Properties of Rent: Community, Capital and Politics in Globalising Delhi

This book explores the spatial transformation of villages in the Delhi s urban fray in the 1950s, revealing that rent could define this suburbanization. Bhaichara, once a form of land ownership, transforms into an affective claim of belonging and managing urban property in the face of the city.

Format: Hardback
Length: 320 pages
Publication date: 25 August 2022
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

We reside in cities whose boundaries have consistently expanded over time. What implications does this transformation of rural spaces have for cities, and vice versa? This book delves into the spatial transformation of villages that were incorporated into the Delhi urban landscape in the 1950s. As these villages undergo physical changes, the residents, previously an agrarian-pastoralist community known as the Jats, also transition into real estate dabblers. A study of two villages, Munirka and Shahpur Jat, both situated in the heart of bustling urban economies in Delhi, reveals that rent plays a pivotal role in defining this suburbanization process.

Bhaichara, once a form of land ownership during colonial times, evolves into an emotional assertion of belonging and managing urban property in the face of constant pressure from the city. Properties of Rent is a comprehensive exploration of how vernacular forms of capitalism and their diverse impacts shape up in opposition to both state, finance capital, and the city in contemporary urban Delhi.

Weight: 558g
Dimension: 161 x 236 x 27 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781316517277