Building from Above, Displacing from Below-Land Development in Delhi

from Below Land Development in Delhi Mukul THE resources of lives and livelihoods of poor people in Indian society are being disposed of in innumerable ways. Whether it is land or house, forest or water, common property resources or individual property rights, the poor and powerless are under tremendous pressure in all these spheres to defend or expand their legal and constitutional claims. The land and houses of poor and working class people in urban India, especially in big and industrial cities, are some of the areas where the displacement has been talcing place in the crudest and the most naked manner. When such displacement is being done not by any one agency, individual or group but by a close nexus of government and its several agencies, police, politicians, rich and powerful people, the situation is horrendous and sometimes, unbelievable.