History of Labour in Colonial and Postcolonial India — DU History Honours Previous Year Question Papers

1. Analyze the shift in labour historiography in India from class-based analysis to a culture- and identity-centered approach. 2. Discuss the nature and characteristics of labour in agriculture and colonial plantations. 3. Critically examine the shift from bonded labour to wage labour in colonial India. 4. Examine the nature and changing role of the informal sector in Indian industrial settings from the colonial period to the 1960s. 5. Explain caste-based "dirty work" and its reinforcement under colonial policies, with relevant examples. 6. Evaluate women's labour in industrial sectörs with reference to protective legislation and their marginalisation in the late colonial India. Analyze the key areas of tension and collaboration between organized labour and the Indian National Congress during the freedom struggle. 7. Critically examine the forms of labour resistance and the challenges they faced in colonial India. 8. Write short notes on any two of the following: i. Impact of industrialization on traditional artisans ii. Labour politics in Bombay's Girangaon. iii. B. R. Ambedkar and labour reforms iv. Jobbers V. Globalization and labour rights