Starting in the late 19 th century, workers from north India came to constitute the backbone of the urban and industrial labour force in Calcutta and neighboring mill municipalities. As they settled in and around the colonial metropolis, these Hindustani workers maintained strong connections with their rural homes. One generation after the other, they reproduced this dual settlement over the following decades. This bi-local structure of labour circulation, which linked village and city through the constant coming and going of men and women, progressively broke down from the late 20 th century onwards, following the closure of the large textile, engineering and paper industries which underpinned the economic vitality of the Calcutta region. The article sketches out the history of this socio-spatial configuration over the second half of the 20 th century, through the life histories of two migrant Hindustani workers. Born around 1940, Siraj Prajapati and Mohan Lal both spent the greater part of their working lives in Calcutta's industrial suburbs. Siraj, a potter by caste, was engaged in the artisanal production tea-cups in Howrah. Born into one of the most marginalized sections of north Indian society, Mohan managed to train as a mason, and was employed in the Titagarh Paper Mill through the 1960s and 70s. Both have now settled back in their respective villages of eastern Uttar Pradesh. Teasing out the contradictory ways in which both men frame their life trajectories, the article contributes a micro-perspective to the social history of rural-urban migration in post-colonial north India.

中文翻译：

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细分的可能性：印度后殖民时期印度斯坦工人的移民生活史

从19世纪末开始，来自印度北部的工人成为加尔各答及邻近磨坊城市的城市和工业劳动力的骨干。当他们在殖民大都市内外定居时，这些印度斯坦工人与他们的农村房屋保持着牢固的联系。一代又一代，他们在接下来的几十年中重现了这种双重解决。这种双向的劳动力流动结构，通过男女的不断进出将乡村和城市联系起来，随着大型纺织，工程和造纸工业的关闭，从20世纪后期开始逐步瓦解。加尔各答地区的经济活力。本文通过两位移民印度斯坦斯坦工人的生活史，勾勒了20世纪下半叶这种社会空间配置的历史。Siraj Prajapati和Mohan Lal出生于1940年左右，他们的大部分工作时间都在加尔各答的工业郊区度过。西拉杰（Seraj）是种姓的陶工，在豪拉（Howrah）从事手工生产的茶杯。莫汉（Mohan）生于北印度社会最边缘化的地区之一，曾作为泥瓦匠接受培训，并于1960年代和70年代受雇于提塔加尔造纸厂（Titagarh Paper Mill）。双方现在都已分别在北方邦东部的村庄定居。弄清楚两个人描绘生活轨迹的矛盾方式，