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July 7, 2002
REVIEWS: A city within a megacity
Once a swampy terrain on the periphery of Mumbai (then Bombay) and a dumping site for the city’s garbage and construction debris, Dharavi is now a city within that megacity. It enjoys the dubious distinction of being the largest slum in Asia. Its story is not too different from the history of slums that emerge in the huge cities in the third world.
One is, however, tempted to compare Dharavi with the slums in Karachi that existed albeit on a smaller scale. Full marks to the earlier governments in Pakistan. They built quarters on a stupendous scale and with utmost speed beginning with those in PIB Colony to those in Korangi. Barring the illegal occupation of the Lyari riverbed, we don’t see slums at least of the type where they have to share toilets (it was one toilet for 800 people, which has now come down to one for a hundred people in Dharavi).
Back to Dharavi, Kalpana Sharma of the centurian Hindu, explains the raison d’etre of her book Rediscovering Dharavi.... She writes, “When people in Mumbai ask me, why a book on Dharavi, on a slum, I tell them that I am writing about their city, about Mumbai, about a reality which many would prefer to ignore. This is the reality of half of our city, of people who have been forced by chance and circumstances to live for generations in subhuman conditions. It is the story of men and women who have survived despite our indifference, despite the hostility of the state, people who are also citizens of Mumbai.”
Surely, the people of Dharavi have shown tremendous resilience and great adaptability, as indeed do many people whose backs are against the wall. Her accounts of individuals, who made it big can be subjects of novels and movies. There is a wide variety of small and not so small industries thriving in Dharavi. They range from garments and leather goods, geared for local and foreign markets, to hundreds of recycling units.
The health of the workers is not given a thought even in units where people are exposed to different kinds of hazards. For their part, the workers with fewer employment opportunities available take the risks in their stride. The government doesn’t intervene because the garages and small industrial units have been set up illegally. They can’t be closed down because they provide employment to thousands.
The catch-22 situation is also evident in the government’s reluctance to provide basic amenities in Dharavi because that would mean encouraging the emergence of slums. The politicians need the people of Dharavi because they form a huge vote bank. However, no politician has done anything worthwhile for the slum dwellers.
On May 17, 1976 at the height of the State of Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi, 12,000 policemen entered one of the colonies inside Dharavi and threw out 70,000 people overnight. They were given another swampy land about four km away. These people were made to yield place to 3,000 government servants, employed at the nearby Bhabha Atomic Research Centre.
The population density of Dharavi is mind-boggling — 18,000 people in one square km (in the introduction to her book Sharma falters when she says 18,000 people in one acre, but corrects herself on page 18). And they come from different parts of India. The Tamils form 36.76 per cent of the Dharavi population closely followed by Maharashtrians. Other groups are from Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, Rajasthan and Bihar in that order. Although the UPites form only 10 per cent of the population their visibility is equal to that of the Maharashtrians because of the trade that they are involved in, like the leather business and also because they live in large concentrations.
The numbers of Hindus and Muslims living in Dharavi are almost equal. Until the Babri Masjid demolition tragedy took place they lived in peace, but after December 1992 Shiv Sena, the militant and communal party, drove a wedge between them. In an area where the narrow lanes are like labyrinths no peacekeeping effort can be successful unless it comes from the people themselves.
Interestingly enough, the Hindu Tamils who were brothers-in-arm with their Muslim compatriots when this community was threatened, suddenly realized that they were two different people. So, when the riots engineered by Shiv Sena started in January 1993, the Hindu Tamils spared the Muslims from their ethnic group all right but attacked the Muslims from the UP. The wounds may have healed now but the mutual trust is no longer there. And nowhere is trust so necessary as in an area where there are mixed pockets, even in places like Muslimnagar, the number of Hindus is close to fifty per cent.
Kalpana Sharma has done a lot of research by delving deep into books on the megacity and printed material on Dharavi, but what was no less demanding were the innumerable visits that she paid to the various localities within Dharavi, which can aptly be called a city within the megacity. What is most remarkable is her objectivity. She is non-partisan in her handling of the issues involved.
The trips to the swampy land filled with odour and soot must have been unpleasant experiences.
Those who would like to have a thumbnail history of Mumbai can find it in the earlier pages of the book, which has been penned in a simple and yet effective style. The two lens people, Ayesha Talyarkhan, who also contributed the cover photograph, and Rafiq Ellias, have come up with fine images. If only the reproduction of the photographs had been better. But that doesn’t take away from the worth of the book. It will be worth its weight in gold for future researchers on the subject. n
Writer’s email: starmag@dawn.com
Rediscovering Dharavi: stories from Asia’s largest slum
By Kalpana Sharma
Penguin Books, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi 110 017, India.
Website: www.penguinbooksindia.com
ISBN 0-14-100023-4
209pp. Indian Rs200
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