Inequality in Urban India

At a time when the idea of a ‘smart city’ dominates policy discourse, India is faced with a very real urbanisation challenge. The socio-spatial hierarchy in the country’s ever-expanding cities is growing deeper, even as inequalities of income, access and opportunities remain un-arrested. Marginalisation and ghettoisation remains appallingly commonplace in Indian cities, particularly in Tier I cities where rural-to-urban distress migrants end up in large numbers. Inequality in urban India is rising much faster than in rural India. The consequences are large. According to a 2014 research paper presented at a Population Association of America conference, “…poor health and inequality ....