Sacred Urban spaces and the plight of the Urban Deprived!

1. Introduction

2. An ethnographic interrogation

3. Research Methodology

4. The Out Comes

1.

Introduction:

Urban symbolism and rituals are more than a simple reflection of a society. They lay bare the bones of a society and the relations between its constituent groups of all sorts: class, caste/ethnicity, gender and age. Urban symbolism is much more than any mere reflection, as it is part of society and is used to shape and change social relationships. It may even be utilized strategically for the purposes set by the whole society or by constituent groups or even individuals. This makes the study of urban symbolism intriguing. It focuses on a cultural layer produced and consumed in a society that, because of its long persistence, also reflects and shapes the history of the urban community. Urban symbols and rituals comment on daily life in the city and vice-versa society is observing and interpreting them too. They are related to both urban identity and urban image. In our view, the study of urban symbolism has created a new approach to urban studies; one which should no longer be neglected. Current studies of cities focusing on infrastructure, and social and administrative life must be complemented by the cultural symbolic aspect in order to present a proper, balanced picture of urban society. So, in a view, urban anthropologists, sociologists, historians, architects, planners, and geographers have to include this cultural approach to describe and analyze the urban communities in its full essence. The diversity of urban settlements and the internal stratification within cities is obviously a challenge for ethnographic fieldwork, but they should not be considered a drawback for research itself. The metropolis like Bengaluru, as a field of research, is the tower of Babel in which the onlooker encounters various symbols and rituals that affect the day-to-day life of all and specifically the slum dwellers in Bengaluru. The trick is to understand that often within the same city a single symbol can be interpreted in various ways by different people, or is even ignored altogether. It is in this context that the researcher wears the multi-dress/multi-layered apparel of the quick-change artist, meeting various people, speaking different languages, living in very diverse worlds but sharing the same urban space. Let me take an example of slum people in Bengaluru remember the city of their construction: During a study carried out by Dr. Dominic and his team (En ethnographic survey of Bengaluru Slums, 2008) found Mr. Kannan and Mr. Balan who as cooli workers built the present Pwer Hose the Vidhana Soudha. Yet both of them still live in a slum. Hence, historical associations, or other meanings, are powerful reinforcements Once a history, a sign, or a meaning attaches to an object, its value as a landmark rises. These silent, unrecognized selves when placed in context, come to life with much to remember and to forget. At the same time, the elaborate monumental and commercial buildings places are not only continuously interpreted; they are haunted by past structures of meaning and material presences from other times and lives. One step further, our study analyzed how spatial images generate collective memory through developing in-group habits associated to a specific physical setting. Referring to our findings further argued that physical surroundings have enormous power to produce an image, perpetuating individual and group experience and sentiments that eventually form local tradition. Yet, slums are considered as burden for the ever moving middle class and upper classes in Bengaluru. But the present study proposes that slums too are humans who built Bengaluru and have their own sacred spaces that make the city rich! This tradition, a stable longterm relationship between group and the material structure, with stone, which will not be easily moved as the city transforms. The heritage of sacredness and holiness of the historical center derives from conflicts and tragedies represented by planners who have no roots but imagined yester years of Golden Age!

2. An ethnographic interrogation of Land and lives in Bengaluru: The concept of land as a money making commodity in todays urbanized market is a recent phenomenon of past two decades. Government departments used this as an opportunity of making a quick buck to come out of their financial crisis by conveniently using land that was in their custody. Firstly, it was initiated in the deteriorating Public Sector - Indian Telephone Industries, Bangalore and later swallowed another enterprising HMT Factory and thus the same spread across the country. With this as a backdrop, urban local bodies which had the major landholdings took to the same strategy for economic gains by sacrificing public interests. Meanwhile, the Karnataka Municipal Reform Project was craftily designed for cities to ensure that corporations acquire vast prime landholdings which would be converted as economic ventures in the name of Public-Private Partnerships to facade the real private interests that conspired the ULBs. It is here that an opportunity was duly visualized to legitimize the corporate and private sectors to grab the public properties. The ULBs, thus eloped away with the corporate interests than the constitutional mandates of the Public Good. But what was hidden was how the ULBs were reduced to pauper status by the Multi National Financial & Development institutions like ADB, World Bank etc., where it was shown that the ability of the city to repay its debts was by relocating the real Urban makers the slum dwellers from prime locations to the peripheries, and making profit by using that same prime land for profitable investments. Incidentally, the impact was very evident in the recent past whereby many slums being evicted and land was sold or given to private/corporate companies in the name of development. The eviction of families from the land that was reserved for the economically weaker sections was not just a matter of profit of the private corporate ventures but was the neo design of establishing control over the government machinery that forced the Govt. away from its original welfare Schemes. This tragic scenario began in India to show off its position as one of the most powerful emerging economy in the world. To establish this, it had to exhibit itself as a rich countrywith a robust economy in the making by utilizing the available natural resources. But ironically,Indias rich natural resources lie accumulated in forest areas where its tribal populations made their habitat by primordial times. And later they were dislocated to the peripheries of urban spaces or carved to for them as slums inprime locations of the cities. To acquire these lands it was necessary for the state to evict the dwellers from those prime spots. The presence of slums will not only expose poverty, but also seen as black spot in the citys image in this newly imagined economy. It is unfortunate that mostly the middle and upper classes in our society who have a skewed understanding of development find this state of affairs as appropriate for its advantages by disposing off slum dwellers to the outskirts. The newly acquired land then gets in the hands of the government or the individual corporate for development and claims the bringing in of better investments. Secondly, this gives the city a developed look hiding poverty and thirdly this new arrangement grossly helps developing industries, factories and apartments in the peripheries with readymade cheap labour and service providers. Whenever the government provides apartment buildings in the name of housing to the slum dwellers driven to the periphery it is celebrated as a great accomplishment. However, it is interesting to keep a tab on the government activity post independence from a caste perspective. As of date there is no example of government implementing any project really for the welfare of

the people. The objective of these projects is always capital accumulation or caste based politics keeping the vote bank or the tax base in mind. It is important to consider all these while making a research on these city development projects. Majority of the researches of urban poverty have measured the reason for poverty as when the poor migrate to urban areas in search of livelihood. First of all poverty will persist when the very poor shift to cities as they come with nothing. Secondly, this creates deficiency in the production of housing in cities and thirdly, an important factor is that the poor are not easily given access to banking loans as this will improve their status and will diminish poverty. These facts might seem true if the research of poverty is done in economical terms. But one has to go beyond this as there are many other factors to be taken into cognizance that are prevailing in this country, such as caste, religion, languages and cultural differences and additionally it is important to observe how only a few communities are arbitrarily kept away by the government from appropriate benefits depriving them of power. If the urban poor people from within the state or outside are surveyed and listed it is evident that a majority of them will be from the untouchable caste, language, religious minorities and most backward communities. Urban poverty is a stark evidence of poor governance in this country and also our experience informs that it is the root cause for all persisting tribulations in society. The development projects without considering the basic features prevailing in the country will pave way to the dreadful condition of poor peoples lives instead of improving their living conditions. There is therefore an urgent need for a research which can be used to highlight where the gaps in governance are and then collectively with the government, people draw development plans. This study will document peoples view on urban development and the eradication of poverty and will suggest a way forward from their views with their life experiences. Their voices will be collected, consolidated and will alert society. Till now the people would blindly believe in plans drafted by intellectuals. People were never approached to give their views with the general notion that common people cannot think development, they know only to work; while intellectuals are born to think about the poor. Each community has its life circle based on their lived experience by its generations; firstly this was destroyed by uprooting them from their villages due to several socio economic reasons. This eventually, is systematically destroyed whenever dislocated/developed the generation develops knowledge system.This research will focus on the damages caused once again by evicting them from the reconstructed lives. 3. Research Methodology:

In order understand the plight of the slum people and their lived traditions in Bengaluru the present study proposes: a) An analysis of the outcomes of researches done by UN, WB, ADB regarding the eradication of poverty in Bengaluru urban spaces and understand how they have imagined the Bengaluru Slums (Certainly not as Heritage Centers!). This will include also an analysis and view with case studies done by Indian financial institutions, government, private organizations, NGOs and other institutions to find their ideological moorings of urban spaces. b) How these above implemented and reached out to the people and What was peoples cultural experiences and their inherited knowledge systems about city-spaces.

c) Possibly individuals will be interviewed, to consolidate FGDs will be conducted and towards that a PRA exercises based on ethno-methodology (This requires an analysis of the Comprehensive Development Plan and how the slums and urban poverty alleviation has been carried out). 4. The Out Come: Final report will include the following research work: a) From 1995 to till date the number of slums in the identified areas where all the development programmes are implemented, do have their own lived memories of their own cultural situated-ness in Bengaluru b) Identify the salient features of slums in a city, reasons for development or eviction, land use, their ownership pattern, possession or losses of livelihoods, basic amenities, education, health, opportunity for individual growth, social relations community relationship by families after eviction/relocation/ etcTo understand the relocated slums what are the social infra structures being built by the government. c) Based on the study and a documentary evidence will be built that the future of the cities should not blind to the heterogeneity of livings along with ethno-bio-geographies of the slum communities (As mentioned at the beginning, urban planners (representing the government and ordinary people have very different perceptions of urban spaces. Going by modern technological reconstruction in the city center lacks cohesion in rebuilding seems to have disrupted the existing spatial structure, where memories of the past underpin an exterior urban setting. Ordinary people, on the other hand, unconcerned with the international status, attach themselves to their own survival philosopies that may in reality change the urban planning and sustainability of the future.