Review Essay of Kanchan Sarker (ed.), 2026, Organising the Unorganised. Krishnanagar, Nadia: Mudra Prakashan & Mudra Outlet.

Authors

  • Jan Breman University of Amsterdam

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15173/glj.v17i2.7220

Abstract

Organising the unorganised is an impressive account describing the plight of the India’s working classes stuck in the informal economy which denies rights of decent livelihood for the overwhelming part of India’s workforce. The compiled volume is a well-deserved tribute to the legion of organisers engaged in attempts to mobilise this exploited and subjected multitude to collective action. The assembled essays are dedicated to the memory of Sharit Bhowmik who as an academic researcher, trade unionist-cum-labour-activist was a role model in efforts to boost economic well-being and social justice for all and sundry. The book’s editor Kanchen Sarker has outlined in his introductory summary the conditions of employment of which informality and social insecurity are the pivotal features.

Author Biography

Jan Breman, University of Amsterdam

Jan Breman is Professor Emeritus of Comparative Sociology at the University of Amsterdam since 2001 and continues his academic work as Fellow at the International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam. His research is focused on South and Southeast Asia and concerns the study of labour and employment in the setting of globalized capitalism from the colonial to the postcolonial era. [Email: J.C.Breman@uva.nl]

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Published

2026-05-31

Issue

Vol. 17 No. 2 (2026): May Issue

Section

BOOK REVIEWS

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