Dynamiques industrielles et transformations sociales

Objectives

The main objective of this multidisciplinary project is : to analyse the conditions that have favoured industrialisation in the Palar Valley in northern Tamil Nadu, and examine the social and spatial impacts of this economic growth in a region that remains essentially rural. The small towns of the Valley generate about 50% of India’s total leather production and provide high rates of industrial employment, for both men and women.

When this collective project was launched, the studies focused mainly on industrial dynamics (organisation of production, role of public and private players) and the social changes associated with this economic growth (evolving ethnic identities, new modes of socialisation). Several new themes have since been incorporated which add to the present dimensions of the study. These include : society/environment interface ; evolution of rural spaces and socio-spatial mobility (especially of women) as a result of the process of industrialisation. This project was initiated by the Department of Social Sciences in 1998 and the final field surveys were completed in 2002.

More information.

Materials and Methods

The participants of this research programme implemented methods specific to their respective disciplines, but all used field surveys to collect primary data. In order to reconstitute the journey of the leather industry for example and to analyse its present performance, extensive interviews were conducted with entrepreneurs and other industry professionals. Similarly, on the basis of participatory observation in several large factories, managerial practices were examined in an effort to understand the conciliation of traditional attitudes and norms with the pressures of modern industrial output. Field surveys yielded information about the impact of organised employment on gender relations and the status of women, as well as about changing kinship and marriage patterns. Based on local written and oral sources, an historical study of the Muslim community is being undertaken with focus on local social and cultural institutions.

To produce a detailed diachronic analysis of changes pertaining to demography, agricultural systems and land use patterns, a Geographical Information System is being designed based on various sources such as satellite images and statistical data. This GIS is supplemented by more localised socio-economic studies based on fieldwork, concerning the evolution of agricultural production systems in relation to industrialisation and local awareness of environmental problems.

Partners

• CNRS-REGARDS,
• University of Madras (Chennai)
• Islamiah College (Vaniyambadi)

Funding

• French Institute of Pondicherry
• CNRS-REGARDS
• CNRS ATIP Jeunes Chercheurs

Team

• Dr. L. Kennedy (dir.), CNRS research fellow at CNRS-REGARDS, head of the project
• Dr. M.A. Kalam, professor of social anthropology, University of Madras.
• Dr. X. Amelot, assistant professor of geography, Université Michel de Montaigne, Bordeaux III and CNRS-REGARDS.
• Dr. K. Marius-Gnanou, assistant professor of geography, Université Michel de Montaigne, Bordeaux III and CNRS-REGARDS.
• M.M. Suhail, History Dept., Islamiah College, Vaniyambadi, and research scholar at Madras Christian College.
• F. Venou, research scholar in social anthropology at the Université de Paris X, Nanterre.
• G. Venkatasubramanian, research engineer at the French Institute of Pondicherry.
• A. Vergnes, CNRS research engineer, CNRS-REGARDS.

Main Outputs

With assistance from the CNRS, a specific website for this project is being developed at REGARDS-CNRS in Bordeaux, France. This website will present up-to-date information on the project as well as research findings and will include maps and photographs.

Publications :

• Industrialisation and socio-cultural change in the Tannery belt of the Palar valley (Tamil nadu)

Edited by Loraine Kennedy, 2004, 111 p. (PPSS n° 32)
Language : English. 200 Rs (7 €)

Industrialisation as an important catalyst of change is the point of departure for the various disciplinary explorations presented here. The studies were conducted in the middle Palar Valley, situated in Vellore District in northern Tamil Nadu, a region specialised for over a century in leather production. Here, tanneries and footwear factories provide direct and indirect employment to thousands of men and women.

The main objective of the “Palar Valley” research programme was to analyse the conditions that have favoured industrialisation in this essentially rural area and the local social and economic impacts of this development. The studies presented here focus on industrial and entrepreneurial dynamics, social and professional mobility, evolving ethnic and gender identities, and new modes of socialisation.

Keywords : rural industrialization, leather industry, social mobility, new modes of socialization

• KENNEDY L., FAURE Y.-A & LABAZEE P., 2005. Productions locales et marché mondial dans les pays émergents. Brésil, Inde, Mexique. Paris, IRD-Karthala.

• KENNEDY L., KERMEL-TORRES D., & SCHAR P., (Eds) 2002. Dynamiques spatiales de l’industrialisation. Chine, Inde, Thaïlande. UNESCO Publications, Paris

Chapters in books

• KENNEDY L., 2005. Variations on the Classical Model Leather Clusters of the Palar Valley in Tamil Nadu, In Indian Industrial Clusters (Das K., ed) Ashgate Publishing Ltd., Aldershot, UK, pp. 103-121

• KENNEDY L., & DAS K., 2005. Les clusters industriels : réponse à la libéralisation économique en Inde ? Conditions et limite de la coopération à partir de deux exemples, In Productions locales et marché mondial dans les pays émergents : Brésil, Inde et Mexique, Faure Y.-A., Kennedy L., Labazée P., (dir), Paris, IRD-Karthala, pp. 129-155

• KENNEDY L., 2004. Endogenous Development and Globalisation - An industrial District in Tamil Nadu In : l’exemple d’un district industriel au Tamil Nadu, In Examining the Spatial Dimension : From Globalisation to Local Development in India (eds. Landy F., & Chaudhuri B,.), New Delhi, Manohar, pp. 83-106

• KENNEDY L., 2002. Les défis de l’industrie : de l’artisanant villageoise aux technologies de l’information, In Saglio-Yatzimirsky, M.C., (ed.), Population et développement en Inde, Ellipses.

• MARIUS-GNANOU K., & SAGLIO-YATZIMIRSKY M.C., 2002. Education, santé, statut des femmes, des progès limités, InPopulation et développement en Inde, Ellipses.

• MARIUS-GNANOU K., 2002. Les défis du monde rural, InSaglio-Yatzimirisky M.C.,Population et développement en Inde, Ellipses.

• FLAMANT N., 2000. Le patron indien au sein de l’entreprise. L’industrie sous-traitante et exportatrice du cuir au Tamil Nadu , In B. Dorin et al., Le patronat en Inde - Contours sociologiques des acteurs et des pratiques, Rapport présenté par le Centre des Sciences Humaines (CSH, New Delhi) pp. 58-80.

Articles

• KENNEDY L., & DAS K., 2002. Conditions et limites de la coopération dans les districts industriels. Deux exemples indiens, Région et Développement, Grenbole.

• KENNEDY L., 2001. Protégée ou condamnée ? Les politiques publiques à l’égard de la petite industrie en Inde, Revue Tiers Monde, Paris, vol. 42, no. 165, pp. 105-128

• KALAM M.A., 2001. Sacred Groves in Kodagu District of Karnataka (South India) : a Socio-Historical Study, Pondy Paper in Social Sciences, No.21, IFP (1st ed., 1996), 59p.

• KENNEDY, L., 1999. Co-operating for Survival : Tannery Pollution and Joint Action in the Palar Valley, World Development, 27 n°9, pp. 1673-91.

• VENOU, F., 1999. Le mariage à l’épreuve du travail en usine : ouvrières de l’industrie de la chaussure en Inde du Sud, La revue des anthropologues, pp. 123-139.

Other

• Academic studies leading to the obtention of diplomas (7 masters theses ; an end of engineering studies report ; a DESS (M-Phil. level) report ; a doctoral thesis in progress)

Contact : Loraine Kennedy, CNRS, REGARDS kennedy@regards.cnrs.fr