CHAPTER 1
A Companion to the Anthropology of India, edited by Isabelle Clark-Decès
© 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
It is evident that there has been in the last decade or so a concerted attempt to clean up
Indian cities, to rid streets and public lands of squatters and encroachers, and to reclaim
public spaces for the use of proper citizens.
Partha Chatterjee, The Politics of the Governed, p. 131 (emphasis added)
INTRODUCTION
Released on April 8, 2005, the Draft 2021 Master Plan for Delhi calls for the trans-
formation of Delhi into a “World Class City” (D. Roy 2005:7). While the details of
how to effect Delhi’s cosmopolitan transformation are at times vague, the thrust of
the Draft Plan centers on developing the city into a key node of international finance
and investment. In particular, the plan presents a growing state impetus to “clean”
and “green” Delhi, creating a legible and attractive cityscape that can mirror Asian
urban counterparts such as Singapore and Hong Kong. According to the plan, the
“encroachment of public lands” by growing numbers of squatters presents an ongo-
ing and highly visible threat to Delhi’s “world class” status and its attempt to forge a
new spatial geography. The Draft Plan indicates the city’s increased ambition to expel
squatters, or drive them into less visible city spaces, through relocation and resettle-
ment (Kackar 2005; Bhan 2009). By fostering international tourism, conventions,
sports events, and the establishment of new shopping centers, restaurants, and hotels
Discourses of
Citizenship and
Criminality in Clean,
Green Delhi
Yaffa Truelove and
Emma Mawdsley
CHAPTER 22
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UNCORRECTED PROOF