New Delhi, India
First Annual Conference of the AILH
First Annual Conference of the Association of Indian Labour Historians took place in New Delhi at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library and at the School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University.By Ratna Saptari
On average more than fifty participants attended the nine sessions in which 29 papers and 3 video films were presented and discussed. Five papers dealt with 'The State, Labour and Regulations ' between 1780 and 1940, six with 'Labour Movement and Other Forms of Resistance ' in the twentieth century. Transitions between aritisanal, industrial, and marginal labour were discussed in nine papers covering the period between 1750 until the present and in three films. International comparisons covering the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries were made in two papers; two other papers under the theme 'Labour Today ' were also presented.The Association of Indian Labour Historians has its roots in the Conference 'South Indian Labour: Local and Global Linkages' held at the International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam from 26 - 28 October 1995. At this conference, the idea emerged of establishing a more permanent organization for Indian labour historians; on 15 -16 December 1996 a meeting at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi resulted in the foundation of the Association of Indian Labour Historians. This association supports a broad interpretation of labour history: while the initial focus will be on wage work in the modern era (i.e. since c. 1750), expansion to include earlier periods, household labour, forms of slavery and the like are also possible. The association values comparative analyses. In addition to promoting research, the association hopes to salvage research.
For more information contact Dr Dilip Simeon at OXFAM. E-mail : dilip@del2.vsnl.in