Archives of Indian Labour

Permanent URI for this communityhttps://dans.nls.ac.in/handle/123456789/3878

ARCHIVES OF INDIAN LABOUR

(copied over from the original)

The Archives of Indian Labour was set up in July, 1998 as a collaborative project of the V.V. Giri National Labour Institute and the Association of Indian Labour Historians. The Archives of Indian Labour is dedicated to the cause of preserving and making accessible the fast depleting documents on the working class with the belief that,

"Archive is to society what memory is to human beings"

The Archives was instituted in order to address the urgent need for preservation of rapidly decaying documents and material on labour and to provide for greater public access to these. It has long been felt that documents and data on Indian labour -now and in the past - are being irretrievably lost. This was primarily due to the neglect and lack of an organised initiative to preserve these documents in India. The Archives of Indian Labour was constituted to overcome this lacuna of adequate documentation of the life and labour of the working class. Its long-term objective is to act as a specialised repository of records and voices of workers, and preserve textual, visual and oral records on labour in India.

The archive, apart from being a repository of sources and documents also builds collections and initiates research in the field of labour history. The collections are generated through projects commissioned especially for the purpose and through institutional documents donated by various organisations. Documents related to the labour movement (generated by workers' organisations, state and business enterprises) are preserved at the archives, in addition to personal narratives, memoirs, video and audio material. The archives combine this effort with an effective public dissemination system of which the offline and on-line access to the digital archives is a major component. Seminars, working papers, film shows, and publications ensure effective ways of disseminating information generated by the archives and other research programmes. The core activities of the archives are, thus:

  • Digital Archiving
  • Research and Collection
  • Public Interface and Dissemination

Some unique features of the Archives are:

  • Full-fledged digital structure: The documents and material on labour related issues are stored and made available in digital form. This is the first fully digital archives in the country and aspires to be the prime repository of labour related records.
  • Integrated Multimedia Storage and Retrieval System: The Archives is enabled to store records and material in different media formats, such as printed material, audio, video and digital forms and provide access to these through an integrated delivery system.
  • Enhanced Public Access: The digital access system installed at the Archives enables fast and meaningful delivery of documents through different access modes, such as offline networked PCs at the Archives, through CDs, and now over the World Wide Web. This enables a far greater access directly to the documents right to the level of page of a document or a tagged audio and video clip than a traditional archival system. A much wider public now can have access to basic information on conditions of labour over time.
  • Integration of historical and contemporary records: The digital archives enables simultaneous access to records of both the historical and contemporary periods. This provides historical depth to contemporary issues and situates historical changes in a contemporary perspective.
  • Focus on Records of the Unorganised sector labour: The archive has through special collections focused on the activities of workers of the unrecorded sector. A large number of interviews of workers and labour activists and documents of the labour movement in the sector have been stored and can be accessed.

You Can Help Us

Archives of Indian Labour preserves any kind of resources on issues related to labour, including:

  • Personal correspondence and biographical material of labour leaders
  • Documents of trade unions
  • Journals and newspapers addressing the labouring poor
  • Pamphlets, leaflets and posters issued by trade unions
  • Relevant papers of employees organisations
  • Relevant documents of business corporations
  • Oral testimonies, personal narratives of participants in labour struggles
  • Photographs, video tapes and films on labour
  • Work songs and other similar material of workers' culture
  • Trial proceedings in courts of law
  • Records of individual and collective labour disputes
  • Papers on international working class bodies
  • Records of the Ministry of Labour, National Commissions on Labour and other Government Agencies

The prospective social partners, in building up the archive, include:

  • Trade Unions
  • Employer's Organisations
  • Documentation Organisations
  • Libraries
  • Government Departments
  • Journalists
  • Research Institutes
  • Individual Researchers
  • NGOs
  • Social Activists

You could help us by contributing valuable data to the Archives of Indian Labour. Please feel free to contact us at:


Archives of Indian Labour
Integrated Labour History Research Programme
V.V.Giri National Labour Institute
Sector 24, NOIDA
Uttar Pradesh, PIN: 201 301
Tele: 91-120-2411469
E-mail: ilhrpnli[at]gmail.com

ASSOCIATION of INDIAN LABOUR HISTORIANS (AILH)

The Association of Indian Labour Historians is a professional body of historians, social scientists and scholars interested in furthering the historical understanding of the conditions of labour and labouring people.

The Association was founded in December 1996. The AILH provides a forum for interaction among scholars through regular meetings, seminars, conferences and publications. A major objective of the Association is to preserve, generate and make accessible documents and materials relating to the history and heritage of the Indian working class.

The Association, through its activities, also aims to revive and disseminate research on Indian labour. These are pursued through collaboration with universities, research institutions and similar bodies and with individuals associated with the labour movement.

Dr. Rana Behal
42 Deshbandhu Society
15 Patparganj
Delhi 110092
Ph-91-11-2721744

Integrated Labour History Research Programme

The Integrated Labour History Research Programme (ILHRP) is a specialised research programme on labour history research, set up in collaboration with the Association of Indian Labour Historians (AILH), a body of professional historians and scholars interested in history of labour. The overall aim of the ILHRP is to initiate, integrate and revive historical research on labour in India and is the first of its kind in the country. The programme has three mutually reinforcing components such as digital archiving of Indian labour; writing labour history of India; and interdisciplinary research. The archive systematically collects and preserves various documents and material concerning the working class in digital form, through collaboration and networking with various stakeholders (such as trade unions, NGOs, governmental departments and business houses). Networking with similar agencies (national and international) involved in digital archiving is also a crucial aspect of the archive. So far, the archive is the country's largest digital repository of labour documents, with more than 15 gigabytes of data on the World Wide Web, for public access. The collections for the archives are generated through commissioning and monitoring research and collection projects on prioritised areas of labour history, which involves negotiation and networking with experts and agencies, both within and outside the country. The programme also organises regular academic discussions, seminars and colloquia on the prioritised areas of labour history. The programme has so far more than 50 completed/ ongoing research and collection projects. Since year 2000, the programme has published 18 working papers and organised around 85 seminars/discussions, including 10 international seminars on labour history.

ILHRP has recently launched a project titled, "History of Dalit Movement and Labour Movement in India". The Project aims to document and research dalit movement in India focusing specially on the movement's interface with labour movement. The project attempts to fill the glaring lacunae in contemporary scholarly and political discourse by researching the sociological and historical intersection between labour and dalit movement. The activities undertaken in the project will trace the emergence, track the turning points and analyze the regional dimensions of both these movements.

International Conferences on Labour History

One of the most significant contributions of the ILHRP has been the 10 major International Conferences on Labour History organised to deliberate on significant themes like 'Towards Global Labour History: New Comparisons', 'Expanding the Frontiers of Labour History', 'Work and Non-Work: Histories in the Long Term', and 'Labour History - A Return to Politics'. These conferences provide an important platform for historians, social scientists and scholars to deliberate upon varied dynamics of labour history, furthering the historical understanding of the conditions on labour and labouring people. Scholars from around 20 countries across the world have been participating in the conferences on Labour History.

Joint Advisory Committee

The programme is continuously advised and monitored by a Joint Advisory Committee, which is constituted of nominees and representatives from both the Institute and the AILH. The current JAC Members of the Programme are:
  • Dr. H. Srinivas
  • Prof. Sumit Sarkar
  • Director General, National Archives of India
  • Dr. Ravi Vasudevan
  • Prof. Madhvan K. Palat
  • Dr. Indu Agnihotri
  • Dr. Prabhu P. Mohapatra
  • Dr. Rana P. Behal
  • Dr. Chitra Joshi
  • Dr. S.K. Sasikumar
Centre Co-ordinator
Dr. S.K. Sasikumar, Senior Fellow

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1974 - 197962000 - 20051

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Subject: search.filters.subject.Charter of Demands

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Now showing 1 - 8 of 8
  • Item
    Charter of Demands
    (Bharatiya Postal Employees Federation, 2005) Bharatiya Postal Employees Federation
    Poster regarding Charter of Demands by Bharatiya Postal Employees Federation.
  • Item
    Resolutions adopted in 1974 by Government and Railwaymen's Trade Unions [Resolutions File NCC - folder 15 AIRF Collections]
    (AIRF, 1974) All India Station Master's Association; National Coordination Body for Railwaymen's Struggle (Bhatinda); C.L.W. Railwaymen's Coordination Committee; All India Railway Stenographers Association (Jhansi Branch); All India Switchmen Cabinmen Levermen Advisory Council (Nagina)
    Text of resolutions adopted by trade unions in the Indian Railways at their local coordinations or category wise regional or national level conventions or meetings. One resolution is from a citizens Convention organised in Cooperation with railwaymens organisations; Resolutions mention to efforts at joint participation of members of national /regional level bodies such as AIFR, AILRSA and others. All resolutions reflect planning underway for the national level indefinite Railway strike that took place in May 1974. Contains also a resolution from the March 1974 National Convention of Central Government Employees Organisations.
  • Item
    Press Releases from NCCRS in March and April 1974
    (AIRF, 1974) National Coordination Committee For Railwaymen's Struggle (NCCRS)
    5 press releases from NCCRS (one in Hindi) dealing with the 6 point Charter of demands taken up at the National Convention of Railwaymen and their planned strike action, and with appointment of an action committee to discuss matters to be taken for negotiation in a meeting of railwaymen with India's minister of Railways
  • Item
    Documents pertaining to the 1974 national convention of AIRF
    (All India Railwaymen's Federation (AIRF), 1974) All India Railwaymen's Federation (AIRF); Western Railway Employees Union (WREU); Joint Council of Action (Sealdah division); Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU)
    Documents on preparation of National Convention of Railwaymen 1974 organised by All India Railwaymen's Federation (AIRF); invitation to all unions, mailing list with postal addresses, notices of preparatory meetings in different cities (Madras, Jodhpur, Junagadh); List of letters in response to the AIRF invitation, Press release describing preparation of Railway strike following the Railwaymen's convention.
  • Item
    Correspondence file of AIRF regarding preparations of national convention of 1974
    (AIRF, 1974) Saksena, S.K.; Lall, Chaman; Purohit, Umraomal; Susankar; Anand, S.R.; Subramanian, M.R.; Dutta, Rasamay; Sitaraman, M.; Niranjan, T.K.; Verma, R.K.; Shrivastava, B.B.; Fernandes, George; Chatterji, U.P.; Chowdhury, B.P. Roy; Namasivayam, M.; Huque, S.A.; Maharaj, Anand; Ghosh, K.N.; Bhargava, M.P.; Sindhi, J.C.; Sarkar, Satyanarayan; Jayadeva, C.N.; Vincent, Antony; Vasu, M.; Sreenivasan, V.B.; Mukherjee, S.K.
    Correspondence file of AIRF. Contains letter(s) . . . to the India's Railway Minister; text of resolutions passed at regional and national level deliberations of unions and staff associations, regarding recommendations of the third Pay Commission regarding job designation of 'Mistri' [Mechanics] as junior supervisors and its implications for pay; the resolution demands equal treatment with other public sector employees, a revision of pay structure of class III and IV employees, and demands bonus of 8,33 percent and questions doing away with housing provisions for certain employees, Fresh job analysis and training, regularisation of casual or temporary workers etc
  • Item
    Resolutions from All India Railways Junior Supervisors Association and NCCRS and AIRF
    (All India Railwaymen's Federation (AIRF)) All India Railwaymen's Federation (AIRF); All India Railway Junior Supervisors Association; All India Railway Employees Confederation; National Coordination Committee for Railwaymen's Struggle
    Folder with letter to L.N. Mishra India's Railway Minister; text of resolutions passed at regional and national level deliberations of unions and staff associations, regarding recommendations of the Thrid Pay Commission regarding job designation of 'Mistri' [Mechanics] as junior supervisors and its implications for pay; the resolution demands equal treatment with other public sector employees, a revision of pay structure of class III and IV employees, and demands bonus of 8,33 percent and questions doing away with housing provisions for certain employees, Fresh job analysis and training, regularisation of casual or temporary workers etc
  • Item
    Railway Unions Letters and Applications File (AIRF/ 160 -B (iii))
    (AIRF, 1974) Indian Railways Ticket Checking Staff Association; All India Railway Commercial Clerks Association; All India Train Examiners' Association; All India Railway Technical Staff; Indian Railway Pharmacist's Association; United Committee of Railwaymen; All India Railwaymen's Federation (AIRF)
    Collection of letters addressed to AIRF and responses; These also express inter-union tensions and difference of views and problems of organisation; e.g. A letter from All India Railway Commercial Clerks Association expresses distrust at AIRF strike call and refers its nefarious role in the 1968 strike; The strike call should not be from AIRF but from all railwaymen represented in different category-wise unions;
  • Item
    Notes / Memos by unions along with management orders concerning the 1974 railway strike
    (AIRF, 1974) All India Railwaymen's Federation (AIRF); All India Guards Council; Zonal Coordination Committee for Railwaymen's Struggle; Ministry of Railways; Northern Railways
    Cover note by All India Railwaymen's Federation along with office orders from Northern Railways concerning the strike action by railway workers; Note from Ministry of Railways with transfer orders of Engineers; notes by All India Guards Council and the Zonal Coordination Committee for Railwaymen's Struggle concerning the strike; also a leaflet in Hindi by All India Loco Running Staff Association.; Note by George Fernandes following his meeting with Chairman of the Railway Board; Notice by All India NG Audit and Accounts Association regarding the railway strike; Note from AIRF on letter handed to the President of India Mr V.V. Giri regarding the Railwaymen's Demands.