By Aseem Mishra, Darshini Mahadevia, Yogi Joseph and Arup Das (sSTEP)* The informal sector forms a pivotal part of the Indian economy. More than 90 per cent of workforce and about 50 per cent of the national product are accounted for by the informal economy. High levels of growth of the Indian economy during the … More How partial withdrawal of state from markets led to deprivation among Guwahati street vendors

By Aseem Mishra, Darshini Mahadevia, Yogi Joseph, Arup Das (sSTEP)* The land rights conflicts in Guwahati have roots in both, historical land regimes as well as contemporary politics of the region. The Ahom King owned all the land within his territory, which he then granted extensively to temples, priests and charitable institutions.  The king also … More Guwahati’s residents of informal hill settlements are more vulnerable to natural calamities

By Aseem Mishra, Darshini Mahadevia, Yogi Joseph and Arup Das (sSTEP)* As part of our research on Guwahati’s hill settlements, a total of six settlements were selected. Four settlements namely Seujnagar, Sanghmaghuli, Teenug-Ganeshpur and Sripur in Lalmati-Behrabari hills and two settlements namely, Mithingapuri and Nawkata Shibodham in Gharchuk have been studied. These and other settlements … More Trauma, constant fear of eviction among Guwahati hill dwellers due to absence of tenure security

By Darshini Mahadevia, Aseem Mishra, Anurita Hazarika (NEN), Yogi Joseph and Tinam Borah (NEN)* Women’s safety in cities has become an important issue, especially in the light of the massive mobilisation of public opinion seen after the unfortunate gangrape of a young woman in 2012 in Delhi. It is argued that a pervasive fear of … More Travelling long distances to work, Guwahati women fear misbehaving men during odd hours

By Darshini Mahadevia, Renu Desai, Shachi Sanghvi, Suchita Vyas, Aisha Bakde, Mohamad Sharif Pathan (CfD) and Rafi Malek (CfD)* There is a growing recognition that large numbers of women in Indian cities experience violence inside and outside their homes and feel insecure about being in public spaces. Patriarchal norms and sexist attitudes towards women are … More Hostile environment in Bombay Hotel area leads to violence against women, risks their safety, security

By Darshini Mahadevia, Renu Desai, Shachi Sanghvi,Suchita Vyas,  Aisha Bakde, Mo. Sharif Malek (CfD) and Rafi Malek (CfD) The Bombay Hotel locality in the southern periphery of Ahmedabad has developed mainly since the early/mid 2000s. Small and medium-scale builders acquired agricultural land through a series of informal transactions, developed the land for residential societies without … More Informal development in Ahmedabad’s Bombay Hotel contributed to violence, crime in locality