Submission ID 131470
| Issue/Objective | Jamia Nagar in New Delhi is frequently labelled a Muslim "ghetto," particularly after the 2008 Batla House encounter, reinforcing narratives of violence and marginality. Such framings obscure the structural processes that produce spatial segregation and associated inequalities. This paper examines how migration, political economy, ecological vulnerability, and religious insecurity have shaped Jamia Nagar's transformation into a Muslim-majority settlement. It aims to analyse how these intersecting factors-especially class dynamics-function as upstream determinants of health inequities by influencing access to housing, infrastructure, and secure living conditions. The study aligns with the conference theme by highlighting how governance, exclusion, and uneven urban development shape health disparities. |
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| Methodology/Approach | This study is based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Jamia Nagar between 2019 and 2023. It employs a qualitative design combining in-depth interviews with residents, migrants, and local stakeholders, along with oral histories to trace settlement trajectories. Participant observation was used to examine everyday spatial practices, infrastructure conditions, and ecological challenges. These data were supplemented with secondary sources, including planning documents and media reports. Thematic analysis was conducted to explore the intersections of class, religion, ecology, and political economy shaping spatial segregation. |
| Results | Findings show that Jamia Nagar's transformation is driven by constrained migration shaped by housing discrimination, affordability, and religious insecurity. Class differentiation within the community produces uneven living conditions, with poorer residents concentrated in ecologically vulnerable, high-density areas lacking basic services. Environmental stress-such as flooding, poor sanitation, and pollution-emerges as a key but under-recognised factor shaping everyday risks. Post-2014 religious insecurity has further intensified inward migration, reinforcing spatial clustering. Overall, ghettoisation is produced through the interaction of socio-economic exclusion, ecological pressures, and political context, with direct implications for unequal living and health conditions. |
| Discussion/Conclusion | The study highlights spatial segregation as a structural driver of health inequities shaped by governance gaps, exclusionary housing practices, and environmental neglect. It calls for rights-based urban policies that address housing discrimination, improve infrastructure, and integrate ecological planning with public health. Recognising intra-community inequalities is essential for targeted interventions. The findings are relevant to other urban contexts in the Global South, offering a framework to understand how migration, marginalisation, and environmental stress intersect to produce health disparities. Addressing these upstream determinants is central to advancing equitable urban health systems. |
| Presenters and Affiliations | Istikhar Ali Institute of Policy Studies and Advocacy (IPSA) Sanam Roohi Centre for Modern Indian Studies Istikhar Ali Institute of Policy Studies and Advocacy (IPSA) |
