Investigating the role of U.S. Agencies and Ideas in Shaping South Asian Cities: Dalit Settlements and Delhi’s Modern Planning

 

After the end of British colonial rule in mid-twentieth century, the postcolonial Indian state parachuted the Western notions of modern planning and developed the first ‘Master Plan’ of Delhi city with the collaboration of American Ford Foundation in 1962. This ‘modern’ planning was idealized, and as the ambitious planning document state, it was expected to serve as the role model for planning and redeveloping South Asian cities, especially in India. The city’s modern planning legitimized state-sanctioned settlements, while delegitimized the rest through legal terminologies like ‘unauthorized’ and ‘slum,’ and thereby, adding to the precarity of existing neighborhood settlements. However, did these varied implications of modern planning and legality had similar impact across the city’s population? Further, did such legal implications add to the precarity of certain communities like Dalits? Dalits or ‘ex-untouchables’ are historically marginalized communities that are ascribed the lowest status in the society’s ‘caste-based’ social hierarchy. A 1956 report on slums in Delhi showed that the number of Dalits living in slum was much higher than their proportion in the city. I am curious to explore how modern planning catered to these already marginalized communities.

 

In my presentation, I shall focus on highlighting the role of American agencies and figures like Albert Mayor in shaping the modern South Asian cities. I inquire the manifestations of the trope of legality and its implications on the rights and everyday experiences of Dalits in the city. My work investigates the impact that parachuting of concepts like zoning from the West through postcolonial modern planning had on the social fabric of existing neighborhoods in the city. Utilizing McKittrick and Woods’ Black geographies approach, I investigate how did Dalit residents of the city made sense of their neighborhood space vis a vis urban planning in twentieth century Delhi. I shall inquire how they articulated their resistance and made claims to their rights to the city through utilizing diverse archives and oral history interviews. By investigating the urban experiences of the marginalized, my research will contribute to American studies as well as the ongoing debates on inclusive urbanization through providing historical insights into the role of American agencies and planning concepts in the making of South Asian cities, and genealogies of modern planning in India.

 

 

Jatin (he/him) is an international third year PhD candidate at the Department of History, with a collaborative specialisation in South Asian Studies. Currently, he is also an Urban Research Fellow at the Centre for Urban Environments, and a Graduate Fellow in Training at the School of Cities, University of Toronto. Jatin recently finished his candidacy exams and is heading for continuing his archival research and fieldwork. His research interests cut across urbanization, housing, caste, law, environment, colonial and postcolonial South Asia, and their global interconnections. Jatin is keen to investigate the intersections of caste-based social hierarchy and housing in the making of South Asian cities. Through his doctoral research, Jatin hopes to contribute towards inclusive urban theory on/from South Asia.