Posts Tagged 'lathi'

Slum Demolition in Mumbai

Published 1 May 2007 India , Politics & Policy 11 Comments
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Slum Demolition in Lower Parel, Mumbai

Yesterday morning, the small slum opposite to Phoenix Mills, in Lower Parel, was razed by the Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation.

Slum demolition follows a horrible, regimented protocol. The bulldozers and loaders arrive on site, unannounced. Scores of lathi-swinging policemen swarm in to inform the residents that they have an hour to evacuate belongings before their homes are torn down. The combination of surprise, force, and urgency stifles resistance. There is a resigned powerlessness that has been bred into the manual labor class, and it is as heart-rending to witness as tear-fill despair might have been.

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