Creative Commons licences are available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ Any third-party material in this book is published under the book’s Creative Commons licence unless indicated otherwise in the credit line to the material. If you would like to re-use any third-party material not covered by the book’s Creative Commons licence, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. ISBN: 978-1-78735-455-5 (Hbk) ISBN: 978-1-78735-454-8 (Pbk) ISBN: 978-1-78735-453-1 (PDF) ISBN: 978-1-78735-456-2 (epub) ISBN: 978-1-78735-457-9 (mobi) DOI: https://doi.org/10.14324/111.9781787354531 Contents List of figures vii List of tables ix Acknowledgements x 1. Marginalisation, connectedness and Indian Muslim artisans: an introduction 1 2. A brief history of Indian Muslim artisans 22 3. The Indian craft supply chain: money, commodities and intimacy 49 4. Muslim women and craft production in India: gender, labour and space 78 5. Apprenticeship and labour amongst Indian Muslim artisans 107 6. Neoliberalism and Islamic reform among Indian Muslim artisans: affect and self-making 135 7. Friendship, urban space, labour and craftwork in India 160 8. Internal migration in India: imaginaries, subjectivities and precarity 186 9. Labour migration between India and the Gulf: regimes, imaginaries and continuities 215 v 10. Marginalisation and connectedness: a conclusion 245 Glossary of Hindi, Urdu and Arabic terms 249 References 254 Index 275 vi CONTENTS List of figures All figures are owned and provided by the author. Figure 1.1 An ox-cart loaded with wood enters Kamil Wali Gully 1 Figure 1.2 An example of carving 4 Figure 1.3 A carver at work 4 Figure 2.1 A woodworker demonstrating a powered ārī (fret)saw 22 Figure 2.2 A residential gully in the wood mohallas 46 Figure 2.3 A young woodcarver at work 47 Figure 3.1 The Craft Fair at Noida’s Expo Mart Centre 49 Figure 3.2 Brass overlay work before buffing 76 Figure 3.3 Working in a large factory 76 Figure 4.1 Women undertaking finishing work under the supervision of a male thēkēdār 78 Figure 4.2 A thēkēdār delivering items to be finished by homeworking women 105 Figure 4.3 A gully near Ali ki Chungi 106 Figure 5.1 A young apprentice at work 107 Figure 5.2 Apprentices working on a bedhead 133 Figure 5.3 The author during apprenticeship 134 Figure 6.1 Posing with a high-end motorbike at Saharanpur’s annual Gul Fair 135 Figure 6.2 Men dressed in ‘Saudi style’ during Eid 158 Figure 6.3 Sweets being sold during Eid 158 Figure 7.1 Young men hanging out while working 160 Figure 7.2 A craftworker displays his cards and documents issued by the state 161 Figure 7.3 ‘Sandeep’, a Hindu resident of a village in the Garhwal Himalaya region displays his cards and documents issued by the state. 162 Figure 7.4 A carver working on a sofa back 185 vii Figure 8.1 Migrant workers sleeping in Hyderabad 186 Figure 8.2 Workers in Kamareddy 213 Figure 8.3 Employers socialising with their migrant labour 213 Figure 9.1 Migrant workers in Dubai 215 Figure 9.2 A dormitory in Abu Dhabi 243 Figure 9.3 Naseer looking on over a shopping mall in Hyderabad 243 Figure 10.1 Children peer through a rooftop rail onto the gully below 245 Figure 10.2 Kites flying in the evening sky over the mohallas 248 viii LIST OF FIGURES List of tables Table 8.1 Length of time spent away during the most recent migration 198 Table 8.2 Person who had recruited the respondent to a factory or workshop for migrant work on their most recent trip 198 Table 8.3 Religion of those employing workers who had migrated from Saharanpur, as stated by respondents regarding their most recent migration 199 Table 8.4 Origin of those employing workers who had migrated from Saharanpur, as stated by respondents regarding their most recent migration 199 ix Acknowledgements There are so many individuals who have contributed to this book in various ways over the years, too many to list everyone. First and foremost, however, I would like to make a heartfelt acknowledgement to my PhD supervisors, Geert De Neve and Filippo Osella, who shep- herded me through the thesis which forms the underlying skeleton of much of this book. Both their voices are present in these pages at vari- ous moments and they have continued to offer me advice and mentor- ing since. Magnus Marsden has also provided a great deal of advice and support over the years for which I am extremely grateful. Many other colleagues at the University of Sussex have offered comments, input and broader support including Suhas Basme, Grace Carswell, Erica Conster- dine, Syed Mohammed Faisal, Adam Fishwick, Diana Ibanez-Tirado, Ole Kaland, Katie McQuaid, Rebecca Prentice and Ross Wignall. My current employer, Oxford Brookes University, provided time and space for the completion of the book, Louella Matsunaga being particularly deft in helping me to balance writing time with other duties. Beyond direct colleagues, there are many other scholars who have offered comments and support with the book, or with other publications and material, some of which is included in these chapters. Patricia Jeffery has been a wonderful guide and mentor at various stages and Shalini Grover has been an ever-present supporter of this and other projects. Alessandra Mezzadri, Madeline Reeves, Nandini Gooptu, Anita Hammer, Vegard Iversen, Nayanika Mathur and Ursula Rao have all offered sup- port and encouragement. At UCL Press, Chris Penfold and Rebecca Empson have been patient and encouraging throughout the journey to publication, and Glynis Baguley has provided meticulous copyediting. There are, inevitably, many others but I hope I may be forgiven for not including everyone here. Critical among broader contributions has been the wonderful work of my research assistant Ayesha Ansari, who opened doors to spaces within Saharanpur where my male gender identity made access difficult. There are substantial sections of this book – chapters 3 x and 4 in particular – that would have been impossible to produce without her help. A project of this scale takes an emotional and psychological toll, one that I would not have been able to bear had it not been for various forms of personal support from friends and relatives. My mother has been relentlessly caring and, as a sociologist, has offered comments, encour- agement and critical help with proofreading. My father has always been willing to listen when called upon and his encouragement to persevere through more difficult periods of the writing process has been essential. I have been very fortunate to have the love and care of my wonderful wife, Joanna Patterson, throughout, as well as gentle encouragement from the impending birth of our future son, whose nearing presence has pushed me to reach completion. Many friends from home have kept me going including Michel Dennington, Sarah Robinson, Nicholas Wride and Kate Staniforth. In India, my old and very dear friend Sandeep Arya was always on hand throughout fieldwork to offer respite and a stiff drink. Critical here were my dear friends and language teachers Mohammad Yusef and Abdul Nasir, who were central in helping me understand the context in which I would eventually work. Finally, the deepest of all thanks must go to my many friends in Saharanpur who opened their lives, hearts and homes to me. In the inter- ests of anonymity, I do not name them here, but they all feature in this book at various moments under pseudonyms. Many are friends for life and our ongoing relationships, both when I return to the city and via various communications media from the UK, are an endless source of warmth, pleasure and companionship.