Knowledge emancipates urban poor: Case studies in the Indian context

Introduction

The participatory approach to solving problems involving squatter settlements of the urban poor has been greatly debated in recent times (e.g. Kothari, 2001; Hickey and Mohan, 2004). Almost every urban developmental scheme or proposal involving informal settlements of the urban poor aims to include ‘participatory methodologies’ as a part of its project with the aim of becoming more ‘inclusive’ and ‘pro-community’. In this situation of conflict, knowledge – not just plain information - has the potential to guide planners and communities on the path towards real, positive change (Rydin, 2007). As Appadurai (2012) points out,

“Information is neutral, impersonal and generally passive. Knowledge is situational, social and active.”

Therefore, one can argue that knowledge in not a singular entity but multiple, having different sources, claims and forms – dialogue, experience and local knowledge amongst others (Sandercock, 1998; Rydin, 2007). It is broadly accepted that local knowledge stemming from everyday life experiences is situational and is much better suited to resolve issues that arise in contextual policy practice (Rydin, 2007), though this instinctive prioritization of local knowledge has been criticized by Forsyth (2002). On the other hand, knowledge is instrumental in being a “capacity for action” (Stehr, 2015). Further along this line of thinking, Appadurai (2006) calls for the capacity to do research as a catalyst for “changing the playing field for ordinary citizens”. People are constantly finding innovative ways “for expressing their agency in development arenas” (Hickey and Mohan, 2004). They further go on to state that a transformatory approach to development can be achieved only when a participatory exercise is rooted in citizenship. Knowledge that is rooted in everyday life, cannot be free from social implications (Kothari, 2001). Thus, knowledge has the power to bring about change in society and within power dynamics. Moose’s (1995) apprehension about the generalization of opinions and Kothari’s (2001) concerns regarding the prioritization of certain knowledge sheds light on the “performance” aspect of knowledge in the participation process adopted by communities that may result in manipulation of the outcome. The challenge for transformative change to occur would be to find appropriate linked strategies that cut across different dimensions of power (Gaventa, 2006)

This essay aims to explore the role of knowledge in empowering informal settlements of the urban poor in India – via participatory processes in development projects – to alter power dynamics that may result in “transformatory approach to development” while being pro-poor. The different methodologies of knowledge accumulation namely involving NGOs and self-mobilization will be analyzed along with the effect of this knowledge on power dynamics - as defined by Gaventa (2006) and VeneKlasen and Miller (2002) – towards ushering a pro-poor outcome. All these analyses will be situated in case studies.

Case Studies: Analysis and inferences

In Mumbai, the National Slum Dwellers Federation (NSDF) realized that public demonstrations, protests and picketing have resulted in low success rates throughout history (Patel et al, 2012; d'Cruz, and Satterthwaite, 2006). The rise of eviction cases was proof of that (Patel et al, 2015). Hence a new methodology was required to confront these episodes of eviction and secure their homes. At this juncture, the NSDF, in association with the Alliance, decided to equip themselves with information of the squatter settlements with the aim that this knowledge would enable better negotiations with the government.

This became a precursor for many other squatters in India and around the world (see dCruz and Satterwaite, 2006) for using knowledge as a means of mobilization. The first step towards bringing about real change would be to educate oneself about the situation. Blindly acting on any issue may not yield a positive impact. Knowledge gained from analyzing information critically enables communities to formulate strategies to overcome them. And who better than the local community to appropriate the information available into actionable knowledge. This helps them progress from the stage of “tokenism” to one of “citizen power” (Arnstein, 1969) making a significant change that would have a lasting impact on their lives. An urban development project is participatory in the complete sense only if communities themselves “learn to design, own, manage and utilize the knowledge that is created from their own information gathering.” (Patel et al, 2012). These forms of empowering knowledge range from enumeration to mapping and surveying. Community-led enumeration and other related activities help them to exactly pinpoint what is that they require to be changed and developed (Patel et al, 2015; Patel et al, 2002; Arputham, 2008, 2012). Thus, time and resources are better utilized. Specific enumeration processes undertaken by the Alliance include settlement profiles, household surveys and vacant land surveys. A combination of these methods helped resolve some myths prevalent about the squatter settlements and gives the federation the conviction to push for pro-poor initiatives and negotiate on better and stronger grounds (Patel et al, 2012). It is observed that the Alliance treats the community as a “valued partner” and works with them on equal terms (Patel et al, 2012), thereby minimizing manipulation of knowledge and the act of “performance of participation” (Kothari, 2001).

In the case of securing shelter for pavement dwellers alongside the milieu of multiple evictions in Mumbai, the Mahila Milan were intransigent that they would carry out negotiations themselves (Patel et al, 2015). As the first step in the quest to educate themselves, they engaged in dialogue with the dwellers who had just then been relocated to Dindoshi Nagar (DN) from the pavements of the E Moses road. They learnt valuable lessons from the unfavorable living conditions faced by the other community. When it came to designing the houses they would like to live in, after grounding their grand thoughts in reality, the women started measuring their current houses and comparing them with width of their palms, length of the saris they wore and length of their necklaces (Patel et al, 2015). After the failure of scaled models (see Figure 1) to make the women understand the actual proportions of the house, life-sized models were put up which were also converted into an exhibition of sorts for the Mahila Milan to communicate their ideas to the local authorities, architects and other residents. The appropriation of knowledge accumulation based on familiar local conditions and co-production, helps communities to understand the scenario and strategize accordingly and in the process “become aware of their own central contribution to progressive social change” (Mitlin, 2008).

Figure 1 Models made by the women squatters (SPARC, 1998 as citied in Patel et al, (2015), p.232)

During the unforeseen February-March 2001 evictions, a prior knowledge empowered the women of Mahila Milan to negotiate favorable terms with the Mumbai Metropolitan Region development Authority (MMRDA) and MUTP project leaders for resettlement of its people living perilously adjacent to the railway tracks in Mumbai. Co-operation and flexibility of the World Bank, MMRDA to the changing situations and demands, quick thinking on the part of the Alliance along with the community being an organized unit, provided for the construction of transit accommodation for the 2,500 households to be displaced (Patel et al, 2002). The “two-phase resettlement strategy” was beneficial for the authorities as well as the squatters. This strategy provided immediate access of land to the former and the assurance of housing to the latter, thus allowing for the community’s proactive participation in the design of the permanent settlement. With close to 60,000 people being relocated, it undeniably came along with its share of predicaments relating to employment, daily commute and other quotidian activities. The strong will to be relocated from a dangerous area and the supporting loan schemes from the Mahila Milan were major factors in the triumph of the relocation procedure. A strong coalition was formed between the communities - through the NSDF - and the MMDRA. Similar to the case described previously, women used their unmatched management skills to reach an amicable solution. Support from the concerned government agencies, the World Bank’s policy and pressure from organized slum dwellers further helped in accelerating the process. Knowledge empowered the grassroots democracy which in turn created an environment of favorable outcomes at the policy level and on ground. Thus, Patel et al (2002) stress on the “need to reconceptualize resettlement as a part of development rather than as the underfunded, top-down, poorly organized management of the ‘cost’ of development” and necessitate the involvement of the displaced people in “designing, implementing and managing the resettlement so that their interests are served, as well as ‘public good’ on which resettlement was justified”(Patel et al, 2002). Hence, in the cases elaborated above, the communities were able to circumvent a “power over” situation by equipping themselves with enough knowledge and creating a “power to6” and a “power with6” scenario. Here, although “power with6” is being facilitated in an “invited space”, a horizontal association between the squatters and the Alliance ensured that genuine data is used, and a pro-poor outcome is achieved.

In the Ponmudi Nagar case, the community took the initiative to educate and empower themselves on their own and were successful in persuading the government to achieve what they wanted by being flexible and reflexive to the changing circumstances – political and economic. This case is unique since the bottom-up process of self-mobilization of knowledge and direct lobbying with government representatives at various levels yielded positive results for the community (Bhuvanaswari et al, 2016a). The threat of eviction and the implications of this action urged dwellers to take initiative into their own hands. They were able to avoid eviction from their settlements by constantly (re)appropriating and creatively maneuvering through various government schemes, procedures and practices - all with close to no external aid. While in the previous cases illustrated above, grassroot organizations were instrumental in facilitating pro-poor outcomes, in this scenario the residents deicded to take it up on themselves to bring about transformatory development. Surveys and enumeration activities were conducted by the community themselves, generating relevant maps and data. This in turn was used to co-produce information for official documentation (see Figure 2) purposes with the government and revenue department officials to ultimately provide all residents with legal identification through “patta” documents. Armed with this knowledge, the community could put back the power within itself, where it truly belongs, taking it from the external agencies. The process of co-production, apart from serving the immediate need of creation of pattas, builds within residents a feeling of self-worth and makes them aware of their part in creating a better future for themselves (Mitlin, 2008). Possessing the capacity and the “right to research” is substantially a better tool than being skeptical about a third party’s research data (Appadurai, 2006). The power here was held by every individual resident of the squatter settlement in their act of self-mobilization. Additionally, when this process of education happens collectively, a “power with6” situation arises from a “power to6” situation in the community, enabling them to tackle the problem with confidence. It also contributes towards community building and further strengthens their feeling of belonging. As a result of this process, “deepening of democracy” (Appadurai, 2001) is achieved. The residents creatively and cleverly appropriated certain existing schemes/policies to their benefit to serve as proof of occupancy and persuaded for titling of their settlements, thus shattering assumptions that communities in general don’t have the skills for the same. They were able to link their strategies across the various levels of the government in the path to achieving their goal. Pragmatism was the basis for all strategies adopted by the dwellers. Identifying the need for official recognition of land ownership as their top priority to avoid eviction, the community persistently lobbyed with institutional representatives, through changing political powers; since this is what could guarantee definitive change at the end (Bhuvanaswari et al, 2016a).

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Figure 2 The co-produced legal sketch map of Ponmudi Nagar showing all the settlements (Bhuvanaswari et al, 2016b, p.223)

Transformative action in all the cases elucidated above was predominantly a result of the communities equipping themselves with knowledge. Complemented with capacity building activities, one cannot stress enough about the importance of self-mobilization. In both the cases situated in Mumbai, the Alliance had a massive role to play in initiating action as they were the ones interacting with the government. The “learning cycle” which is persistently reviewed as outlined by Patel and Mitlin (2004), is central to the functioning of the Alliance. The “ritualization” of certain activities that tend to be alien to the communities, makes them culturally acceptable and practiced by the community regularly (Appadurai, 2012). Although there have been many situations where NGOs and external parties have included communities merely to show that there is a “participatory approach” in their project, this was never the case where the Alliance was involved. In the case of Ponmudi Nagar, actionable results were seen due to the continuous efforts of the residents, constantly adapting to the demands of the circumstances, spanning over three decades. The creation of a “claimed/created space” as opposed to an “invited space” further contributed to the success. It is also important to note that Bhuvanaswari et al (2016a) acknowledge that the community’s connection to the elected representatives also played an important role in impacting the decisions and actions of the public institutions. It is vital to note here that due to the availability of proper data, the institutions were left with no other choice but to cooperate with the communities and work with them as partners. There have even been cases where the government has called upon the Alliance to help them out in resettlement matters in Mumbai (). It is crucial for communities to identify the intersection of knowledge and action to produce desired results. One must remember that these results were not obtained overnight. Patience is a key virtue in this process (Appadurai, 2001; Kothari, 2001). Actions invested in long term goals are ones that are most beneficial to the community in question. Long term process of knowledge mobilization is something practitioners and researchers should aim for. Ideally it should also be one that is revised periodically and updated with the changing times. Sustenance becomes key here. But as Appadurai (2001) notes, in the contradictory scenario of urgency, patience is almost a luxury due to financial and time constraints.

One must not fail to acknowledge the limitations of knowledge accumulation and the gap in knowledge-action transformation. The steps involved in translating the acquired knowledge and inferences into action are constrained by factors. These contextual factors might be situated in the environment, organizational factors, community perceptions towards the PUD approach or factors related to practitioner and researcher as outlined by Read et al (2014). One of the limitations in the cases illustrated above, concerns the length and breadth of participation by the local community (Vincent, 2005). Commenting on the diversity of the community participation – the ones who were represented and who were not – becomes impossible as there is no information provided regarding this. In the Indian context with a history of social segregation and hierarchy in the form of caste system, the statistics of participation becomes crucial to ensure a fair process of knowledge accumulation. In the case of Ponmudi Nagar, though Bhuvanaswari et al (2016a) have outlined the profile of the residents in the settlement, there is no data about the number of people who participated and their backgrounds. A generalized term of ‘community’, ‘slum dwellers’ or residents has been used to describe the participants in all the cases. In any participatory process, there could always be people who choose not to participate due to a plethora of reasons (see Read et al, 2014). This greatly affects and modifies the outcome and can be classified as an act of subversion (Kothari, 2001). Also, one cannot be sure if to arrive at a decision under a time crunch or for the sake of efficiency, the many diverse opinions that might have emerged could have been masked and presented in a homogeneous fashion reflecting only the popular ideas amongst the community. From the cases stated above, it is obvious that local settlements must be armed with multiple knowledges and ways of engaging with the local authorities with various cleverly placed strategies. While staying cautious of sounding “formulaic”, Gaventa (2006) suggests,

“those seeking to challenge power in all of its spaces, levels and forms need to search not for one solution, but to build multiple, linked strategies and in different sequences, depending on the starting point in any given context.”

Conclusion

Using the case studies, it has been established that knowledge is crucial for transformative action and development. Knowledge is instrumental in building capacity which will benefit the community in the long-term rather than just meet their immediate needs. Power dynamics can be greatly modified through the appropriate use of knowledge by communities, giving them a hold over the development processes. In both the case studies discussed here, though the outcomes, may have been different, multiple strategies targeted and implemented at several tiers were instrumental in attaining pro-poor outcomes. Political will was observed to be central in the process of transformative change.