Samyuktha Menon

India is one of the fastest urbanizing nations in the history of the world. While 28.53% of India was living in urban areas in 2001, by 2011 this figure had gone up to 31.16%. The population of Bangalore has increased from 1.7 million in 1971 to 8.5 million in 2011. Many of the migrants who settle in slums in Bangalore are from rural Karnataka or from other states who have been driven out of their villages due to drought or poverty. A majority of these belong to castes placed lower down in the social hierarchy ordained by the caste system in India. These processes of ‘long transition’ (agrarian to industrial; rural to urban) have been fast forwarded in India in a context of neo-liberal policies where State takes less and less responsibility for the well-being of the citizen.

Kiera: This year, I lost my dear friend, Samyukta

Samyukta: How can you sit there all calm when we have class tomorrow!?

Noah: I searched everywhere.