Caste and Gender in a Mumbai Resettlement Site - Varsha Ayyar

Introduction
In her paper ‘Caste and Gender in a Mumbai Resettlement Site’, Ayyar, via extensive
fieldwork conducted at Lalubhai Compound- a resettlement site in Mumbai, brings to
attention the experiences of urban Dalit women affected by displacement, their caste,
religious and gender identity. The colony comprises seventy two five storied buildings and is
located in the midst of slums of Mankhurd.
There have been serious flaws in the implementation of resettlement and rehabilitation. All
residents irrespective of their caste, class, religion, gender or language, and various
academicians and activists agree on this account. There is a lack of access to basic civic
amenities, public transportation, access to a common place of worship, improper ventilation,
crime, poor infrastructure, health hazards due to water shortage, restricted access to ration
shops, daily squalls due to lack of amenities, and a sense of insecurity in the new
neighbourhood. The only positive aspect is that the residents get to live in pucca houses.
The residents have to cross a railway track to reach the station. This shortcut is very risky and
there have been many accidents on this route. But people continue to use it as there is a lack
of cheap public transport. Women and school going children are, however, compelled to take
the longer and more expensive route that goes around the track to reach their workplace or
school. This adds an unnecessary expense for women and has thus led to a loss of livelihood
for them. This also negatively affected their autonomy, freedom and mobility. They have lost
their social network of their family members in this new colony and alcoholism among men
has also increased. Women were also inconvenienced as they had the responsibility of
fetching water- the supply of which was intermittent and thus inconveniencing.
Despite having common struggles, the residents are segregated and interact mostly with their
own “kind”. They dissociate themselves from the “others”. Hindu and Muslim women
remained mostly with their own groups. Religious identity was displayed by placing tiles
above doors of specific deities and by celebrating religious festivals with great fervour. These
festivals were considered a “masculine” affair with the organizers being predominantly
influential males.
Low income and dalit household were highly inconvenienced by mandals or housing
societies and welfare committees. They ask for money to carry out various pujas. This was
especially unfair since Hindu women tried to dominate by organizing pujas and festivities
that disregarded the Buddhists (ex Mahars), Muslims and other minority communities.
Public spaces in the colony were largely male dominated and masculine spaces. No women
were seen to wander in the community halls, streets or housing society office. Young girls
were especially controlled in terms of their mobility and dressing since eve teasing, fear of
rape, molestation and sexual harassment was rampant. While girls were asked to wear
“decent” clothes, young boys had no similar restrictions imposed on them. Thus women and
girls felt trapped within their buildings.
Post relocation, one of the only options available to women to work was to take up street
vending. They sold fruits, vegetables, and other items. Women vendors were very good

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 salesmen and were attentive to the needs of other women and often provided them with credit
and sold everyday items for cheaper and more affordable rates. This meant that women did
not have to travel towards the market near Mankhurd station, thus saving time and money.
However, this activity was intolerable to middle- income residents from Lallubhai Compound
who alleged that the bazaar caused congestion and therefore, great inconvenience to
commuters. An NGO helped stall this bazaar. These people failed to see how this activity was
benefitting the sellers- by providing livelihood and the buyers as well.
It was evident that the large numbers of dalit women who formed a sizeable majority were
least represented in the housing society committees appointed by this NGO. A handful of
dalit men were however part of it just as a form of tokenism. Muslim women’s presence was
also low.
MM, another NGO was responsible for assisting post-resettlement activities and worked
towards encouraging women to save money thereby helping them access credit. However,
this led to a decline in indigenous and informal forms of micro-saving activities carried out
by these women traditionally. Though this NGO was based on the principles on inclusion, in
reality, the Nadar, Yadav and Muslim community dominated them and they were thus
exclusive and closed to dalit women.
This case study shows how various social forces play a major role even in cities which have
in our perception been coloured by ideas of rationality and meritocracy. This micro study
studied the intersectionality of caste, religion, gender, class and language which leads to
formation of hierarchies and thereby leading to conflicts and barriers.

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