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

Browse

Subject: search.filters.subject.Indian Railways

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 10 of 13
  • Item
    Rail Karmi Samvaad (November-December, 2001) [रेल कर्मी संवाद (नवम्बर-दिसम्बर, 2001)]
    (Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, 2001) Prasad, Shashi
    Special Issue on Rakesh Mohan's Committee in 'Rail Karmi Samvaad' (November-December, 2001).
  • Item
    Press Releases file NCCRS [Folder 15 AIRF]
    (AIRF, 1974) Press Information Bureau; National Coordination Committee of Railwaymen's Struggle (NCCRS)
    An official government communique in the form of a PIB release -- letter by Railway Minister to George Fernandes the leader of the All India Railwaymen's Federation regarding reaching a negotiated settlement to meet Railwaymen's demands. A Trade union press release from Dibrugarh calling working class unity and a Press release by NCCRS - Eastern Railway Calcutta on the 1000 delegate convention taking stock of the post-strike situation and its impact and attitude of administration with regards reinstatement of dismissed workers and court cases etc.
  • Item
    File on Press Releases, Notices and supporting documents Post-1974 Railway Strike
    (AIRF, 1974) National Coordination Committee For Railwaymen's Struggle (NCCRS); Socialist Party of India
    File containing press releases from NCCRS following the 1974 railway strike and supporting original documents such as a letter from a socialist leader to the Prime Minister regarding of repression of railway workers during the 1974 railway strike and a management order from the Indian railways giving a list of employees who are dismissed from their jobs for being absent from work.
  • Item
    Three Letters to General Secretary of AIRF
    (AIRF, 1979) Rao, V.K.T; Gramachandran, G.
    Two handwritten letters written in 1977 to J.P. Chaubey, General Secretary, AIRF. One of these letters concerns re-instatement of personnel dismissed from service during the 1974 railway strike.
  • Item
    Orders from Indian Railways Officials Pertaining to Wage Increments of Absentees during 1974 Strike and Related Press Releases by AIRF
    (AIRF, 1979) All India Railwaymen's Federation (AIRF)
    Text of order and an internal memo dated August 1976 (in light of recommendations of third pay commission) from the personnel management of Indian Railways pertaining to regulation of annual wage increments for railway staff who were absent during the 1974 Railway strike, that these be treated as leave without Pay. A press release by All India Railwaymens Federation (AIRF). in english dated 23 March 1978 caoncerns a call for a sit-in of all govt employees unions to end all victimisation, various other demands such as revision of Dearness Allowance, non disparity with regards to leave entitlement, abolition of contract labour etc. There is also a one page text in Hindi from AIRF listing 15 demands of workers at the All India Railway Engineering Staff Conference held on 14-15 March 1978.
  • Item
    Text of Notice from Eastern Railways
    (AIRF, 1974) Sawhney, V. P
    Notice from General Manager, Eastern Railways, states that any strike by a govt servant while the proclamation of emergency under the Defence of India Act and Rules are under force would be illegal. It mentions the order dated 25 November 1973 published in the Gazette of India prohibits strikes in the Railways for a period of six months from 26 November 1973. Strike notice would be in contravention of emergency rules. Preparation or abetment is punishable by three years of imprisonment.
  • Item
    Advertisements and Notices addressed to Railway workers
    (AIRF, 1974) Eastern Railways
    The text of Appeals and Warnings [in English, Hindi and Bengali] in the form of official notices and advertisements addressed to Railway workers in India to desist from participating in the Railway strike of 1974. That the railways are the lifeline of the country and that 'if you win, you'll loose'. Stike action is illegal as per defence of India rules and participation in a strike will draw penal action, loss of pay and jobs etc.
  • Item
    News reports and Union Press Release
    (AIRF, 1974)
    Two news reports in the National Herald on a corruption scandal in the Railways. The report refers to allegations by the Northern Railwaymen's Union. There is also a scanned version of a July 21, 1974 press release containing the resolution adopted at a two day meet of Central Trade union organisations and national federations of labour.
  • Item
    Letters file AIRF 160- B Part 1 (a)
    (AIRF, 1974) All India Railwaymen's Federation (AIRF); Raipur Division Insurance Employees Union; Socialist Party of India; Northern Railwaymen's Union; South Central Railway Mazdoor Union; Western Railway Employees Union; N.E. Railway Mazdoor Union; D.L.W. Men's Union
    1974 Letters file of the All India Railwaymen's Federation (AIRF) with letters to affiliate unions, also containing union resolutions. There are also letters from political parties such as the Socialist Party addressed to the Govt of India with regards to the Railway strike. Some letters pertain to the dismissal of workers from service; explaining the legal position -- the dismissal of workers under which rules in the railways pertaining to disciplinary action etc. Many letters regarding specific cases of victimisation of railway employees.
  • Item
    Railways Management Circulars regarding Demonstrations and Meetings
    (AIRF, 1974) N.F. Railway
    The text of official management circulars between March and April 1974 from the Indian Railways management regarding the participation of workers in demonstrations and public meetings. It points to rule 7 of Railway Service conduct rules 1966 as per which there are restrictions on railway servants.