Crafting India's Skill Ecology

Name: Crafting India's Skill Ecology
Price: 180.75 AUD
Availability: PreOrder

Reproductions, Recalibrations, and Reimaginations

By: Saikat Maitra (Editor), Sebastian Schwecke (Editor)

Write A Review

Hardcover | 26 November 2025 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Hardcover
280 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
23.4 x 15.6

Hardcover

RRP $273.00

$180.75

34%OFF

or 4 interest-free payments of $45.19 with

Available: 26th November 2025

Preorder. Will ship when available.

This volume traces how the discourse of skill evolved in colonial and postcolonial India, from the mid-nineteenth century to the present neoliberal era. It introduces the concept of skill ecology to capture the broader political, economic, and social environment within which skills emerge, transform, and acquire meaning. Skill is examined here not merely as a technical attribute but as a historically contingent category, shaped by state policy, capitalist ideologies, and hierarchies of power.

Focusing on industrial training from the late colonial period - particularly the 1930s - through Nehruvian state-led industrialisation and into the era of neoliberal reform, the book explores how skilling became a terrain of collaboration and contestation between the state and the capital. It also reveals how social relations influence the legitimacy of skills, determining what forms of labour are seen as 'skilled' or 'unskilled' and for whom.

Combining perspectives from history, political science, and colonial and postcolonial studies, this interdisciplinary work offers fresh insights into the politics of labour and development in South Asia. It will be essential reading for scholars and researchers in modern history, political science, sociology, economics, social policy, and Asian studies.

Shipping

	Standard Shipping	Express Shipping
Metro postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Regional postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Rural postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95

Orders over $79.00 qualify for free shipping.

How to return your order

At Booktopia, we offer hassle-free returns in accordance with our returns policy. If you wish to return an item, please get in touch with Booktopia Customer Care.

Additional postage charges may be applicable.