Explore the complex reality of sex work in India through a critical lens. This insightful book delves into the concept of the ‘gendered proletariat,’ offering a political-economic analysis of prostitution and its value creation. Tracing sex work’s history from colonial to postcolonial India, it examines state surveillance and the AIDS crisis. Focusing on Kolkata’s Sonagachi sex workers’ movement, it applies Marxian theories to assess claimed agency and worker inclusion. Essential for researchers, students of gender studies, labour movements, and social justice in India.