A Crisis of Inequality

To address the climate crisis in ways that serve the large majority of Indians, we must tackle the age-old questions of caste, class, religion, and gender-based oppression

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IN March 2021, Kolkata's iconic newspaper, The Telegraph, informed its readers that Kendall Jenner's go-to street-style accessory has landed in the city and is up for grabs. The reference was to the merchandise being sold at the British luxury brand store Burberry housed in Kolkata's high-end Quest Mall. The store also stocked Burberry's Spring/Summer 21 line, In Bloom, which was inspired by the idea of a hot British summer.

THIS YEAR’S UNPRECEDENTED HEAT WAVES MADE IT PAINFULLY CLEAR THAT EXTREME HEAT IS LIKELY TO BE AN ENDURING REALITY FOR INDIANS.

Fast forward to a hot Kolkata summer evening in April 2023. The nicely furnished and extra-cooled space in front of Burberry was the site of a sit-in by residents from Kasia Bagan, a neighbourhood located in the area behind Quest Mall. According to a report in The Washington Post, the locals were there to protest the frequent and extended power cuts they had to endure amidst the sweltering heat.

Kasia Bagan is a mixed-income Muslim-majority neighbourhood that has been a victim of “Muslim ghettoisation” and gross neglect by the agencies responsible for provision of civic amenities. After being without power for three days, they chose to descend on Quest Mall, as its owner also owns Kolkata’s electric company. The residents, enraged by an apparent injustice, asked: If the electric company could provide uninterrupted power to the mall, why couldn’t it do that for Kasia Bagan, especially when the city experienced extreme heat and many locals were fasting for Ramadan?