Minoritarian Labour Welfare in India: The Case of the Employees’ State Insurance Act of 1948

Through a case study of the Employees’ State Insurance Act of 1948, this chapter examines the historical evolution of a type of welfare schemes in India that made entitlements conditional on specific forms of employment. Global trends in social policy had influenced debates on a social insurance for Indian workers since the 1920s. Transformations of Indian industry, World War II, the post-war crisis and postcolonial economic planning then created conditions for legislation. Just when the international welfare discourse, Indian contributions included, converged on social welfare as a universal citizen right, the regulatory content of the health insurance scheme devised for India diverged from this normative consensus: “Employees’ State Insurance” remained strictly employment-based but also generated horizons of expectation that continue to inform labour struggles.