Puru DubeyAIR 86 · CSE 2025 · 173 wordsTheir whole copy
Opening
It is assumed that urbanism constitutes a segmented, secondary relationship dominated and transactional space yet in India, caste & kinship play a functional role in urban settlements.
Body · points
CASTE & KINSHIP PLAY A FUNCTIONAL ROLE
(1) Socio-spatial segregation in urban India: Urban settlements in themselves are segregated on the basis of caste. Studies show how majority of leather workers in Dharavi are Muslims & Dalits;
(2) Caste & kinship : chain of urban migration caste & kinship facilitate migration of rural labourers to urban spaces, finding work and settling in urban India.
(ex) In Bholakpur slum of Hyderabad, caste decides the settlement & employment. Dalit groups dominate waste processing which has international networks.
(3) Urban employment: Studies demonstrate how informal labour is dominated by lower caste while upper caste dominates professional class. Satish Deshpande argues that upper castes convert their 'caste privilege' into 'merit'.
(4) Gated communities are dominated by upper castes which thrive on nearby slums for informal labour like housekeeping.
Close · a summary
Thus, caste & kinship get socially reproduced even in the urban spaces.