Gender ideologies and the formation of rural industrial classes in South India today

Major structural changer are under way today in employment in rural India. There has been a great increase in non-agricultural employment. This case s tudy considers one form of non-agricultural employment, namely rural manufa cturing industry in South India. The synthetic gem-cutting industry has bee n established in central Tamilnadu for decades. However; in the 1990s this rural industry has gone through extremely rapid and significant change. II is argued that this industrial transition is both impacting on, and has in turn been influenced by, rural caste and kinship relations. These transform ing relations connect closely with the process of class differentiation tha t is under rr ay within the various rural social groups who are associated with the industry. Within this context it is argued that two general hypoth eses can be made. First, it is argued that the 'working class' is nor undif ferentiated, but deeply fractured along caste and gender lines. Second, it is claimed that class relations do nor always stand as the primary mediator of labour relations. it is shown that for a significant part of the indust rial workforce, it is in fact gender ideologies. discourses and practices t hat mediate labour relations.