CHENNAI: India is a land of stark contrasts. On one hand, it ranks among the wealthiest nations globally, yet it harbours one of the largest populations living in poverty. Each year, countless individuals of remarkable talent rise to lead organisations and governments abroad, while at home, over 80 per cent of the workforce remains in the informal sector — trapped in low-paying, insecure, and often exploitative jobs, barely enough to survive. Despite this, the nation seems to move forward, indifferent to these imbalances and content with its self-perceived success.
In her debut book, The Many Lives of Syeda X (Juggernaut; Rs 799), award-winning journalist Neha Dixit exposes these contradictions through the experiences of countless women toiling in India’s informal economy. These women form the backbone of the nation, producing the vast majority of goods consumed domestically, yet their labour remains largely invisible and unacknowledged.
“The book is called The Many Lives of Syeda X because it’s not just one person’s story but the story of countless women. Many women around us are living the same kind of life as Syeda. Everything we use-whether it’s a pen, a mobile cable, or part of a helmet – is made by people like Syeda, who are paid as little as a fifth of a daily wage,” explains Neha.
“There’s no conversation about their labour rights. This invisibility is deeply tied to how systems exploit workers. With the influx of multinational companies and domestic markets, work has increasingly been outsourced to contractors and subcontractors.
Instead of factory floors where workers could expect better conditions, these companies circumvent that by hiring piece-rate workers, who have no formal contracts and receive no protection for their wages or working conditions. This has made their struggles even more invisible, as they don’t fall under traditional labour categories.”
Neha was drawn to Syeda’s story because it mirrors the lives of millions of women trapped in this precarious system. “It was important to me because, over the last 50 years, the stories we tell — whether about terrorism, neoliberal policies, or globalisation, caste, gender, or class — are often told in isolation,” she shares.
“As a reporter, I’ve covered issues like violence and urban poverty, but the reality is that people are facing multiple, intersecting challenges. Their lives are marked by ‘before’ and ‘after’ moments. This book was essential for me, not just to understand what is happening on the ground, but also to put these stories at the forefront.”
Based on nearly a decade of research and 900 interviews, The Many Lives of Syeda X offers a powerful insight into the lives of women like Syeda, whose labour sustains India, yet who remain largely unnoticed. The book also delves into the complex identities that shape Syeda’s life, beyond her economic struggles. “Her Muslim identity adds another layer of marginalisation, as it has been used against her and her family for displacement, discrimination, and violence,” Neha notes.
The book’s exploration of rising inequality and the normalisation of economic disparity is particularly poignant. “I feel that this growing inequality — the massive gap between rich and poor — has been normalised to the extent that we’ve stopped noticing who is actually keeping our world functioning.
In the book, for instance, there’s a moment when Syeda’s daughter, Reshma, starts working in a shopping mall. After demonetisation, she witnesses how her mother’s work and the lives of the working-class community around her in north-east Delhi have been severely impacted. They’re no longer even cooking three meals a day just to save fuel, as they operate within a cash-based informal economy,” she shares.
Neha hopes readers will no longer overlook these invisible workers. “Everything we use is made by cheap labour under excruciating conditions. Whether you’re crossing the road to buy keyrings and tricolours, or purchasing rakhis, string lights, Christmas decorations, stationery, bags, or pressure cookers — every single item is assembled or produced by people earning less than `80 a day. Simply becoming aware of this reality is a step towards addressing it. We need to stop normalising the fact that we no longer notice who is doing what to keep the world around us functioning,” she adds.