Send message to Author

Paper short abstract:

Katchipattu transformed into an industrial hub, confining Dalits physically and socially. Branded a "criminal village," Dalit youth face exclusion, denied jobs, and forced into illegal livelihoods. Promises of progress bring lost hope, daily struggles, and indignity, and shame.

Paper long abstract:

Sasi, pointing to the bustling highway, lamented, “These were once our free spaces; I don’t know when they’ll take our place too,” as he lay drunk on a broken couch. Katchipattu, a village near Sriperumbudur, has transformed into an industrial hub, nicknamed the ‘Detroit of India,’ housing over 550 global giants within its SEZ. This rapid industrialization has brought gated communities, infrastructural developments, and physical bypasses that confine the Dalit community and deny them access to public spaces. Once open and free, the village is now socially and economically alienated, with Dalit voices silenced by the power elite advocating for industrial interests. The Dalit youth face relentless exclusion. Branded with degrading tags like “criminal village,” they are denied jobs in nearby industries and often forced into undignified illegal livelihoods for survival. Stripped of basic dignity, they live in fear and insecurity, trapped in their homeland, which feels increasingly uninhabitable. Societal discrimination and false promises of development exacerbate their struggles, leaving them dehumanized and disillusioned. This paper explores the lives of Dalit youth in Sriperumbudur through Lauren Berlant’s “Cruel Optimism” and Sara Ahmed’s “The Promise of Happiness.” It argues that the promises of progress have resulted in lost hope, as the community grapples with systemic exclusion, caste exploitation, and survival struggles. Based on three years of fieldwork and empirical research, it sheds light on the deep inequalities and indignities faced by Dalit youth amidst large-scale industrial and urban development.