A crime thriller about the death of an activist rescuing women from exploitative work conditions in garment and textile factories in southern India has become an unlikely bestseller among those campaigning for workers' rights.
Sempulam (Desert Land), the 300-page debut novel by Ira Murugavel, a lawyer from Coimbatore, a district in Tamil Nadu state, is being used as a "manual" to understand forced labour in an industry that employs an estimated 45 million workers.
"The book is a page-turner, and each chapter unveils the history of exploitation in the spinning mills and factories," says Karrupu Samy, director of Read, a charity that works with garment workers in the Erode district of Tamil Nadu.
“It takes you to the root of the problem, and we want workers and campaigners to read it so they understand the dynamics of this industry.”
Much of India’s US$40 billion (Dh146.92bn) garment and textile industry operates informally and is poorly regulated. Vulnerable workers, nearly three-quarters of them women, have limited or no legal protection and few formal grievance mechanisms, campaigners say.
When Murugavel sat down to write Sempulam, he thought of some of his clients – workers fighting for their wages.
His book, which is written in Tamil, opens with the police investigating the circumstances of the death of a campaigner near a spinning mill. As the witnesses are called and suspects interviewed, each chapter of the book highlights the abuse workers face, the low wages and the long working hours spent weaving and stitching for global brands.
Murugavel grew up watching the growth of “exploitative” factories that dot Coimbatore, where he studied and now practises law.
"When you grow up in this region, you cannot ignore the industry. Everyone knows someone connected to the mills and everyone knows about the exploitation," Murugavel says. "I always wondered why girls went to work in these sweat shops."
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Partly anecdotal, the book captures the change in the industry from being a “well-paying, lifelong” employment option to the “camp coolie system” of bonded labour.
"Mill managements have promised lump-sum payment at the end of three years of employment, forcing young girls to work without the option of quitting," Murugavel says.
The book is being widely circulated in western Tamil Nadu, where the Namakkal, Coimbatore, Tirupur, Karur, Erode and Salem districts are collectively referred to as the Textile Valley of India.
"We are recommending the book to both volunteers and workers," Samy says.
“Many working in this industry today don’t understand the genesis of the exploitation. If they do, they will find a way out.”
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
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Install an air filter in your home.
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PRO BASH
Thursday’s fixtures
6pm: Hyderabad Nawabs v Pakhtoon Warriors
10pm: Lahore Sikandars v Pakhtoon Blasters
Teams
Chennai Knights, Lahore Sikandars, Pakhtoon Blasters, Abu Dhabi Stars, Abu Dhabi Dragons, Pakhtoon Warriors and Hyderabad Nawabs.
Squad rules
All teams consist of 15-player squads that include those contracted in the diamond (3), platinum (2) and gold (2) categories, plus eight free to sign team members.
Tournament rules
The matches are of 25 over-a-side with an 8-over power play in which only two fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle. Teams play in a single round robin league followed by the semi-finals and final. The league toppers will feature in the semi-final eliminator.
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Autumn international scores
Saturday, November 24
Italy 3-66 New Zealand
Scotland 14-9 Argentina
England 37-18 Australia
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Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week
Apple product price list
iPad Pro
11" - $799 (64GB)
12.9" - $999 (64GB)
MacBook Air
$1,199
Mac Mini
$799
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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Prop idols
Girls full-contact rugby may be in its infancy in the Middle East, but there are already a number of role models for players to look up to.
Sophie Shams (Dubai Exiles mini, England sevens international)
An Emirati student who is blazing a trail in rugby. She first learnt the game at Dubai Exiles and captained her JESS Primary school team. After going to study geophysics at university in the UK, she scored a sensational try in a cup final at Twickenham. She has played for England sevens, and is now contracted to top Premiership club Saracens.
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Seren Gough-Walters (Sharjah Wanderers mini, Wales rugby league international)
Few players anywhere will have taken a more circuitous route to playing rugby on Sky Sports. Gough-Walters was born in Al Wasl Hospital in Dubai, raised in Sharjah, did not take up rugby seriously till she was 15, has a master’s in global governance and ethics, and once worked as an immigration officer at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi. In the summer of 2021 she played for Wales against England in rugby league, in a match that was broadcast live on TV.
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Erin King (Dubai Hurricanes mini, Ireland sevens international)
Aged five, Australia-born King went to Dubai Hurricanes training at The Sevens with her brothers. She immediately struck up a deep affection for rugby. She returned to the city at the end of last year to play at the Dubai Rugby Sevens in the colours of Ireland in the Women’s World Series tournament on Pitch 1.
The specs: 2018 Nissan Patrol Nismo
Price: base / as tested: Dh382,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 428hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 3,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km
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