Introduction
As the population of India is increasing at a large scale and at a very fast pace and the opportunity for employment is mainly concentrated in the urban areas , people from the rural areas are migrating on a large scale to urban areas; most of the times settling in squatter settlements or “slums”. Delhi is one of the metropolitan cities having a large number of slums and resettlement colonies. Several studies have been undertaken related to slums; the review of which has been presented as follows:
Many scholars have defined slums and given different interpretation of slums . Some describe a slum by its physical structure whereas some scholars define slum by social, cultural or economical perspective. As pointed out by Nangia and Thorat (2000) in their study, slums are used to indicate housing which “falls below a certain level which is necessary to contribute to human development” or “ areas characterized by overcrowding , deterioration , insanitary conditions and conditions which endanger the health , safety or morals of its inhabitants or the community” or as “a habitat having small tenements, narrow lanes and a lack of sanitation” . The Oxford dictionary defines slum “as a street , alley, court etc. in a crowded district of a town or city, and inhabited by people of low income class, or by the very poor; a number of these streets and courts forming a thickly populated neighbourhood of a squalid and wretched character.” The Advanced Learners’s Dictionary of current English explains slum “as court, street or alley of dirty crowded houses”.
According to Delhi Development Authority (as defined by Slum Area Improvement Act, 1956):
“Slums are those areas where the buildings are in any respect unfit for human habitation and are by reason of dilapidation, overcrowding, faulty arrangements of streets, lack of ventilation , light or sanitation facilities or any combination of these factors, are detrimental to safety, health and morals.”
Birdi (1982) has observed that slums are not only a conglomeration of crowded houses but also it is a “way of life”, characterized with its own set of norms and values, poor health values and practices, deviant behavior and social isolation. According to Thakur and Dhadave (1987) in their study on the social aspect of the slum dwellers in Gulbarga city of Karnataka the “slum is a consequence of poverty and socio-economic backwardness…. …..It is a locus of poverty although people living in the slum makes substantial contribution to the economy of the urban place”. They have also discussed some of the conditions which give rise to the slums. These are:
- Overcrowding
- Tenurial pattern of the area
- Unsatisfactory condition of provision of basic amenities like water, electricity etc.
- Poverty due to lack of opportunities
They go on to give a description of a slum in its social aspect rather than only physical conditions. They argue that the slum is more than an economic condition. It is a social phenomenon in which the attitudes, ideas, ideals and practices play an important part. They further suggest that to improve the conditions of slum a number of welfare measures like, housing, health, sanitation drinking water facilities etc. should be undertaken, and also measures should be taken to bridge the socio-economic gap between the slum and non slum.
Leiwen Jiang (2006) has studied the housing condition of the slum population in China and gives a description of the physical conditions of the slums in China. The study reveals that the quality of housing was poor, more than half of Chinese urban households had no shower or bath facility, 40 percent had no access to clean cooking fuel, about 25 percent had no bathroom, and more than 20 per cent had no access to tap water. He did not give any measures to improve the present condition of the slum dwellers rather he said that compared to the slum situation in other developing countries , the slum situation in China is under control.
Most of the studies show that poor economic conditions at their native place causes migration to the cities in search of livelihood . The reason for poor economic condition as observed by Dahiwale (1997) can be “lack of employment opportunity”(Rao & Rao 1984), “landlessness and indebtedness” (Das 1994), or natural calamities, disintegration of family etc. When they migrate to the cities in search of work they do get employment but to find a decent place to live in is difficult. Consequently they find some cheap accommodation with inadequate basic facilities like water or electricity. Generally these people are unskilled and usually get absorbed in the informal sector. The author has suggested policies for improvement in agriculture to reduce rural poverty resulting in checking migration of poor from rural to urban areas.
Kalyan Chaudhry (1976) gave a detailed account of slum situation in Calcutta. He took into account the waterlogging and the sewage disposal facility. He observed that the slums in Calcutta are located in the low lying area and during the monsoon the people face the problem of water logging in their mud houses as well as the narrow lanes leading to diseases like cholera etc. since they are living in extremely unhygienic conditions. According to him the local government boasts of implementing programmesimplementing programmes to improve the conditions of the slum but in reality there is no change in their situation and the slum dwellers keep suffering from the unhygienic condition.
Kamal and Rashid (2004) in their study on effect of environmental factors on the reproductive health of women of slums in Dhaka city , points out that unhealthy and unhygienic living conditions in slums can cause poor reproductive health in women , which consequently can have a negative effect on the health of the entire family .They also suggest that health awareness campaigns should be held to sensitize the women on the negative effects of unhygienic health practice. Sabir Ali (2006) has also raised concern over the living and environmental conditions of slums in his study on slums in Delhi. Kapadia and Kanitkar (2002) studied the delivery of the primary health facilities in the slums of Maharashtra. They highlight that health policies and programs like RCH, NHM etc. have been formulated by the government which emphasize on rural health but the healthcare in the urban slum areas has been neglected. They suggest that since the urban population is expanding at a rapid pace and the growth is primarily occurring in slums the government needs to develop health plans and policies taking into consideration the urban conditions and needs.
According to a study conducted by Sunder and Sharma (2002) on slums in Delhi and Chennai, illiteracy was a prominent feature in Delhi slums and the main occupations of the slum dwellers were construction and factory workers, porters, rickshaw pullers, domestic servant , sweepers and shopkeepers. Also reporting of morbidity is lower among illiterates than households having at least primary level of education, people suffer more from infectious diseases like Tuberculosis, malaria, jaundice, due the poor environmental sanitation and the low economic status of the population in the slums.
Meenakshi Thapan (1997) conducted a study on women in slum and stated that women are seen as the instruments through whom the nation can become more literate . She further presents a picture of literacy rate of females in India; that is; about 46 per cent of boys and 28 per cent of girls in the appropriate age group progress to upper primary school [World Bank 1996:53]. She goes on to say that education is necessary for the development of the mind so that we are able to analyze the realities around us and attempt to bring about a transformation in our lives. In India education is not the only means to bring about empowerment but other cultural aspects also play role in the position of female in the household and their status in the society. She focused on female literacy. Kulbhushan Suri (1991) in his study on overpopulation in India suggests that educating the women may help in adopting the family planning measures and consequently might check rapid growth in population.
Sharma and Sita (2000) presents an analysis of the ( draft) National Slum Policy and the suggestions for improvement in the living conditions of the urban poor. They address this effort , by the ministry of Urban Affairs and Employment, as significant in recognizing the need to tackle the problems of slums on a national level. They further say that a number of efforts had been taken earlier by the government as well as NGOs but such efforts are too few as compared to the magnitude of the problem. The policy makers have started looking into the problems of slums since it attracts foreign investment and also the urban poor from a large chunk of vote bank. They have criticized the policy on the grounds that it has absence of realistic overview; it has given solution to all problems , instead it should leave certain decisions to the state government as every state has their own typical problems . They have suggested formation of state slum policies.
Werlin (1999) gave his views in response to the World Bank’s approach to slum up gradation policies. The author emphasizes on Peoples participation in decision making. According to him any policy for slum up gradation cannot be successful unless the people for whom the policy is being made is involved in the decision making process or their opinion is taken into consideration. He quotes Choguill in support of his argument that “the appropriate role of government would seem to be to minimize direct intervention, allowing the urban poor to find solutions that they can afford in their traditional way” (Choguill, 1994, p. 944).
Kumar and Aggarwal (2003) conducted a study to determine the extent of poverty in Delhi slums. They focused on social and economic aspects of the people living in slums and found out that there is a need for a positive employment generation policy among the urban slum dwellers and also policy packages for improving education, training and for creating opportunities for them so that they too can enter into higher productivity areas. They also recommend that in order to check influx into Delhi from other states, there is a need to generate employment and provide facilities at the place of origin of the migrants. Mitra (2010) in his study has argued that to overcome urban poverty, policies for urban employment programmes should be focused upon, besides policies for education and health as these are key determinants in the wellbeing of a household .
Garg, Sharma and Sahay (2001) has presented a detailed study on the awareness of menarche, among women and adolescent girls in Delhi slums. They found out that awareness level among the adolescent girls was poor and their mothers also did not discuss this issue with their daughters. They suggested that there is a need to provide information to young girls in ways that are acceptable to their parents, schools and the larger community, and at the same time, allow young women to raise their own concerns. They further say that in order to deal with parental and community resistance the programs and services should be designed in a very innovative and sensitive manner. Education on these subjects should be looked upon as a long-term, continuous process, beginning well before menarche and continuing long after it. The knowledge thus imparted would lead to an improvement in women’s , health and increase in self-esteem, and contribute to the reduction of gender disparity.
Vishwanathan and Tharkar (2010) also studied the effect of living and environmental and conditions on the health of the slum dwellers and suggested provision of good and accessible health care facilities and a holistic approach to improve the standard of living of the poor. In a study undertaken by Siddiqui and Pandey (2001) in the slums of Delhi and Allahabad , nature and extent of relationship between economic and environmental issues was focused upon. It was found that the living conditions of people living in slums are deplorable, and people at the low socio economic strata are so much preoccupied with their economic problems that they fail to notice the magnitude of the environmental problems with which they are exposed to.
Enamul Habib (2009) highlighted some of the obstacles faced by government and NGO’s in working for the development of the slums in Dhaka city and suggested a better coordination between government , and NGO’s and between different department of government since many a times there is overlapping of services. Northridge (2009) has described slums as an attempt by the poor to take care of themselves and it is important to fight poverty without fighting the poor. Nuewirth (2007) in his study has focused on the problem of eviction that the slum dwellers face and suggested that the people should have access to politics so that they can fight for their rights. Rosado (2008) studied the problem of scarcity of water in the slum settlement of Northern Peru. She has highlighted the importance of water in observing hygienic behavior and how scarcity of water leads to increase in the incidence of infections leading to transmissible diseases and suggested a measures for water management for efficient delivery of water.
Dassi et al have studied the problem of deviant behavior in slums of Delhi and associated it with the tolerance of the family and community for the deviant behavior. They suggest that the community needs to be sensitized about this problem and act appropriately to check this.
Nangia and Thorat (2000) have found out that illiteracy is the main feature in slums. Very few reach higher level of education particularly among scheduled castes and scheduled tribes . They have pointed out search of job and poverty as the main cause of drop out followed by marriage. Nearly 84% of girls left education due to their marriage . Seetharamu (1983) studied the extent of education in slums of Bangalore focusing upon the utilization of services available and the causes of non utilization and suggested that since problems of slums differ from rural or other urban areas the policies for education in the slum should be designed in a special way.
Modon and Sahay (2002) have presented a case study of an NGO working in Slums of Bangalore stating that the slum dwellers can be empowered through information based intervention so that they are able to advocate for their own development
Hundiede (1999) in his study argued that poverty cannot be studied wholly in terms of economic analysis, but the perception of the slum dwellers about their situation plays a vital role in improving their situation. The author did a comparative study of the slum dwellers of four slums, each in different parts of the globe , namely, India, Indonesia, United States and Europe. He found that people had different opinion about their situation in different cultural setting.
Conclusion
The above studies have mainly focused on the presenting data on either the physical condition of slum situation in India and abroad or the environmental condition and social aspect of the slum dwellers; and have suggested guidelines for policy makers to formulate policies to improve the slum situation. Almost all the studies have focused on new policy formulation rather than implementation of the existing policies. Slums have been existing in India for more than fifty decades and many policies have also been formulate to upgrade their living condition, but the problem faced by these people cannot be solved by focusing one factor at a time, since these problems are interrelated .
Contrary to the idea of “culture of poverty” (Lewis, 1966, 1968), professional social work believes that people have the capacity to change and can change, as pointed out by Kumar (2010) in his study on “culture of daily life” , where people have taken initiatives to overcome their poverty and were successful in it.
References
Rao, V.L.S.P. (1983). Urbanization in India, Spatial Dimensions. New Delhi: Concept Publising.
Gupta, I. & Arup M. (January 12-18, 2002). Rural Migrants and Labour Segmentation: Micro-Level Evidence from Delhi Slums. Economic and Political Weekly, 37(2), 163-168. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/4411601
Rao, K. Ranga and Rao, M S A. (1984). Cities and Slums: A study of Squatter Settlements in the city of Vijayawada. New Delhi: Concept Publication.
Das, Biswaroop (1994). Some Aspects of poverty and the poor in Urban India. Man and Development, 16(4).
Singh, A. M. & D’Souza, A. (Eds.). (1980). The Urban Poor. New Delhi: Manohar Publication.
Birdi, H.D. (1982). Delhi Slums and Law: A comparative study of Indian and Foreign Law. Delhi: ISSD
Sundar, R. & Abhilasha S. (November 23-29, 2002). Morbidity and Utilisation of Healthcare Services: A Survey of Urban Poor in Delhi and Chennai. Economic and Political Weekly, 37(47), 4729-4740. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/4412874
Thapan, M. (October 25-31, 1997) Linkages between Culture, Education and Women’s Health in Urban Slums. Economic and Political Weekly, 32(43), WS83-WS88. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/4406011
World Bank (1996). Improving Women’s Health in Practice. The World Bank, Washington.
Suri, K. B. (March, 1991). Overpopulation in India and the Educational Imperative. The Social Service Review, 65(1), 22-42. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/30012122
Sharma R. N. & K. Sita. (Oct. 14-20, 2000). Cities, Slums and Government. Economic and Political Weekly, 35(42), 3733-3735. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/4409859
Kamal, R & Rumana R. (2004). Environmental Risk Factors Associated with RTI/STD Symptoms among Women in the Urban Slums. The Journal of Developing Areas, 38(1), 107-121. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20066697
Kumar, N. & Suresh C. A. (Dec. 13-19, 2003). Patterns of Consumption and Poverty in Delhi Slums. Economic and Political Weekly, 38(50). 5294-5300. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/4414404
Kapadia-Kundu, N. & Tara K. (Dec. 21-27, 2002). Primary Healthcare in Urban Slums. Economic and Political Weekly, 37(51), 5086-5089. Retrieved from
http://www.jstor.org/stable/4412981
Garg, S., Nandini S. & Ragini S. (May,2001). Socio-Cultural Aspects of Menstruation in an Urban Slum in Delhi, India. Reproductive Health Matters, By and for Young Women and Men, 9(17), 16-25. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3776394
Vishwnathan, V. & Shabana T. (2010). Can the Dvide be Briged: Overview of life in Urban Slums in India. Indian Journal of Community Medicine, 35(1), 198-199. doi: 10.4103/0970-0218.62562
Madon, S. & Sahay, S. (2002). An Information-Based Model of NGO Mediation for the Empowerment of Slum Dwellers in Bangalore. The Information Society, 18(1), 13-19. doi: 10.1080/01972240252818199
Jiang, L. (2006). Living Conditions of the Floating Population in Urban China. Housing Studies, 21(5), 719- 744. doi: 10.1080/02673030600807431
Habib, E. (2009). The role of government and NGOs in slum development: the case of Dhaka City. Development in Practice, 19(2), 259-265. doi: 10.1080/09614520802689576
Northridge, M. E. (2009). Planet of slums. Global Public Health, 4(4), 414-416. doi: 10.1080/17441690802069426
Neuwirth, R. (2007). Squatters and the cities of Tomorrow. City, 11(1), 71-80. doi: 10.1080/13604810701200797
Thakur, R. N., M. S. Dhadave., (1987) Slum and Social System. New Delhi: Archives Publication. pp.162.
Khan, M. Z., Unnithan, N. Prabha & Dassi, A. (2007). Delinquency, Deviance, and Tolerance in a Slum in India: A Quantitative Model. Criminal Justice Studies, 20(3), 269-280. doi: 10.1080/14786010701617664
Nangia, S., S, Thorat. (2000). Slum in a metropolis-The living Environment. Delhi: Shipra Publication.
Dahiwale, S. M., (1997). Rural Poverty and Slums. Jaipur: Rawat Publication.
Thakur, R. N., M. S. Dhadave., (1987) Slum and Social System. New Delhi: Archives Publication.
Seetharamu, A. S, (1983). Education in slums. (pp. 1). New Delhi: Ashish Publication.
Ali, S. (2006). Problems of the Urban Poor. In S. Ali (Ed.), Dimensions of Urban Poverty (pp. 11-16). Jaipur: Rawat Publication.
Chaudhuri, K. (1976, September 4). Life in the Slums. Economic and Political Weekly, 11(36), 1450-1451. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/4364903
Lewis Oscar. (1966). The Culture of Poverty. Scientific American, 215(4), 21-23.
—(1968). A study of Slum Culture. New York: Random House.
—(1961). The Children of Sanchez. New York: Random House.
Ruiz Rosado, A.. (2008). Urbanization, Migration and water management in Trujillo, Peru. Development: Gender and Fisheries, 51(2), 278-281. Retrieved from Academic Research Library. (Document ID: 1490027091)
Siddiqui, R. N. & Janak P. (2001). Perception of Economic and Environmental Stressors by Urban Slum Dwellers. Psychology & Developing Societies,13(1), 93-103. doi: 10.1177/097133360101300105
Hundeide, K. (1999). Four Different Meanings of “Being Poor”. Psychology and Developing Societies, 11(2), 143-155. doi: 10.1177/097133369901100202
Lewis, O. (1959). Five families: Mexican case studies in the culture of poverty.
New York: Science Editions, Inc
Werlin, H. (1999). The Slum Upgrading Myth. Urban Studies, 36(9), 1523-1534. doi: 10.1080/0042098992908
Mitra, Arup. (2010). Migration, Livelihood and Well-being: Evidence from Indian City Slums. Urban Studies, 47(7), 1371–1390.doi: 10.1177/0042098009353621
Kumar, M. (2010). Poverty and Culture of Daily Life.t Psychology and Developing Societies, 22(2), 331–359.doi: 10.1177/097133361002200205n