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Circles of Value : A Study of Working Lives of Informal Sector Traders in Delhi, India

Raphael, Riya LU (2021)
Abstract
This study revolves around the working lives of pheriwale, a group of self-employed traders within India’s vast informal economy. Pheriwale have been trading in Delhi for nearly a century and are involved in the second-hand clothing trade. Among the wide variety of street vendors and traders in the city, pheriwale are one of the most visibly women-dominated. They offer a door-to-door service, collecting used clothes in exchange for new kitchen utensils through barter, to the residents of the city and its suburbs. The collected used clothes are then sold to bulk-buyers in the marketplace (mandi), who in turn sell them forward after repair or washing; the used clothes can also end up in export factories, where they are disintegrated and... (More)
This study revolves around the working lives of pheriwale, a group of self-employed traders within India’s vast informal economy. Pheriwale have been trading in Delhi for nearly a century and are involved in the second-hand clothing trade. Among the wide variety of street vendors and traders in the city, pheriwale are one of the most visibly women-dominated. They offer a door-to-door service, collecting used clothes in exchange for new kitchen utensils through barter, to the residents of the city and its suburbs. The collected used clothes are then sold to bulk-buyers in the marketplace (mandi), who in turn sell them forward after repair or washing; the used clothes can also end up in export factories, where they are disintegrated and become part of the rag industry. In addition, the pheriwale’s marketplace offers a cheap and affordable second-hand clothing market to the city’s low-income and working-class groups. Thus, pheriwale, like workers who are involved in recycling and belong to lower-caste groups, add value to the used clothes by collecting, sorting and bringing them back onto the market.
Engaging with the concept of value enables this thesis to account for the value generated by pheriwale’s labour, as well as the aspects of their everyday working lives which they value. Locating these theoretical debates and empirical concerns through an intersectional framework inspired by Dalit feminist literature provides a more nuanced approach to exploring how caste, gender and class intersect. The research questions which guide this study include: How can the working lives of pheriwale women offer ways to unfold the multiple dimensions of value and deepen a theorisation of the concept? How do the pheriwale organise their working routines, and how are they as traders embedded within local, regional and global markets? How do experiences of waiting for state-issued documents and welfare benefits shape notions of value and pheriwale women’s relation to the state institutions? How does a feeling of having control over one’s time and energy at work by being self-employed frame notions of value in everyday working lives?
Qualitative research inspired by ethnographic study was conducted at the pheriwale’s mandi in West Delhi, to facilitate this study. Primary empirical material includes conversations with pheriwale, observation and fieldnotes. The theoretical frame draws upon anthropological, Marxist and feminist theorisations of value, and intersectionality provides a lens to contextualise the discussion on value specifically for this study.
The findings of this doctoral thesis highlight pheriwale’s working routines, and also how their trade is linked to local, regional and transnational flows of used clothes. Formalised state-issued documents are important for the pheriwale, who are primarily lower-caste women working in informal economic conditions, in order to secure welfare benefits. The feeling of having more control over time and energy and avoiding discriminatory and alienating work environments by being self- employed are important values at and beyond work for pheriwale. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
Denna studie kretsar kring pheriwale, en grupp egenföretagare inom Indiens stora informella ekonomi. Pheriwale har livnärt sig på handel i Delhi under nästan ett sekel och sysslar med handel med begagnade kläder. De är en av de mest tydligt kvinnodominerade grupperna av gatuhandlare och -försäljare i staden. Genom att knacka dörr hos invånare i staden och förorten sysslar de med byteshandel och samlar in begagnade kläder i utbyte mot nya köksredskap. De insamlade begagnade kläderna säljs sedan till partihandlare på marknaden (mandi), som i sin tur säljer dem vidare efter lagning eller tvätt. De begagnade kläderna kan också hamna i exportfabriker, där de rivs sönder till trasor och återanvänds i industrin. Dessutom utgör pheriwales... (More)
Denna studie kretsar kring pheriwale, en grupp egenföretagare inom Indiens stora informella ekonomi. Pheriwale har livnärt sig på handel i Delhi under nästan ett sekel och sysslar med handel med begagnade kläder. De är en av de mest tydligt kvinnodominerade grupperna av gatuhandlare och -försäljare i staden. Genom att knacka dörr hos invånare i staden och förorten sysslar de med byteshandel och samlar in begagnade kläder i utbyte mot nya köksredskap. De insamlade begagnade kläderna säljs sedan till partihandlare på marknaden (mandi), som i sin tur säljer dem vidare efter lagning eller tvätt. De begagnade kläderna kan också hamna i exportfabriker, där de rivs sönder till trasor och återanvänds i industrin. Dessutom utgör pheriwales marknadsplatser en billig och prisvärd marknad av begagnade kläder för stadens låginkomst- och arbetarklassgrupper. Således tillför pheriwale, liksom arbetare som är involverade i återvinning och tillhör grupper med lägre kast, värde till begagnade kläder genom att samla in, sortera och återföra dem till marknaden.
Med utgångspunkt i begreppet ”värde” redogör denna avhandling för det värde som genereras av pheriwales arbete, men också de aspekter av arbetslivet som periwhale värdesätter i vardagen. Genom att lokalisera dessa teoretiska debatter och empiriska problem inom ett intersektionellt ramverk, inspirerat av dalitisk feministisk litteratur, erbjuder avhandlingen ett nyanserat tillvägagångssätt för att utforska hur kast, kön och klass skär igenom varandra. Forskningsfrågorna som leder den här studien inkluderar: Hur kan pheriwale-kvinnors arbetsliv erbjuda sätt att utveckla olika dimensioner i värdebegreppet och fördjupa en teoretisering av det? Hur organiserar pheriwale sina arbetsrutiner, och hur är de i egenskap av gatuhandlare integrerade i lokala, regionala och globala marknader? Hur formar upplevelser av att vänta på statligt utfärdade dokument och välfärdsförmåner föreställningar om värde och pheriwale-kvinnors relation till statliga institutioner? Hur kan en känsla av att ha kontroll över sin tid och energi på jobbet genom att vara egenföretagare forma uppfattningar om värde i vardagen?
Studien bygger på kvalitativ forskning inspirerad av etnografiska studier som genomfördes vid pheriwales mandi i västra Delhi. Det empiriska primärmaterialet inkluderar samtal med pheriwale, observationer och fältanteckningar. Den teoretiska ramen bygger på antropologiska, marxistiska och feministiska teorier om värde, och intersektionalitetsbegreppet erbjuder ett synsätt för att kontextualisera diskussionen om värde specifikt för denna studie.
Resultaten i denna doktorsavhandling lyfter fram pheriwales arbetsrutiner, men även hur deras handel är kopplad till lokala, regionala och gränsöverskridande flöden av begagnade kläder. Statligt utfärdade formella dokument är viktiga för att säkerställa välfärdsförmåner för pheriwale, som främst är kvinnor med lägre kast som arbetar i den informella ekonomin. Känslan av att i egenskap av egenföretagare ha mer kontroll över sin tid och energi, liksom att kunna undvika diskriminerande och alienerande arbetsmiljöer, är viktiga värden för pheriwale både i och utanför arbetet.
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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
supervisor
opponent
  • Professor Harriss-White, Barbara, University of Oxford
organization
publishing date
type
Thesis
publication status
published
subject
keywords
theories of value, pheriwale, informal economy, informal sector, recycle traders, Dalit feminism, intersectionality, caste, pheri, Social reproduction, waiting, relational autonomy, Delhi, India
pages
232 pages
publisher
Lund University
defense location
Online, Zoom Link: https://lu-se.zoom.us/j/68278827024?pwd=am5XcGdNdk9kTnZPNDFySlVBQW9Gdz09 Passcode: 2020
defense date
2021-06-10 13:15:00
ISBN
978-91-7895-759-0
978-91-7895-760-6
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
808c7adc-6b1d-4861-adef-5be802988e48
date added to LUP
2021-05-10 13:28:50
date last changed
2023-04-26 15:29:53
@phdthesis{808c7adc-6b1d-4861-adef-5be802988e48,
  abstract     = {{This study revolves around the working lives of pheriwale, a group of self-employed traders within India’s vast informal economy. Pheriwale have been trading in Delhi for nearly a century and are involved in the second-hand clothing trade. Among the wide variety of street vendors and traders in the city, pheriwale are one of the most visibly women-dominated. They offer a door-to-door service, collecting used clothes in exchange for new kitchen utensils through barter, to the residents of the city and its suburbs. The collected used clothes are then sold to bulk-buyers in the marketplace (mandi), who in turn sell them forward after repair or washing; the used clothes can also end up in export factories, where they are disintegrated and become part of the rag industry. In addition, the pheriwale’s marketplace offers a cheap and affordable second-hand clothing market to the city’s low-income and working-class groups. Thus, pheriwale, like workers who are involved in recycling and belong to lower-caste groups, add value to the used clothes by collecting, sorting and bringing them back onto the market.<br/>Engaging with the concept of value enables this thesis to account for the value generated by pheriwale’s labour, as well as the aspects of their everyday working lives which they value. Locating these theoretical debates and empirical concerns through an intersectional framework inspired by Dalit feminist literature provides a more nuanced approach to exploring how caste, gender and class intersect. The research questions which guide this study include: How can the working lives of pheriwale women offer ways to unfold the multiple dimensions of value and deepen a theorisation of the concept? How do the pheriwale organise their working routines, and how are they as traders embedded within local, regional and global markets? How do experiences of waiting for state-issued documents and welfare benefits shape notions of value and pheriwale women’s relation to the state institutions? How does a feeling of having control over one’s time and energy at work by being self-employed frame notions of value in everyday working lives?<br/>Qualitative research inspired by ethnographic study was conducted at the pheriwale’s mandi in West Delhi, to facilitate this study. Primary empirical material includes conversations with pheriwale, observation and fieldnotes. The theoretical frame draws upon anthropological, Marxist and feminist theorisations of value, and intersectionality provides a lens to contextualise the discussion on value specifically for this study.<br/>The findings of this doctoral thesis highlight pheriwale’s working routines, and also how their trade is linked to local, regional and transnational flows of used clothes. Formalised state-issued documents are important for the pheriwale, who are primarily lower-caste women working in informal economic conditions, in order to secure welfare benefits. The feeling of having more control over time and energy and avoiding discriminatory and alienating work environments by being self- employed are important values at and beyond work for pheriwale.}},
  author       = {{Raphael, Riya}},
  isbn         = {{978-91-7895-759-0}},
  keywords     = {{theories of value; pheriwale; informal economy; informal sector; recycle traders; Dalit feminism; intersectionality; caste; pheri; Social reproduction; waiting; relational autonomy; Delhi; India}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{06}},
  publisher    = {{Lund University}},
  school       = {{Lund University}},
  title        = {{Circles of Value : A Study of Working Lives of Informal Sector Traders in Delhi, India}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}