Reproducing Elite Lives: Women in Aggarwal Family Businesses

Abstract

This article explores the social reproductive roles performed by elite “upper”-caste Aggarwal women in family businesses in Delhi. With the substantialization of caste, there is an increase in heterogeneities within caste groups. By focussing on women’s associational and familial roles in a South Delhi neighborhood three strategies of reproduction are discussed: first, forging inter-strata fictive kinship ties for caste cohesion through women’s “social work”; second, forging intra-strata fictive kinship ties for business opportunities through sustained interactions; and third, steering the individuating aspirations of children around marital choices for the unity of the joint family and business. These strategies of elite reproduction highlight the secularizing pulls on gender and caste in urban contexts, despite the dependence of family businesses on caste and family ties. Furthermore, by focusing on women in family businesses, this article shows that while they are not passive victims of caste patriarchy neither are they invisible in the male-centric family businesses.