Changing Livelihoods in Delhi’s Periphery Circa 1930-2012.

Abstract

The paper highlights changing proportions of students, homemakers, home based workers, employers, entrepreneurs, ‘illegal’ professions, middlemen, activists and ‘multi taskers’ etc. along with standard occupational categories like agriculturists, skilled and unskilled labour and salaried workers in both locations. The study shows that among the five broad phases of policy regimes in the country since the late colonial era, it is the period of economic liberalisation that benefitted the workforce the most in the said locations, contrary to the general left anticipation of pauperisation and proletarianistion growing with liberalisation. The paper concludes with a list of policy imperatives and some pointers for future research in this light.