Jobber
Also called: Sardar, Mistri · Topic: Colonial Economy: Land Revenue, Drain, Deindustrialisation · NCERT: Class 10, Ch 4 "The Age of Industrialisation"
Meaning
A jobber was an old and trusted mill worker whom factory owners used to find new workers. He was also called a sardar or mistri. He brought people from his own village, promised them jobs, helped them settle in the city and lent them money when they were in trouble. Over time, jobbers gained a lot of power. They began to demand money and gifts for jobs and to control workers' lives. The jobber matters because he shows how Indian factories found workers and how those workers were exploited.
Example
In the Bombay cotton mills, jobbers brought in migrants from nearby districts. In 1911, more than half of Bombay's cotton-mill workers came from Ratnagiri. Many workers moved back and forth between their village and the mill depending on the season.
Don't confuse with
- Gomastha: the gomastha was a paid Company agent who controlled village weavers in the 18th century. The jobber found and controlled workers for factories in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Related concepts
- Bombay cotton mills
- Dwarkanath Tagore
- Opium trade with China
- Jamsetji Tata
- Tata Iron and Steel Company
- Managing agency
- Cotton excise duty 1896
- Discriminating protection