Uncovering the People Who Built Modern India
When we study India's cities today—the apartment buildings, office complexes, and infrastructure that define urban life—we often focus on the policies that formed them or the planners and architects that designed them. The construction workers, contractors, and engineers whose hands shaped India's modern landscape have largely been forgotten by history.
The Omitted from History (OMHI) project is changing that. This research project is dedicated to uncovering the untold stories of the people who physically constructed India's cities during a pivotal time in the country's development—from 1910 to 1992, spanning the final years of British rule through India's emergence as a modern nation. It argues that the building site, as a place where muscle power and machines, and diverse social strata interact, offers a fruitful microcosm for understanding the, at times unexpected, effects of twentieth-century modernity on Indian society.
Why Construction Workers Matter to India's Story
Focusing primarily on Pune, a major city in western India, OMHI researches the everyday experiences of construction workers and the complex reality of construction work. Who did what jobs? How were workers hired, managed, and paid? What happened when new technologies like concrete replaced traditional building methods? What do experiences of success—such as timely project completion, socio-economic mobility, and technological innovation—and instances of failure, such as structural collapses, desertion, scarcity, corruption, disputes, and cost overruns, reveal about the socio-material dynamics of the worksite? Ultimately, OMHI aims to demonstrate how construction sites constituted a "field of possibilities" that shaped the urban built environment, while also becoming spaces where broader social, economic, and political changes and struggles played out in very localised ways.
Bringing History to Life Through Photographs and Oral History
Instead of relying solely on official documents and records, the project uses historical construction photographs as a starting point for conversations with workers and their families. The research unfolds in two phases:
Phase 1: Creating a digital archive of historical photographs showing construction sites in and around Pune—images that capture workers in action, building techniques, and the differences in construction practices over time.
Phase 2: Using these photographs to spark memories and stories. Engagement with construction workers, contractors, engineers, and their descendants both in person, in focus group discussions, and through social media, encouraging them to share their experiences and knowledge.
Innovation is expected in two key areas:
* Historiographically, OMHI illuminates how local traditions, as well as (neo)colonial influences, shaped working lives and built environments in India, and how these factors intersected with broader societal, economic, and political transformations during India’s period of high modernity.
* Methodologically, OMHI advances the field of construction historiography by experimenting with innovative participatory techniques for data collection and interpretation. These techniques include both digital methods (social media engagement) and analog methods (photo-elicitation interviews and workshops), offering new avenues for the exploration and understanding of construction history.
Why This Matters Today
Understanding the history of construction work in India isn't just about the past—it helps us better comprehend how cities develop, how diverse socio-economic communities navigate change, and how the built environment reflects broader social transformations. By giving voice to the workers who have been "omitted from history," OMHI aims to tell a 'bottom-up' history of India's urban development.
See more on: www.buildingpune.com
