Two Kinds of Activism: Reflections on Citizenship in Globalizing Delhi

The paper examines two of the most pressing concerns in Delhi: housing and the environment. The paper reviews the activities of Resident Welfare Associations, Sajha Manch, and Delhi Janwadi Adhikar Manch, in order analyze the effects of activism of two different kinds since 1990. It also explores the possibilities and limits of grassroots alternatives in times of globalization. The paper primarily draws on newspapers clippings, news magazines, Sajha Manch Samachar (bulletins of Sajha Manch) and various pamphlets published by Sajha Manch, Delhi Janwadi Adhikar Manch and other bodies in the wake of various events. Drawing on Tarlo’s methodological precept of using government documents to demonstrate state practices, the author argues that the bulletins and clippings can provide an ethnographic window into the larger picture of lived politics and the negotiations of citizenship in Delhi.