Part of the 'Occasional Papers' series of CSSSC, this essay is a brief, and sharply posed, exchange between Dipesh Chakrabarty and Ranajit Das Gupta on working class consciousness in Bengal. it posits that this consciousness is not a mechanical outcome of the capitalist mode of production, it is not a thing but a process; that even failure must be taken on board in order to flesh out that process; that not only was the working class present (and therefore conscious) of its own making, but drew from rich pre-capitalist cultural traditions of dissent, rebellion and republicanism. the essay asks pertinent questions about the morality of labour, history of peasant revolts, capitalist intervention, religious discrimination among labourers etc.

About the Author
Dipesh Chakrabarty: Lawrence A. Kimpton Distinguished Service Professor of History, South Asian languages and Civilizations, University of Chicago


Book Information
ISBN 9780199486670
Author Dipesh Chakrabarty
Format Hardback
Page Count 112
Imprint OUP India
Publisher OUP India
Weight(grams) 192g
Dimensions(mm) 185mm * 135mm * 14mm