The Intertwined Relationship Of Eviction, Caste And Religion

By observing the politics of poverty and power hierarchy 바카라�and studies conducted over the years validate this바카라� one can tell that it is always the Dalits, Adivasis, Muslims, and the other backward castes that suffer the arbitrary displacement from where they come to build a life. From Yamuna Pushta area to Priyanka Gandhi camp, Sarai Kale Khan, Tughlaqabad Fort area and others, Delhi has seen back-to-back evictions in the come-up to the mighty G-20 Summit preparations. The notion often used to remove these people from their houses 바카라� many of whom have built and lived in them for 30-40 years 바카라� is that these informal settlements are 바카라�illegal바카라�.

However, it is the city and its administration which continues to deprive the working-class section, largely comprising the Dalits, Adivasis and Muslims, of something as basic as a roof over their heads. They are already crammed in slums, within four brick walls and a tin roof, and even that is forcibly taken away from them. 

It is important to note that it is not just poverty that drives these people homeless but their identity in society. The issues of eviction are rooted in the complicated history of denial of resources to the Dalits, Adivasis, and Muslims.

How Caste Plays A Role In Evictions

바카라�Everything in India is played along caste lines,바카라� says Beena Pallical, a Dalits rights activist. 바카라�If today, a Brahmin was living in these areas, we would not have been in this situation.바카라�

바카라�There is no political will in ensuring the lives of the marginalised,바카라� she adds.

Despite the protection of marginalised communities written in our Constitution, in India, government after government have failed to ensure that all public authorities and institutions are free of caste-based discrimination. As a result, the Dalits, Adivasis, and lower-caste Muslims are denied access to land, the permission to own land, and are forcefully evicted from their settlements.

According to Sunil Kumar Aledia, a founding member of the Centre for Holistic Development (CHD) in Delhi, when these daily wage workers and labourers who migrate from different states, come to a big city, they look for two kinds of lands to build a house 바카라� either barren or riverfront.

Slum settlements in India바카라�s major cities have been created over decades바카라� the biggest example of this being the Dharavi settlement. But the idea to uproot them comes from the colonial mindset, along with neoliberal development politics under a falsified discourse of green aesthetics that criminalises these settlers as 바카라�encroachers바카라�.

바카라�Historically, the Dalit have always remained on the outskirts of villages,바카라� Aledia says, adding that they have always been easy targets. Similarly, even in the urban landscapes, the Dalit, Adivasi, and, in several cases, the Muslims 바카라�denied of education, jobs, and financial strength바카라� find these settlements to have a roof over their heads.

But just like they have been 바카라�easy targets바카라� historically by the upper caste community, even today, they continue to be so in urban cities, he explains. 

Vote Bank Politics

The rampant urbanisation of Indian cities favours an elite notion of development that neglects the concerns of poor inhabitants scattered on the peripheries of these modern settings. 

바카라�In a 바카라�smart city바카라�, for instance, there is no place for a dhobi (launderer), a naee (hairdresser), a cobbler or a rickshaw puller,바카라� says Aledia.

However, when the time comes for elections, it is these settlements that politicians first visit to strengthen their vote bank. 

바카라�Every election, political parties promise them shelter, ration, pucca houses, etc. but as soon as the price of that land goes up, they are removed from the site,바카라� says Shanta Devi, highlighting the ruthless demolition of houses seen lately in Delhi.

바카라�A house is a necessity. If these politicians actually care for the people the way they show it when they come for their votes, then they must fulfil the promise of giving them a pucca house,바카라� she adds.

According to Beena Pallical, 바카라�The Indian Constitution is held and upheld by the poor and the marginalised. It is them who go to vote in large numbers, not the middle class or the upper class.바카라� 

However, the lack of education in these marginalised communities makes them vulnerable to the false promises of house, ration, electricity etc.

바카라�Somewhere we have enabled the institution to be negligent and corrupt. This can also be seen in case of the wrestlers바카라� protest. Imagine if something like this is happening to them, what would have been if they were Dalits? They바카라�d have stood no chance. Until the entire system is uncorrupted, we will continue to lose out,바카라� she says.

Once An Encroacher, Always An Encroacher

In Tughlakabad village, the Archeological Survey Of India (ASI) decided to take back its land around the fort displacing tens of thousands of people in a matter of days. These people, and their elders, were sold the land by middlemen who gave them a piece of paper as a receipt 바카라� the only 바카라�document바카라� they had of owning the land. The residents of this land had been staying there for 30-40 years. So, the land was not exactly 바카라�encroached바카라� on, but bought by the residents.

The receipt on a piece of paper, however, stood invalid against the ASI notice. As a result, they had to take their belongings one night and find an alternate shelter on their own. They were treated like 바카라�encroachers바카라�. 

바카라�It is a total human rights violation,바카라� Beena Pallical says.

The government prioritises the image of beautified Indian cities based on only aesthetics and selective environmentalism while violently erasing the space for poor, working-class citizens in the heartlands and pushing them to the peripheries of cities.  

At a press conference on the forced evictions in India around the G-20 events, human rights advocate Harsh Mander said 바카라�These distressing events raise profound questions about the lack of basic compassion exhibited by the government. The complete absence of prior notices and the ruthless demolition of houses point to a severe disregard for human rights. The notion that these informal settlements are illegal is used as an excuse to deny these individuals their rights and entitlements.바카라�

Pallical says that there is a need for the educated middle- and upper-middle class to hold the government accountable. 바카라�It has to become everybody바카라�s problem. Only then is there a possibility of change. People need to take charge,바카라� says Pallical.