Invisible People and Architectures of Delhi: Stories of-Shifting Workforce

- 105 - Walking down he s ee in he u ban illage o Kilok i o Delhi mos days o he yea , gi es me a wonde ul sense o he seasons. The a ea is ull o s ee endo s o di e en kinds. Ca s loaded wi h seasonal oods, bo h cooked and uncooked. Vendo s walking a ound wi h ian- gula bamboo s ands wi h mo e ood. Cycle endo s who call ou wi h hei cha ac e is ic calls and o e o sha pen kni es and scisso s, o sell all kinds o cleaning equipmen like b ooms e c. The lu e selle who lea es beau i- ul melodies loa ing e o lessly behind him, as he walks by. And endo s who si by he side o he s ee wi h hei wa es on li le plas ic squa es. The e a e endo s who a e he e e e y day wi h di e en a icles o sale, depending on he ime o he yea . And hen he e a e ho- se who a e om a away a eas, and isi occa- INVISIBLE PEOPLE AND ARCHITECTURES OF DELHI: STORIES OF A SHIFTING WORKFORCE Mee a Mas ani Tex ile a is , Bindaas Unlimi ed h ps://dx.doi.o g/10.12795/as agalo.2020.i27.08 sionally. All hese mic o en ep eneu s c ea e he s uc u es o hei mobile s o es and hei li es hemsel es, and ca y hem a ound, se - ing up and disman ling hei s o es e e y day. Wi h a eco ded his o y om he 12 h cen u y onwa ds, Delhi is one o he oldes in- habi ed ci ies wi h a popula ion o 20 million people. A ci y wi h a popula ion explosion o 47% be ween 1991-2001 and o 21% be ween 2001-2011.1 Su ounded by o he g owing owns like Noida, Gu gaon, Fa idabad and Ghazia- bad, all o which along wi h Delhi o m he Na ional Capi al Region [NCR], i s popula ion 1 See Census o India 2011, which can be checked online a h ps://censusindia.go .in/2011-p o - esul s/da a_ iles/ delhi/3_PDFC-Pape -1- ables_60_81.pd , accessed on Oc- obe 30 h 2020. ASTRAGALO, 27 (2020) A ibu ion-NonComme cial-Sha eAlike - CC BY-NC-SA ARTICLES, ISSN 2469-0503 INVISIBLE PEOPLE AND ARCHITECTURES OF DELHI: STORIES OF A SHIFTING WORKFORCE - 106 - Mee a Mas ani - 107 - densi y is almos double han hose o Tokyo o New Yo k ci y, and c ime a e is less han hal o New Yo k Ci y.2 Wi h amilies ha can ace hei li- neage in he ci y o well o e a hund ed yea s, i is a ci y wi h s abili y and g ow h. I is also an in isibly shi ing ci y. Much o i s wo king class popula ion comes om ou side he ci y and nonchalan ly hops in and ou o he ci y on c owded buses, ains, jeeps, ucks and in- o mal ide sha es on he highways leading ou o he ci y. Visible, se led Delhi o en does no no ice o acknowledge his s uc u e o Delhi ha p o ides many o i s essen ial se ices. As he la ges comme cial cen e in No h India, Delhi’s GDP es ima es we e $96 billion in 2017-2018.3 The easonably p iced se ices and p oduc s made in he ci y a e in a la ge pa due o hese mig an wo ke s. Mos o  hem ea n less han he minimum wo king wage decla ed by he Delhi Go e nmen , which is USD 202.00 pe mon h o semi-skilled la- bou .4 In 2001, Delhi ecei ed 1.7 million ne 2 These s a is ics we e compiled in p epa a ion o he 13 h U ban Age con e ence by LSE Ci ies, a esea ch cen e a he London School o Economics and Poli ical Science, and Deu sche Bank’s Al ed He hausen Socie y, held in Delhi on 14-15 h No embe 2014. See he edi o ial in Min , published 14 h No embe 2014, h ps://www.li emin . com/Poli ics/Z 73mwOmPPbVmlNloecuBP/Delhi-mo e- densely-popula ed- han-New-Yo k-Tokyo-s udy.h ml, accessed online on 30 h Oc obe 2020. 3 See Highligh s o Economic Su ey o Delhi 2017- 2018, made a ailable online by he Delhi go e nmen a h p://web.delhi.go .in/wps/wcm/connec /ebac160044d- 712c 8532873726e205c9/HighEng.pd ?MOD=AJPERES& lmod=1042919677&CACHEID=ebac160044d712c 85328 73726e205c9, accessed on Oc obe 20 h 2020. 4 See he da a ega ding cu en minimun wage a e pub- lished online by he Labou Commissione , Go e nmen o NCT o Delhi, a h ps://labou .delhi.go .in/con en /cu - en -minimum-wage- a e, accessed on Oc obe 20 h 2020. mig an s [accoun ing o in low and ou low o mig an s] which was 16.4% o i s o al popula- ion a he ime.5 Mobile ege able and ood endo s, ai- lo s, plumbe s, masons, cons uc ion wo ke s, cycle ickshaw d i e s, newspape endo s, do- mes ic wo ke s, ga dene s, ga bage collec o s, ecycle s, ca cleane s, deli e y people, small en ep eneu s and idesha e d i e s a e some o he people who con ibu e o his shi ing a chi ec u e o he ci y. Excep o domes ic wo ke s, i is a e y gende ed wo ld, cons i u ed mos ly by men. People who come om places nea he ci y, go back home as equen ly as once a week. O he s come and go e e y ha es sea- son o wo k on hei amily land. O he s s ill come and go abou 4-5 imes a yea . The e a e people who ha e been li ing in he ci y o yea s and whose amilies a e he e wi h hem. They go back o communi y weddings, go e nmen bene i schemes and o o e in elec ions. Many people li e and wo k in Delhi only pa o each yea and go back o hei illages o a m hei lands du ing he es o he yea . Like hei p esence in he ci y, hei homes a e also somewha empo a y and shi - ing. Mos o hem li e in one o he many u ban illages o he ci y, o in ‘unau ho ised colonies’, in which a la ge pe cen age o he po- pula ion o he ci y li es. These coloniess a by people aking o e iny pieces o land and ma- king empo a y shel e s o hemsel es. They expand and con ac by g easing he palms o 5 See he a icle on mig a ion made a ailable online by he O ice o he Regis a Gene al and Census Commissione , Minis y o Home A ai s, Go e nmen o India: h ps:// censusindia.go .in/Ad_Campaign/d op_in_a icles/08- Mig a ion.pd , accessed on Oc obe 30 h 2020. INVISIBLE PEOPLE AND ARCHITECTURES OF DELHI: STORIES OF A SHIFTING WORKFORCE - 108 - he police and o he o icials in he a ea. I ’s a cons an ba le o p o ec hese homes, which s a ou as empo a y s uc u es wi h plas- ic shee s as oo s and g adually become iny conc e e s uc u es. Yamuna Push a is an a ea which had hund eds o housands o people li- ing by he banks o ou o go en once migh y i e , he Yamuna. These people ook o e land by he side o he i e and a med, o jus li ed he e. They would mo e o highe g ounds wi h en s when he i e looded du ing he mons- oons and mo ed back down o he i e when i came back o i s ea lie le el. Abou 4,00,000 people om he e we e eloca ed o he bo de s o he ci y by he go e nmen be ween 2004 and 2009 (Menon-Sen and Bhan 2008) Cons uc ion wo ke s o en make basic bamboo ame s uc u es wi h plas ic shee s as co e s. O use he b icks which a e on si e o cons uc ion and pile hem in o empo a y s uc u es on he si e i sel . Once he cons uc- ion nea s he end, hey disman le hei own homesand use he b icks o making he hou- ses hey a e cons uc ing as a eam. The e we e abou 3,00,000 s ee en- do s in Delhi in 2011, all wi hou egis a- ion (Bhowmik and Saha 2012: 38). We had abou 6,00,000 ickshaws employing a million people in 2013. Only 99,000 o hem we e o i- cially licensed.6 In 2010 abou 7% o he Indian wo k o - ce was o ganized. 93% belonged o he uno ga- nized sec o and accoun ed o 50% o India’s GDP (Sal e 2013). The si ua ion has no chan- ged d ama ically since hen. Mos o his sec- o , includingsel -employed indi idual wo ke s and small en e p ises, s uggle o wo k wi h li le o no S a e suppo o bene i s. In sec o a e sec o , he s o y is he same. We ha e li le o no o mal egis a ions by he ci y, and no social secu i y ne o he people in all hese sec o s. They p o ide inex- pensi e se ices and e e yone including he S a e p e ends as i hey don’ exis . They a e a he me cy o he police, and hei employe s wi h no mechanism o ed essal. Since he e is 6 See he in o p o ided In e cul u al Resou ces and Human Resou ces De elopmen Founda ion (PT 2013). Mee a Mas ani - 109 - INVISIBLE PEOPLE AND ARCHITECTURES OF DELHI: STORIES OF A SHIFTING WORKFORCE - 110 - no egis a ion, hey o en ha e o pay b ibes o o icials who pa ol he s ee s. Wi h e y small ea nings, and no o mal acknowledgemen o hei exis ence, hey li e ulne able li es ha a e pe pe ually on he edge. Documen ed below a e he ou lines o he li es o some o hese in isible people, ba- sed on in e iews wi h hem. ASHRAFI LAL Asha i Lal Ji li es in nea he Ag a Fi oza- bad bo de abou 235 km om Delhi. He has wo ked in Delhi o abou 25 yea s and came he e a he age o 19. He is a ailo who wo - ked o o he s ea lie , and now uns his own wo kshop wi h se en o eigh ailo s whe e he wo ks agains con ac ed o de s. He goes home e e y o he weekend o mee his 5 child en and wi e. He would like o b ing his child en o Delhi, bu he is unable o a o d he en o any so o oom in he ci y. He and mos o his wo ke s s ay in his en ed ailo ing wo kshop o which he pays 125 USD a mon h. In a oom o 315 squa e ee , wi h hei sewing machines, a oom o keep he ab ic hey a e sewing and o he equipmen , he e is no much space o hem o sleep. His uni is in Tuglaqabad ex ension a ea, which is an unau ho ized neighbo hood. He is o una e enough o ha e a oile which is e- se ed o his en ed space, unlike many o he s who li e and wo k he e. They cook inside he wo kshop in a small oom ha is also hei o i- ce. His sma phone helps him ge many o his o de s and sa es him se e al ips o his cus o- me s, as he can send hem pho os o his wo k. His wo kshop is nea Okhla Indus ial a ea, which is one o he ew o icial indus ial a eas in he ci y, and whe e a lo o his cus ome s a e si ua ed. Ge ing back o wo k a e he lock- down has been e y ha d o him and o de s a e less han 50% o wha hey we e ea lie . Li ing in his wo kshop helps him sa e on some ime and e o o commu e. He a- els in he ci y using buses, he me o and his us ed old cycle. Mee a Mas ani - 111 - INVISIBLE PEOPLE AND ARCHITECTURES OF DELHI: STORIES OF A SHIFTING WORKFORCE - 112 - He likes being in he illage wi h his amily, bu has no sou ce o income he e. He has also been a social wo ke in he illage, helping people ile “Fi s In o ma ion Repo s’ wi h he police. I is no easy o ile such do- cumen s, specially o unde p i ileged people, as once iled, he police a e legally obliged o ollow up on his epo . Gi en ha he s ands his g ound socially and does no back o , he has been in se ious ouble. In his ega d, pa o his being in Delhi is also o his own sa e y. Coming om a Scheduled cas e, he is expec- ed o know his place, and being poli ical and eis y as he is does no help. The anonymi y o he ci y helps people educe he impo ance o hei cas e, e en i i can’ be comple ely e a- sed. He enjoys he anonymi y o Delhi and he cama ade ie wi h his co-wo ke s. The bigges p oblem o unning his own en e p ise, as wi h mos Indian en e p ises o e e y size, is ha his cus ome s may no pay him. Wi h an o e - bu dened judicia y, he e is no way o ensu e ed essal o small legal p oblems like his. NOOR MOHAMMAD Noo Mohammad Ji’s illage is in Dis ic Cha- p a in Biha which is abou a housand kilome- es om Delhi. I is elling ha despi e li ing in Delhi since 1999, he s ill e e s o his illage as home. He goes back home a leas wice a yea . I he is unwell, he goes back addi iona- lly o ea men . He d i es a cycle ickshaw in which he anspo s ma e ials and inished p oduc s, be ween p oduc ion uni s and ac o- ies in Okhla indus ial a ea. A e wo king in Delhi o a ew yea s, he b ough his amily he e, bu had o ake hem back o he illage since hey could no a o d o li e he e. The en s and ood p ices we e oo high o hem. Ano he e y impo - an ac o was he ac ha hey a e Muslims and he el insecu e lea ing hem a home in Delhi du ing he day while he wen o wo k. O e he yea s, a acks agains Muslims, spe- cially unde p i ileged Muslims, ha e inc eased Mee a Mas ani - 113 -