Invisibilised localities

AN ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY ON THE NETWORKS, CULTURAL TRADITIONS AND OBSTACLES FACED BY RESIDENTS OF JHUGGIS AND TRANSIT CAMPS WHILE DEALING WITH EVICTION POLITICS AND INEQUALITIES IN DELHI

- AMIT KUMAR

What kinds of challenges do residents of jhuggis, resettlement colonies and transit camps encounter when they deal with displacement, seek essential services, obtain government documentation, engage in legal disputes and strive to make their voices heard? The Right to be Counted is Sanjeev Routray's extensive ethnographic study on the networks, performances, cultural traditions and obstacles that such residents face in Delhi.

The book is structured into two parts. The first part establishes the context—the city-planning practices, which are immersed in informalities, arbitrariness, discrimination and violent demolitions. The second part offers a detailed account of the different types of intermediaries that connect the residents with politicians and government offices.

The author scrutinises the planning processes in Delhi, uncovering a landscape riddled with informal structures and networks, where political interference is an inevitable reality. The “planned city” bears the perception of resettlements being temporary. New projects are carried out, ignoring established planning norms, to accommodate international events, promote tourism and craft a world-class image for the city. Government offices and officials in Delhi disregard people living in jhuggis or resettlement areas. But not all illegal structures share the same fate. While temples and parks built illegally are formalised by dint of religious or cultural relevance, the affiliation of an average resident to the informal settlement must rely on political clientelism to avoid eviction.