Labour, Migrancy and Urbanization in South Africa and India, 1900—60

Abstract

This article compares labour migrancy and urbanization in several of the leading cities of South Africa and India. It begins by noting the pervasiveness of single male oscillating labour migration between rural areas and city employment in both societies up until the 1950s, despite fundamentally different institutional and political arrangement in each state. It highlights and explores the issues of social structure and culture in both societies, both pre-colonial and colonial, in explaining the dynamics of migrancy and urbanization, including which sections of village society migrated and with what effects. The article explores different modes of living in and adapting to urban environments, and particularly the different social trajectory of women and youth in both societies and the implications of each for social stability. It finally asks why historians and other social scientists have adopted such distinctive approaches to each society.