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Isolated by Caste: Neighbourhood-Scale Residential Segregation in Indian Metros

Author

Listed:
  • Bharathi, Naveen
  • Malghan, Deepak
  • Rahman, Andaleeb

Abstract

We present the first ever neighbourhood-scale portrait of caste-based residential segregation in Indian cities. Residential segregation studies in Indian cities have relied on ward-level data. We demonstrate in this paper that wards cannot approximate an urban neighborhood, and that they are heterogeneous. For a typical ward, the neighbourhood-ward dissimilarity index is greater than the ward-city dissimilarity index. Using 2011 enumeration block (EB) level census data for five major cities in India – Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai – we show how patterns of caste-based urban residential segregation operate in contemporary India. We also present the first visual snapshot of caste-based residential segregation in an Indian city using georeferenced EB level data for Bengaluru. Besides implications for policy, our analysis also points to the need for publicly available, geospatially-linked neighborhood-scale census data that includes data on economic class for a spatial understanding of economic and social stratification within Indian cities. En

Suggested Citation

  • Bharathi, Naveen & Malghan, Deepak & Rahman, Andaleeb, 2018. "Isolated by Caste: Neighbourhood-Scale Residential Segregation in Indian Metros," SocArXiv 9ynpz, Center for Open Science.
    • Handle: RePEc:osf:socarx:9ynpz
    DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/9ynpz
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Kalra, Aarushi, 2021. "A 'Ghetto' of One's Own: Communal Violence, Residential Segregation and Group Education Outcomes in India," SocArXiv 265r3, Center for Open Science.
    2. Kalra, Aarushi, 2021. "A 'Ghetto' of One's Own: Communal Violence, Residential Segregation and Group Education Outcomes in India," SocArXiv rzjct, Center for Open Science.
    3. repec:osf:socarx:rzjct_v1 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Nida Rehman & Aparna Parikh & Zachary Lamb & Shruti Syal & D. Asher Ghertner & SiddhaRth Menon & Nausheen Anwar & Hira Nabi & Waqas Butt & Malini Ranganathan & Krithika Srinivasan & Harshavardhan Bhat, 2023. "SOUTH ASIAN URBAN CLIMATES: Towards Pluralistic Narratives and Expanded Lexicons," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(4), pages 667-687, July.

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