Chinmay Tumbe

Migration persistence across twentieth century India

This paper shows the remarkable persistence of remittance-based migrations in India across the twentieth century. Drawing on recent national survey data and unique census data at the district level, we show that for regions covering 20% of the population of India, poor and rich, mobility has been persistently high in magnitude and has been male-dominated, remittance-based and circular in nature for well over a 100 years. This paper highlights the importance of social networks and deep rooted migration cultures influenced by source region conditions, in explaining migration persistence, and argues that remittance economies constitute a unique model of development that needs to be judged separately from other development models.

Transnational Indian Business in the Twentieth Century

This article argues that migration and investment from India moved in tandem to chart the evolution of transnational Indian business in the twentieth century, first toward Southeast Asia and Africa and later toward the United States, Europe, and West Asia. With a focus on the banking and diamond sectors, the overseas investment project of the Aditya Birla Group, and the transnational linkages of Indias one hundred richest business leaders, the article locates important events, policies, and actors before economic liberalization in 1991 that laid the foundation for subsequent globalization of Indian firms.

Towards financial inclusion: The post office of India as a financial institution, 1880–2010

The Post Office of India has evolved tremendously from an institution of ‘communication’ to an important ‘financial’ institution of the early twenty-first century. This article traces the evolution of two key mass financial services offered by the Post Office over the past 130 years—money orders that have primarily served as a mechanism for internal and international migrants’ remittances and the small savings system that has mobilised deposits from millions of rural and urban citizens. It assesses the contribution of the Post Office in enhancing ‘financial inclusion’ in the twentieth century and argues that the financial history of modern India remains incomplete without integrating the Post Office—currently the largest bank in India in terms of network, accounts and personal deposits—as a key institutional actor in the narrative.

EU-India Migration & Trade Linkages

This paper reviews the relationship between migration and trade between India and the European Union (EU). It provides an overview of EU-India trade across various dimensions and links it with migration in three specific contexts: (a) The

Mass Migration from Rural India: A Restudy of Kunkeri Village in Konkan, Maharashtra, 1961–1987–2017:

14 billion EU-India diamond trade that represents nearly 15% of total EU-India merchandise trade, and that is attributed to the direct and active role played by Indian immigrants and the diaspora (b) The trade in food products such as lentils, beans, rice and spices that reflects the pull of goods towards the EU to meet the preferences of the Indian immigrants and (c) The trade in services in the computer & information, education and entertainment sectors and the mobility of professionals, students and tourists respectively.

From bazaar to Big Bazaar: Environmental influences and service innovation in the evolution of retailing in India, c. 1850-2015

This article examines a particular village—Kunkeri—in Konkan, Maharashtra, characterized by persistent mass outmigration for over five decades, by combining a field study in 2017 with detailed ethnographic and statistical baseline data collected by the Census of India in 1961 and 1987. It documents the increase in outmigration rates, catch-up in outmigration intensities by the lowest castes to those of the upper castes, diversification of household migration strategies and outmigrants’ occupations, the lessening of single-male migration strategies, the presence of a diasporic association and the growing significance of commuting and migration for education. Yet, despite mass outmigration and a general rise in the standard of living across castes, we observe strong continuity in the distribution of castes and land ownership structures within Kunkeri. These findings point to both the transformative and status-quo preserving features of persistent mass migration from rural India. JEL: O15, J61, N35

Remittances in India: Facts and Issues

Purpose This paper aims to understand the factors affecting the evolution of retailing in India since the mid-nineteenth century. Design/methodology/approach This paper compares the trajectories of four distinct retail stores in India – Spencer’s pan-Indian retailing empire since 1863, Akbarallys’ department store chain in Mumbai since 1897, Apna Bazar’s consumer cooperative chain in Mumbai since 1948 and the Future Group’s pan-Indian retailing chain since the 1980s. Historical sources include firm biographies and newspaper archives. Findings This paper proposes a systems theory linking environmental influences and service innovation, to explain the evolution of retailing in India since the mid-nineteenth century. The key environmental influence on retailing has been state patronage – colonialism and high-end department stores until the 1940s, socialism and cooperative stores until the 1980s and liberalisation with restricted foreign direct investment in retailing until 2015 associated with indigenous corporate large retail format stores. Service innovation in terms of home delivery and recreation of the bazaar atmosphere due to norms on gender and community have also interacted to shape individual success in modern retailing and the dominance of small shop retailing over the long run. Research limitations/implications This paper questions standard accounts of retailing history in India that began with the late-twentieth century by showing the scale of a pan-Indian retailing chain in the early-twentieth century. It also provides an account of retailers that is missing in the current literature on the history of consumption in India. Practical implications Findings of this study will be useful to marketing professionals and teachers who wish to learn more about the history of retailing in India. It also shows how retailers navigated changes in the regulatory and business environment. Originality/value Through a comparative study, this paper outlines the environmental influences on retail formats and service innovation strategies that are required to serve the Indian market. It also brings to fore the significance of retailing chains in colonial India.