What is the term given by Jan Breman to migrant workers?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Foot loose labour
Option (2) Foot loose labour — Correct. Migrant workers from drought-prone and less productive regions go to work for part of the year on farms in Punjab and Haryana, on brick kilns or on construction sites. Jan Breman termed them ‘footloose labour’, but this does not imply freedom: they have few rights and are usually not paid the minimum wage.
NCERT (2025-26): “4.5 Circulation of Labour … Another significant change in rural society that is linked to the commercialisation of agriculture has been the growth of migrant agricultural labour. As ‘traditional’ bonds of patronage between labourers or tenants and landlords broke down, and as the seasonal demand for agricultural labour increased in prosperous Green Revolution regions such as the Punjab, a pattern of seasonal migration emerged in which thousands of workers circulate between their home villages and more prosperous areas where there is more demand for labour and higher wages.…” “…These migrant workers have been termed ‘footloose labour’ by Jan Breman, but this does not imply freedom. Breman’s (1985) study shows, to the contrary, that landless workers do not have many rights, for instance, they are usually not paid the minimum wage.…” |