This was my Pre-Diploma project at the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad.

The Pre-Diploma project is a precursor to the final Diploma project. I combined 2 projects

to be able to do this, as I found the complexity of the subject itself warranted it. Students

could choose to do a project in any of the disciplines within the Visual Communication

curriculum. I chose to do a photo documentation project that married into a area I was

interested in ... In this case migration & human issues.

32 years later I find that the basic issues have not changed ... hence my

decision to recreate this.

In late 1979 and early ‘80’s we did not have a semblance of the technology that we have

access to today. Prints were analog bromides. The text was painstakingly type written. The

assembly was even worse - to make it into a book format ! I had to paste pages back to

back to form the whole book. Photographs, illustrations and the typed text strips had to be

then pasted based on the layout. A highly labour intensive task, which were aided by some

of my friends who spent hours doing this.

I had practically forgotten this book which which was relegated to the dark corners in one of

our packed cartons. It was falling apart since the rubber solution used to paste them

together had had it’s life. The pages and the photographs had completely yellowed. I

decided to recreate the whole book using today’s digital tools. Unfortunately I just cannot

find the original film negatives so I have settled for scanning and then editing them to attain

a reasonable quality across the book. The layout has been left the way it was. More or less.

Important

Please keep in mind that the data is from the late 70’s. If it interests you current data is available on the internet.

The background used here is actually a scan of the pages that had come unstuck. I thought the textures were so rich !

Design Project 4 + 5 1979/80

Guide : Vikas Satwalekar

Visual Communication Faculty

National Institute of Design

Paldi

Ahmedabad - 380007

a personal view

My sincere gratitude to the following for their help :

Dr.Kurrien Tata Institute of Social Studies, Bombay

Dr. Aharma

Mrs. Panwalkar

Jacob Aikara

Mrs. Rita Patel & Mrs. Rukmini Mobile Creches, Bombay

Joseph Pinto & Dr.Niranjan Godkandi Science Education Group, Bombay

Madan Naik & U.K.Nair Mumbai Shramikh Sangh, Bombay

S.K.Das Planning Action Research Team, Bombay

A.Jockin National Service Kendra, Bombay

K.M.Shanmugam

C.L.David

Sukumaran

There are few things that can solely be done by an individual.

This project is one of those. It would have been impossible for

me to start without the help and cooperation extended to me

by people who were total strangers to me, and had no reason

to trust or accept me.

During the course of my stay in Bombay, I have come into

contact with many individuals, who have done their best to

help me in the most humane ways. Most of them were from the

slums. These are the condemned places in the city, generally

referred to as the most dangerous areas and believed to be the

nesting grounds for criminals and illegal practices.

This is an attempt to see beyond this stereotype.

Rajeev Manikoth

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14

Mechanics of Migration

1514

n 1971 India had a population of 548 million, of whom 170 million, or about a

third of the Indian population, lived in a village or town other than the place

in which they were born. Of these migrants, 117 million were women and 53

million were men. Most of the migrant women ( 96 out of the 117 million )

lived in the rural areas, while a majority of the male migrants ( 31 out of the

53 million ) lived in cities or towns.

Most of the migrants moved within their own state; 141.6 million migrants out

of the 170, as against 19.4 million who moved from other states, and 9 million

who migrated to India from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and other countries.

The majority of the interstate migration consists of migration to urban areas.

Of the 19.4 million interstate migrants, 11 million live in urban and 8.4 million

in rural areas. In 1971, one out of every thirteen Indians was a migrant to a

city or a town - 42.6 million forming nearly 40% of the country's total

population of 108.6 million.

More than a third of these migrants, 15.2 million, were born outside of the

state and 27.4 million from elsewhere in the same state. One out of every

seven urban dwellers now come from another state or from outside India.

1515

Mec

hani

cs o

f M

igra

tion Why do people migrate ?

The phenomenon of migration is highly complex. The relationships between levels of urbanisation and rural densities reflect the operation of multiple forces. In some places, high levels of urbanisation stem from the "pull" factor which the urban centres exert regardless of rural density; in other places the so-called "push" from the rural areas is dominant. Those who are generally more modern and more literate are the ones who are "pulled". Rural - Urban Migration : Pull forces Economic : Prospects of material welfare, improved standards of living, higher wages in urban occupations, lots of job opportunities, more profit in the industrial sector than in agriculture. Less interest on loans from private money lenders in villages. Social :Educated and trained villagers seek intellectually satisfying occupations available in cities. Satisfaction of social and cultural aspirations. To join family already migrated to the city. Medical facilities available in cities. Proper housing, electricity, water system and sewerage in cities. Social mobility. Migration due to war or disaster. Rural - Urban Migration : Push forces Economic :Growing pressure of population on land. increase in rural debt. Unemployment or underemployment. Small holdings of agricultural land due to divided inheritance. Lack of alternative sources of income. Joblessness after harvest. Social :Insufficient social amenities like recreation and shopping centres. Poor state of medical facilities. Lack of educational institutions. Ineffective maintenance of law and order. Rivalries in the village. Desire to live near centres of administration. Lack of proper housing, electricity, water supply and sewerage. Insufficient transportation and communication facilities.

16

The real differences between urban and rural levels of living is greater than it appears, because services and electricity are overwhelmingly concentrated in the urban areas where the main decision makers live. Rural people, dependent as they are upon climatic conditions, are the most vulnerable with little or no reserve stocks of food and no savings. Their low income, usually based on tenancy rather than ownership of land, the fluctuating natural conditions, and the lack of alternative employment in the off season, all tend to keep them in poverty, because their income is low, their productivity is low, and so new investment in agriculture is almost nil. So the general condition of the rural dweller gets worse rather than better. The drift to the cities seems destined to continue for many years to come. For two out of every peasant, land holdings are about two acres, not sufficient to provide a living for a household. Furthermore, many of those who have two acres do not own the land. They are tenant farmers or sharecroppers, and that they have to pay a certain amount to the land owner. The very poor, who do not even have tenant rights, number about one third of the total population. For them life is extremely impoverished. They depend on seasonal employment for their total annual income. Governments have made efforts to redistribute agricultural land, but this rarely constitutes a once and for all change that will relieve the rural population from want. Other conditions in the national and world economy influence the viability of the small farmer. Without invetsment to raise the small farmers output, the redistribution of land is only a temporary palliative. Where the quality of soil makes it uneconomic to invest, non-agricultural employment is the only method available for sustaining or raising rural income. tWhen the smallholders suffer a sudden decline in their crops or increase in the costs, they may be forced to sell their land and even their animals and crop reserves, reversing the effects of previous redistribution. Rural disintegration, under the pressure of agricultural inefficiency, leads to urban compaction as the pressure builds. People who are thrown off the land in the name of agricultural inefficiency, have no recourse but to move to the city. If we refer to the city as a place which at least provides food and shelter, that may appear strange. But it is in fact the only place which may be relied upon to provide those essentials, once the rural society and its economy have been destroyed. This reliance upon the city as the provider of last resort may be temporary. None the less, for the uprooted peasant, the city is his last resort.

17

Peace. Total peace.That's what you experience

when you attain Nirvana.That's what you get when you

come to India.But in India, peace means

more than what the dictionary tells you.

You'll find peace in India's colourful bazars. You'll find peace listening to the jingle of cymbals and the rhythm of of dancing feet.

You'll find peace of a different kind.

In the warm smiles and the friendly faces of every Indian.

In the uninhibited hospitality and simplicity of everyone.

You can get all this.And for so little.Indeed, Indian Airlines, India's

domestic airline, makes you an offer that is truly remarkable.

For an airfare of 200 US dollars* you can spend 14 days (US $ 275 for 21 days) travelling all over India. A choice of 61 destinations. Ranging from Kashmir to Khajuraho

to the southern shores washed by the Indian Ocean.

Come to India.And take advantage of our

'Discover India' scheme.You will discover a lot more.Like the reality of peace.You can book your Discover India tickets from your travel agent through any one of 111 airlines around the world which have interlinked ticketing arrangements with Indian Airlines.*Or equivalent of any convertible currency

We have a country which is rich culturally and has an

abundance of natural resources. We have a great many

things of which we can be proud of, and rightfully so. We

have a marvellous landscape that extends from the

Himalayas in the North, to the Cape Comorin in the South,

as varied as the people and their cultures. This is what we

sell to the tourists.

The "exciting", "beautiful" face of India.

We have glorified our past and conserved it for appraisal

and discussion. The history of our magnificent culture. The

culture which has such variety and diversity, that one

cannot get tired of it. We have chosen what to record of

our history, and what not to. We have heard only of the

victories of our noble kings and emperors, but not of the

soldiers who made it possible.

What we do not want to see or think about is the poverty

of our contemporary culture.

19

20

"Technological civilisation opened unlimited new vistas to man. It made possible

cities larger than ever before, offering benefits of urban life to ever greater

numbers of men, and bringing a diversity of social life and intellectual exchange

never before known.

But now in the center of most of these cities, malignant cores have developed.

The people in city slums know little of the rich variety of choice and quality that

exalts human life. More frequently, their lives are encompassed by filth, ugliness

and squalor"

~ "From Sea to Shining Sea"

21

" What the city offers

is for those who succeed,

not for those who fail".

22

23

More than 3,168,768 people

24

in Bombay live in the slums

25

he increase of the low income population of the cities has been

far more rapid than the increase in the housing available to them -

with resulting pressure and tension. In such a setting, powerful

interests are able to profit by the sale of exclusiveness on the one

hand and overcrowding on the other.

In Bombay, land has become a scarce resource, with prices ranging

over Rs.1000/Sq.m. For a land value of Rs.50/Sq.m, 13% of

households cannot afford even a one room tenement, 42% for land

values of Rs.100/Sq.m, and to 96% for land values between Rs.500

& Rs.1000 Sq.m.

In a 1978 report titled "Finance for Housing Schemes" by the

working group on Role of Banking System, set up by the Reserve

Bank of India, a conclusion has been arrived at : "An ordinary

person in India cannot build a house with his own savings and

credit is not available to him on terms he can afford."

26

27

A Place to Live

28

t is a fact that the majority of rural migrants take refuge in "bustees", "zopadapatties" and

shanty towns of cities, which are termed as "slums". They start as temporary dwelling places

under the chronic shortage of durable and cheap housing, and eventually become a functional

element and major land use of the city.

Today more than 30% of Bombay's population live in these

settlements. In Bombay there are about 847 slums accompanying

more than 3 million people. Most of these become slums because

of lack of minimum civic amenities such as, water supply, latrines,

ventilated living spaces, without which civilised life loses much of

it's meaning. The residents of these slums who are mostly low

income group come with the hope of securing some employment as

unskilled or skilled labour in the city. But they not only remain,

but continue to remain unintegrated with the main stream of

urban life. They continue to be governed in their behaviour by

rural culture and social standards.

Their economic modes of existence and the distance of their

residential environment tends to reinforce their isolation further

from the rest of the urban population. The term distance here

means, social, educational, cultural, moral and psychological

dimension, rather than physical distance. The slums are therefore

small villages within cities with social and cultural traits almost

intact. The spontaneous settlements of the urban poor are not

merely aggregations of shacks and huts, but communities of fellow

migrants. Each is based on a network of affinities of language,

region, village, caste or creed. It enables the rural migrant coming

from small village communities to become socialised and

acculturated in the complex and diversified environment of the

metropolitan city. In effect the migrants are moving from one form

of organisation of social life to another. For many the movement to the city itself means a

movement up in the social ladder. If a migrant lives in the metropolis and especially if he has

some cash he can send home he raises himself and his family in the esteem of his village.

29

rainage and sanitation is a known, but often unpracticed concept. Not because the people do not believe in it, but due to the lack of any kind of financial aid from the authorities. Lack of water proves to be the biggest hindrance in keeping their own environment clean and hygienic. A clean and hygienic environment becomes secondary to just managing to afford a proper meal for the family.

The migrant is no more enthralled be his unkempt surroundings,

dilapidated house, or lack basic facilities than are appalled outsiders.

He does what he can, to make his house livable, but is always hampered

by the lack of water to keep his house, himself and his community

clean. When he knows his tenure status is permanent, he invests a great

deal of time, energy and available resources in improving it.

30

A Pl

ace

to L

ive

31

32

33

34

In the limited confines of the hutment, every inch counts. The scarcity of space has resulted in a highly developed sense of interior space organisation. All the functions of a house are within the usual 10 x 10 ft. area of the hut.

35

Growing up in the Slum

36

he possession of certain basic needs is characteristic of all human beings, regardless of

their time or place of living. Yet, the way in which these needs

are satisfied is dependent not only on inborn nature, but also on

influencing factors inherent in the physical environment and the

culture in which an individual is born and develops. Each era

and each culture presents a set of circumstances that mould the

child's overt expression of his basic needs. The child born and

bred in a modern, democratically organised society may

experience needs that differ in extent and intensity from those

of a child who matures in a different perhaps more simple form

of culture. Some of the child's needs are physical, others are

rooted in the development of the self- concept and of social

consciousness. Perhaps one of the most important childhood

needs is training towards wholesome and socially approved

fulfillment of his many wants, urges and desires.

Since the migrant child at birth becomes the member of a

"minority" group, his personal impulses, urges and desires

cannot be divorced from the wants and interests of his

immmediate social environment. It is not uncommon for

children to be illiterate. School is a luxury which is not easily

accessible to the child. The parents do nor usually see the

necessity of an "education". As soon as the child is 8 or 9 years

old, he or she is often sent to work to contribute to the family

income. If at all the parents exhibit an interest in sending their

children to school, it remains economically an impossibility.

37

he stability and individuality that the children's lives lack, can be stimulated

in the learning situation and maybe the school period is the only time when

such sustained involvement is possible.

Traditional methods of education have been proved useless in slum areas,

where the child's involvement is not merely with the conditioning of his mind,

but with his physical survival and with the material gain he can obtain.

although it is minimal.

These children are not less able,

their environment represents a

mental and physical poverty from

which it is difficult to escape. If

their education is looked at

economically, the country is losing

out on this part of the investment in

ability.

38

Gro

win

g up

in t

he S

lum

he immediate neighbourhood is the play environment of the child in the slum. Often

the settlement is on marshy or waste land or by the side of the railway tracks. Lack of

open space within the settlement, forces the child onto the unhygienic and filthy

environment that is usually the neighbourhood. The vulnerable child is open to any kind

of disease prevailing in the area.

39

40

Gro

win

g up

in t

he S

lum

41

42

DECLARATIONS OF THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD “To enjoy special protection and to give opportunities and facilities to enable him to develop in a healthy and normal manner and in conditions of freedom aand dignity. To have a name and a nationality from his birth. To enjoy the benefits of social security including adequate nutrition, housing, re-creation and medical services. To receive special treatment, education and care if handicapped. To be protected against all forms of neglect, cruelty and exploitation and to be protected from practices which may foster any form of discrimination. ( UN Declaration of the Rights Of The Child)

43

Gro

win

g up

in t

he S

lum

oday's child is tomorrow's prospective citizen. What he

experiences and learns today will determine the quality of

his personal contribution in the total function of society.

The child in the slum seldom gets the chance to fully

experience childhood with it's joy and rewards of of learning.

He does learn. He learns how to add to his parents' income.

He learns how to survive.

44

Gro

win

g up

in t

he S

lum

45

A Means of Survival

46

In urban societies, the poor are confronted by a "status

assignment" system, in which occupational, economic and

educational achievements are the primary basis for

differentiating status levels.

Self-perpetuating cultural deprivation demonstrates that, in

consequence of a low level of school achievement, the child is

likely to respond by assigning low reward values to success as a

student, and to drop out at the first opportunity. This means he

enters the "job market" at a disadvantage, in that the only jobs

he is likely to get are those most likely to produce alienation from

work. This is transmitted from generation to another especially in

isolated or potentially isolated areas.

It is economically determined that the country needs a fluid

mobile mass, who move to work as wanted and who are otherwise

unemployed. The insecurity of inconsistent earnings, poor

conditions and inability to change to more lucrative situations

puts a social stress on the least fortunate of these people.

47

48

A M

eans

of

Surv

ival

instead of a human right.

if they do, it's a bonus,

not because they like the work;

The people work for money to live,

49

f a man wants to become rich, he can either gamble, sell himself

well, although to do this he has to have at his command at least

similar facilities and opportunities to those he is trying to emulate. Or

he can go outside the rules of society to obtain money in a way that

society will condemn as illegal. So basically everything is stacked

against him. The rules of the game are someone else's, and the

further down the socio-economic pyramid he is, the fewer the tools at

this disposal to enable him to realise his potential.

The scarcity of jobs, indeed the tendency for capital - intensive

developments to reduce job opportunities, is creating a sense of

hopelessness among the poor.

Employment in the city is at two levels. One is the organised, modern,

formal sector characterised by capital - intensive technology,

relatively high wages, large scale operations and corporate and

government organisations. The other is the unorganised, traditional,

informal sector - labour intensive, small scale operations, using

traditional methods and providing modest earnings to the individual or

family owner.

In the modern sector, wages are usually protected by labour

legislation and trade union activity. In the informal sector, there is

easier entry, but less job security and lower earnings. Though the jobs

in the modern sector may be more desirable, they are often beyond

the reach of the poor - they require literacy, experience and a level of

training the poor find difficult to acquire; and in a labour surplus

market, employers can afford to insist on exceptional qualifications.

50

A M

eans

of

Surv

ival

51

52

A M

eans

of

Surv

ival

53

54

A M

eans

of

Surv

ival

llicit liquor is the cheapest luxury that the slum

dweller has access to. It removes him temporarily

from his reality. The liquor business is a well

organised network with effective distribution

channels within and without the slums.

55

A M

eans

of

Surv

ival

56

The People

"What they expect in their own situation in

any foreseeable future is very little : they

may want more, they may believe they have

a right to more : but they have learned and

they have been brought uo to settle for a

minimum. Life is like that they say."

57

There is a societal reaction to slum dwellers. The non slum

dweller often associates the physical appearance and different

living conditions of the slum with belief in the "natural inferiority"

of those who live in the slums. As a slum is an “inferior” place,

those who live in it are also perceived as inferior.

This perception has important important consequences in the

social isolation of slum dwellers and their exclusion from power

and participation in urban society. Those who live in slums lack

channels of communication. The "local" politician often becomes

the only "ambassador" to the outside world, one who unfortunately

tries to manipulate it frequently for his own benefit.

The attitude of society to them has created a closed community,

who finds security in themselves. It is a fact that crime and

"illegal" activities flourish in the slums. But this is a social fact

which exists not because they are inherently corrupt or crime

oriented. For some, these actions are the only means of survival,

in a society which does not offer them an alternative. They might

hate doing it. But with time they learn to accept it as a source of

income and as the only choice, if it can be called a choice at all.

What is disheartening is that most of these "illegal: practices and

occupations are initiated by outside elements and in confrontation

with the law, they do not come into the picture.

58

The

Peop

le

Realisation of their own status has made them withdraw in to a shell

of their own and exhibit an uncertain receptivity to an "outsider".

In this sense, I was an "outsider" and I could feel the doubt and

uncertainty in some of them about my presence with a camera. I had

been using a camera for the past few years. But this was the first time

that I had reservations of using the camera to document the lives of a

community. It would have been an intrusion, if I had tried to

photograph the real moments of their lives. I believe that each

individual, be he rich or poor, has a right to those moments in his life,

to be experience without the intrusion of an external element.

But, I also believe that certain social truths has to be uncovered so

that we can come face to face with reality. And I wonder whether the

"responsibility of seeing" is just another way of not wanting to

confront reality at all.

"Out of sight, out of mind?"

I have been with these people and I understand them a little more.

I do not pity them. That would be wrong. I only have respect for their

fortitude which keeps them from sinking and being ground under by

society.

59

The

Peop

le

Fakheer Mohammed

Fakheer came to Bombay in 1944, when he was 9 years old. He first came to the

Matunga camp, which was an undeveloped area at that time. His hails from Cheetapur

district, Gulbarga in Mysore State. The first job that he could get was washing dishes

in a hotel. After a year in Bombay,

he went back to his hometown. He

stayed there for 7 years selling

bangles with his father. He came

back to Bombay when he decided

that he had to try his hand at a

better job.

His first hut was demolished by the

Bombay Municipal Corporation,

and he had to shift to another site

nearby.

Fakheer has 8 children ( 2 had died

). The eldest (20) works. The rest remain at home. One boy and a girl attends the

municipal school. One of the girls' is married and has 3 children. His son who goes to

school, is 11 years old and is in the First Standard. Getting admission into the school

was extremely difficult because of official bureaucracy.

His hut in which he is presently residing is 15 years old. The condition of the hut is a

statement about his life's achievement. He recollects that his house in his hometown

is 4 times bigger. He also had land. But, he maintains that jobs were difficult and it

was very difficult to provide for the whole family.

60

The

Peop

le

61

62

"I have stayed in this hut for more than 15 years. We live in constant fear, because we do not know when we will be ordered to leave this place"

"This land belongs to the TATA's. When I built this hut, they told me to move from here, saying that if the power pylons, which is just outside, collapses and anything happens, they would not take the responsibilty. I told them that if I die it will be only my responsibilty and that they should not worry about an insignificant person like me."

"If anyone sees my hometown, they will wonder why I am so poor here. The truth is that it will be more difficult to look after my family there. After all, what is the use of having a big house if your children do not have anything to eat?"

63

The

Peop

le

Rajesh Shyam

Rajesh hails from Khargone in Madhya Pradesh. He came to Bombay in 1969.

Since his arrival in '69 he has visited his hometown six times, His brother and

wife lives there. On his arrival in Bombay, he stayed with his father-in-law for

3 years. In 1973 he shifted over to Powai where he is currently resides. He

lives with his wife, mother and 4 children in a rented shelter.

Rajesh did his matriculation from Bhopal. Then he worked as a lower division

clerk at the cotton spinning mill, but he was asked to leave because of surplus

staff and was subsequently without a job for 5 months. His father had a cloth

business and Rajesh found no prospects in the continuation of his father's

economic occupation. He enrolled in a technical training institute called JIT,

and did a course in fitter training for a year. He also worked as a temporary

employee there. Rajesh had high aspirations. He had dreams of having a good

home, etc. His present situation is far removed from his aspirations and he has

developed a deep sense of frustration.

He is a machine operator at Estrela and works shifts. When he has night shifts

he sells bags in Ghatkopar during the day. He sends two of his children to a

Hindi medium school. Rajesh earns about Rs.575/- per month.

On his request, the company has given him night shifts as a temporary

measure, because he wanted to sell his bags during the day. He has a loan to

pay back.

64

The

Peop

le

"Why should there be a difference between a machine

operator and a clerk with the same educational

background? The clerk gets Rs.1000/- Why should

society support such a system?"

65

Naveenchandra Chimanlal Solanki

Naveen has been in Bombay for almost 13 years. His hometown is Balsara in Gujarat,

where his parents and sister live. Naveen came to Bombay because he had

difficulties in obtaining a job in his hometown. At that time his father was in

Bombay. He perceived Bombay as a great city with great possibilities for him and

made this move with high aspirations .. Life in his village was difficult and he wanted

a better alternative.

His first job was as a peon in a shoe factory. Now he works as an assistant to a

machine operator at Hindustan Ferrodo and gets a salary of Rs.850/-

Naveen lives with his wife and two children. He has not sent his child to school

because there is no school in Gujarati medium which he can afford.

Naveen goes to visit his parents every two months. At this moment he has no

intentions of settling down in Bombay. He says that if he finds a better job, he would

leave Bombay. Naveen got the hut, where he is now staying through a friend. He had

to pay a deposit of Rs.100/- with a rental of Rs.20/- per month ( He spent about

Rs.400/- in improving it). Naveen wants a better job but does not have the necessary

qualifications.

He prefers life at his village to life in the city. No savings are possible as he sends

money every month to his parents at home.

" A man who earns Rs.5/- a day cannot have a proper meal.

How can one talk of developing or maintaining his surroundings ?

His immediate concern is about managing to feed his family."

66

The

Peop

le

"There should be some way that the individual interests of

children can be encouraged. With financial assistance, there

can be great people from the slums too."

67

Duryodan Pundalik Ingle Duryodan is 31 years old and hails from Poona. He has been in Bombay for 8 years.

He completed his school in Poona, but could not continue his education further

because of financial and other difficulties, even though he had a keen interest in

higher education.

Later he did a course at ITI

( Industrial Training Institute ) in

carpentry. He also trained at

PTC ( Prototype Training Centre

), Rajkot, for some time. He

came to Bombay since he could

not get a job there. He got a

job first at IIT on a temporary

basis, after which he joined a

telephone factory, where he is

currently continuing. He had

worked for short periods in

various factories. His wish had

been to get a job as an

instructor. He says that he is not satisfied with his job, but has no other choice. At

the moment he has no intention of going back to his hometown. His father,

brother and sister live there, where they own a small piece of land.

68

The

Peop

le

Duryodan sends some money regularly to his father. He lives in Powai in a rented hut

of 100 sft. His wife and two year old child stay with him. He earns approximately

Rs.500/- and just about manage to make ends meet. In his spare time he reads

newspapers or goes to see the TV at the community Welfare Centre.

He is the treasurer of the Gramastya Seva Mandal and also Deputy Secretary of the

Powai Tenants Association.

69

P.P. Mathew

Mathew hails from Trichur district in Kerala. He came to Bombay in 1953, when

he was 23. He got a job as a beedi worker. In 1963, he left Bombay because of

ethnic conflicts sparked off by the Shiv Sena during the time of the Pakistan

war. He went to Madhya Pradesh with his wife's brother and started a smalll

shop at the Bailard Iron Ore project. He worked there for 12 years. When the

project was completed, Mathew shifted to a new project area on the friendly

advice of the engineer.

He had some bad experiences at the new site, which forced him to go back to

Bombay. Mathew was married when he was 29 and has 4 children (3 boys and 1

girl) The eldest son (13) works in a box manufacturing factory and attends

night school. Mathew has a brother in his hometown, who lives with his family

there. He has not gone home since 1977, because he could not afford it.

He earns around Rs.300 per month. He does beedi work and own a small shop.

Mathew is an asthma patient and has to spend 75 paise every day on

medication. He does not own any property at home and has no plans to return

to his hometown. He has well off relatives in Bombay, but has no interaction

with them. He feels that they might not appreciate him retaining contact with

them because of his social status.

70

The

Peop

le

"Just yesterday an old woman died on the railway

tracks. A train hit her. This happens very often. I think

the train is a saviour for us."

71

Abdul Kareem Abdul came to Bombay when he was 11 years old, together with his mother and

sister. They had a relative already staying in Bombay. Trying to survive in their

hometown in Cuddalore district (Tamilnadu) was very difficult.

Abdul is married and has 5 children (3 boys and 2 girls). Three of them go to

school. He wants them to get vocational training, so that their future can

hopefully be better.

Abdul does not have any qualifications and works as a painter in the docks of the

Bombay Port Trust. His first job on arrival in Bombay was with a watch strap

maker. But he decided that it would not take him anywhere. If he finds a better

job he would leave. He earns about Rs.500/- per month. The money is always used

up and he has not managed to save anything at all. There is always a health

problem in the house and about Rs.20 is required every month for medicines.

His eldest son, who is 17 years old works as a mechanic. The additional income is a

blessing because part of his salary goes towards repaying a loan that he had taken.

The question of savings does not arise at all.

Abdul's house measures 10x10 feet, in which he, his wife and 5 children live. He

pays Rs.20 as rent per month. His situation is such, he says, that it has become

impossible for him to even offer something to eat or drink to his cousins and

friends when they come to visit him.

72

The

Peop

le

73

Mooswamy Manikkam

Mooswamy left his hometown (Chidambaram district in Tamilnadu) in 1968, looking

for a better chance in life. He has worked as a construction worker for the twelve

years that he has been in

Bombay. He visits his hometown

once a year. His cousins and

relatives live there on a small

piece of land which they own. He

keeps in touch with his cousins

through letters.

In Bombay, he lives with his wife

and his children ( 3 boys and 3

girls, of which 2 boys and 1 girl is

married ) His three sons also

work as construction workers

with the Bombay Municipal

Corporation. Mooswamy gets Rs.8

per working day and works 6

days a week. He does not expect to get a better job. He sees no alternative but to

continue with his present status. Returning to his hometown is not an option.

The concept of savings does not mean anything to him. He has used up whatever

money he had for the marriages of his children. His only form of entertainment is

to watch a Tamil film once a month.

The

Peop

le

76

Shanmugam's view

This piece is written by K.M.Shanmugam who lives in Dharavi (Considered to be Asia's

largest slum). He hails from Kerala and is a Party worker.

The jhopda is a place where poverty and illiteracy reign supreme. A playground of

barbarism. A place where there are no basic facilities even for relieving oneself.

People can even commit murder for a drop of water as their means of livelihood is

violence and antisocial activities. On the one side are their huts which prostrates to

the earth, on the other the skyscrapers - beautifully painted and protected by dogs

and their drivers who resemble the dogs in their servility and loyalty to their masters.

The imported car, with silken upholstery, mini movie, television. Yes, palaces which

are paragons of ultra modernism.

Two telling examples of the change that the Indian social and economic system has

ultimately created! Hutments and Palaces. They are living close by, but these two

societies cannot mingle. There is the difference of Heaven and Earth in their minds.

One the one side people sipping the sweetness of life, the other bitterness. So long

as we cannot shatter the social system which renders the poop hutment dwellers

"antisocial", no force can uplift them. They hate the world which has denied them

the heavenly pleasures that others are enjoying. They are ignorant of the forces

which have pushed the into these hellish depths. If they knew, the flames of their

anger would burn the ruling class into ashes.

The Government has not really thought about these unfortunates who are forced to

do reckless things in their fight for survival. The Government is following a policy

which indirectly nurtures the violent trends in them.

The

Peop

le

77

The "goondas" of each of these regions are the leaders of the ruling party. They can

move around freely without the interference from the police. they are lulled by the

hollow promises and scant actions. They are unaware of the social systems and their

various implications. It is of no use telling them about these. What is the uses of

explaining the intricacies of a machine to an infant ?

What they want is quick relief. Give them a gulp of liquor and ask them to attack

someone. They will not have any inhibitions about doing so. On the contrary, if you

try to dissuade them by citing his actions illegal, it will not make any difference or

yield any results.

How can the poor send their children to school? When they reach that age they loiter

around with their comrades. They sleep on the floor and see their parents

copulating. The arrack which is cheaper than tea boils his tender nerves, unrhymed

sexual thoughts in his mind, waves of intoxication which reel the head, a beedi stub

in the lips --- this is the future of a child in the slum. He does whatever he can to

pacify his burning stomach. What can spiritual thoughts do for a hungry stomach ? He

learns to live by robbing, pick-pocketing and even committing murder.

His father has been doing that, and his son will be doing that. A birthright which

passes through generations without a break.

The Government spends crores of rupees in getting hold of these culprits and in

punishing them. Alas! Had this money been spent on uplifting their lives.

A Story of EvictionFrom Janata Colony to Cheeta Camp

In 1949, The Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC) decided to transfer different

jopadapattis (slums) of Bombay to Mankhurd and Jogeshwari. In accordance of the

decision, the BMC acquired land at Mankhurd, In 1950/'51 ( When Moraji Desai was the

Chief Minister) different jopadapattis of Bombay were demolished and shifted to

Manhkurd in the basin of a hillock on the Sion-Trombay road. The uprooted people were

assured that it would be their permanent place of residence.

These peopl made this inhabitable land livable. They were alloted 300 sq.ft. each to

build their houses. This place was called Jananta Colony. In the beginning the people

were put to great hardship. Drinking water had to be fetched from great distances.

However, they started their new life with the satisfaction that they would not be

uprooted again.

The people started to build churches, temples and mosques. They also started cottage

industries. It was like a real township. In spite of Janata Colony being a cosmopolitan

community, not a single case of communal disharmony was witnessed in the 25 year

history of the colony. All the 70,000 inhabitants of the colony who professed different

faiths lived in peace and harmony.

In 1952, the Bhabha Atomic research Centre (BARC) was established on the other side of

the hillock near the Janata Colony. At tht time the Government wanted to give the

Janata Colony land to an oil company, but the Municipal Corporation took up the matter

of shifting the Colony. Dr.Bhabha, the BARC Chief had assured the delegation of the

Janata Colony, that if the colony was ever shifted, BARC would provide pucca houses to

those affected. Later, Dr.Vikram Sarabhai and other important people also issued press

notices that the Janata Colony residents would be provided housing worth 4.5 crores.

78

Sequence of events

In 1965, a survey of Janata Colony was conducted by the BARC. In 1966, BARC advised the

Janata Colony people to from a co-operative society. At the same time, construction of

quarters for the BARC staff began near the Janata Colony.

In 1970 Janata Colony residents submitted a plan for 4500 houses to the then Minister of

Urban Development of the Maharashtra Government, Mr. P.G. Kher. In 1971 the then Chief

Minister, Mr.V.P.Naik declared that all proprietary rights of the houses in the Cheeta Camp

would be given to the residents. The Chief Minister also asked the residents of the Colony

to deposit Rs.1600/- each within 3 months. Rs.80,000/- was collected from them and

deposited with BARC.

In 1973, BMC declared that all unauthorised structures of the Janata Colony would be

legalised, but it did not materialise.

On 19th December 1974 a notice was posted on the Municipal office of the colony, for the

shifting of the Janata Colony.

A deputation of the colony met the Chief Minister of Maharashtra at Nagpur and submitted

a memorandum to him regarding the shifting of the colony. On 1st February 1975,

Maharashtra's Minister for housing, Mr.Prabhakar Kunte, advised the BMC not to shift the

Janata Colony.

The Chief of the BARC declared in a press statement that the site of the Janata Colony

would be utilised for constructing a swimming pool, theatre and other recreational

centres.

79

On 5th April 1976, the Supreme Court ordered that the Janata Colony residents

should be provided with more facilities till 5th May 1976, and then shifted from the

place. The State Government and the BMC were contacted in the light of the

Supreme Court judgement, but they paid no heed and stuck to their original

programme. On 13th May 1976, the SRP and the civil police surrounded Janata

Colony.

An appeal was made in the High Court because the Government and the BMC did not

pay attention to the Supreme court order. But the High Court neither dismissed the

appeal nor allowed it. It merely kept it in abeyance.

On 17th May 1976, the houses were demolished post a lathi charge by the police.

The forcible shifting to the Cheeta Colony began in the trucks provided by the BMC.

The operation was complete by 10th June. Every family was allotted sites on the

basis of leave and license. Whereas at Janata Colony there was no leave and license

system. In Cheeta Camp, the rent was fixed at Rs.20, whereas at Janata Colony it

was Rs.3.25

On 17th May 1976, the Cheeta Camp dwellers in a big rally at Janata Colony

protested at the inhuman treatment by the BMC officials. Some people were

arrested and cases filed against them. The poeple who were shifted to Cheet Camp

with their luggage and wares on 17th May were not allowed to build their houses.

They were asked to wait until the final meeting of the BMC was over.

On 1st June, there was a heavy downpour which continued for many days, and

swept away the belongings and building materials of the evictees. One man named

Abdul Hameed committed suicide out of sheer hopelessness and frustration. He was

unemployed and had no money to pay the BMC. After his death, his widow was

alotted a plot of 10 x 10 ft.

80

A St

ory

of E

vict

ion

Was shifting necessary ?

According to the BMC., the shifting was necessary because the BARC needed the land.

The Chairman of the BARC, Dr.Sethna, on different occasions had expressed the view

that a swimming pool, a theater and recreation place shall be provided for the

residents of the BARC colony. Again in the Press conference, Dr.Sethna advanced the

theory of accommodating the scientists attached to BARC, failing which there would be

a brain drain.

For the benefit of a privileged few, 70,000 people were evicted and put through

immense losses and inhuman trauma. It seems that in front of skyscrapers of BARC the

dilapidated hutments of Janata Colony were like eyesores to Dr.Sethna and he desired

that they be shifted out of sight to far flung areas.

The expenditure incurred in this process was enough to build pucca structures at

Janata Colony itself.

81

A Matter of Acceptanceociety has decided that the migrants and their settlements in the city are

dangerous pockets in the city and that they are positive eyesores. These

"invaders" are seen as undesirables, liable to cause health problems to the city

populace, unless they can afford the prices of the national consumer society.

Since that is not possible, they have to be removed from the vicinity of the city.

Governments have formed their urban housing policies for low income families

on these premises :

The eradication of slums and squatter settlements and the rehousing of their

inhabitants, who, it was assumed, were degraded by the conditions in which

they lived ...

The present trend in policies seems to be based on three basic assumptions :

1. That all urban slums and squatter settlements must be cleared and their

inhabitants rehoused in "decent" safe and sanitary housing.

2. That the individual housing units (With it's construction costs inevitably

subsidised by Governments to reduce its economic cost to the level of rent

paying capacity) is the basic variable in solving the housing problem.

3. That Government sponsored and subsidised programs of low cost housing

construction are essential since private enterprise will not participate as there

is no perceived profit in housing programmes for the low income groups.

82

The attempt to solve the housing problem with the aid of police force,

bulldozers and modern construction techniques was the direct consequence of

interpreting the problem in terms of a quantitative deficit of modern dwellings.

Two attempts at solving the housing and slum problem were at the Turkman Gate

incident during the emergency in Delhi. Under this plan, 7 lakh poor residents of

the city were removed from within the city area to pints beyond a supposedly

green belt into satellite shanty towns called Seema Puri, etc.

The second line of approach was called the Indian habitat Movement and was

sponsored by Sanjay Gandhi in North India during the Emergency period of June

1975 to March 1977. This was an attempt to beautify the city, to surround and

penetrate the city parameters with green belts, and develop pretty suburbs all

round the city so that the affluent can feel comfortable.

83

he real problem of the modern world, the thing which creates misery, wars and

hatred amongst men, is the division of society into rich and poor. The significance

about this division between rich and poor is not simply that one man has more

food than he can eat, more houses than he can live in, while others are hungry,

unclad or homeless.

84

A M

atte

r of

Acc

epta

nce

he reality and the depth of the problem arises because the man

who is rich has power over the lives of those who are poor. And

even more important is that a social and economic system,

supports these divisions, and constantly increases them so that

the rich gets richer and more powerful, while the poor gets

relatively ever poorer and less able to control their own future.

This continues despite all the talk of human equality, of the fight

against poverty, and of development.

The Answer ?

85

he pace and scale of urbanisation are such that housing programs, based on

such idealistic objectives as the eradication of slums and the massive

implementation of Govt. subsidised housing projects, are an exercise in futility,

incapable, given the resources, of making any effective contribution to the issue

of housing.

Given the impracticality of the total clearance of slum and squatter settlements

in urban areas - indeed given the practical likelihood of their continued

expansion in numbers and areas as the urban population inevitably increase - a

new search for policy alternatives must begin from a fresh examination of the

social and economic conditions in these spontaneous, uncontrolled settlements

for the masses of urban poor, and from a fuller and more accurate appraisal of

their inadequacies. Far from being simply "cancerous growth" of intolerable

sanitation (the middle class and official view), they can be seen on investigation

to perform at least six functions of major importance to the urbanisation process

as a whole.

1. They provide housing at rents that can be afforded, and importantly through

variation in hut and room size, they provide a narrow but important range of

housing choices in relation both to varying income levels (and therefore rent

paying capacity).

2. They act as "reception" centres in the urban areas for the predominantly

unskilled and illiterate migrants from rural areas.

86

A M

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r of

Acc

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nce

3. They provide within the settlement, a wide variety of employment in family

and cottage industries, particularly in the vast numbers of marginally small

scale engineering enterprises which provide both th means of livelihood for

large numbers of slum dwellers, but also the opportunity to acquire productive

and entrepreneurial skills - i.e., the slum has an important function in the

economic adjustment of the migrant villager - to the changed environment of

urban areas.

4. They provide the means to the slum dwellers of a considerable physical

mobility within the urban area in search of employment, and through their

ubiquitous location, the opportunity of finding accommodation in close

proximity to the work place.

5. Through a wide variety of strong social and communal organisations within

the slums, they provide slum dwellers with essential social support in

unemployment and other occasions of difficulty and stress.

6. Finally and of particular importance to the problem of urban housing

provision, they encourage and reward small scale private entrepreneurship in

the field of housing; in that their huts are constructed in such a way that

rooms can be let for profit to individual tenants.

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My sincere gratitude to the following for their help : Dr. KurrienDr. SharmaMrs. PanwalkarJacob Aikara All from Tata Institute of Social Studies, Bombay Mrs. Rita Patel & Mrs. Rukmini "Mobile Creches", Bombay Joseph Pinto & Dr.Niranjan Godkandi Science Education Group, Bombay Madan Naik & U.K.Nair Mumbai Shramikh Sangh, Bombay S.K.Das Planning Action Research Team, Bombay A.Jockin National Service Kendra, Bombay K.M.ShanmugamC.L.DavidSukumaran I am grateful to the understanding shown by my guide Mr.Vikas Satwelakar, NID, Ahmedabad, which helped me complete this work. And my sincere thanks to Kavita Valladares, Mala Sarkar, Suranjana Mukherjee and Abid Belal for all the help in assembling the book together.

Acknowledgements

93

EkisticsApril '63, May '63, July '71, Feb '71, Sept '75, March '74, Oct '79 Habitat : Human Settlements in an Urban Age ~ Angus M.Gunn Immigrants and Neighbourhoods ~ Dr. N.S.Gore ( TISS, Bombay ) Design : Incorporating Indian Builder : Nov '79 Community Decay ~ Jon Rowland Classes, Crisis and Coups ~ Michael Marland Equality ~ Kohn Rees Sons of the Soil ~ Myron Weiner Systematic Sociology ~ Kimbail Young & Raymond W. Nack A Minority group in American Society ~ J. Milton Yinger Environment and Development in Shanty Towns : Exchange of Experience(Seminar documents co-sponsored by ENDA ( Environment Development Action) and PART ( Planning Action Research Team ~ Yusuf Meherally Centre, Bombay )

References

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