ABSTRACT
Labour in India has evolved, during this century, from being a scarce commodity towards one which is surplus to industrial requirements. At the same time, the institutions through which labour is employed have changed, and these changes have contributed to the emergence of a surplus. This paper describes the historical development of institutions of labour recruitment in the jute industry, and in this way aims to contribute to the understanding of the development of the unemployment problem. It argues that the labour surplus is not a natural phenomenon and is not just related to population growth, but that it is, to some extent, of human making, the result of the pattern of development chosen.
