Seasonal migration and co‐operative capitalism: The crushing of cane and of labour by the sugar factories of Bardoli, South Gujarat—part 1∗

Abstract

Seasonal migration is not a new phenomonen in India, but its. present character and scale are indicative of afar‐reaching transformation in the countryside: a change to new production relationships. This article contains an analysis of the utilisation of migrant labourers by the sugar factories in the vicinity of Bardoli, in South Gujarat. This type of seasonal migration is most closely bound up with the capitalist development of rural production in this area—a process in which the organization of dominant class of farmers into agricultural co‐operatives has played an important part. After a description of the development of sugarcane cultivation in Surat District, consideration is given to the process of recruitment of seasonal migrants, the organization of cane cutting, the conditions of work, the reasons for the employment of migratory labour (given the availability of local labour), and, finally, the nature of both the level and the perception of the exploitation of labour.