Just like a family? Recalling the relations of production in the textile industries of Surat and Bhiwandi, 1940-60

This paper explores discourses about industry by looking at the representat ions of the past formulated by owners, workers and trade union leaders in t he cities of Surat and Bhiwandi. Drawing upon literature on social memory a s well as upon Scott's discussion of 'weapons of the weak', it argues that current circumstances of different social groupings in these cities and the ir views of prospects for change in the future have a profound effect on th e ways they view owner-employer relations before 1960. A particular focus h ere is with the willingness of different participants in the textile indust ry to accept a portrayal of past relations as having been 'like a family'. For,workers, nostalgic attitudes and more critical recollections both serve as means of contesting a present characterised by serious strains between capital and labour, by serious fears of losing work, and by widely shared p erceptions that collective action is futile: These views of history are con trasted with those of owners on the one hand and labour activists on the ot her.