Residential Apartheid in India: A Matter of People or State? Case of Ahmedabad

Abstract

The study investigates imposition of the Disturbed Areas Act (DAA), or Ashant dhara, and its impact at an unexplored micro-level. There has been a rise in the ‘declared disturbed areas’; until 2023, there were 1971 areas. The intent of DAA was to protect tenants’ rights from eviction; it divided the city into religious lines. The argument is based on excerpts from Stakeholder narratives and Collectorate data. It presents mapping of the unpublished 2023 notification. The article proposes to understanding that ‘Right to the city’ beams beyond the matter of State as DAA has led to social elusion and Ghettoization.