Jugaad Time: Ecologies of Everyday Hacking in India

Amit S. Rai shows how urban South Asians employ low-cost technological workarounds and hacks known as jugaad to solve problems, navigate, and resist India's neoliberal ecologies.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 232 pages
Publication date: 14 February 2019
Publisher: Duke University Press

In India, the practice of jugaad, which involves finding innovative solutions to problems, has a rich history rooted in subaltern strategies for navigating poverty, discrimination, and violence. However, it has recently gained recognition in management literature as a disruptive innovation. In his book "Jugaad Time," Amit S. Rai delves into the dynamics of jugaad in contemporary Indian digital media cultures, highlighting its dual nature as both a practice of resistance and a co-opted tool of capitalism.

Rai demonstrates how jugaad manifests in the everyday lives of workers and communities, using the mobile phone as a lens. Despite being appropriated by corporations to extract free creative labor, jugaad remains a powerful tool for resistance. Workers and communities employ hacks to challenge corporate power, caste dominance, and gender inequalities.

By examining the tensions surrounding jugaad, Rai situates it as a hybrid phenomenon that straddles premodern and postdigital realms. He explores how jugaad can be used to undermine neoliberal capitalist media ecologies and nationalist politics. Through his insightful analysis, Rai offers valuable insights into the resilience and adaptability of Indian society, as well as the potential for creative resistance in the face of economic and social challenges.

"Jugaad Time" is a thought-provoking book that sheds light on the transformative power of jugaad and its significance in shaping the digital landscape of India. It provides a valuable contribution to the study of innovation, resistance, and the intersection of technology and society in developing countries.

Weight: 350g
Dimension: 154 x 230 x 13 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781478001461