Between Stagnancy and Affluence: Reinterpreting Water Poverty and Domestic Flows in Delhi, India

ABSTRACT

Hydrological systems are reflective of the social systems from which they spring. A close examination of the water narratives in a Central Delhi slum reveals that these are imbued with language of developmental struggle and social injustice. This brings clear voice to otherwise tacit, abstract flows ranging from the movement of women, to the circulation of money, and distribution of water, illustrating the delineation and control of the borders and categories over which things flow. In the slum, residents mark the success of their lives, and their measure of the future, by the passing of time in waiting for water. Some residents are believed to live in a state of financial, temporal, and hydrological affluence, while others identify the flows in their lives as stagnant. These abstractions are manifested in stories of daily water struggles, reflecting identities and worldviews that shed light on perceptions of development that are otherwise difficult to express.

KEYWORDS:

• Anthropology
• India
• poverty
• sustainable development
• urban planning
• water

Acknowledgments

The author thanks Veronica Strang and Franz Krause and the SNR editorial board for organizing this special issue. The author additionally recognizes with gratitude the anonymous reviewers whose comments strengthened this article and who are not responsible for any errors herein.

Notes

The term “nonworking” is used to denote that the person does not work outside of the home for wages. This term includes ghrvaliya, or homemakers, whose work is critical to Delhi.

In this specific neighborhood, time was more important than quantity of water or quality of water delivered. Not only did the tanker sometimes drive away with some water still inside, but tests of the tanker water upon delivery revealed a very high quality of water.

The concept of the middle class follows Shridarhan’s (2004); poverty levels are determined according to the Government of Delhi Directorate of Economics and Statistics (2008).

The name of this basti has been changed. Panchtare literally means “five stars” in Hindi.

All speech has been translated from Hindi unless otherwise noted.

Slightly more than many other informal communities receive.

Female sex work is considered shameful in contemporary Delhi.

Baviskar (2012) notes just one example, Kejriwal’s Parivartan campaign, that engaged basti residents in resistance to corrupt ration shops.

The community also repressed some alternative narratives. Tracking the circulation of the water tanker over months elicited no significant difference in priority—both locations were erratic even on days the driver was offered refreshments.

A roti is a type of Indian bread.