Gold governance and goldsmithery: Economic sociology of an informal manufacturing sector in India

Abstract

In India, gold’s uniqueness lies in its dual demand for ‘sacred’ ritual purposes as well as ‘profane’ economic security. As a scarce commodity, gold is continuously monitored and regulated by the state. This study investigates how communities associated with the craft and trade of gold jewellery cope with state regulations, an aspect that has largely gone undocumented in sociological literature. The article traces the transformation of the goldsmithing sector in post-independence India. The repeal of the Gold Control Act 1968 in 1990 and high demand during the post-liberalisation period gave a tremendous fillip to the gold jewellery sector. The study captures the occupational recasting as a new community of goldsmiths emerged during this period replacing the traditional goldsmithing castes. It contributes to the under-studied field of goldsmithing in India providing an ethnographic account of a triadic relationship between an informal manufacturing sector, state regulation and a self-organised workforce based on regional ties and village networks.