Transformations in the age and gender of unfree workers on hybrid cotton seed farms in Andhra Pradesh

Unfreedom in Indian agriculture is ordinarily associated with adult male bo nded labour and it is generally argued that unfreedom is likely to disappea r as capitalism spreads/advances. By contrast, we find that workers employe d on advanced capitalist cotton seed farms in Andhra Pradesh - accumulation linked to national and multinational capital - involves the employment of labour-power which is mostly unfree, female and young (7-14 years), Address ed here are the reasons for the transformations in the age and gender of un free workers on such farms since the early 1970s, We argue that, in the con text of men's emancipation from bonded labour; employers actively sought ou r relatively cheaper more easily disciplined, unfree female labour Then, in order to secure even cheaper female child labour employers segmented the f emale labour marker via ideologies about the superiority of female children over adult females. Corresponding changes in labourers' gender relations, which pur more of the onus of family maintenance on to women and daughters. were found to facilitate the unfreedom of females.