Paper short abstract:

The proppsed paper examines the impact of rapid urban expansion on the fringe of Delhi, leading to the displacement of agricultural communities and villages in the post Partition scenario and the consequent effect on gender relations.

Paper long abstract:

The proposed paper intends to explore the dynamics of urban expansion in the post Partition capital city of Delhi and the consequent effect on gender relations. It moves around the central argument, that while the refugees of the India's Partition are generally seen as 'hapless victims' of the ethnic strife and hence in need of prompt rehabilitation by the state- and Delhi, the capital provided a 'safe haven' in terms of housing and work to refugees, yet behind the story of survival and refugee enterprise in Delhi is also hidden the tale of many hopeless villages and their land which witnessed tremendous displacement in an endeavour to re-settle the refugee population from Punjab, as new colonies were constructed all over Delhi. Hence, while Delhi is often seen as a 'Punjabi City' or a 'Partition city' as Punjabi refugees have a given it its present shape and character, yet what needs to be highlighted is the saga of indigenous villages inhabited by agrarian communities who were not passive recipients of the rapid urbanization. In particular, the indigenous communities of these areas reacted to the transition process (from rural to urban) and themselves changed from being a distinct agricultural based community to becoming both morphologically and economically part of the larger urban area. That in turn had significant affects on familial and gender relations with in these communities, and their interface with the urban world brought changes in work, life and livelihood.