Social Construction of a Segregated Urban Space and Its Effects on Education: A Case Study of the Balmikis of Delhi Sriti Ganguly 1 Abstract While segregation of Dalit habitations is assumed to be a characteristic primarily of the rural, studies indicate that a similar spatial organisa- tion is reproduced in urban spaces as well where large populations, particularly of poor Dalits, continue to live in segregated settlements. This article draws on an exploratory study conducted in one such low- income Dalit neighbourhood in Delhi and examines the different ways in which a socially marginalised community constructs its socio-spatial environment (mahaul) and perceives it as shaping their educational out- comes and at the same time being shaped by these outcomes. These constructions not only reveal how disadvantages in the form of existen- tial struggles and low levels of parental education continue to influence the education of the present generation but also provide insights into their ideas about education, change and mobility. Keywords Segregation, Dalit, education, mahaul (environment) Contemporary Education Dialogue 15(1) 51–72 © 2018 Education Dialogue Trust SAGE Publications sagepub.in/home.nav DOI: 10.1177/0973184917744972 http://ced.sagepub.com 1 Doctoral Student, Zakir Husain Centre for Educational Studies, School of Social Science, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. Corresponding author: Sriti Ganguly, A-67 Chittaranjan Park, Second Floor, New Delhi, India. E-mail: sriti67ganguly@gmail.com Article