Name: Subhashri Sarkar
Email: ph19006@iisermohali.ac.in
Name of the supervisor: Dr. Anu Sabhlok
Research Focus: My study focuses on the relationship between the process of urbanization and rise of flexible labour. There has been emergence of labour chowks (hubs) with the process of urbanization. Labour chowks are major gathering points for all those workers who seek daily wage and flexible work in urban informal economy. Historical, geographical & economic processes have facilitated the formation of labour chowks at particular locations. My study aims to understand such processes behind labour mobility and other spatio-temporal aspects. Also, as we have entered the era of information economy with smart phones, cars buildings, appliances merging into internet of things, technology has come up with a lot of disruptions especially in labour markets. ‘Digital Labour platforms’ are fallout of technological disruptions fueled by fourth industrial revolution i.e.‘digitization’ that are effectively channeling India’s informal & social economies. Platforms have created new spaces & means of generating surplus value which can have implications for balance of power between capital and labour. Hence, my research also tries to understand the shifting labour process with the digital transformation where emerging digital labour platforms are like virtual labour chowks.
Education: M.A. Honours (Economics), [Panjab University]
B.A. Honours (Economics), [Panjab University]Fellowship/Scholarship : UGC NET JRF
Title of the thesis : From Labour Chowk to Urban clap: An ethnographic study of flexible labour in Chandigarh Tri-city region
Selected Publications: A cup full of woes : Wages & Tea Industry, February,2019, Indian Journal of Economics & Development, Vol 7, (2), pp. 1-8.