Visibilising the underbelly of global capitalism : : transnational movements of labour as commodity

Rita Manchanda

doi:10.54945/jjpp.v7i1.215

Authors

Rita Manchanda

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54945/jjpp.v7i1.215

Abstract

At the annual Pravesi Bharatiya Diwas, the contribution of overseas Indians and the diaspora is celebrated but amidst the high achievers, presidents, and billionaires, ignored and invisible is the contribution of the low and semiskilled workers, especially female domestic workers at the lowest rung of the labour hierarchy of those who migrate to the Gulf and S. E Asian migration corridor. They expose themselves to working and living in a world of precarity, in the desperate hope of lifting their families out of poverty. The Gulf countries account for half of India's 18 million emigrants whose official remittances make up nearly a fifth of the total 87 billion USD overall remittance flows into India. Braving indebtedness, exploitative recruitment agencies, the uncertainties of fraud about jobs, wage theft, bonded labour and dire living conditions, health neglect, hunger, sexual harassment and even torture, migrant workers from South Asia risk their all to escape the hopelessness of unemployment at home in order to sustain their families living there.

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Author Biography

Rita Manchanda

Rita Manchanda is a feminist scholar, author, human rights, peace and social justice advocate working in South Asia with particular attention to defending the rights of vulnerable and marginalised groups: women, religious and ethnic minorities and forcibly displaced persons. Several of her books, chapters and articles have made significant contributions and provided new insights in works such as “Women War and Peace in South Asia”, “Women and the Politics of Peace”, “New Directions in Women, Peace and Security”, “No Nonsense Guide to Minority Rights in South Asia”, States in Conflict with their Minorities”, “Contesting Infantalisation of Forced Migrant Women” and “Gender Conflict and Forced Migration in India: Human Rights” in The Elgar Companion to Gender and Global Migration (2023). Previously as Executive and Research Director of the 'South Asia Forum for Human Rights (SAFHR) , she coordinated a multicountry field based human rights audits of peace processes resulting in the “SAGE Series in Human Rights Audits of Peace Processes”. She has been Gender Advisor, Commonwealth Technical Fund (2004-5), consultant with 168 Jindal Journal of Public Policy, Vol. 7, Issue 1 UN Women (2010-11,2012-13, 2014), Centre for Humanitarian Dialogues (2011, 2012), and SAFERWORLD (2015, 2016). She is an experienced guest lecturer on Global Studies and Peace, conflict and gender studies.