Capital and Labour in Bombay City, 1928-29

This paper attempts to study the historical specificities of class conflict and consciousness in colonial India in the industrial context. This attempt is made on the basis of a study of certain long-term trends converging towards an intensification of labour-capital conflict in the Bombay textile industry and a detailed analysis of a nodal point, the strike actions of 1928-29. The paper questions some current notions about the 'irrationality' of working-class behaviour faced with technological change.