Global Players – Local Struggles: Spatial Dynamics of Industrialisation and Social Change in Peri-urban Chennai, India 3515108777, 9783515108775

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Sebastian Homm

Global Players – Local Struggles Spatial Dynamics of Industrialisation and Social Change in Peri-urban Chennai, India

Geographie

Megacities and Global Change Megastädte und globaler Wandel

Franz Steiner Verlag

Band 16

Sebastian Homm Global Players – Local Struggles

megacities and global change megastädte und globaler wandel herausgegeben von Frauke Kraas, Martin Coy, Peter Herrle und Volker Kreibich Band 16

Sebastian Homm

Global Players – Local Struggles Spatial Dynamics of Industrialisation and Social Change in Peri-urban Chennai, India

Franz Steiner Verlag

Gedruckt mit freundlicher Unterstützung der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft Angenommen als Dissertation durch die Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftlichen Fakultät der Rheinischen Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn unter dem Titel „Global Players – Local Struggles. Globalised transformations in peri-urban Chennai: Approaching the nexus of industrialisation and social change with Lefebvre’s theory of the production of space“

Umschlagabbildung: Nokia buses carry workers to Sriperumbudur factory, 2012 © Sebastian Homm

Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek: Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über abrufbar. Dieses Werk einschließlich aller seiner Teile ist urheberrechtlich geschützt. Jede Verwertung außerhalb der engen Grenzen des Urheberrechtsgesetzes ist unzulässig und strafbar. © Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 2014 Druck: Hubert & Co., Göttingen Gedruckt auf säurefreiem, alterungsbeständigem Papier. Printed in Germany. ISBN 978-3-515-10877-5 (Print) ISBN978-3-515-10880-5 (E-Book)

CONTENTS List of maps.........................................................................................................8 List of figures ......................................................................................................8 List of tables........................................................................................................8 List of case studies ..............................................................................................9 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .....................................................................................11 SUMMARY...........................................................................................................12 I INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................13 1 Development as growth: the World Bank perspective...................................14 2 Inclusive development: an alternative perspective for peri-urban Chennai...15 3 Outline of the study........................................................................................16 II APPROACHING GLOBALISED TRANSFORMATIONS WITH LEFEBVRE’S THEORY OF THE PRODUCTION OF SPACE......................18 1 Globalised spaces in peri-urban Chennai.......................................................21 1.1 The concept of globalised spaces........................................................21 1.2 Lefebvre’s concept of social space .....................................................22 1.3 Spatial strategies .................................................................................29 2 Framing social exclusion as enforced abstraction..........................................31 2.1 The concept of enforced abstraction ...................................................32 2.2 Framing access with social space........................................................36 3 Framing inclusion as lived difference ............................................................38 3.1 The concept of lived difference ..........................................................38 3.2 Inclusive development, livelihoods and lived difference....................41 III RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY ............................................44 1 Approaching peri-urban transformations .......................................................44 1.1 Identifying actors producing globalised spaces ..................................45 1.2 Identifying processes of producing of social spaces ...........................46 1.3 Assessment of new regimes of access.................................................47 1.4 Focus on actors’ reaction towards new social spaces .........................48

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2 Methodology for data collection ....................................................................50 2.1 Approaching peri-urban transformations ............................................50 2.2 Selection of research sites ...................................................................51 2.3 Selection of actor groups relevant for the study .................................52 2.4 Methods of data collection ..................................................................53 3 Interpretation of results ..................................................................................57 IV GLOBALISED SPACES IN PERI-URBAN CHENNAI ................................60 1 Global players - drivers of peri-urban transformations..................................61 1.1 The State Government ........................................................................62 1.2 International companies ......................................................................66 1.3 Landowning farmers ...........................................................................71 1.4 Agricultural labourers .........................................................................73 1.5 The peri-urban apartment industry......................................................75 2 ‘India’s Shenzhen’ – a regional example .......................................................77 2.1 The Sriperumbudur-Oragadam industrial corridor .............................78 2.2 Discussion: Global players – local struggles ......................................79 V ENFORCED ABSTRACTIONS AND SPACES OF EXCLUSION IN PERI-URBAN CHENNAI................................................................................ 83 1 Land acquisition for industrial purpose .........................................................83 1.1 Land acquisition and the enforcement of ‘industrial purpose’ ...........84 1.2 Oragadam village: local level land acquisition and livelihood transformations ...................................................................................88 1.3 Discussion: Land acquisition as a mechanism for exclusion ............105 2 The peri-urban land market..........................................................................108 2.1 Producing the land market ................................................................109 2.2 Actors producing the peri-urban land market ...................................113 2.3 The land market along the Sriperumbudur-Oragadam corridor........124 2.4 Discussion: The land market as a mechanism for exclusion ............125 3 Privatized spaces of higher education ..........................................................129 3.1 Labour markets and education ..........................................................129 3.2 Engineering colleges .........................................................................130 3.3 Discussion: Higher education as a mechanism for exclusion ...........133 VI LIVED DIFFERENCE AND LOCAL STRUGGLES FOR INCLUSION IN PERI-URBAN CHENNAI........................................................................135 1 The emerging industrial labour market ........................................................136 1.1 Social identity and labour conditions................................................139 1.2 Negotiating the social space of work ................................................145 1.3 Discussion: Labour markets and inclusive development ..................152

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2 Ullavur village: challenges for landowners – empowerment of agricultural labourers ..............................................................................155 2.1 Ullavur village...................................................................................156 2.2 Shifting patterns of occupation .........................................................159 2.3 Social change in peri-urban Ullavur .................................................163 2.4 Discussion: Industrial development and the opportunity for inclusive development in rural society .............................................168 3 Peri-urban governance structures.................................................................172 3.1 Coordination between government agencies ....................................172 3.2 Turning Sriperumbudur town into “India’s Shenzhen” ....................175 3.3 The making of Greater Chennai........................................................176 3.4 Discussion: Peri-urban governance and inclusive development.......178 VII CONCLUSION: PERI-URBAN TRANSFORMATIONS AND SOCIAL OPPORTUNITY ...........................................................................................179 1 Globalised transformations in peri-urban Chennai ......................................179 1.1 Benefits from globalised spaces........................................................179 1.2 Mechanisms of social exclusion .......................................................181 1.3 Opportunities for inclusive development ..........................................183 2 Evaluation of the conceptual approach ........................................................185 2.1 Linking theoretical concerns with empirical questions.....................185 2.2 A spatial perspective on social change .............................................186 2.3 Towards a right to inclusive development ........................................186 3 Outlook.........................................................................................................187 3.1 Recommendations for future research ..............................................187 3.2 Policy recommendations ...................................................................189 REFERENCES ....................................................................................................191 ANNEX ...............................................................................................................199 I Glossary of Tamil and Indian terms .....................................................199 II List of abbreviations ............................................................................200 III List of interviews ...............................................................................201 IV Oragadam questionnaire ....................................................................207 MAPS...................................................................................................................209

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LIST OF MAPS Map 1: Peri-urban Chennai: Transformations 2001–2011 ..................................210 Map 2: Special Economic Zones and Industrial Parks in Tamil Nadu................211 Map 3: Residential apartment projects in peri-urban Chennai ............................212 Map 4: Sriperumbudur-Oragadam industrial corridor 2001–2011......................213 Map 5: Oragadam and Chennakuppam 2001 ......................................................214 Map 6: Oragadam and Chennakuppam 2012 ......................................................215 Map 7: Land value along the Sriperumbudur-Oragadam industrial corridor ......216 Map 8: Engineering colleges in peri-urban Chennai ...........................................217 Map 9: Ullavur: A rural village abandoning agriculture .....................................218 Map 10: Varadhapuram section of Ullavur .........................................................219 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: “India’s Shenzhen gets bigger” ..............................................................13 Figure 2: Conceptual relation between actions and social space...........................24 Figure 3: The three dimensions constituting social space .....................................26 Figure 4: The duality of social space and action ...................................................29 Figure 5: Social space as the medium for spatial strategies ..................................30 Figure 6: Conceptual relations between livelihood and social space ....................42 Figure 7: Research perspectives on globalised transformations ............................44 Figure 8: Tamil Nadu exports in billion euro 1991–2011 ....................................67 Figure 9: The production of globalised spaces ......................................................82 Figure 10: Occupation according to gender in Oragadam 2001–2011..................99 Figure 11: Education according to gender in Oragadam 2001–2012 ..................100 Figure 12: Women in the social space of the factory ..........................................154 Figure 13: Wages for agricultural labour in Ullavur ...........................................160 Figure 14: Traditional and new social spaces for the Ullavur dalit community..171 Figure 15: Envisioning Greater Chennai .............................................................177 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Research objectives, theoretical framing and research topics .................19 Table 2: Three dimensions of social space. ...........................................................26 Table 3: Dimensions of social space as mechanisms to regulate access ...............37 Table 4: Methods for researching the production of social spaces........................47 Table 5: Methods for the assessment of new regimes of access............................48 Table 6: Methods for implementing the research perspectives .............................49 Table 7: Interviews conducted with different actor groups 2010–2012 ................55 Table 8: Categories for the analysis of newspaper articles....................................57 Table 9: Categories for analysis of interviews.......................................................59 Table 10: Overview of peri-urban producers of space ..........................................61 Table 11: Operational SEZs by state and sector in January 2013 .........................63 Table 12: Exports from Tamil Nadu SEZs 2010–2011 .........................................68

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Table 13: Peri-urban investment per industrial sector 2007–2011 ........................68 Table 14: Country of origin of peri-urban investment 2007–2011........................69 Table 15: Year and origin of peri-urban investment 2007–2011...........................69 Table 16: Hazardous industries in Sriperumbudur Taluk 2012.............................70 Table 17: Residential projects in peri-urban Chennai ..........................................76 Table 18: Contested government land in Thervoy.................................................86 Table 19: Land acquisition and land use in Oragadam and Chennakuppam.........89 Table 20: Occupation according to age groups in Oragadam 2001–2012...........101 Table 21: The peri-urban land market: processes and research locations ...........109 Table 22: Engineering colleges in peri-urban Chennai, year of establishment ...131 Table 23: Investment, employment in industrial areas in Tamil Nadu................137 Table 24: Position and payment in Hyundai factory ...........................................147 Table 25: Access to labour: gender and age differences in Ullavur ....................163 Table 26: Administrative levels in Tamil Nadu...................................................173 LIST OF CASE STUDIES Case study 1: Temple festival in Oragadam and Chennakuppam .......................105 Case study 2: Forced selling of land ....................................................................122 Case study 3: Sexual harassment of women in factories .....................................141 Case study 4: Migrant workers in Sriperumbudur...............................................145 Case study 5: Struggles for education and livelihood opportunities ...................166

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First of all I would like to thank my supervisor Prof. H.-G. Bohle for the opportunity to engage in this study on peri-urban Chennai and realise this dissertation. His continuing confidence, encouragement and critical remarks helped a lot in realising this study. For the realization of the research process many supporters have been essential, I name only three groups here. First, the research assistants in India that supported and accompanied me in the peri-urban spaces to meet all different kinds of actors and conduct interviews. This pertains in particular to Dr. Gunaselvam who coordinated the team of Indian researchers and put into execution all the different research efforts. Special thanks also to Bala Subramia, Kumaran Elangovan, Sanjeevi Prasad and George Robin. The author is in particular grateful to Perumal family who generously provided shelter during fieldwork in Sriperumbudur. Further, I thank all the student assistants from the section of geographical development studies in Bonn that supported the research process with the collection of newspaper articles, background analysis and drawing maps from the primary research material collected. In particular I acknowledge the support of Natalie Maib in collecting data and living in Ullavur village for several weeks. Thanks also to Christian Machat, Luise Meyer, Ferdinand Stenglein, Verena Rossow and Miron Schmude for supporting the research. Thirdly, I thank the cartography section of our department for turning the crude drafts of the many maps into the professional layout you find in this study. Writing a dissertation in the social sciences is sometimes caricatured as the lonely pursuance of some airy-fairy theory in hidden back rooms – I thank my colleagues, friends and family for saving me from this! The excellent working atmosphere in our section of geographical development studies, the lively scientific exchange and cordial cooperation contributed a great deal to writing the dissertation in a positive mood. I also thank Meike Schäfer for proofreading the manuscript; any remaining errors are my responsibility. I am also grateful to the German Research Foundation (DFG) for the generous funding of the research project. I also thank Irene Hillmer for the administrative support in the handling of the financial aspects of the project. Finally, I thank my partner Julia for her sustained support of my research project and the many fruitful discussions of drafts leading to this final version.

SUMMARY This study aims at understanding the nexus of industrialisation and social change, profoundly transforming the peri-urban spaces surrounding Chennai, the thriving industrial hub in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. The region is currently, like other selected places in India, becoming integrated into the global economy at a staggering pace. The region is posited to undergo in particular two major transformations: First, the actors that shape the local people’s lives are changing from local to global. As increasing numbers of international companies (Hyundai, Nokia, Daimler etc.) construct their factories in Chennai’s rural hinterlands and the employers change from local landowners to human resource manager of the ‘global players’. Social hierarchies engrained in the social fabric of the rural hinterland are increasingly dissolved and replaced by new nets of power, tied together thousands of kilometres away. The up and down of the global economy now shapes the opportunities for the labour seeking residents in peri-urban Chennai. The integration of the region into world markets is not new, it was started by the early kings and merchants of South India over two millennia ago, exports were later forcefully directed by the East India Company. But the current scope and profoundness of globalised transformations is new and affecting ever more people and their ‘local struggles’ to achieve livelihood security. The second transformation is a shift from rural to urban lifestyles, land use and occupational patterns. Far from being a uniform process, the peri-urban is integrated unevenly in the urban fabric of Chennai. Inhabitants of small towns now boast of their formerly remote living places as becoming ‘like the city’ or even ‘small India’. Landowners readily abandon agriculture and collaborate with real estate agents to change their field into residential plots. In the peri-urban hinterland of today, one sees more plots for sale than paddy fields. This study presents different aspects of the increasing globalisation of Chennai’s hinterland and its transformation from rural to urban: it provides extensive material on the dynamic peri-urban labour market, land market and associated actors and institutions; it discusses the perspectives of different sections of society and asks who gains and who loses in the process. Approaching these transformations with Lefebvre’s theory of the production of space allowed developing a comprehensive conceptual framework for the study. The theory proved in particular fruitful to provide a theoretical background for a notion of inclusive development. Inclusion refers in this study to the need to frame development as a process open for all sections of society, aiming at extending people’s capabilities and empowering marginalized sections of society to access benefits associated with globalised transformations in peri-urban Chennai.

I INTRODUCTION The South Indian state of Tamil Nadu has a particular strong economy and Chennai ranks as the fourth largest urban agglomeration in India. 1 Further, with the exception of city states (Delhi, Pondicherry), Tamil Nadu is the most urbanized, with 43.9% of the population (of a total 72.14 million) living in urban areas (Census of India 2011). This provides the background for the highly dynamic developments currently reshaping the peri-urban spaces surrounding Chennai. In this irregular, about 50–70 km wide belt of land, cars, telecommunication equipment and various other products are now manufactured and exported from there through the sea- and airport of Chennai which play a crucial role in facilitating the industrial dynamism. The peri-urban spaces are subject to increasing investment by international companies, the so-called ‘global players’. The resulting globalised transformations, defined here as the increasing dominance of global actors in triggering and shaping change at the local level, are particular profound around the peri-urban town of Sriperumbudur and Oragadam village (both about 40 km west of Chennai). Comparing this region with its mature Chinese counterpart, the area is now referred to as “India’s Shenzhen” in the Indian press (figure 1).

Figure 1: “India’s Shenzhen gets bigger” (Source: Times of India, 05.09.2009) 1

Tamil Nadu had the fourth largest gross domestic product in 2011–2012 following Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh in descending order. The largest urban agglomerations are Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and fourth Chennai. (Government of India 2012).

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I Introduction

Mirroring the economic dynamism, the two districts adjacent to Chennai which include the peri-urban experienced a tremendous increase in in-migration from other districts of Tamil Nadu as well as other Indian states in the last decade. Population in Kanchipuram district (southwest of Chennai) grew by 38.7% and Thiruvallur district (northwest) grew by 35.2% in the last decade (2001–2011) (Census of India 2011), highlighting the attraction of the new economic opportunities associated with the industrial development taking place. 1 DEVELOPMENT AS GROWTH: THE WORLD BANK PERSPECTIVE In its 2009 World Development Report ‘Reshaping Economic Geography’, the World Bank dedicated a special sub-chapter to peri-urban Chennai, which serves as an example for the economic advantages of agglomerations in developing countries (World Bank 2009: 13). However, peri-urban Chennai and the boomtown of Sriperumbudur are only dealt with rather one-sidedly: the benefits of agglomeration are praised and seen as responsible for the rapid industrial development of the area. The World Bank perspective remains tightly focused on economic growth, even admittedly so: “to keep the Report focused, several important aspects of the spatial transformation do not get the attention they would in a fuller study. The main aspects not considered […] are the social and environmental effects of a changing economic geography” (World Bank 2009: 34; emphasis in original). At the centre of the World Bank’s perspective is thus a simplistic, economistic understanding of development as growth. This approach is based on concepts derived from New Economic Geography (Krugman 1991), where economic geography is reduced to questions of distance, spatial concentration and scale (Rigg et al. 2009; Sternberg 2009). This perspective reflects the development of the peri-urban only superficially, as small scale dynamics are overlooked and the perspective of the local people remains largely unnoticed. The World Bank describes spatially uneven development within a country as a regrettable, though unavoidable side effect of economic development. The relevance of existing governance structures, the disruptive potential of land markets and conflicts associated therewith as well as the tension arising from uneven development in the urban periphery are not accounted for. These problems are also ignored when describing Sriperumbudur, a boomtown in peri-urban Chennai (World Bank 2009: 13–14). The role of cities and further agglomeration in their peri-urban peripheries are instead touted as central to economic growth. The dominant economic forces of agglomeration, migration and specialization have profoundly transformed the economies of developing countries and the peri-urban are heralded the „developing world’s most dynamic places“ (ibid. 2009: 13). For an extensive discussion on how the World Bank sought to reframe economic geography with concepts from New Economic Geography, see Homm and Bohle (2012).

I Introduction

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2 INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT: AN ALTERNATIVE PERSPECTIVE FOR PERI-URBAN CHENNAI The shortcomings in the World Bank approach are part of a broader gap in knowledge regarding the peri-urban. Although the peri-urban is now regarded as a focal point in understanding transformations reshaping the Global South, only limited empirical research exists as yet (McGregor et al. 2006: 7–9). This also applies for the related subject of ‘rural-urban linkages/interactions’ (Tacoli 2006: 3). Empirical research on the impacts of economic globalisation has concentrated either on rural or urban contexts, especially on mega cities. The peri-urban spaces in between, including small and mid-sized cities, are largely left unnoticed, even though they are experiencing the most profound and dynamic transformations. The shortage in field studies corresponds with an inadequate conceptual framing of peri-urban spaces (Adell 1999; McGregor et al. 2006). There is especially a lack of research which investigates the peri-urban dynamics from the perspective of the local people and their opportunities to realize new benefits from the rapid developments taking place. Existing studies in India about vulnerable groups in the peri-urban repeatedly complain about limited available data and postulate the need for further research (Brook and Davila 2000: 226; Dupont and Sridharan 2006: 13–14). It is the aim of this study to approach this gap in knowledge regarding periurban areas and highlight an alternative perspective on its development. The objective is to investigate the transformations taking place in peri-urban Chennai more closely, questioning the simplistic positive notion regarding agglomeration processes as expressed by the World Bank. The on-going changes are therefore explicitly documented, analysed and evaluated from the perspective of the affected local people on the ground. The study examines the manifold social, economic and spatial dynamics, often contradictory and laden with conflict, that shape the transformations and result in diverse, heterogeneous outcomes. The interactions of different sections of the peri-urban society, the interaction with the governance structures, and the relevance of traditional and new ‘modern’ value systems are considered in gaining a deeper understanding of the social dynamic linked with the rapid industrial development of an area that is still rural in several aspects. One aim of the perspective is to reveal changing patterns of social exclusion that result for the local population in the changing peri-urban periphery. Social exclusion relates to the exclusion from work or higher education, the exclusion from agricultural land acquired for industrial purpose or exclusion from making decisions about the development of the peri-urban spaces. Another aim of the perspective is to reveal new opportunities emerging for the peri-urban people. The author therefore developed for this study a concept of inclusive development that highlights processes instrumental in empowering traditional disadvantaged local people to access benefits associated with globalised transformations. This perspective of inclusive development stresses the difference between linear economic growth and development as an open, inclusive process that furthers the capabilities of all people living in an area that is ‘developed’.

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I Introduction

This understanding of development is inspired by ideas put forth by Amartya Sen in ‘Development as Freedom’ (2000) where he highlights the importance of seeing development not as economic growth but as a societal process broadening the actual freedoms that people can exercise when fully developing their capabilities. This idea of development as freedom is captured in this study with the notion of inclusive development. Inclusion refers to the need to frame development as a process open for all sections of society and the diversity of capabilities that could be employed. Inclusive development serves as a general notion and the opposite of development that is narrowly framed as economic growth. Inclusive development is a concept to be used to critique the approach suggested by the World Bank. To summarize, this study has three overarching research objectives: 1. The study aims: to identify actors and processes that are instrumental to globalisation in peri-urban Chennai. This objective is followed to understand how peri-urban Chennai was turned into a production hub for the global economy through the actions of both local and international actors. 2. The study aims: to identify mechanisms that lead to the systematic exclusion of marginalised parts of the local population from beneficial spaces of work and education in peri-urban Chennai. This second research objective concerns the social dynamics associated with the transformations and the aim is to portray both traditional and contemporary forms of social exclusion and dominance limiting the opportunities of people living in the peri-urban. 3. The study aims: to reveal opportunities for inclusive development and empowerment by documenting struggles of marginalized people to access benefits associated with globalised transformations in peri-urban Chennai. This third research objective is followed to highlight the opportunities of the transformation when weaker sections of the society overcome traditional and contemporary forms of social exclusion. 3 OUTLINE OF THE STUDY Chapter II, ‘Approaching globalised transformations with Lefebvre’s theory of the production of space’ develops a conceptual basis to follow the research objectives in a theoretically informed manner. Chapter III, ‘Research design and methodology’ introduces four research perspectives that guided this study and explains the methods used to derive findings. The following three chapters (IV, V and VI) present the empirical findings. Each is dedicated to one research objective and informed by a particular theoretical approach developed in chapter II. Chapter IV, ‘Globalised spaces in peri-urban Chennai’ looks at how the periurban setting is reshaped by different actors. In sub-chapter IV.1, the different actors are identified according to their respective power and interests to participate in the creation of ‘globalised spaces’ – spaces that are instrumental in the pushing economic globalisation. This concerns mainly how the access of international companies was realized by the State Government of Tamil Nadu through

I Introduction

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the instrument of Special Economic Zones (SEZs). The transformations that constitute the globalised spaces in the peri-urban are summarised in a thematic map (map 1, page 210). In sub-chapter IV.2, the booming area around Sriperumbudur and Oragadam at the western end of the peri-urban space, “India’s Shenzhen”, is highlighted as a regional example. Chapter V, ‘Enforced abstractions and spaces of exclusion in peri-urban Chennai’ highlights the realization of new regimes of exclusion that are currently enforced in peri-urban Chennai. Sub-chapter V.1 discusses the land acquisition for industrial purpose. A village study focuses on livelihood transformations following rapid industrial development in the area surrounding Oragadam village. Subchapter V.2 presents findings on the peri-urban land market where benefits are realized by insiders to the detriment of poorly informed peasants with small landholdings. Finally, sub-chapter V.3 highlights the privatized spaces of higher education that are established in the peri-urban. Here, engineering colleges cater exclusively to those able to pay the formal and informal entry fees and in return provide entry into the higher earning positions of the companies. Chapter VI, ‘Lived difference and local struggles for inclusion in peri-urban Chennai’ looks into the realization of access by the local people. The emerging industrial labour market is portrayed in sub-chapter VI.1. Next, sub-chapter VI.2 highlights the shifting relations between traditional dominant landowners and the agricultural labourers in the village of Ullavur. Finally, sub-chapter VI.3 elaborates the (missing) role of governance structures in enabling inclusive development. Chapter VII, ‘Conclusion: Peri-urban transformation and social opportunity’ provides a closing discussion of the research findings and an evaluation of the conceptual approach followed in this study.

II APPROACHING GLOBALISED TRANSFORMATIONS WITH LEFEBVRE’S THEORY OF THE PRODUCTION OF SPACE This chapter introduces a conceptual framework to approach the globalised transformations in peri-urban Chennai. The framework is constituted by three conceptual approaches that correspond to the research objectives identified in the introduction. First, sub-chapter II.1 introduces a concept of ‘globalised spaces’ to highlight the instrumental nature of space for globalised transformations, defined here as the increasing dominance of global actors in triggering and shaping change at the local level. The concept of globalised spaces is needed to follow research objective 1: to identify actors who produce spaces that are instrumental to globalisation in peri-urban Chennai. Second, sub-chapter II.2 develops a theoretically informed critic of social exclusion based on a new concept of ‘enforced abstraction’. This concept is then used to follow research objective 2: to identify mechanisms that lead to the systematic exclusion of marginalised parts of the local population from beneficial spaces of work and education in peri-urban Chennai. The aim is to portray both traditional and contemporary forms of exclusion and dominance limiting the opportunities of people living in the peri-urban. Third, sub-chapter II.3 develops a concept of social inclusion that highlights the role of the agency involved when challenging existing regimes of exclusion. Such a concept is needed to follow research objective 3: to reveal opportunities for inclusive development and empowerment by documenting struggles of marginalized people to access benefits associated with globalised transformations in peri-urban Chennai. The different conceptual approaches to analyse the globalised transformations are all based on the work of the French philosopher and sociologist Henri Lefebvre (1901–91) but some necessary conceptual innovations were introduced by the author. The framework will serve as a tool to understand transformations of the periurban society through an analysis of the changing spatial arrangements that are constitutive for this society. For Lefebvre, the study of space was a tool to understand society. As he argued: “Schematically speaking, each society offers up its own peculiar space, as it were, as an ‘object’ for analysis and overall theoretical explication” (Lefebvre 1991: 31).

The framework is developed with the aim to conceptualize the peri-urban as an arena where strategies of actors situated at a global level intersect with the perspectives and actions of the local people. Struggles over exclusion and inclusion are in the centre of interest. Three aspects of Lefebvre’s theory are therefore discussed in detail: ‘Social space’ is discussed as a concept to systematically understand how spatial arrangements are an expression of the power to produce specific spaces and regulate activities through constraints of access. Based on this notion of social

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II Approaching globalised transformations with Lefebvre

space, the concept of globalised spaces is introduced to capture the instrumental role of space to achieve globalised transformations (see II.1). ‘Abstract space’, Lefebvre’s theoretical starting point to analyse the worldwide capitalist system, is developed into the concept of enforced abstraction to capture exclusionary, hegemonic arrangements of social space more generally (see II.2). ‘Differential space’, Lefebvre’s notion of opposition against the capitalist system, is developed into the concept of lived difference. The concept allows the understanding of local people’s responses towards globalised transformations not as simple opposition but as the active creation of new ways to secure livelihoods by overcoming new and also traditional barriers to social spaces that limit their capabilities (see II.3). In the empirical chapters that follow, each chapter is informed by one of these theoretical framings. They are based on the theoretical framing, informed by specific hypotheses, and cover the different research topics of this study in a structured and theoretically informed manner. To summarize, table 1 relates the different empirical chapters with their respective theoretical framings, the leading hypotheses and research topics. The remaining chapter will substantiate the conceptual foundation that structures the empirical material of this study. Research objective

Theoretical framing

Hypotheses (abbreviated)

Research topics

Understand processes leading to globalisation

Globalised spaces

Globalised transformations are realized through globalised spaces

Industrial politics, Special Economic Zones, land use changes, industrial development

IV

Identify mechanisms of exclusion

Enforced abstraction

Exclusion is realized with dominant spatial arrangements

Land acquisition, commodification of the land market, privatization of education

V

Reveal possibilities for inclusive development

Lived difference

Inclusion and empowerment are realized in new spaces of lived difference

Livelihood transformations of local people, contested spaces for work & education, inclusive development

VI

Table 1: Research objectives, theoretical framing and research topics

Chapter of this study

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II Approaching globalised transformations with Lefebvre

The conceptual framework developed in the following sub-chapters is based in particular on Lefebvre’s theory regarding ‘The Production of Space’2. The framework also considers relevant interpretations and applications of Lefebvre (Schmid 2010) in particular regarding economic globalisation (Brenner and Elden 2009b) as well as everyday life in the context of urbanisation in the Global South (Bertuzzo 2009). The conceptual framework builds on the idea that Lefebvre’s work is especially suited to provide a background for linking micro-level studies with global processes (de Haan 2008). As argued by Chakrabarty in ‘Provincializing Europe’ (2008) every case of transition to capitalism is unique and contingent on local conditions. Thus caution is needed when transposing European social theories to the analysis of foreign situations. The work of Lefebvre is therefore engaged here to unravel the blueprint, the fundamental arguments formulated in works at different points in time and societal contexts, with the aim to gain a framework applicable to nowadays dynamics (see also Schmid 2010: 17). This study aims at proposing a perspective on social change that allows criticising general notions of development as being either inherently positive or negative. Development is seen as a geographically and historically contingent process that engenders new forms of exclusion but also provides the opportunity to overcome established forms of dominance and achieve new pathways towards human security (Bohle 2009). Such an approach follows a central argument put forward by Lefebvre who was adamantly opposed to formalized, undifferentiated concepts that lead to interpretations of social realities according to a systematic structure (Charnock 2010). Lefebvre argued against simplistic scientific ordering: “Now all systems tend to close off reflection, to block off horizon. This work wants to break up systems, not to substitute another system, but to open up through thought and action towards possibilities by showing the horizon and the road” (Lefebvre 1996: 65).

Accordingly, Lefebvre’s theory is not used here as a closed theory. Instead inspiration is gained from his thinking to derive a new perspective on the nexus of industrialisation and social change and to better understand the intricate struggles of global and local actors in Chennai’s peri-urban spaces. Chapter III complements the conceptual framework developed in the following sub-chapters. It suggests a research design and practical research perspectives that allowed the theoretically informed implementation of empirical fieldwork conducted for this study.

2

Most quotes are from ‘The Production of Space’ (first published 1974, English translation 1991). Quotes from this book are abbreviated hereafter with PS, a practice introduced by Schmid (2010).

1 Globalised spaces in peri-urban Chennai

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1 GLOBALISED SPACES IN PERI-URBAN CHENNAI International investors are producing new spaces in peri-urban Chennai on a massive scale (Homm and Bohle 2012). Aided by the State Governments of Tamil Nadu, huge Special Economic Zones (SEZs) have been created that now serve as exclusive enclaves of industrial production to satisfy the demands of the global market, in particular regarding cars and telecommunication equipment. But just as agriculture this industrial production needs a site to be realized. Seemingly unrelated interests (making cars vs. agriculture) eventually become conflictive as both actions require the limited space of Chennai’s peri-urban hinterland. The Special Economic Zones around Chennai are regarded in this study as a prominent example of what is called here globalised spaces. In the factories located in these exclusive zones, international companies were given the power by the State Government to determine the working conditions for the local workforce, produce products mainly for export and realize benefits for the international shareholder community. These globalised spaces are central to globalised transformations defined here as the increasing dominance of global actors at the local level. This study explores the production of space that enables international companies to increasingly transform the peri-urban hinterlands according to their interests. This process will be analysed with: Hypothesis 1: Globalised transformations are realized through globalised spaces. These spaces are produced by the State Government in conjunction with international companies and are designed to fit the interests of global or national actors. In particular, chapter IV will follow this hypothesis and document the changes in the peri-urban as well as highlight different processes of producing globalised spaces. The analysis explores different aspects of their creation: where are they physically located, and by which means are they accessible in terms of infrastructure? Which regulations were invoked to realize the accessibility for the international companies? What are the emotional images to legitimize the creation of the zones? To understand the production of these globalised spaces the next section (II.1.1) further elaborates the making of globalised spaces. 1.1 The concept of globalised spaces The identification of globalised spaces aims to identify mechanisms that accompany the extension of the globalised economy into peri-urban Chennai. Globalised spaces are defined here as follows. Definition of globalised spaces: The term globalised spaces refers to periurban areas which are strategically produced by global actors to realize benefits. They are created through the integration in international value chains and the enforcement of new regulations that serve the global actors, and are physically separated from the surrounding territory.

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For the geographical analysis suggested in this study, the concept of globalised spaces is crucial to explain strategies and actions of agents situated at different geographical levels. A similar approach was suggested by Kipfer (2008) who argued that the work of Lefebvre provides a conceptual basis to reframe debates on the politics of scale (ibid. 86–89). Indeed, the social realization of globalised spaces occurs at different levels, linking the global with the local. When the concept of globalised spaces is applied to the analysis of the transformations in periurban Chennai, a broad range of actors between the local and the global is apparently involved (see chapter IV). Globalised spaces are therefore assumed to include at least the following levels: - Global actors push the production of globalised spaces and profit from their realization. For example, international companies pressure the State Government to create favourable spaces for investment. - Intermediate structures create an enabling environment that supports the realization of the globalised spaces. The Special Economic Zones established by the government of Tamil Nadu are an ostensive example. - Local actors are subject to globalised spaces in so far as these new spaces are relevant for their everyday life. To provide the study with a concept to analyse the production of globalised spaces in more detail, the following section (II.1.2) introduces Lefebvre’s concept of social space. Social space brings attention to the forces behind the transformations in the peri-urban by highlighting the instrumental role of space. The concept of social space further provides the study with a specific definition of power and access and is the starting point for the related concepts of enforced abstraction and lived difference. 1.2 Lefebvre’s concept of social space Social space is the integrating theoretical concept used in this study. The concept of social spaces presented here is an interpretation of Lefebvre’s theory of the production of space where he introduced the notion of social space and other concepts (especially abstraction and difference) on which the conceptual framework of this study are based. However, the theory of Lefebvre is reformulated here to better capture transformation processes in the Global South. The original arguments and terminology of Lefebvre is provided to allow the reader to see where the concept developed here differs from the original. The following section introduces the key notion of social space and its close relation to social action. Two more important features of social space are discussed: first, its close connection with power (see II.1.2.1) and second, the idea of different dimensions that constitute social space (see II.1.2.2). For Lefebvre, social space dialectically links action and space. He argues: „Itself the outcome of past actions, social space is what permits fresh actions to occur, while suggesting others and prohibiting yet others“ (PS: 73).

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Social space is produced through action and is itself shaping actions to come. Social space allows framing both the active shaping of the transformations and the actions of those adapting to the new circumstances. People live and act in their social spaces: “In reality, social space ‘incorporates’ social actions, the action of subjects both individual and collective who are born and who die, who suffer and who act. From the point of view of these subjects the behaviour of their space is at once vital and mortal: within it they develop, give expression to themselves, and encounter prohibitions; then they perish, and that same space contains their graves” (PS: 37).

The term action is of fundamental importance to grasp the link of society and space. In difference to Marx, Lefebvre did not see work but action as constitutive for the human being. His use of the term action has to be seen in the context of his enduring engagement with Marx, Hegel and Nietzsche (for a discussion see Schmid 2010: 80). Beside this more materialistic production of space, the production of spatial significance is central to Lefebvre: “Space as directly lived through its associated images and symbols and hence the space of ‘inhabitants’ and ‘users’, […]. It overlays physical space, making use of its objects” (PS: 39).

Social space is a complex articulation of social relations and imaginations, representing human norms and desires and being subject to regulations and ideologies. It is experienced differently by subjects, thus: “We are confronted not by one social space but by many – indeed, by an unlimited multiplicity or uncountable set of social spaces which we refer to generically as ‘social space’” (PS: 86).

How are individual actions related to social space? According to Lefebvre the perception of individuals is shaped by society. While everybody ultimately lives in his own social space, this is built according to shared representations and meaning – a concept based on a dialectical, mutually constitutive understanding of society and the individual (Schmid 2010: 315–316). Social space is used in this study as the very medium in which the social relations between individual and social groups, between agency and structure become concrete. The structuration occurs in this question of enforcement: to which degree are the commonly held formal rules or meaning of a place capable to structure individual action? Lefebvre uses Hegel’s and Marx’s concept of ‘concrete abstraction’3 to posit space as the medium where the non-material human agency can take a concrete form: “Any activity over (historical) time engenders (produces) a space and can only attain practical `reality’ or concrete existence within that space” (PS: 115).

Social space provides this study with a theoretical framing to adequately capture the manifold processes actually transforming the spaces in peri-urban Chennai. It captures the new, attractive though oppressive spaces of work in the global facto3

For a discussion of the concept of concrete abstraction by Lefebvre see Stanek (2008).

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ries as well as the traditional spaces of rural villages where the social relations between different castes are inscribed in the spatial patterns of land ownership. Social space is used in this study as an analytical tool to reveal how social relations are spatially articulated, and to understand how these arrangements are changing in the current scenario of rapid industrial development. To make social space such an analytical tool, the author suggests to define social space as being constituted by a multiplicity of specific localities, that is sites or places where multiple social spaces overlap and shape the action of people for whom the social spaces are relevant. Each ‘locality’ is structured by different social spaces produced by actors capable of doing so. In the locality of the factory, the social space is determined by the management staff, the demands of the global market as well as perception and interpretation of the local people working in the factories. While for Lefebvre actions are intrinsically bound to space, they cannot be reduced to space. That is, the actions rest on a capacity to act that is grounded outside social space. Actual behaviour of a worker in a factory is not determined by the social space of the factory but depends on the disposition, the social role, perception and identity of the worker. This agency is acknowledged, but the argument derived here from Lefebvre is that the capacity to act is realized in social space that limits this agency: “any activity […] can only attain practical ‘reality’ within […] space” (PS: 115). In other words, the capacity to act is to some degree shaped by the concrete location in which the action is taking place. Actions are understood here to be localized and thereby subject to the real or interpreted material structure, the rules and norms of behaviour associated with that locality. This relationship between the capacity to act, the actual action, social space and the aim of action is depicted in figure 2.

Action Aim of action

Capacity to act

(non-spatial)

(non-spatial)

Social space

Figure 2: Conceptual relation between actions and social space (Source: own draft)

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To frame action as shaped by space might be seen as giving space an independent power. But this is not the case; the influence of space is actively produced and maintained by social groups able to invest in space and use space as an instrument to foster specific social processes. The spaces of work are for example actively maintained as spaces of insecurity. Due to their dependence on job brokers, the workers hardly dare to protest against working conditions difficult to bear (see sub-chapter VI.1 on the labour market). It is with the concept of social space that we can make these processes obvious. The following sections discuss two notions that further operationalize the concept of social space for this study. 1.2.1 Social space and power Power is of central importance for the definition of social space as it is used in this study. For this study the author suggests the following definition of power: Power is the capacity of actors, both individual and collective, to produce social space according to their interests. Power defined in this way extends the concept of the ‘actor’ away from the micro-level and also considers the state and other authorities as ‘collective actors’, i.e. as holders of power. This concept of power is drawn from Lefebvre who argued that social spaces are made, ‘produced’ by society in a creative act. But what exactly is meant by production? In his review of how the concept of production was used by Hegel and Marx (PS: 68–73), Lefebvre contrasts a narrow, economic use with a more general, humanist notion of production. He criticized the late Marx for narrowing production into a sterile, simply economic term without “creativity, inventiveness or imagination” (PS: 69). Opposing this, Lefebvre notes: “In its broad sense, humans as social beings are said to produce their own life, their own consciousness, their own world” (PS: 68). Production in this broad sense is creative and allows humans to be and express themselves by producing their own peculiar space. For the definition of power, this implies that the power to produce social space is not confined to abstract ‘forces of production’ but is as well part of the everyday life of ordinary people. As the focus of this study is the changing landscape of access, the power of actors gains its particular relevance through their capacity to reshape spatially mediated patterns of access. The next section presents aspects of social space that serve as analytical categories towards a more nuanced understanding of social space. 1.2.2 Three dimensions constituting social space Among the most widely discussed elements of Lefebvre is the spatial triad of different aspects of social space. These aspects are contested yet widely referred to (Soja 1996; Bertuzzo 2009; Schmid 2008; Deffner 2010). Lefebvre introduced the triad in ‘The Production of Space’ in his erratic style, leaving the reader fascinated but confused by eloquent but verbally inconsistent analysis of societies’ spatiality.

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For this study, the author suggests a new terminology for the three constituents of social space, see figure 3.

Representations, regulations

Material settings

Emotional meaning

Figure 3: The three dimensions constituting social space (Source: own draft)

One challenge is that the triad exists in two different but related forms. It is first presented as ‘spatial practice’, ‘representations of space’ and ‘representational and than a second version ‘perceived’, ‘conceived’, ‘lived’ (PS: 33–42). Table 2 provides an overview of the dimensions of social space and relates the terminology proposed in this study with the terminology used by Lefebvre. Lefebvre’s terminology in PS Terminology proposed in this study Definition of dimension Example from peri-urban Chennai

Spatial practice Perceived space Material settings Historically grounded localities/territories in their physical sense Transport infrastructure, walls and fences around factories

Aspects of social space Representations of space Conceived space Representations/ regulations

Spaces of representation Lived space Emotional meaning

Formal signs and regulations attached to space

Qualities and values linked with space

Maps, land prices, regulations in SEZs etc.

Emotional attachment to land e.g. resistance against land acquisition

Table 2: Three dimensions of social space (Sources: PS: 35–37; own draft).

In his milestone review, Schmid (2010) suggested that the triad designates three different spaces. Introducing three different and independent ‘spaces’ certainly was successful to structure research (Soja 1996; Bertuzzo 2009). However, this procedure is rejected here since postulating three different spaces (e.g. physical,

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mental, social) carries the danger of missing the dynamic, agency related nature of social space as discussed above. So instead of naturalizing the triad into different spaces it is suggested by the author to consider three fundamental dimensions of social space: material settings, representations and emotional meaning. These three constituents of social space are used in this study as analytical categories to structure the empirical findings and serve as tangible entry points for a multifaceted analysis of actions shaping the peri-urban transformation. The three dimensions are defined as follows: Material settings This dimension refers to the material underpinning of social space that relates actions to the physical world. In peri-urban Chennai this pertains to the transport infrastructures, airport and seaport that are vital for exporting local products to global markets. Walls and fences surrounding Special Economic Zones are also constitutive for they make the place inside exclusive and closed to outsiders. The dimension of material setting is based on Lefebvre’s definition of spatial practice which includes “the routes and networks which link up the places” (PS: 38). Within social space, these material settings exist in a social form but still they relate to physical space and territory (Brenner and Elden 2009a). The present material setting of a locality emerges from the history of this place. “In short, every social space has a history” (PS: 110). The existing materiality of a locality shapes access in its basic physical sense. Representation/regulations Representations are formal signs and regulations attached to spaces. This dimension refers to maps, prices for land or websites of companies that attract professionals to companies in peri-urban Chennai. Representations are relevant for the framework in that they establish prescriptions or incentives for behaviour in certain spaces. Analytically, we always have to understand representations in relation to the practices they prescribe or suggest. For the proposed framework, representations can be understood as a type of regulation that is linked to a place through a representation, say ‘non-smoking area’. Representations are regarded here as a strategic tool for they do not remain passive but inform actions and structure imaginations. Representations are established through discourse. As suggested in critical discourse analysis: “the discursive event is shaped by situations, institutions and social structures, but it also shapes them” (Fairclough and Wodak 1997: 28). Discourse in this study generally refers to language based exchanges including words and other formalized representations that constitute social spaces. For example, the monetary value of land and the corresponding tenure regulations are representations that structure action related to this land.

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The concept of social space urges to see these representations as made, produced by particular actor groups that have a particular interest in the effects of particular representations. Emotional Meaning Emotional meanings are qualities and values linked with specific spaces. These meanings are seen as produced by groups or individuals who actively imbue spaces with meaning through normative settings in discourses. Spaces structured by emotional meaning are thus similar to what Gregory (1995), in discussing Said (1979), has called ‘imaginative geographies’. This aspect is linked with Lefebvre’s ‘lived space’: “space as directly lived through its associated images and symbols and hence the space of ‘inhabitants’ and ‘users’ , […] it overlays physical space, making use of its objects” (PS: 39).

Social spaces that have a specific emotional meaning also shape the actions of those sharing this meaning. Regarding land in peri-urban Chennai, this emotional meaning might be the attachment of farmers who defend their inherited land against land acquisition, or the excitement shared by real estate developers about a specific plot. The aspect of emotional meaning is apparently subjective but is also linked with collective processes and negotiations about the relevance of emotions towards specific localities. As argued by proponents of emotional geographies, this aspect of emotional perception is as important for action as formal incentives (Davidson et al. 2007). With the aspect of emotional meaning we can investigate the shifting emotional geographies of the peri-urban. What places do local people perceive as appropriate for their livelihood activities? What places are felt to be forbidden by caste association or established gender roles? Based on the dialectic relation between social space and action, the three dimensions of social spaces exist in two ways. Firstly, as three dimensions of the production of social space: the production of material settings, the production of representations and regulations and the production of specific meanings of space (Schmid 2010: 320). The corresponding function is that the three dimensions frame actions in specific ways. This provides the study with a dialectic framework of social space and action, see figure 4, next page.

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Production of social space as: • Emotional meaning • Representations • Material settings

Actions

Framed by social space

Social space

Produced by actions

Material Production

Framing of actions by: • • •

Emotional meaning Representations Material settings

Figure 4: The duality of social space and action (Source: own draft)

1.3 Spatial strategies Since social space allows influencing other actors through changing the social spaces where they act (see section above), it can be seen as an instrument, a tool for actors to shape social practice by employing spatial strategies. A spatial strategy is defined here as the purposeful transformation of a specific social space (including material settings, representations and meaning) by an actor with the aim to influence the actions of other people. Spatial strategies are thus a key articulation of power, defined earlier as the capability to produce space. Certainly, any strategy is tested and negotiated with those affected. Figure 5 illustrates the notion of spatial strategies as the relation between two actors. Actor 1 is in the powerful position to pursue a spatial strategy; he is producing a specific social space which serves as the instrument for his spatial strategy. This social space has implications for actor 2 whose actions are shaped by it. Actor 2 maybe reacts with resistance or adaptation and eventually acts according to the spatial strategy, depending on the power and skill of actor 1. He takes part in the production of the social space under consideration but does so more as a reaction, a reproduction that confirms, modifies or prevents the spatial strategy pursued by actor 1. The schematic relations sketched in figure 5, next page, are only illustrative of the general concept of spatial strategies.

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Actor 1:

Pursuing spatial strategy

Specific social space: Instrument of spatial strategy

Actor 2:

Resistance, adaptation, negotiation of spatial strategy Figure 5: Social space as the medium for spatial strategies (Source: own draft)

Based on this understanding of specific social space as the medium for a spatial strategy we also can separate the processes involved in the production of globalised spaces. Taking the three dimensions of social space into account the following processes are key in producing globalised spaces: Changing material settings. Actors can re-regulate the access to a locality away from local users to the advantage of actors from a higher level of geographical scale. New infrastructure to protect and facilitate exports is an example. Changing representations and regulations. This includes the replacement of locally defined names and regulations with new names and regulations that conform to the interests and requirement of actors from a higher level of geographical scale. Changing emotional meaning. This aspect of social space is used when locally derived feelings towards a locality are replaced by feelings based on ‘global signs’ like monetary value or images of modernity. These aspects are revisited in chapter IV which illustrates the production of globalised spaces in peri-urban Chennai.

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2 FRAMING SOCIAL EXCLUSION AS ENFORCED ABSTRACTION Globalisation is powerfully producing new spatial arrangements that sometimes lead to the social exclusion and marginalization of parts of the local people who are not able to benefit from the developments, but are instead pushed into even worse forms of poverty and deprivation. Encouraged by the Tamil Nadu state government and the Chennai administration, and in line with the foreign investment friendly economic policy adapted by India in the 1990ies, the peri-urban spaces of Chennai are tremendously transformed by international and Indian companies opening new spaces for investment4. These investments are remoulding the peripheries at an unprecedented pace, creating new job opportunities for the educated but dissolving agrarian livelihoods for many others, either through forced land acquisition (see sub-chapter V.1) or through the exclusion from the emerging industrial labour market (see sub-chapter VI.1). A second trend incited by the investment from companies is the rapid development of the peri-urban land market where forms of private ownership are proliferating and traditional, communal forms of landownership are marginalized. There is a need to understand the new forms of exclusion that result for the local population in the changing peri-urban periphery. Exclusion implies the exclusion from work, the exclusion from acquired land or exclusion from making decisions about the development of the peri-urban spaces. What forms of exclusion are most pressing in peri-urban Chennai? What are the mechanisms involved in the opening up of the peri-urban hinterland for the companies? What role does space play when power is exercised? What are the traditional forms of social exclusion in the peri-urban? This subchapter suggests that globalised transformations should be analysed with a focus on the shifting forms of exclusion that are enforced by dominant groups. Accordingly, the transformation of the peri-urban will be analysed with Hypothesis 2: Marginalised parts of the local population are systematically excluded from beneficial spaces of work and education. This exclusion is achieved and maintained with dominant spatial arrangements. Especially chapter V will discuss processes of exclusion. Two empirical subchapters (V.1 and V.2) will focus on the contested peri-urban territory. Here, exclusion is discussed in relation with the new social spaces that reconfigure the benefits derived from the land/territory. Sub-chapter V.1 will detail the land acquisition for SEZs, where public benefit is enforced and local farmers with weak or informal claims for their land are excluded from compensation payments. Subchapter V.2 will deal with the peri-urban land market. This will demonstrate how powerful networks of real-estate agents and land brokers produce the land market as a social space that creates enormous profits for those who regulate access to it. Many others are actively excluded from the knowledge about actual prices in the market and are forced to sell their land for painstaking little amounts. Finally, sub4

The investment in the area of Sriperumbudur and Oragadam, the case studies of this work, is estimated to be around 5 billion $US between 2004–09 (Times of India, Chennai edition 5. September 2009).

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chapter V.3 will highlight the exclusive, privatized spaces of higher education that are created in the peri-urban. Engineering colleges cater exclusively to those able to pay the formal and informal entry fees and in return provide entry into the higher positions of the international companies. 2.1 The concept of enforced abstraction This section introduces the concept of enforced abstraction, a concept developed by the author to approach processes of exclusion and marginalization in periurban Chennai in a theoretically informed manner. Central to this is the notion of ‘abstraction’ and its interpretation by Lefebvre but also recent scholarly work that highlights the potential of the idea of abstraction for geographical inquiry (McCormack 2012). Lefebvre’s historical studies of society-space relations in Europe are much concerned with the advent of an ‘abstract space’ that is produced by the social relations that accompany capitalism: “Capitalism and neo-capitalism have produced an abstract space” (Lefebvre 2009b: 187). It is argued here that ideas behind this concept can provide valuable insights to reframe access and processes of exclusion associated with the increasing economic integration of countries and regions of the Global South into the world economy. The concept captures processes where powerful actors enforce a particular, uniform practice upon an existing social space. It can be understood as a specific mode of producing space that aims at dominance through the unifying enforcement of a particular abstraction in a social space. From the discussion above the following definition is derived: Definition of enforced abstraction: An enforced abstraction is first a socially constructed category that represents a social reality which in itself is more complex, varied and multidimensional. The abstraction is then enforced through the production of social spaces and corresponding practices according to the abstraction. The abstraction and the corresponding space are produced by powerful actors to control and/or exclude actors who do not comply with the criteria of the abstraction. Identifying an enforced abstraction in actual social practices brings the attention to the mechanisms by which actors reshape spaces to gain profits. Conceptual coherence is guaranteed since an enforced abstraction is defined as a reconfiguration of social space. What are the specific tools for geographical inquiry that can be derived from this concept? Based on the three aspects of social space we can separate different ways of how an abstraction is enforced: Enforcing material settings: Material structures are used to regulate access to a space certain people belong to according to a representation, e.g. fences and entry structures. Settings also represent the other aspects of social space, e.g. the appearance of buildings etc. reflects the rules related to it. Enforcing representations/regulations: This aspect refers to enforcing homogenous rules or a uniting name over a social space. The internal diversity is replaced by a unity that is made a reference for actions inside this social space. An

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example is the commodification of community-owned land. Localized practices are replaced by the rules of the market; the representation of the locality now includes monetary value. Enforcing emotional meaning: This aspect of social space is reconfigured according to an abstraction when locally embedded feelings towards a locality are replaced by feelings associated with the abstraction (e.g. monetary value or images of modernity). These new meanings are established through influencing/changing the normative elements of discourses that relate to a locality. The concept of enforced abstraction relates to Lefebvre’s concept of abstract space, however, it comes from a conceptually deeper layer, his analysis of language. It is developed to provide the study of social space, as outlined in section II.1, with a particular focus and analytical approach that reveals how specific spatial arrangements are enforced to serve the interest of powerful groups and actor networks. The next section therefore elaborates on the notion of abstraction and its social realization to gain a concept for the enforcement of new spatial arrangements in the peri-urban. 2.1.1 Language I: The reductive power of signs What is the theoretical starting point for the concept of enforced abstraction? To make the concept of Lefebvre relevant for the current situation of economic globalisation in the Global South, we have to identify fundamental arguments that are not limited to the historic development of capitalism in Europe or the post-war situation and fordistic growth model prevailing when Lefebvre developed his ideas. It is suggested here that the concept of language and in particular the notions of representation and abstraction are such fundamental arguments. These arguments will then be retranslated into specific tools for geographical inquiry into globalised transformations. Lefebvre’s language is linked with the reductive power of signs and representations, as opposed to the creative potential of poetics and action. This is based on his ‘metaphilosophy’, in which he stresses the difference between the sign or representation to what the sign actually refers to: “Between the signified and the sign there is a mesmerizing difference, a deceptive gap […]. The sign has the power of destruction because it has the power of abstraction – and thus also the power to construct a new world different from nature’s initial one” (PS: 135).

Based on this difference, abstraction is described by Lefebvre as a form of violence. Abstraction negates the special, the concrete being from which the abstract is ab-stracted, i.e. ignorantly drawn. Abstraction is based on the reductive, even violent power of signs. “How is this possible? How could such capabilities, such efficacy such ‘reality’ lie hidden within abstraction? To this pressing question here is an answer whose truth has yet to be demonstrated: there is a violence intrinsic to abstraction, and to abstraction’s practical (social) use” (PS: 289, emphasis in original).

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To summarize, abstractions are socially constructed categories that represent a social reality which in itself is more complex, varied and multidimensional. These abstractions, however, do not remain descriptions or representation but they are enforced by actors or society to inform and structure practices of the social reality they refer to. And by doing so, they do not account for the internal complexity and independence of the social reality. 2.1.2 The geography of enforcing abstractions The notion of abstraction was developed by Lefebvre into the concept of ‘abstract space’ to criticise spatial arrangements that accompany the expansion of the capitalist system. Among others, he identified three formants to characterize abstract space: i) the geometric (“the reduction of three-dimensional realities to two dimensions”); ii) the optical (“logic of visualization […] social importance of the written word”); and iii) the phallic (“the brutality of political power, of the means of constraint: police, army, bureaucracy”) (PS: 285–287). However, the author would like to emphasize that the process of abstraction is more fundamental and not limited to only capitalist or European societies. Instead, it is argued that for the transposition of Lefebvre’s theory in the context of the Global South, emerging from a historic background so different from Europe, we have to revisit the fundamental arguments of abstraction and not the specific attributes and formats of abstract space suggested by Lefebvre. It is therefore suggested to apply the more fundamental concept of abstraction to reveal the reshaping of social spaces according to the interest of powerful actors. To understand the current situation in the peri-urban, older, but still powerful spatial arrangements of the agrarian society (social distinctions of gender, caste and other social identities) also do have to be considered and contrasted with new, market based spatial arrangements that relate to the global economy. In order to understand the transformations taking place in the peri-urban today, we need a concept that takes old and new spatial arrangements into a contrasting view to analyse what is particularly new. The enforcement of abstraction in social space How can the concept of enforced abstraction enrich our geographical inquiry? An example of what is meant here by enforced abstraction can be found in the work of Edward Said. With his eminent critic orientalism, he identified and revealed an abstraction of the ‘Orient’ that was prevalent among Europeans (1979). Said discusses how an image of the Orient as mysterious, traditionalist and ultimately inferior was constructed and maintained through specific discourses and imaginative geographies in the West. This representation of the Orient can be understood as an abstraction that is projected on a world region and structures perceptions and actions based on this representation and, more importantly, towards the reality that lies behind this abstraction. Orientalism as an abstraction ultimately falls back

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on the reality it mirrors by shaping politics and informs the narratives that legitimize the recent interventions by the West in the ‘war on terror’ (Gregory 2004). New forms of Orientalism are examined by political geographers and pundits of postcolonial theory that adamantly criticize the simplifications of distorted imaginative geographies in varied occasions (McEwan 2009). This study incorporates this critical thinking in the notion of enforced abstraction. However, the term is explicitly understood as part of the framework of the production of space as outlined above. That is, the analysis proceeds from the reshaping of social spaces to the power structures and actors behind these spaces. For this study, abstraction is a diagnostic approach to help identify the processes that constitute the globalised transformations in the Global South and highlight new mechanisms of exclusion that result from enforced abstraction (in such fields as the labour market, the land market and forced land acquisition). Abstractions in agrarian society The author suggests that the enforcement of abstraction is not confined to the capitalist situation. Even in historic times, powerful individuals or groups have enforced abstract definitions on areas or people to strengthen or legitimize their rule and exclude practices or actors that do not comply with the criteria of the abstraction. One example is the traditional system of caste in India. The spatial arrangement of the traditional rural society in India uses caste as an abstract social category. This abstraction prescribes spatial behaviour for certain people on the basis of a uniform category they belong to. For example, scheduled caste or dalits are expected to remain inside particular spaces of work and are forbidden to enter ritually ‘clean’ spaces reserved for higher caste members. These traditional structures are still prevalent in Tamil Nadu and it would not be adequate to base an inquiry only on the recent abstraction based on monetary value. Instead this study looks into the existing ‘spaces of caste’ and the resulting local segregation (see sub-chapter VI.2 on the village of Ullavur). The abstraction of monetary value Among Lefebvre’s continuing intellectual interest was capitalism’s tendency towards worldwide dominance (Brenner and Elden 2009b). According to his concept, the global extension of markets is achieved by increasingly transforming social spaces around the world in order to be compatible with international practices of accumulation. Simply put, abstract space is the spatial arrangement on which capitalism is built. As argued by Sharp: “Central to this is the commodification and bureaucratisation of everyday life, namely making space mathematical and ordered (challenging the indigenous ordering of space) in such a way as to render the colony most efficiently known and governable” (Sharp 2009: 64).

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This spatial arrangement is reinforced in India since the liberalisation era that started in the 1990ies. It continues to challenge traditional social orders and creates new mechanisms of exclusion that are contested by various actors. The notion of abstraction can be used in particular to criticize the worldwide expansion of capitalist spatial arrangements based on the reign of the sign, the abstract power of money. This concept can explain the violence inherent in social relations oriented at monetary value that are increasingly entering the peri-urban. The next section discusses how the notion of access can be reframed with the concept of social space to effectively reveal the new and old regimes of exclusion that are produced when an abstraction is enforced. 2.2 Framing access with social space The focus of the concept of enforced abstraction is on revealing how social spaces constrain or enable access to benefits which people are able to derive from actions within them. This allows revealing the power structures involved in shaping access to the benefits that the globalised transformations might provide. Access is understood in line with Ribot and Peluso (2003) as “the ability to benefit from things” with the focus on “the constellations of means, relations, and processes that enable various actors to derive benefits from resources” (2003: 153). However, instead of focusing the analysis on resources, access in this study is explicitly linked with social space and the ability to enter a social space and perform specific actions to realize associated benefits. An example is the access a worker might have to the social space of a factory. If access is granted, the worker can perform work and enjoy the benefits of salary and reputation associated therewith. Based on the understanding of social space developed in sub-chapter II.1, a new framing for access is gained where access is intrinsically linked with social space. Definition of access: Access is the ability of an actor to enter a specific social space and perform activities that generate benefits. Access is regulated by changing aspects of social space: material settings, formal representations/regulations and emotional meaning. With the concept of enforced abstraction, we can relate the structures of access back to the producer of the particular social space and ask: how were these exclusive structures created? Who is changing a social space and what are the new forms of access associated therewith? Based on three dimensions of social space, three mechanisms to regulate access are presented in table 3, next page.

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Mechanism to regulate access

Examples from the study

Material settings

Construction or change of physical structures that affect the accessibility of a locality

Representations / regulations

Changing the legal status of locality; rules regulating access to a locality

Roads to facilitate access of workers to factories, walls, fences and such to protect the factories, etc. Colleges built for better-off students Land acquisition laws; educational qualification requested for a workspace

Emotional meaning

Influencing feelings or moral norms associated with specific places

Traditional social roles and caste system influencing feelings of inappropriateness, fear or desire related to specific places

Table 3: Dimensions of social space as mechanisms to regulate access (Source: own draft)

Ribot and Peluso argue in their ‘theory of access’: “By focusing on ability rather than rights as in property theory, this formulation brings attention to a wider range of social relationships that can constrain or enable people to benefit from resources without focusing on property relations alone” (2003: 154, emphasis in original).

The definition of access proposed for this study builds on this theory of access in that the representations/regulations associated with a locality are not simply evaluated from a formal, rights based perspective but with a view of the actual actions performed, i.e. the practice of access in relation to particular social spaces. This practice is in large parts regulated through informal negotiations about the relevance of the regulations and the actual enforcement in a locality. A locality understood through social space is an ‘arena’ where actors negotiate their access in a continuum of informal social practices and formal regulations (Etzold et al. 2009). When action is understood to be linked with space, borders are preventing people from action. To understand existing borders and processes of bordering (Newman 2006) through the three aspects of social space helps to reveal how localities are reconfigured by powerful actors and to identify the impacts for the less powerful who depend on access to these localities to secure their livelihood. According to the concept of social space, borders can exist as material settings (walls, fences, locked doors), as formal representations or regulations (pertaining to land or the eligibility to access determined by status, say membership, educational qualification) and emotional (the feeling of inappropriateness, wrong-doing that prevents people to enter private places of others etc.). Thus we can separate three strategies of bordering. Because with social space, we always have to ask: how where these structures produced? Who set these borders and for what purpose? How this understanding of access was developed into a research design and adequate methods is explained further in chapter III.

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3 FRAMING INCLUSION AS LIVED DIFFERENCE A central objective of this study is to understand the challenge of social inclusion, the ability of local people to access benefits associated with globalised transformations. How can we frame inclusion? One possibility of understanding pathways to inclusion is to ask how local people react on changes in the peri-urban. The enforcement of new spatial arrangements associated with the world economy brings benefit for some (farmers selling their land for high profits, official and land brokers profiting from land transactions, educated people finding good jobs). Some are marginalised, excluded from the chances of economic development. Others, however, can be expected to adapt and create new spaces for their livelihood and profit from the changing opportunities, in particular the labour market. This leads to Hypothesis 3: Inclusion and empowerment to access benefits associated with globalised transformations are realized in new spaces of lived difference that challenge existing regimes of exclusion. To follow this hypothesis, especially chapter VI will elaborate on the reconfigurations of livelihoods situated between exclusionary arrangements and struggles for inclusion and economic participation. First, sub-chapter VI.1 explores the contested social space of the emerging peri-urban industrial labour market. It is assumed that social spaces of work are contested between actors that maintain or establish specific abstractions to regulate social groups and actors that challenge these abstractions with lived difference. Second, sub-chapter VI.2 focuses on a traditional rural village, Ullavur. Here, traditional forms of exclusion are challenged by the empowerment of the landless-labourers that develop new livelihoods outside the social space of agriculture and the hegemony of the landowning community. Third, sub-chapter VI.3 presents the governance structures in the peri-urban and reflects on obstacles to enable inclusive development. The next section provides the concept of lived difference to frame the capability of the local people to react to the globalised transformations and realize benefits in new spaces. These spaces are new in a sense that they allow marginalized groups of people to perform livelihood strategies in explicit difference to exclusionary spatial arrangements – be they based on the traditional social order or the new restrictions of international companies. 3.1 The concept of lived difference In the centre of economic transformation lies the challenge for inclusive development which not only benefits the better-off but includes all sections of society. Even marginalized parts of the peri-urban society can realize access to benefits when they challenge established, abstract rules that exclude them. Examples are the traditional role of women who are expected to care for the household or the division of caste that only allowed agricultural labour as an occupation for the dalit-community. The question is how some marginal people can adapt their

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strategies to make a living under changing conditions. The author therefore suggests the following concept of lived difference to frame the struggle for social inclusion: Definition of lived difference: Lived difference challenges social spaces structured according to a dominant abstraction. Living difference includes the development of access to and new capabilities for the performance of actions in these social spaces to gain benefits for marginalized people/groups. Identifying this lived difference brings the attention to the contestation of established spatial arrangements and in particular to the agency of people to create new ways to access emerging opportunities in the peri-urban. Conceptual coherence is guaranteed since lived difference is defined as a challenge to an existing order of social space. At the basis of strategies of market-based development and globalization Lefebvre posits a dialectic contestation between market based abstraction of monetary value and existing social arrangements, between spaces reduced to ‘sites of development’ and spaces marked by struggles for self-determination and difference. Lefebvre developed the concept of differential space to describe this social struggle: “Abstract space also relates negatively to something which it carries within himself and which seeks to emerge from it: a differential space-time“ (PS: 50). The concept of differential space was developed as the antipode to abstract space. This concept however cannot be directly transposed to the situation in India where the conditions are in many aspects different from Europe in the 20th century. Applying the concept of differential space in a narrow sense further runs the risk of limiting the analysis to urban struggles against a capitalist regime. Again, the author suggests a concept that differs slightly from the specific terms developed by Lefebvre. Instead of using the concept of differential space, the idea of difference is revisited and developed as a tool for geographical inquiry. The procedure is therefore similar to the one applied in sub-chapter II.2, where the concept of enforced abstraction was developed as a response to the limitations of Lefebvre’s concept of abstract space. For this study, the aim is to frame the capabilities of the people in the periurban. Here, only few people engage in direct protest against spatial arrangements of the global economy (prominent exceptions are protests against the set-up of Special Economic Zones). This is because the limitations to the benefits from the globalised transformations are not only created by the spatial arrangements of the recent capitalist regime. Many boundaries and social conventions are based on traditional agrarian rules and norms of behaviour present in abstraction (in the sense outlined in section II.2.1.2) which limit the capabilities for actions. This includes: i) the ideal of the woman as a housewife, ii) the image of the farmer as uneducated, iii) the subordination of dalits (untouchables) to manual work etc. These are just some cases were social groups are excluded from benefits through the enforcement of traditional social categories as powerful abstraction. This makes it necessary to frame the constraint on capabilities through a critic of traditional social categories that prescribe specific performances. For this reason, this

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study builds on the concept of lived difference instead of differential space. This provides a broader perspective to understand the opportunities and constraints for marginalised parts of the society to benefit from the economic development in peri-urban Chennai. One thesis derived from Lefebvre is that the liberalisation of the subject and the development of new capabilities and ‘social opportunity’ is achieved by challenging dominant arrangements of space. To realize this liberalisation at the worldwide level was his central aim and vision: “The creation (or production) of a planet-wide space as the social foundation of a transformed everyday life open to myriad possibilities – such is the dawn now beginning to break on the far horizon” (PS: 432).

This notion was purposely utopian; it can be used to inform an ‘alternative’ approach to development, where development does not aim for economic growth, but the creation of new opportunities for local actors, as demanded also by research objective 3. 3.1.1 Language II: The empowerment of lived difference What is the theoretical starting point for the concept of lived difference? In opposition to the reductive power of signs and the violence intrinsic to abstraction, Lefebvre posits an analogy between human creativity and the notion of poesy. Poesy is developed into a symbol for liberation, a tool not only to overcome the closeness of established language but as a guide for everyday practice. When practicing poesy, new possibilities can enter the fixed logic of the closed system of language (Schmid 2010: 102–105). Lefebvre developed this understanding of poesy by engaging with the writings of Nietzsche (Merrifield 1995). For Nietzsche, poetic language was a necessity against the “death of signs” (PS: 136). Based on his experiences with the surrealists, Lefebvre continued to incorporate this idea of poesy and creativity into his theoretical projects. For him, difference is an explosion of creativity that “shutters the existing system” (PS: 372), a system which denies any difference through the arrogance of its abstract power. Difference is the practice of poetic action that challenges and supersedes this abstract power. Difference is conceptualized as enabling action outside an existing, dominant space. It is a social necessity: “Just like the fleshly body of the living being, the spatial body of society and the social body of needs […] cannot live without generating, without producing, without creating differences” (PS: 396).

Therefore, the independent production of space can be an instrument of liberation for the subject, achieved by self-organization or “autogestion” (Lefebvre 2009a: 138–151) to create what is called lived difference in this study. This concept of lived difference provides the study with a concept to frame the perspective of local people, the subjects of globalised transformations. It is when people can produce lived difference that they are establishing a new space for action in differ-

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ence to existing dominant spaces. Lived difference is a concept, grounded in a philosophy of language as developed by Lefebvre, to frame the creation of capabilities taking traditional and new exclusionary arrangements in view. 3.2 Inclusive development, livelihoods and lived difference The transformation in the peri-urban cannot be adequately understood without considering local peoples’ stake in this transformation. The approach suggested in the following is to merge the concept of social space with the livelihood framework to gain a new focus on people’s changing opportunities to act and realize benefits. The Sustainable Livelihood Framework (SLF) provides a useful approach to reveal how the capacity to act is impacted by reconfigured spaces and conditions of access. The SLF as developed by DfID (1999) is an established framework for the assessment of livelihood transformations. However, considering the weak theoretical background of the SLF (Scoones 2009), it is suggested here to support the livelihood perspective with the concept of social space and the notion of enforced abstraction and lived difference as introduced above. The SLF makes a distinction for livelihood strategies between adaptation and coping. While the concept of adaptation focuses on long-term and structural changes, coping is understood to capture more immediate reaction on actual threats (Scoones 2009). These adaptation and coping strategies comprise the range of activities that people pursue, based on the endowment with assets they can effectively utilize, in order to secure their livelihoods and well-being (DFID 1999: 2–5). The literature highlights how these assets are profoundly changed and challenged by the peri-urban transformations (Tacoli 1999: 3). This pertains especially to access to land, given that land markets in the peri-urban are highly dynamic and laden with conflict (Rakodi 1999), with women being particularly disadvantaged (Agarwal 2003: 184–224) . Other studies suggest that livelihood diversification, mobility and multi-locality can be creative responses to globalisation (Ellis 2000; de Haan and Zoomers 2003). These varied approaches based on the livelihood framework can be conceptually grounded applying the concept of social space. This can help to understand how access to and deployment of assets is restricted but also enabled by the new social spaces emerging in the peri-urban. Combined with the concept of lived difference, the creation of new livelihood strategies can be framed as actively produced differences that challenge existing regimes of exclusion and point towards opportunities for inclusive development. The agency stressed in the livelihood framework is approached as the capacity to develop new spaces for action through the reconfiguration of social spaces. The author suggests that the concept of lived difference can bring a new, fruitful perspective to the somewhat narrow notion of livelihood transformations under globalization. The combination of the livelihood approach and the concept of social space can be illustrated by focusing on the deployment of assets. The livelihood approach frames human capacity to act through the assumption of different assets

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that constitute and structure the capacities of actors. However, the concept of social space as developed above implies that these different assets (human, social, financial, natural and physical capital) are only relevant and effective depending on the social space that the acting individual is situated in at the moment of action. According to the general framework of action introduced above (see sub-chapter II.1 and figure 2), social space serves as a mediator between the capacity to act and the concrete action leading to specific outcomes. Framing the relation between social space and livelihoods, social space functions similar to the notion of ‘structures and processes’ in the livelihood approach, where institutions, political and cultural factors determine the options to transform livelihood assets into livelihood security challenged by globalised transformations in the peri-urban. The concept of social space stresses that these conditions of actions are produced and negotiated between different actors which lead to reconfigurations of social space. The general pattern of these reconfigurations can be structured with the notions of enforced abstraction and lived difference that characterize the social spaces where livelihoods are realized as becoming either more exclusive or inclusive. These conceptual relations between a livelihood perspective and the notion of social space are summarized in figure 6. Elements of action: Capacity to act

Social space

Actions

Outcomes

Livelihood strategy

Livelihood outcomes

Livelihoods and social space: Livelihood assets

Social capital Human capital Financial capital Natural capital Physical capital

Social space

Aspects of social space determine ability to perform specific actions

Actions generate benefits...

…that contribute to livelihood security and human security

Reconfigurations of social space: Enforced abstraction: Reconfiguration of social space leading to exclusion

Lived difference: Reconfiguration of social space enabling inclusion

Figure 6: Conceptual relations between livelihood and social space (Source: own draft)

The suggested link between the concept of social space and the livelihood framework is further illustrated in chapter III discussing the research design. In the empirical chapters the livelihood framework will be applied in the analysis of the

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changing labour market (sub-chapter VI.1) in the village study of Oragadam, where the surrounding lands have been acquired and the inhabitants were forced to adapt their livelihoods (sub-chapter V.1), and in the village study on Ullavur where marginalised members of the dalit community gain independency by developing new sources of income outside the agricultural fields dominated by the land-owning community (sub-chapter VI.2). Before the empirical material of the study is presented and discussed, the next chapter will provide an overview of the research design and methods applied to collect information regarding the various social spaces in peri-urban Chennai. In particular, four research perspectives are suggested that translate the conceptual framework on globalised transformations of this chapter into a practical methodological approach for empirical research.

III RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY This chapter provides a brief overview of the research design and methodology applied by the author to approach the peri-urban transformation. The first subchapter summarizes how the conceptual approach based on social space was developed into a research design, including particular research perspectives that served as practical entry points to research the peri-urban transformation. The second sub-chapter presents the methodology employed to apply these research perspectives and gather relevant data. The third sub-chapter presents the steps taken for the interpretation and analysis of the data and highlights limitations faced while conducting this study. 1 APPROACHING PERI-URBAN TRANSFORMATIONS The research design applied to approach the peri-urban transformations was closely correlated to the conceptual approach developed in chapter II. The concept of social space was taken as an analytical instrument to frame the peri-urban transformation. In particular, four overarching research perspectives were constitutive for the research design figure 7 summarizes the relation between this conceptual understanding and the resulting research perspectives.

Actors and processes

Research perspectives Identification of actors involved in the production of globalised spaces Identification of processes involved in the production of social spaces

The co-production of globalised transformations

Assessment of new regimes of access Focus on actors’ reaction towards new social spaces

Figure 7: Research perspectives on globalised transformations (Source: own draft)

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The research perspectives highlighted in figure 7 served as overarching guidelines and operational steps of inquiry to analyse the peri-urban transformations based on the conceptual framework developed in chapter II. The perspectives were the tools of analysis applied to follow the research objectives and related hypotheses developed in chapter II. Research objective 1: to identify actors who produce spaces that are instrumental to globalisation in peri-urban Chennai Research objective 2: to identify mechanisms that lead to the systematic exclusion of marginalised parts of the local population from beneficial spaces of work and education in peri-urban Chennai Research objective 3: to reveal opportunities for inclusive development and empowerment by documenting struggles of marginalized people to access benefits associated with globalised transformations in peri-urban Chennai The following sections will further detail the research perspectives and illustrate the process of moving from a theoretical perspective to an empirical approach towards the peri-urban transformation. Each section from 1.1 to 1.4 considers one of the research perspectives summarised in figure 7 and discusses how this perspective was operationalized through particular methods of research. 1.1 Identifying actors producing globalised spaces The theory of the production of space has at its centre the question of the active producers of space. For this study, the resulting perspective was thus to observe the on-going transformations and identify the actors involved in the production of the globalised spaces emerging in the peri-urban hinterland. The theoretical concept developed in chapter II highlighted how the production of space is understood as a multi-level process linking global players with local struggles of the different sections of peri-urban society. The research perspectives follow this multi-level approach and aim to effectively link large-scale transformations and related small-scale changes by considering actors producing space at various levels. Different locations in the peri-urban were identified as experiencing particular profound change (see section III.2.2 for further details on the selection of research sites). These locations where repeatedly visited to identify the new spaces produced (that is, social spaces in the encompassing sense as defined in chapter II) and to identify the actors behind these new spaces. This approach was followed on different levels. Researching these large- and small scale transformations required particular methods, as outlined below. Large scale transformation To identify the producers of globalised spaces, different approaches were taken. On the level of Tamil Nadu, the distribution and size of Special Economic Zones and Industrial Parks was assessed and mapped (see map 2, page 211). On the level

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of the peri-urban, a more detailed mapping of the peri-urban investments and other indicators of globalised transformations was conducted (see map 1, page 210). This mapping process was based on an extensive review of material available through the internet: online versions of newspapers, government announcements, reports and other statistical material, various online forums discussing the industrial developments and associated prospects for investments. All this information was systematically analysed with the qualitative data handling software ATLAS.ti (see III.3 for a further elaboration of the interpretation process). Through the analysis of this information, the actors producing industrialised spaces could be identified. Small scale dynamics Small scale transformations include the changing social spaces of work available to people living in peri-urban villages and towns. The research also focused on the production of such social spaces as the land market, a social space constituted by the knowledge on land value and the power to realise profitable land deals. To capture the small scale production of globalised spaces, the research was centred on different sections of the peri-urban society and their varied ways of involvement in the production or co-production of globalised spaces. The main actor groups finally identified for this study include: agricultural landowners and labourers, industrial workers and managers, the political administration, real estate agents, entrepreneurs of small business and NGO-experts. It would have been interesting to interview members of the ‘land mafia’ responsible for illegal land deals in the peri-urban, or higher official of the State Government involved in direct talks with the industry, but neither was possible. A more detailed overview on the actors of particular relevance for this study is provided in section III.2.3. To understand these different small scale dynamics, mainly semi-structured interviews and participatory methods (including transect walks) with the aforementioned actors have been conducted. For a further discussion on the qualitative and quantitative methods applied for data collection see sub-chapter III.2. 1.2 Identifying processes of producing of social spaces Based on the concept of social space, the processes used by actors to produce space can be analysed with the three dimensions of social space: material settings, representations/regulations and emotional meaning, see chapter II. That is, when researching the social spaces produced at a particular locality, the author focused on these dimensions and their concrete manifestations and strategic manipulation by actors holding the necessary power to do so. Semi-structured interviews were the main tool for most actors who could be met directly (labourers, landowner, real estate agents etc.). The processes applied to actors who proved less open for interviews (international companies, the State Government) were assessed

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through an extensive review of newspaper articles, government reports and company websites. Table 4 provides a summary of the methods applied for researching processes involved in the production of social spaces considering the three dimensions of social space. Dimension of social space Material settings

Representations/ regulations

Emotional meaning

Methods for researching the production of social spaces Analysing government reports and media articles on the material extent and infrastructure connections of industrial areas, and industrial investment. Extensive field visits and transect walks in physical proximity to the material manifestations of the new social spaces (for example, all Special Economic Zones are fenced, limiting the raising of livestock for nearby villages). Analysing laws and regulations through available reports and planning documents. Understanding the implementation of laws and regulations through case studies in affected villages, semistructured interviews with affected households and individuals. Participatory observations and transect walks in areas transformed by the enforcement of new representations and regulations. Analysing discourses in media and public announcements of politicians regarding the production of new social spaces. Capturing images and meanings actively linked by particular actor groups with new social spaces. Identifying indicators of emotional meaning: boards of advertisement for apartments etc. In particular, narrative interviews reveal subjective, emotional evaluations of social spaces.

Table 4: Methods for researching the production of social spaces (Source: own draft)

1.3 Assessment of new regimes of access The empirical research aimed to understand the new social space in particular through highlighting the emerging regimes of access linked with these spaces. Access is framed in this study with the concept of social space that structures the opportunities to enter specific spaces and realize benefits therein (see chapter II). When the performance of livelihood activities is linked to specific social spaces, the ability to make use of a particular livelihood asset, say social capital in form of trust or social networks, is dependent on the very locality where a livelihood is performed. A farmer’s qualification counts little in a factory setting etc. The new regimes of access can therefore be assessed by identifying the new configurations of social spaces that constrain or enable the performance of particular livelihood activities. This allowed detecting reconfigurations of social spaces that are either exclusive or inclusive, depending on the type of change and the specific capacity

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of the actor. The methods applied have been structured according to the three dimensions of social space. Mainly qualitative methods have been used. In Oragadam village, also a quantitative survey on the changing patterns of occupation and education was conducted (comparing 2001 and 2012, n=162). Table 5 provides a summary with a focus on methods applied to understand new regimes of access for livelihood activities. Dimension of social space Material settings

Methods for the assessment of new regimes of access Livelihood activities can only be performed in an enabling material setting (office, company, agricultural field). Therefore, the physical accessibility of social spaces for livelihood activities was assessed with transect walks, semi-structured interviews and participatory observation (using the peri-urban transport infrastructure). In the surroundings of villages, the land use changes were assessed and mapped to reveal the decline in agricultural area, a space for instance inherently required for the livelihood of agricultural labourers.

Representations/ Livelihood activities can only be performed if no formal regulations regulations or representations are enforced that prevent an actor from entering the social space associated with the livelihood activity. Semistructured and narrative interviews were applied to capture relevant representations and regulations structuring access – for example degrees of education required for different types of industrial work or social roles describing particular behaviour, for example for women. Emotional meaning

Besides the formal feasibility of livelihood activities, the livelihood has to be perceived as emotionally acceptable, i.e. in accordance with the perceived emotional meaning of the respective space. Semi-structured interviews and narrative interviews were applied to capture the subjective perceptions and emotional evaluations regarding the feasibility of livelihood activities in particular social spaces. For example, young men often expressed their pride in working in an industrial enterprise while young women more often mentioned fear of harassment associated with industrial spaces.

Table 5: Methods for the assessment of new regimes of access (Source: own draft)

1.4 Focus on actors’ reaction towards new social spaces The aim of this study was in particular to understand how the people living in the peri-urban react towards the new social spaces and actively apply their abilities in the new situation. This research perspective is closely related with the preceding

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perspective regarding the assessment of new regimes of access. However, the focus on actors’ reaction is not a passive one but stresses the active and creative process of accessing emerging opportunities in the peri-urban. Theoretically, this research perspective was elaborated with the concept of lived difference that stresses an actors’ capacity to establish new spaces for action by challenging dominant arrangements, see chapter II.3. Empirically, the study focused in particular on the active responses of agricultural landowners, agricultural labourers and industrial workers, who are affected most by the on-going process of industrialization. These different social groups have been studied in various peri-urban settings to reach a comprehensive understanding of how these actors used new opportunities, and created new sources of income and ways of living. To understand their reaction, it was explored how traditional social roles (gender and caste membership) shape actors’ response in the transformed peri-urban situation. The main methods to research actors’ reaction towards new social spaces were semistructured and narrative interviews. In the villages selected for this study, research was centred on focus households which have been consulted repeatedly to understand how the transformations (past and present) impact a particular family. Narrative interview techniques according to methods of qualitative biographical inquiry (Küsters 2009; Lamnek 2005: 654) provided insight in the shifts and cuts in the active remaking of the livelihoods from a personal perspective. To summarise, table 6 provides an overview on how the different research perspectives have been realised by applying a mix of methods. Research perspective Identification of actors involved in the production of globalised spaces Identification of processes involved in the production of social spaces Assessment of new regimes of access Focus on actors’ reaction towards new social spaces

Methodology Dependent on geographical level. Large scale: secondary data analysis; small scale: semi-structured and narrative interviews Media analysis, semi-structured and narrative interviews, participatory observation and transect walks Focus on livelihood activities with semi-structured interviews, narrative interviews. Quantitative assessment of occupation Qualitative biographical inquiry in focus households, semi-structured and narrative interviews

Table 6: Methods for implementing the research perspectives (Source: own draft)

The subsequent sub-chapter will provide a more detailed account of the different methods used for the implementation of the research design as outlined above.

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2 METHODOLOGY FOR DATA COLLECTION 2.1 Approaching peri-urban transformations Starting in autumn 2010, the first step was an extensive review of existing literature on peri-urban dynamics in general, and Chennai in particular. On this basis, the main research objectives were identified and a conceptual approach was developed. A first version of the ‘framework of globalised transformations’ and the research perspectives outlined in sub-chapter III.1 was discussed with colleagues in late 2010. The following process of collecting empirical data was centred on three visits to peri-urban Chennai5. The field visits were complemented by working from the office in Bonn, which involved coordinating on-going research conducted by assistants in Chennai, collecting relevant media news and government reports and the continuing review of literature. Selection of interview partners Through a literature study and first interviews, relevant institutions and actor groups were identified for this study, see section III.2.3. This pre-selection was the basis for a conceptually informed selection of interview partners. Actor groups were selected firstly as producers of globalised spaces (research perspective one, see III.1.1) and secondly by considering peri-urban actor groups that show substantial reaction towards the new social spaces (in line with research perspective four, see section III.1.4). The approach was a selective sampling of interview partners based on the information gained during a first explorative research phase (Flick 2008: 295–296). The aim was to identify interview partners who could provide representative case studies at the different research sites. Initial contact with first interview partners allowed the identification of other interview partners to gather information on the same topic from a different personal perspective. Research assistants The work for this study would not have been possible without the support of the research assistants. In Chennai, a core team of three research assistants supported the collection of empirical material. In the absence of the author, the research assistants continued with the collection of information regarding specific questions or translated and transcripted the interviews. During the fieldtrips, the research assistants often translated interviews with interviewees who only spoke Tamil. Research assistants were crucial for many logistical aspects of the research, including the organisation of accommodation when staying in villages. Therefore, 5

(Jan.–March 2011, October–December 2011, February–March 2012)

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collection

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the number of research assistants was increased during the field trips to handle the various aspects and research questions. The personal connections that could be established with the support of the research assistants were also helpful for realising interviews on sensitive issues. The relatives and friends of the research assistants proved to be crucial for the accessibility of the complex and often conflictive social dynamics the study is focused on. Sensitive information and stories, for example about processes of corruption in the land market, where only shared in situations of trust, which were easily created in the presence of research assistants, but would have not been established without them. 2.2 Selection of research sites The selection of research site was based on an explorative research phase including an extensive literature review and a first field trip (Jan.–March 2011). Existing information on peri-urban Chennai was gathered and analysed to identify sites of particular rapid change and thus relevance for the study. All these sites where visited during the first field trip to understand the diversity of the trajectories of change reshaping the peri-urban with as little expectations and assumptions as possible. Based on this assessment, a smaller, representative subset was chosen for further inquiry. During the remaining fieldtrips, these sites were visited extensively to realize an in-depth understanding of the peri-urban transformations at the respective location. The sites are briefly introduced below; see also map 1 that includes these sites and highlights the focus area of the study in the especially dynamic region around Sriperumbudur and Oragadam village. Sriperumbudur-Oragadam transect: Sriperumbudur and the adjacent areas experienced particular rapid growth and industrial investments in the last decade. Together with Oragadam village in the south, the area is referred to as ‘India’s Shenzhen’ in the media. The State Government is further accelerating developments with the construction of the Sriperumbudur-Oragadam industrial corridor, the expansion of a state highway from 2 to 4 and even 6 lanes. It is because of these profound dynamics that the Sriperumbudur-Oragadam transect was chosen as a focus area. Oragadam village: The village is situated in the southern stretch of the Sriperumbudur-Oragadam transect and witnessed intense livelihood transformations and land conflicts as the area surrounding the village was acquired by the State Government and developed into an industrial ‘Growth Centre’, leading to the massive establishment of factories by Daimler, Renault-Nissan and many other large multinational companies. Based on several pre-test interviews that confirmed the profoundness of the transformations, the village was selected as a focus study site. Here, also a survey on changing occupation and education was conducted to link the qualitative information with selected quantitative insights. Ullavur village: Ullavur is more remote and interior than Oragadam (see map 1). The village was chosen as a study site to expose the transformations in a rural

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village which, in contrast to Oragadam, is not directly affected through land acquisition or other industrial estates. Instead the people living in Ullavur are affected through the rapidly changing landscape of opportunities in the wider periurban surroundings. The village study further allowed the discovery of structural features typical of a rural village society which shapes the opportunities of its different social sections, mainly landowner and agricultural labourers. The data was collected by two research assistants6 in close cooperation with the author. The research team was living in Ullavur directly for several weeks for conducting interviews and sharing situations of daily live with the residents through participatory observation. Thervoy and northern peri-urban areas: Beside the dynamics in the western peri-urban areas, the author visited several sites in the northern peri-urban. In particular Thervoy village was visited repeatedly as the village is experiencing intense contestations about land acquisitions for an industrial park. It was also because of personal contacts of one research assistant that many interviews on sensitive issues (e.g. forced land acquisition, land market corruption) could be arranged. These findings contributed to the general understanding of the peri-urban dynamics, however, they are not highlighted in a separate village study as is the case with Ullavur and Oragadam. 2.3 Selection of actor groups relevant for the study Based on the literature study and the general survey of peri-urban dynamics conducted during the first fieldtrip, specific actor groups have been identified as particular important for the study. The actor groups most relevant for the peri-urban transformation in brief are: Agricultural landowners and labourers: They represent the majority of the peri-urban population and many are in the process of restructuring their livelihoods in response to the new spaces of work. Landowners are also key to understanding the highly dynamic land market. Agricultural labourers are a traditionally disadvantaged social group but experiencing new opportunities in the process of industrialisation. Industrial workers and managers: They are important to understand the situation inside the new industrial spaces of work, i.e. the power structures shaping access to industrial work and working conditions. Political administration: The political decision makers on different levels of administration are key players in bringing the industries to the peri-urban. While no interviews with representatives of the State Government could be accomplished, several interviews with respondents from relevant institutions at state level were conducted. Also the administration in the village level was an impor-

6

Mrs Natalie Maib and Mrs Julia Pfitzner from the Geography Department of Bonn University.

2 Methodology for data

collection

53

tant point of entry to understand the role of local politicians as brokers in the land market or regarding compensation payments in land acquisition. Real estate agents: A crucial dynamic associated with the industrialisation process is the highly dynamic peri-urban land market. Thus, real estate agents and land brokers are a central actor group in understanding how opportunities of the peri-urban transformation are taken up by an actor group, often with illegal means and to the detriment to other, less well connected actors. Business owner: With the peri-urban transformation, many opportunities for business are emerging in the peri-urban: recycling of industrial waste, providing canteen food, selling construction material etc. The entrepreneurs setting up small businesses are important in understanding the social impact of industrialisation beyond the industrial workers or affected landowner. NGO-experts: Representatives and experts of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are important sources of information on many issues regarding the periurban transformation. This is especially true regarding land acquisition for industrial purpose, a matter that many NGOs are actively opposed to and have collected case studies and experiences relevant for the study. 2.4 Methods of data collection This study is focused on the better understanding of the actors involved in the peri-urban transformations. To research what structures their actions, the author followed methods common to empirical qualitative social research and development studies with a geographical perspective. Empirical qualitative social research is a general notion for research approaches that aim to explain social structures and processes from the perspective of the acting, feeling and reasoning human being. The starting point for these research approaches is the interpretative paradigm (Flick 2008: 14), stressing that social reality is not objectively existing but constituted through the actions and communications of human beings who act according to their subjective interpretations. Qualitative social research aims at understanding and revealing this social reality with suitable methods, thus reconstructing the subjectively motivated actions, perceptions and valuations constituting social reality (Mayring 2002: 24–25). For this study, social reality is conceptualised with the concept of social space. By following the interpretative paradigm, the relevance and efficacy of social space is adequately approached with qualitative methods capturing the subjective perceptions of individuals. To achieve higher validity of the results, the author applied a method mix, also including the quantitative analysis of particular indicators of globalised spaces (e.g. investments of international companies) or a survey on changing patterns of occupation and education. A focus was given on mapping, the favoured method of geographical research to visualise transformations.

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III Research design and methodology

2.4.1 Qualitative data collection Semi-structured interviews Semi-structured interviews allow the interviewee to freely narrate while following a set of questions the interviewer can define beforehand. It requires a basic understanding of the research topic but is still open to reveal new aspects and insights (Mayring 2002: 66). The method of semi-structured interview was especially suitable for research sites that were visited repeatedly. The interviews were conducted with a specific, limited set of questions that were revisited during the process of research. The questions were based on the research design and the specific experience or expertise of the interviewee. Building on existing interviews and a literature review, the author could continuously refine the questions raised in the interviews and deepen the understanding of research questions. An example of a set of questions for a semi-structured is provided in the annex. Narrative interviews Narrative interviews aim at revealing subjective perceptions and valuations that would not be accessible with more structured approaches (Mayring 2002: 73). They were suitable for aspects of the research that required a high degree of openness when approaching new or more subjective aspects. Narrative interviews were conducted with all actor groups to reveal new aspects. Group discussions Group interviews were conducted at several occasions. According to Mayring (2002: 77), group discussions allow the researcher to assess collectively held perceptions and valuations regarding particular situations. The perception of individuals can be commented and complemented by other group members. Group discussion can also highlight power structures that make some participants more confident to stress their opinion in comparison to other more reserved participants. Participatory observation Participatory observation is an important tool of ethnographic research in capturing social dynamics. Participatory observations helps the researcher to gain a better understanding of the inside perspective of the everyday routines of people (Mayring 2002: 80–81). To experience peri-urban dynamics more directly, the author lived several weeks in Ullavur village and later in the vicinity of Sriperumbudur. Here, a leader of a small NGO (VELS–Village Education and Liberation Society) invited the author to stay on his premises for several weeks. The place

2 Methodology for data

55

collection

was directly adjacent to the Sriperumbudur-Oragadam industrial highway and served as the basis for research in Sriperumbudur and Oragadam. Participatory rural appraisal The methods associated with participatory rural appraisal (PRA) are an important tool for geographical development research studies. The methods linked with participatory rural appraisal are varied and can be adapted to a broad variety of situations (Kumar 2002). For this study, in particular transect walks (Kumar 2002: 100) have been used to better understand the perception of different actor groups regarding the transformations taking place in their living environments. During transect walks it was important that the interviewee decided on the places that he/she perceived as relevant in the context of the peri-urban transformation as experienced from the respective personal perspective. Summary Table 7 provides an overview of interviews conducted for this study. Also results gained during groups discussions and transects are included in this list. The annex contains a more comprehensive list of all interviews, including the position of the interviewee, the major themes discussed, the date of the interview and the number of pages of the transcripted interview.

Agric. landowner Agric. labourer Industry manager Industry worker Political administration Real estate agent Business owner NGO-experts Total

Oragadam & Sriprum. 5 14 4 11

Ullavur 13 6 0 5

Other periurban 10 6 1 2

Chennai 0 0 2 1

Total 28 26 7 19

6

3

6

7

22

2 8 4 54

1 1 0 29

0 2 3 30

2 0 0 13

5 11 7 125

Table 7: Interviews conducted with different actor groups 2010–20127

In the study, quotes from interviews are followed by the index of the interview, first a character as abbreviation of the location where the interview has been con7

This table was first published in Erdkunde (Homm and Bohle 2012), since then eight final interviews were added.

56

III Research design and methodology

ducted8 and second a number for each interview conducted at this location (see also full list in the annex). The author decided not to disclose any names of the interviewees as the information sometimes relates to critical issues and the security of the informants has the highest priority. 2.4.2 Quantitative data collection To complement the qualitative data, different forms of quantitative data were collected. This included a survey in Oragadam village regarding the changing patterns of occupation and education. This survey was based on extensive pre-tests that assessed the relevant variables to be covered in the questionnaire. The questionnaire was closed and based on specific categories that were identified with the aid of the pre-test and other qualitative interviews. The exact definition of each category is given in the annex, together with the structure of the questionnaire. The selection of households was based on a village map of Oragadam and neighbouring Chennakuppam village. The map included all houses of the village. They were numbered systematically and then every tenth house was identified for the survey. The survey was conducted by two research assistants, who were also closely involved in the design of the questionnaire. The quantitative data was only collected after extensive meetings and discussions with the household members to ensure the accuracy of the information. 2.4.3 Media analysis The peri-urban transformation is closely covered by local media reporting on various issues. This source of information was tapped by collecting and analysing media articles, mainly newspapers. The collection of newspaper articles was structured thematically; they were systematically stored using the qualitative data handling software ATLAS.ti. A total of 214 articles were collected and integrated as ‘primary documents’. The list of categories structuring the content in these documents is provided in table 8. List of categories (codes) Industrial development, Arguments by State Government for its promotion Industrial development, Critics Industrial development, Infrastructure build by State Government

8

Number of links to primary documents 69 47 39

C for Chennai, Ch for Chettipedu, M for Malayambakkam, O for Oragadam, S for Sriperumbudur, T for Thervoy, U for Ullavur, V for various other locations.

57

3 Interpretation of results

Industrial development, Policies by State Government Industrial development, SEZs politics Industry, Nexus with politics Industry, Reasons for investment Labour, Conditions, access and struggle Land, Forced land acquisition Land, Investor friendly politics Land, Struggle against land acquisition Land, Transfer Land, Grabbing Land, Policy Real estate Total

66 35 53 53 26 43 8 137 27 75 32 26 736

Table 8: Categories for the analysis of newspaper articles

2.4.4 Mapping transformations The author produced several maps to document aspects of the peri-urban transformation. Transformations were made particularly visible by producing comparative maps of the present (that is, mainly 2011) and the past (often a decade ago, that is, 2001). The map of the present was produced through direct observations and discussions with relevant actor groups. The maps of the past relied only on discussions with knowledgeable persons for the respective area. For many maps, first drafts have been produced by research assistants in India working with GIS (geographical information system). These drafts were then discussed and validated through additional field visits. With the support of the cartography section of the department of geography in Bonn, the final versions of the maps were produced using Adobe Illustrator. Some maps have been produced only on the basis of internet research conducted by the author or student assistants (map 2, map 3, map 8). The precise source of information and the cartographer is indicated for each map. 3 INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS Processing and editing of interviews The interviews were either recorded or put down in written notes s during the interview. Those interviews recorded were given to research assistants and transcripted to have full access to the arguments made by the responded. This was in particular important if the interview was conducted in Tamil. The answers of the respondents were translated to reveal arguments that were not directly orally

58

III Research design and methodology

translated during the interview. The interviews conducted in English were written down and annotated with remarks on the context and social position of the respondent. Qualitative analysis of interviews In a first step, the qualitative data (the 125 interviews, transect walks and other field notices) was structured by different categories using the qualitative data analysis software ATLAS.ti. All interviews were coded with a limited number of categories (codes) that were based on the framing suggested by the theory (focus actors, spaces of globalised transformation etc.), see table 9. This was a first analytical step to systematically order the information based on theoretically grounded categories reflecting the research objectives of the study. List of categories (codes) Actor, Cast struggle Actor, Agricultural labourer Actor, Farmer, landowner Actor, Migrants Actor, Politicians Actor, Real-estate brokers Actor, Women Area, Oragadam Area, Sriperumbudur Area, Thervoy Area, Ullavur / Varadhapuram Changes, Lifestyle Changes, Pollution Changes, Price rise Changes, Rural to urban Labour, Conditions Labour, Feelings Labour, Sort of contract Land, Compensation Land, Conflict Land, Governance Land, Land price Land, Representation Land, Transaction Resources, Education Resources, Financial Resources, Social capital Resources, Water Spaces, Agricultural fields Spaces, Chennai/the city Spaces, College Spaces, Development

Number of links to primary documents 67 27 32 24 81 44 25 20 35 6 18 4 19 24 20 77 40 33 27 66 58 52 37 45 43 10 24 16 64 20 7 46

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3 Interpretation of results

Spaces, Factory Spaces, Renting houses out Spaces, Village Total

31 16 29 1,187

Table 9: Categories for analysis of interviews

The following analysis of the interviews was achieved by bringing together all information available for a specific thematic aspect of the study (e.g. land markets) and deriving insights from the perspective of the research design: i) Identification of actors; ii) Identification of methods to produce space; iii) Assessment of new regimes of access; iii) Focus on actors’ reaction towards new social spaces and the respective hypothesis relevant for the thematic aspect. The analysis of the interviews proceeded along these theoretically grounded lines of inquiry. Limitations of the research The research faced several fundamental limitations. Firstly, the timeframe for realising this study allowed only a total of five months of field research. The organisation of additional research activities conducted by field assistants during the absence of the author brought good results; however, an extended field research would have certainly been beneficial. On the other side, it is doubtful whether the study could have been finished by now given the time needed for an adequate processing and interpretation of results if fieldwork would have taken more time. A second important factor is that the author does not speak Tamil and was dependent on a translator in many interviews, which profoundly impedes the quality of any conversation or interview. Thirdly, information was generally difficult to access. This was due to several reasons: i) Certain aspects of the research project touched upon critical issues that could not be discussed in public because the provoke anger, public unrest etc. This includes the topic of land acquisition and the land market with its cases of corruption and political patronage. ii) Some research issues were confidential, such as working conditions inside international factories. Interviews had to be arranged in safe conditions and the informants needed to be sure that no information about their involvement would be disclosed. iii) It was difficult to realize interviews with women. Women in rural Tamil Nadu are not expected to talk to strangers, so soon after an interview was arranged, some male relative came to take care and supervise. Female field assistants were more successful in arranging interviews with women, but the problem of male supervision in many cases impeded the quality, that is the assumed authenticity, of the interview and the statements made by women.

IV GLOBALISED SPACES IN PERI-URBAN CHENNAI Chennai, founded as an outpost of the British colonial empire, has a long history of globalised spaces. The city evolved around Fort St. George, build in 1644 next to a small fishing village to safeguard a British trade post. For the next 300 years Chennai, (formerly Madras) served as the administrative centre of the ‘Madras presidency’9 from where tons of tea and cotton were exported to satisfy the consumers in Great Britain. Today, economic globalisation and industrial development are again transforming peri-urban Chennai while global player produce globalised spaces according to their interest. This chapter will provide an overview on selected processes that are instrumental for this transformation, following hypothesis 1 that Globalised transformations are realized through globalised spaces. These spaces are produced by the State Government in conjunction with international companies and are designed to fit the interests of global or national actors. To provide an understanding of the creation of these globalised spaces, the chapter will focus on the actors and processes driving the transformation of the peri-urban from a rural hinterland to a globally integrated hub of industrial production. What then are the actors involved in creating the globalised spaces of contemporary peri-urban Chennai? Firstly, the State Government of Tamil Nadu has been deploying the instrument of Special Economic Zones (SEZs), Industrial Parks and industrial corridors to promote industrial development since the 1990ies. Secondly, international and Indian companies, the global players, have build hundreds of factories, i.e. sites of industrial production, from where commodities are exported to the world market. Thirdly, massive apartment buildings and gated communities have been constructed to provide homes to the upper-end of the new industrial workforce. Fourthly, numerous engineering colleges have been established to cater to the higher education of students. Serving as an entrance to the chapter, map 1 (see page 210) provides an overview of the transformations that have occurred in Chennai’s peri-urban spaces in the decade from 2001–2011 and which have been instrumental in the integration into the global economy. Map 1 highlights the massive transformation of peri-urban Chennai in the last decade. The map in particular shows the transportation infrastructure that was immensely extended from 2001–2011. It further depicts major infrastructure projects that are currently planned to increase the connectivity of the peri-urban (such as the Sriperumbudur airport, a new rail connection to Oragadam and an exclusive freight lane to facilitate exports to the new Ennore port). This chapter consists of two sub-chapters. Sub-chapter IV.1 highlights the ‘global players’, the main actors involved in creating the globalised spaces. Sub9

Several states of southern India, including Tamil Nadu, constituted this province of British India.

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1 Global players - drivers of peri-urban transformations

chapter IV.2 subsequently provides a regional example and portrays the dynamics along the Sriperumbudur-Oragadam industrial highway, a transect that is undergoing particular rapid transformation with land-use changed from rural to industrial. Sub-chapter IV.1 starts with the role of the State Government in fostering globalised transformations through infrastructure schemes, Special Economic Zones and Industrial Parks, see section IV.1.1.The dynamics of industrial development, such as the increase in investments and exports, are further detailed in section IV.1.2, which discusses the importance of international companies. Map 1 does not show the corollary of increasing industrialisation: the decreasing importance of agriculture in the peri-urban. This issue is taken up in section IV.1.3 and IV.1.4, addressing the perspective of landowning farmers and agricultural labourers, respectively. Another aspect depicted in map 1 is the construction of apartments projects, massive housing schemes build for the profiteers of the transformations: a middle class leaving the crowded city and an international workforce seeking convenient housing. This issue is detailed in section IV.1.5. Map 1 further highlights the numerous private engineering colleges, privatized enclaves of higher education. The theme of higher-education in relation to the peri-urban labour market is discussed in further detail in sub-chapter V.3. 1 GLOBAL PLAYERS - DRIVERS OF PERI-URBAN TRANSFORMATIONS The focus of this sub-chapter is on the different actors behind the peri-urban transformation: the international companies as the genuine ‘global players’ and the different local allies without which the globalised spaces could not be engendered. Table 10 provides an overview of these actors and summarizes the spaces produced and particular activities attributed to them.

State Government International companies Landowning farmers Agricultural labourers Apartment industry

Space produced Infrastructure, regulations that foster industrial development (SEZs etc.) Factories, work-spaces of global production Agriculture -> More varied land use Workers in agriculture -> Workers in factories

Activity Construction, land acquisition, creation of supportive rules and regulation Establishing value chains, making profits Adaptation of land use

Chapter IV.1.1

IV.1.2 IV.1.3

Adaptation of livelihoods IV.1.4 (limited access to factories) Gated communities, resi- Constructing, advertising IV.1.5 dential space and marketing of apartment units

Table 10: Overview of peri-urban producers of space

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IV Globalised spaces in peri-urban Chennai

1.1 The State Government The State Government of Tamil Nadu is producing the peri-urban as a globally competitive space for industrial investments. This section explores the different aspects of this production, looking at the physical (infrastructure for transportation and energy), the formal (laws and regulations) and emotional (shaping public opinion) aspects of this process. There is a convergence of interest between international investors and the Tamil Nadu State Government which created the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) to generate employment and economic growth. The incentives provided by SEZs are continuously negotiated between politicians and interest groups of the industries and close ties exist between international companies and the State Government of Tamil Nadu. The cooperation between the industry and the State Government becomes clearer when we look at the mechanisms of the creation of Special Economic Zones in Tamil Nadu (section IV.1.1.1) and by considering the massive infrastructure provided by the State Government to support the activities of the companies (section IV.1.1.2). 1.1.1 Privileged spaces for globalisation: Special Economic Zones The emergence of Special Economic Zones (SEZ) was part of India’s new economic policy of the 1990ies, focusing on liberalisation and export (Mody 2010). SEZs are vast tax free zones, often established against the will of local farmers but with the consent of landowners who profit from the compensation payments. With the autonomous administrations and special labour regulations, SEZs provide ideal investment sites for international companies who can lease land inside the SEZs for attractive conditions. Though the Indian SEZ policy is economically successful (see below), the land acquisition for SEZs sparked widespread protest and criticism by farmer organizations and NGOs (Ramachandraiah and Srinivasan 2011; Banerjee-Guha 2008). The details of the land acquisition process will be discussed in sub-chapter V.1. The focus of the following section is on the relevance of SEZs for globalised transformations: their administrative form supporting investments, their economic relevance and their spatial distribution in India and in Tamil Nadu. In 2005, the Indian Central Government approved a SEZ-act that gave Indian States the opportunity to draft their own SEZ laws. Special Economic Zones have since become the pivotal instrument to push economic liberalization in a number of states, in particular Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh (Banerjee-Guha 2008). The zones vary from 10 to 3000 hectare and are linked with infrastructure to export facilities (sea port, int. airport in Chennai). They are fenced and provided with water and electricity. SEZs are designed as attractive spaces for foreign actors in an otherwise considered uncompetitive situation. SEZs were created “with a view to overcome the shortcomings experienced on account of the multiplicity of controls and clearances; absence of world-class infrastructure, and an unstable

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1 Global players - drivers of peri-urban transformations

fiscal regime and with a view to attract larger foreign investments in India” (Government of India, Ministry of Commerce and Industry 2013). In practice, SEZs are established and administered by a developer who can be either private or public. The developer submits a proposal to a Board of Approval10. The SEZ than has different stages from formal approval (indicating that sufficient land was acquired by the developer) to notified (all administrative obligations met by the developer) to finally operational (companies are producing in the SEZ and exports are made) (Mody 2010). A list of operational SEZs in India is provided in table 11. Table Nadu has the second highest share of SEZs in India (21%) after Andrah Pradesh (23%).

Andrah Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka Maharashtra Gujarat Uttar Pradesh Kerala West Bengal Rajasthan Haryana Chandigarh Orissa Punjab Total

SEZs notified under SEZ Act 2005 MultiIT/ITES product Other single SEZs SEZs sector SEZs

Prior to SEZ Act 2005

% of India‘s SEZs

Total

23.1 21.2 12.8 11.5 10.9

36 33 20 18 17

21 15 15 11 4

4 2 0 1 5

11 12 5 6 6

0 4 0 0 2

5.1 3.8

8 6

5 3

1 1

1 2

1 0

3.8 3.2 1.9

6 5 3

3 1 3

1 0 0

0 2 0

2 2 0

1.3 0.6

2 1

2 1

0 0

0 0

0 0

0.6 100

1 156

0 84

0 15

1 46

0 11

Table 11: Operational SEZs by state and sector in January 2013 Source: Government of India, Ministry of Commerce and Industry 2013

10 Different types of SEZs exist in India, they include: IT/ITES (Information Technology/Information Technology Enabled Services), Multiproduct, Sector-specific Multiproduct and Single-sector SEZs. Each type has particular regulations, including a minimum land requirement that is 1000 hectare for multiproduct SEZs and 10 hectares for Single-sector SEZ.

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IV Globalised spaces in peri-urban Chennai

How SEZs attract investors SEZs are markedly different from the normal territory out of which they are created, in particular regarding tax and labour laws. The ‘exceptional’ rules that characterize SEZs encompass many advantages for multinational companies (MNCs). The official incentives offered to companies investing in SEZs include: - Duty-free import / domestic procurement of goods for development, operation and maintenance of SEZ unit. - 100% income tax exemption on export income for the first 5 years. - 50% income tax exemption on export income for next 5 years. - Exemption from Central Service Tax. - Single window clearance for central and state level approvals. - Exemption from State Sales Tax and other levies extended by the respective State Governments. (Source: Government of India, Ministry of Commerce and Industry 2013)

Besides these formal exceptions which apply for SEZs, additional agreements are made with investors. According to Dutta (2009) this was the case when the State Government of Tamil Nadu attracted Nokia. She cites an official, saying that: “it was a tough contest involving Maharashtra, Haryana and Tamil Nadu. Because of the swift responses from Chennai and the special package that was offered, Nokia opted to settle for Tamil Nadu”.

And she further reports: “The MoU in addition to all the benefits of the national SEZ policy offers extra tax incentives, control over the labour force, and land at a concessional rate” (Dutta 2009: 23). In return for these favourable investment conditions one responded indicated the payment of financial incentives from international companies: “From the Rs. 4,000–5,000 crores (620–770 million euro) proposals 200–300 crores (31–46 million euro) go to the top level politicians” (C8).

This highlights the close cooperation between SEZ developers, international companies and the State Government. Beside the SEZs, Industrial Parks are an important instrument to accelerate industrial development. The spatial distribution of SEZs and Industrial Parks in Tamil Nadu is depicted in map 2 (see page 211). Chennai’s’ peri-urban spaces serve as a focal point for SEZs in Tamil Nadu. In 2012, there were a total of 65 (principally approved) SEZs in Tamil Nadu, of which more than 30 were located in peri-urban Chennai, with less than 70 km distance to Chennai itself (including those smaller than 20 ha which are not displayed in map 2). Of the 19 Industrial Parks established in Tamil Nadu, 8 are inside a 70 km radius of Chennai. They cover an area of 4599 hectare (State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu 2012). This concentration in periurban Chennai corresponds with findings on the national level that the majority of SEZs are situated near urban agglomerations (Mody 2010) and that “SEZs can therefore be expected to exacerbate regional concentration” (Mukhopadhyay

1 Global players - drivers of peri-urban transformations

65

2008: 56). In the next section, which discusses the industry as a driver of globalised transformation, the economic relevance of SEZs is further elaborated. Producing positive images of SEZs According to the analytical framework developed in chapter II, spaces are actively imbued with emotional meaning. This is also evident when considering the images of SEZs that are communicated by government authorities or SEZ developers. For example, peri-urban Chennai is now proudly touted the ‘Detroit of India’ by Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority in reference to its thriving car industry (Chennai City Development Plan 2006). The notion was taken up by international media (The Wall Street Journal, 08.07.2010). State run advertisement for investment in Tamil Nadu praises ‘The land of abundant opportunity’ to mark Tamil Nadu as an attractive site for investment (see for example: www.investingintamilnadu.com). What are the main representations attached to the SEZs by politicians? Based on a media analysis, some relevant images tied to the SEZs were identified: - The creation of jobs through direct employment, - Indirect employment through supply chains, - Enhanced competitiveness and the establishment of TN as a world class production site. These arguments for SEZs are stressed repeatedly in public speeches and government announcements in order to gain legitimacy in the public opinion. The government also intends to attract international investors. The website of Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation Limited (TIDCO) invites investment by praising the local workforce: “People’s adaptability to change. Low cost of man power. Well qualified, skilled, disciplined, productivity oriented and English speaking work-force”. Support for the industrial development comes from all political levels. At the inauguration of the Global Automotive Research Centre in Oragadam, the Prime Minister announced: “The government will do whatever is necessary to realize the goal of making India the manufacturing ‘workshop of the world’” (Government of India 2006). 1.1.2 Connecting SEZs: creating a beneficial working environment The spaces for industrial production are embedded in a supportive web made up of infrastructure as well as energy and water supply networks. As the following section will argue, this creation of a beneficial working environment for global enterprises is an important aspect of the globalised transformations in the periurban spaces of Chennai.

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IV Globalised spaces in peri-urban Chennai

Transportation The transportation infrastructure is crucial for connecting the spaces of production to the export facilities. Economic development clusters around the infrastructure projects realised by the State Government, see map 1. A crucial factor for the integration of Chennai’s peri-urban spaces into the world economy continues to be its ports. The old Chennai port located near the city itself has been increasingly choked by swelling volumes of trade since the 1990ies. To foster industrial development, the State Government in 2002 opened the new Ennore port north of Chennai. The port is planned to be connected with an exclusive freight lane to the peri-urban growth-centre around Sriperumbudur. It already is playing an important role for international companies: the number of cars to be exported was announced to double (The Hindu, 14.05.2012). Energy The rapid industrialization results in high pressure on the electricity grid. The State Government systematically favours the supply to companies, especially in SEZs, over the supply to other, less auspicious consumers. Although domestic use has doubled in the last decade, industries are still the largest consumer of electricity11. Faced with demand between 10,500 to 11,500 Megawatt (MW), and an average availability of only 8,000 MW, a shortage of 2,500 to 3,500 MW results (Tamil Nadu Ministry of Finance 2011). This shortage is met with expensive power purchases from the private sector and neighbouring states as well as with ‘restriction and control measures’: regular power cuts, especially in rural areas where electricity is consumed for water pumps of the farmers irrigating their fields. These shortages are met with sometimes violent protests, in particular from farmers who depend on continuous electricity for irrigation (The Hindu, 10.02.2012). 1.2 International companies The international companies who invest in peri-urban Chennai are the genuine ‘global players’ driving the globalised transformations. They produce globalised spaces by linking the new economic enclaves created by the State Government (SEZs and Industrial Parks) to global value chains. The companies realize the economic link between the spaces of work and manufacturing in peri-urban Chennai and the global market by producing and exporting a broad range of products, in particular cars and telecommunication equipment. 11 For example, from the total power generated in 2010, industries consumed 39.8%, domestic use was 23.9%, agriculture 20.8%, commercial 9.9%, public lighting & water works 1.8% and miscellaneous was 3.7% (Tamil Nadu Electricity Board 2011).

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1 Global players - drivers of peri-urban transformations

In Tamil Nadu, the industry achieved a rapid increase in exports during the last two decades; see figure 8. 30 billion euro

25 20 15 10 5 0

Figure 8: Tamil Nadu exports in billion euro 1991–2011 Source: Government of Tamil Nadu 2011: 177; The Hindu, 12.05.201212

The economic importance of Chennai’s peri-urban spaces becomes obvious when the exports from SEZs are analysed. Table 12 depicts the value of exports from Tamil Nadu’s SEZs in 2010. Of the total value of 6,651.1 million euro exported from SEZs in 2010, 6,362 or 95.5% originated from SEZs located in peri-urban Chennai. The volume of exports from SEZs is also high when compared with the total exports made in 2010. The total exports of Tamil Nadu in 2010-2011 are reported as 21.3 billion euro (The Hindu, 12.05.2012). To these, SEZs contributed 31.3 %, and the SEZs in peri-urban Chennai alone 29.9%. This highlights the success of SEZs as an instrument of economic policy to achieve exports and the importance of peri-urban Chennai in doing so. Location (Village or Taluk, District "Name of SEZ") Sriperumbudur, Kancheepuram "Nokia SEZ" Tambaram, Kancheepuram "Madras Export Zone" Mulivakkam, Kancheepuram Siruseri, Kancheepuram Paranur, Kancheepuram "Mahindra World City"

In periurban Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Type Manufacturing IT/ITES and Manufacturing IT/ITES IT/ITES IT/ITES

Rs. crores 13,627

million euro 2,107

8,826

1,365

4,979 4,145 2,800

770 641 433

12 All data calculated with yearly average exchange rate of respective year. Data of 2010, 2011 based on The Hindu, other data retrieved from Tamil Nadu Department of Economics and Statistics.

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IV Globalised spaces in peri-urban Chennai

Oragadam, "SIPCOT"

Yes

Manufacturing

2,524

390

Tambaram, Kancheepuram Chengalpet, Kancheepuram NA, Coimbatore Sriperumbudur, Kancheep. NA, Kancheepuram Paranur, Kancheepuram "Mahindra World City" Siruseri, Kancheepuram Gangai Kondan, Tirunelvi Perungalathur, Chennai Cheyyar, Tiruvannamalai "Mahindra World City" NA, Coimbatore Sriperumbudur, Kancheep. NA, Kancheepuram Perundurai, Erode "SIPCOT" Chengalpet, Kancheepuram Cheyyar, Tiruvannamalai Total

Yes Yes No Yes No Yes

IT/ITES IT/ITES IT/ITES Manufacturing IT/ITES Manufacturing

1,702 1,185 688 680 622 541

263 183 106 105 96 83

Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes Yes No Yes No

IT/ITES Manufacturing IT/ITES Manufacturing Manufacturing Manufacturing Manufacturing Manufacturing Manufacturing IT/ITES Manufacturing

284 233 227 184 155 110 71 53 29 28 3 43,696

43 36 35 28 24 17 11 8 4 4 0.5 6,651

Table 12: Exports from Tamil Nadu SEZs 2010–2011 Source: www.sezindia.nic.in/writereaddata/updates/Exports_31.3.11.pdf

The agglomeration of peri-urban Chennai is a focal point of industrial development. In 2012, for example, 42% of all Indian cars were manufactured there (Deccan Herald, 08.06.2012). In particular the area around Sriperumbudur and Oragadam is now attracting enormous investment. An overview with regard to different industrial sectors is provided in table 13.

Sector Automotive industry Electronic goods Logistic infrastructure Manufacturing Residential development Telecommunication Total

Sriperumbudur million euro in % 4,358.9 58.8 1,994.5 26.9 21.6 0.3 281.1 3.8 239.7 3.2 519.3 7.0 7,414.9 100

Oragadam million euro in % 4,087.8 71.0 420.1 7.3 157.8 2.7 415.9 7.2 626.4 10.9 46.4 0.8 5,754.4 100

Table 13: Peri-urban investment per industrial sector 2007–2011 Source: Newspaper reports, internet review, with 103 considered cases (07/2012).

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A central argument of this study is the dominance of international companies who are reshaping the peri-urban spaces. An analysis of the origin of investment confirmed that the majority of investment is indeed from investors outside India, see table 14 illustrating the country of origin of peri-urban investments (aggregated for 2007–2011).

India Europe Japan USA Korea China Total

million euro 4,589.6 3,786.5 1,638.9 1,401.3 1,406.3 862.6 13,685.3

in % 33.5 27.7 12.0 10.2 10.3 6.3 100

Table 14: Country of origin of peri-urban investment 2007–2011 Source: Newspaper reports, internet review, with 105 considered cases (07/2012).

From the total of 13,685.3 million euro invested in the years 2007 to 2011, only 33.5% are from companies with headquarters in India. This underscores how much the peri-urban transformations are indeed globalised, that is initiated by foreign actors, mainly industrial investors. When the investment volumes are broken down for each year of the mentioned time frame, large variations become apparent, although this may also be caused by the incomplete data, especially for the more recent year 2011. While investors from India and Europe are active in all years covered, those from the USA or China appear to be more volatile, see table 15.

India Europe Japan USA Korea China Total

2007 mill. in euro % 440.4 18.8 647.0 27.6 0.0 0.0 745.0 31.7 11.8 0.5 503.2 21.4 2,347 100

2008 mill. in euro % 474.7 16.3 934.5 32.0 323.5 11.1 611.0 20.9 575.1 19.7 0.0 0.0 2,918 100

2009 mill. in euro % 2,029 50.0 1,331 32.8 596.6 14.7 0.0 0.0 100.6 2.5 0.0 0.0 4057 100

2010 2011 mill. mill. euro in % euro in % 1054 36.2 591.6 40.7 57.5 2.0 816.3 56.2 718.8 24.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 45.3 3.1 718.8 24.7 0.0 0.0 359.4 12.4 0.0 0.0 2,909 100 1,453 100

Table 15: Year and origin of peri-urban investment 2007–2011 Source: Newspaper reports, internet review, with 105 considered cases (07/2012).

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The rapid development in peri-urban areas is putting increasing pressure on the natural resources and infrastructure in place. Although the State Government introduced strict policies including zero discharge stipulations, increasing incidences of pollution events occur. Pollution is attributed to the lack of enforcement of environmental laws in the weak environmental governance regime in the periurban areas (Baud and Dhanalakshmi 2007). Industries are often set up with informal arrangements between industries and local politicians. In several villages, illegal waste dumpsites were reported and in Sriperumbudur effluents were poisoning livestock (Dhinathandi News, 13.04.2009). One reason is the high and increasing number of hazardous industries related with the production of cars and telecommunication equipment. Beside the large factories there are many smaller or mediums sized factories or garage workshops that serve as suppliers. Especially smaller suppliers face more difficulties in a proper disposal of wastes, often toxic. Table 16 (next page) provides an overview of hazardous industries in Sriperumbudur Taluk13. The high numbers underline the importance of the region as the industrial hub of Tamil Nadu.

Small Medium Large Total

Green (less polluting) 17 2 0 19

Orange (medium polluting) 458 71 232 761

Red (highly polluting) 102 7 67 176

Ultra-red (extremely polluting) 14 6 13 33

Total 591 86 312 989

Table 16: Hazardous industries in Sriperumbudur Taluk 2012 Source: www.tnpcb.gov.in, personal communication (07/2012).

It was outlined in section IV.1.1 how the State Government seeks support for the location of industries in Special Economic Zones by stressing the positive aspects for employment. Beside the government it is the private developers of SEZs who are producing positive images of SEZs to attract the investment of companies at their premises. The way how Mahindra Group, an Indian multinational conglomerate, is advertising its SEZs, which are marketed under the name ‘Mahindra World City’, is telling: “The need to provide world class platforms to enable these businesses to set up and operate in a business-friendly, hassle-free environment” (Mahindra Group 2013a). A front page of a Mahindra Group advertising booklet that promises ‘true freedom’ to the investor, a white man situated before a blue sky with no connection to anything particularly Indian. This freedom from ‘red tape’ (indicating excessive regulation), ‘taxes’ and ‘infrastructure bottlenecks’ seems an open invitation to multinational companies to realize unconstrained profits (Mahindra Group 2013b). 13 Taluk is the administrative subdivion of district. See, sub-chapter VI.3 for a discussion of peri-urban governance structures.

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1.3 Landowning farmers “Nowadays everybody from all over India is coming to Sriperumbudur to work here. Sriperumbudur is now a mini-India. I am very proud to be from this city” (S17, young people in Sriperumbudur)

Landowning farmers are controlling the space, the land, on which the globalised spaces are created. Most landowning farmers embrace the industrial development for it provides new income opportunities for them. These opportunities include: i) The ability to gain government compensations when land is acquired for industrial purposes, see sub-chapter V.1; ii) The rapid increase in land value on the periurban land market associated with industrial development, presented in detail in sub-chapter V.2; and iii) Better working conditions outside agriculture, in particular given the already low profitability of agriculture in general. Traditionally, the area surrounding Chennai, in particular to the south along the Palar river, was known for its thriving agriculture (Bohle 1986: 30). However, with the rapid industrial development, “agriculture is going down” – a phrase used by many people to indicate agriculture’s rapid loss of significance in the peri-urban. This section highlights the decreasing relevance of agriculture in peri-urban Chennai and the social implications of abandoning agriculture. 1.3.1 The decreasing relevance of agriculture According to the agricultural officer in Walajabad, a typical rural town in periurban Chennai, the cost for planting and harvesting one hectare of paddy in periurban Chennai is about Rs. 20–30,000. The average return is 30–33 bags (one bag is 75 kg) of paddy and a procurement price in the range of 750–900 per bag is paid by the government procurement centres that buy the rice from the landowning farmers (U28). Based on this, the output can be calculated to be between Rs. 22,500–29,700 per hectare (depending on the procurement price and number of bags produced). Given the cost for planting and harvesting, hardly any profit can be generated. If any of the input factors increases in prices, agriculture becomes economically unviable. One farmer complained: “If we invest Rs. 50,000 in one year, the profit is not even Rs. 5,000. People were already leaving agriculture before SIPCOT came [indicating industrial development] because of the low profits, they preferred to go and work outside agriculture” (O37).

Landowning farmers face difficulties in particular because the agricultural labourers have new working opportunities in the factories (i.e. as unskilled workers, see sub-chapter VI.1 on the labour market) and are demanding higher wages. This is a common lament of a landowning farmer in peri-urban Chennai. They also criticise

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the “100days scheme”14 as another factor that made the agricultural labourers unwilling to work on the fields of the landowners: “In a way they [managers of 100days scheme] are spoiling the labourers! In the fields they have to work from morning till evening to get the wages. In this 100days scheme they just give their names and sleep and get paid. The free rice comes from the government [free rice is provided for poorer households in Tamil Nadu]. So they don’t want to work! Some factories do not want education, simply they can join there. They are doing only the labour work. Cleaning, housekeeping etc. but getting more money! Also they get food in the canteen and they get picked up and dropped by the company vehicles, van, bus etc., so this is a very easy job for them and cultivation is a hard job.” (U27)

This quote indicates how much the shift from agriculture to industrial labour relations is linked with social roles of the rural society. The negotiations and conflicts between landowning farmers and agricultural labourers will be discussed further in the village study on Ullavur, see sub-chapter VI.2 Another factor for decreasing agricultural activity is that growing shares of water are diverted from agricultural use to industrial purposes. In particular, water from rain water harvesting tanks is redirected to be used by the industries, as is the case with the large Chembarambakkam tank adjacent to Sriperumbudur (M4). In response to this changing context, new forms of agriculture are developing in the peri-urban. Some farmers seize the opportunity and instead of practicing labour intensive wet rice cultivation provide the markets of Chennai with vegetables. Another strategy to cope with the rising costs of manual labour is to cultivate casuarina trees (Casuarina equisetifolia), which only need little input and can be sold on the construction sites as building material. All these factors taken together make many landowning farmers want to sell their land. This is expressed in the quote of a local politician explaining the reasons of landowners to sell their land: “The farmer thinks: why should we suffer in the land?! We can also build a house in Ponneri [town in peri-urban northern fringe] and live well like others. We can also educate our children and let them work in big offices and earn Rs. 15,000 or Rs. 20,000 per month. Why should my children suffer in the hard land and hot sun and live with crops and livestock?! The farmers also want their children to live a happy life without much worry. That is why they are selling the lands and that is the story” (V6).

This provides some explanations for the decreasing importance of agriculture in the peri-urban and the related conversion of agricultural land for other purposes (see also sub-chapter IV.2 on the Sriperumbudur-Oragadam industrial corridor). The next section considers selected social consequences linked with the abandonment of agriculture.

14 Based on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) from 2005, this scheme guarantees 100 days of work for unskilled labour in rural India for public work projects.

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1.3.2 Leaving agriculture behind – losing tradition The families who left agriculture behind and settled in cities experienced a profound transformation not only of their livelihood but also their lifestyle. As the following quotes indicate, the abandonment of agriculture brought important changes not only to the way cultural festivals are celebrated but also to the social structures that constitute rural society. The father of a family which moved from rural Andhra Pradesh, the Indian state north of Tamil Nadu, to Sriperumbudur in 1975 explained the link between industrial development and the difficulties to maintain traditional festivals: “Once the government started pulling out the layouts of the area [to locate industries] there was a huge decrease in agriculture. There was a 90% decrease in agriculture. Since there is no more agriculture, no one has cattle anymore. Earlier, a farmer had about 50 cattle he brought to the fields at Pongal15. Now, no one has cattle. There is a general loss in the way we do the festivals. Now, you have not only 10 bullet cards that roam the village at Pongal, earlier we had around 50! Pongal has been most severely affected, but all the traditional festivals go down” (S8).

Another respondent explained the emotional distance that developed in regard to the religious festivals: “Earlier they started to be happy even one month before the festival of Pongal. Now, even on the eve of the festival they don’t feel anything. […] When they were farmers they had for their function what they grow on their own. Now that they buy all items in the shop the enthusiasm is gone!” (O37).

This shows how much the economic transformations are connected to the social life at the family level. The abandonment of agriculture implies not only that the economic activity of farming is lost, but the entire complex of practices and social structures associated with it are weakened. 1.4 Agricultural labourers New mechanisms of exclusion are emerging for those who cannot participate in the benefits provided by the globalised transformations. Given the decreasing profitability and abandonment of agriculture, see previous sections, the landless agricultural labourers are losing their traditional livelihood. In response, they form the workforce of unskilled labourers that are working in the peri-urban factories. They assemble the products which are then marketed by the international companies. Their income as unskilled labourers, about Rs. 3,000–6,000 (~50–100 euro) per month, is often higher than the income they could generate as agricultural labourers, but still much lower than the income one could generate by joining a 15 Pongal is one of the most important Tamil celebrations related with the end of the harvest season (at the end of the Tamil month Tai, in mid-January). Pongal is celebrated by boiling milk and rice and is especially vibrant in rural communities. Decorated bulls are traditionally chased through the village at Mattu Pongal, the second day of the Pongal festival.

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management position. Sub-chapter VI.1 will further elaborate the working conditions and accessibility of the emerging peri-urban labour market. As a result, however, agricultural labourers often remain in a position of subordination with only small chances for personal development. compared to the better-of or landowning families who have ample opportunities to profit from the new spaces of work, the surging peri-urban land market (see also sub-chapter V.2), or the new private education facilities (see sub-chapter V.3). This subordination of the agricultural labourers has a long history. One respondent stressed: “Earlier for a coolie job [manual labour] the income was just Rs. 5 per day. So how can they ever buy land?” (S10)

In the 1970ies, the payments were often made in kind. That is, agricultural labourers were not given money but men received 5 kg of paddy and women were given 3 kg of paddy for one day of labour (Ch3). That is, the traditional division of labour between landowning farmers and agricultural labourers was marked by a profound inequity. With the establishment of the factories, wages have increased. However, the traditional inequity is maintained in many regards. One process illustrating the different chances to access the opportunities provided by the surging peri-urban industrial development is the ability to construct houses and rent them to the many workers migrating into peri-urban towns in pursuit of temporary employment at the nearby factories or related enterprises.. These houses are mainly built by the better-off families, who often happen to be former landowning farmers as only those with sufficient funds can access this lucrative market. This was expressed by a respondent from Kachipettu, a poorer ward [administrative division] of Sriperumbudur. The former local politician complained about the difficult position of the traditional agricultural labourers: “No much of renting here [in reference to Kachipettu]. If the basic amenities would be here also houses for rent could be built. There are a lot of thoughts, but they [local people] cannot build houses. Here in Kachipettu only 10 people have a good job, the rest is simple jobs. So they cannot build houses. People inside Sriperumbudur had land; they could sell and build houses. Here, no one has own land so people could not profit from the developments” (S10).

However, at the edge of Kachipettu ward, an investor has bought some land and constructed a multi-storey building to be rented out. The concrete building oversees the thatched huts of the agricultural labourers in the foreground by far. This highlights the different capacities to profit from the transforming peri-urban economy. Most of the agricultural labourers do not have sufficient funds or education to access the higher paid positions in the international companies. The respondent from Sriperumbudur explained about the agricultural labourers living in the poor ward: “Here the education is so poor. All are in low jobs, so how can they save 10 lakhs16 to give their children for education? Earlier, no one studied. Now, some have studied but still they do 16 A lakh is a common unit in the South Asian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand. Hundred lakhs are one crore. Rs. 1 lakh ~ 1,500 euro, Rs. 1 crore ~150,000 €.

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not get a job. Why? The companies don’t like locals. Also, in villages if they provided land for the companies, they provided some jobs for at least one per family” (S10).

The accessibility of the peri-urban labour for different sections of society is discussed in more detail in sub-chapter VI.1. The village study on Ullavur (subchapter VI.2) will highlight that despite the traditional superiority of the landowning families, traditional inequity there is also a chance for empowerment of the agricultural labourers. This empowerment rests on the new working opportunities that are now developing outside agriculture, that is, also outside the space marked by the traditional dominance of the landowners. 1.5 The peri-urban apartment industry The economic development in peri-urban Chennai increasingly attracts people from other districts and Indian states. The two districts directly adjacent to Chennai, which also encompass peri-urban Chennai have experienced enormous growth in population during the last decade (2001–2011). According to the recent census17 (Census of India 2011), the population in Kanchipuram and Thiruvallur district increased by 38.7% and 35.2%, respectively18. This rapid increase in population is compromising the capacity of the peri-urban cities to provide adequate shelter. The need for more and affordable housing is stressed in government reports (TUFIDCO 2010) and newspapers alike (Times of India, 05.09.2009). The lack of adequate housing for the workers is a challenge. Most workers prefer to stay in their town or village of origin and being picked up by company buses. However, the investors are not interested in small houses for the average worker. Instead, there is a rush of big investors to provide housing estates and apartments for the emerging peri-urban middle class, advertising the estates with promising names The author conducted an extensive survey (Feb. 2013) on the current dynamics of the peri-urban apartment boom, see table 17 and map 3 on page 212. Name of residential project

Number of apartment units IT-Corridor

Garden City Swan-lake Marg Savithanjali Eden Park Marg Pushpadurumj Spring Field

1,200 730 678 656 466 280

17 When compiling the data (in early 2013) the census data was only available on aggregated level, for districts and large towns. 18 This equals an increase of 2.08 million people for the two districts together. In comparison, the 7.8% growth of Chennai Municipality, translating into 337,000 people, is rather modest.

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Pushkara Lakeview Subtotal

204 4,214 (12%)

NH 4, Sriperumbudur Globe Ville VGN Brixton Infiniti Prince Residenzia Le Chalet Roma Paradise Lake View Gardens

2,000 1,872 588 420 400 272 171

Subtotal

5,723 (16%)

Oragadam Hirco Palace Garden Inno Geo City Temple Green Crescent Lakes Brindavan Spanish City Subtotal Godrej Palm Grove Golden Nest Inseli Park Sidhartha Dakshin Subtotal Overall total

Other suburban

10,000 4,000 2,600 2,200 2,184 456 21,440 (62%) 1,556 832 808 200 3,396 (10%) 34,773

Table 17: Residential projects in peri-urban Chennai (Source: own survey)

According to the survey, the area around Sriperumbudur and Oragadam emerged as the favoured investment site for this type of large housing projects. The total number of apartment units now under construction in peri-urban Chennai is 34,773; a number one arrives at by adding up the main projects available online. Almost a third of all units are constructed just south of Oragadam in ‘Hirco Palace Garden’ (10,000 apartment units). Table 17 also illustrates the promising names of the residential projects to evoke positive feelings including ‘Roma Paradise’, ‘Temple Green’ etc. See map 3 (page 212) for their spatial distribution. The residential apartments are built mainly for better-off; some are explicitly attracting the international workforce. A good example is ‘Inno Geo City’, a residential apartment with 4,000 units located on the Oragadam-Walajabad road. According to the video presentation in its advertisement centre, ‘Inno Geo is built to meet the requirements of the international community and will have all the facilities such as shopping centre, open air theatre, a school, swimming pool, play area,

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library, tennis court, community halls, club houses etc. This list of amenities illustrates the difference in living standards between the emerging peri-urban middle class and the majority of small farmers dwelling in the surroundings of the apartment projects. In particular the advertisements for the apartment projects create a dissonance between the target group of the advertisement and the local population that is living close to the often house-large sign boards, see photo 1.

Photo 1: “It’s not just OK, it’s double OK” (Source: S. Homm 2012)

However, before continuing the elaboration on the different actors involved in the globalised transformations, the next sub-chapter provides a brief regional example on how the actions of these different actors converge to produce a particular geography of globalised spaces. A comprehensive discussion of both sub-chapters takes place at the end of the regional example. 2 ‘INDIA’S SHENZHEN’ – A REGIONAL EXAMPLE The area surrounding Sriperumbudur, a town about 40 km west of Chennai, can be seen as the prime example of growth in the peri-urban. After Hyundai opened its car factory there in 1999, more and more investments were made. The population of Sriperumbudur increased from 16,156 inhabitants in 2001 to 29,710 in 2010 (TUFIDCO 2010) and is expected to grow even faster with more factories

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planning to locate in the area. Owning to the rapid growth in the area, Sriperumbudur and the adjacent areas have been touted ‘India’s Shenzhen’ for some years now in the media. In particular, the area south of Sriperumbudur towards Oragadam is now developed into a regional centre for automobile and electronic industries that makes use of the agglomeration advantages and diversified supply chains existing in the area (Aggarwal 2010). The next section illustrates the dynamics taking place in a transect linking Sriperumbudur and Oragadam as a regional example of particular rapid globalised transformations. 2.1 The Sriperumbudur-Oragadam industrial corridor To better understand the regional effects of the industrial development, the author has conducted a detailed mapping of the Sriperumbudur-Oragadam industrial corridor, a transect witnessing particular profound change. Map 4 (see page 213) depicts the land-use changes that occurred along the state-highway 57 between Sriperumbudur in the north and the village of Appur in the south. It zooms into map 1 and provides a more detailed picture of the small-scale dynamics associated with the industrial development of the region at large. The changes along the Sriperumbudur-Oragadam industrial corridor (now extended to a four lane highway) from 2001 to 2011 are the visible expression of the globalised transformations reshaping peri-urban Chennai. In particular around the village of Oragadam, a dense cluster of factories has emerged (Daimler, Renault-Nissan and Apollo Tyres). Oragadam village has been completely submerged by the industrial developments. The land acquisition process that preceded this transformation and the changing livelihood strategies of the local population resulting from it are elaborated in detail in sub-chapter V.1. The same area was also focus of a land value survey, see sub-chapter V.2. Map 4 in particular highlights the decreasing profitability of agriculture as discussed above. Only small pockets of wet rice cultivation remain and the cultivation of un-irrigated dry crops completely ceased. Instead, many areas are left vacant and the owners wait for future developments. Attracted by the large industries, many small ancillary industrial enterprises provide their services to the international companies. These small enterprises (weight bridges, warehouses, spare parts assemblies etc.) are located in the many patches of industrial area along the highway, especially between the villages of Pondur and Mathur. The rise in economic activities has also induced three major apartment companies to invest in residential projects, all planned to be finished in 2013–2014. The number of residents in these apartment buildings will eventually even surpass the population of adjacent villages (see also section IV.1.5). The expanded highway was constructed on an elevated fundament (about 4 meters) that now blocks some water flows which formerly supplied the rainwater tanks on the eastern side (as the water drains from west to east), leading to increased siltation, see map 4.

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The extension of the highway is a locally contingent process and part of negotiations between state institutions (the highway department) and the local landowners. This is illustrated by the example of the Pondur bypass. Part of the extension of the old 2 lane highway into the Sriperumbudur-Oragadam industrial corridor is planned as a bypass around Pondur, a village south of Sriperumbudur (see map). Land acquisition for the bypass started in 2010, but in August 2011 the landowners were told that they wouldn’t receive compensation after all, as the government announced that no money for acquisition is available. The 119 families affected decided not to surrender their farmland for the bypass and the landowners together halted the process (Kanchipuram News - Dinamala, 27.2.2012). During the last visit in early 2012, the traffic of trucks and busloads of workers continued to roll through the old highway in Pondur. Sriperumbudur town itself extended its borders: while in 2001 it was still north of the transect, in 2011 the build-up area started to sprawl into the land south of the national highway. ‘India’s Shenzhen’ slowly spreads into the peri-urban hinterland. 2.2 Discussion: Global players – local struggles The different sections of this sub-chapter have introduced the main agents of globalised spaces in peri-urban Chennai. The first part of the discussion stresses the different abilities and aims of the actors involved in producing the globalised spaces. This analysis is based on the concept of social space, in particular stressing two aspects, namely the ability and the motivation of actors to produce the space. 2.2.1 Producing globalised spaces – considering power and interest The actors produce different aspects of what is called here globalised spaces, depending on their particular capacity to produce space: 1. The State Government created the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and Industrial Parks with its special regulations that attract industries. SEZs are markedly different from the ‘normal’ territory out of which they are created. This underscores the sovereignty of the State Government which can create SEZs as territories of exception where normal tax and labour laws do not apply. The creation of a ‘state of exception’ was portrayed by Agamben (2005) as a hallmark of sovereignty. In fact, it is by these exceptions that the international investors are attracted to the SEZs. Besides creating these spatial enclaves to attract international companies, the State Government also provides the necessary infrastructure to facilitate export. The aim of the State Government is economic growth in general and the creation of jobs in particular. 2. International companies make use of these ‘areas of exception’ created by the State Government and produce their own spaces therein: huge factories that turn out the products to be sold on the world market, mainly cars and telecommu-

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nication equipment. The aim of the companies is the realisation of profit. They succeed by making use of the relatively cheap but skilled workforce in Tamil Nadu, the weak labour laws and the lacking enforcement of pollution control regulations. 3. Landowning farmers contribute to the globalised spaces by selling their agricultural land which then becomes subject of industrial purpose or real estate speculation. In other instances, the land is directly taken by the State Government through land acquisition; this process is elaborated in detail in sub-chapter V.1. They are not direct producers of the globalised spaces but contribute to this process through the land conversion. The aim of the landowning farmers is often a change in lifestyle, away from agriculture and towards more urban or industrial forms of living. The correlated decline in traditional rural culture, as presented in section IV.1.3, can be seen as an expression of this trend. 4. Agricultural labourers who now work in the factories are not directly producing globalised space. However, they constitute the workforce without which the factories would be empty; the globalised spaces would remain without effect. As unskilled labourers, they assemble the products that are then marketed by the international companies. They are the necessary foundation on which these depend to realize their profit. As the corollary of the ‘global players’, they engage in the local struggles that accompany the realisation of globalised spaces. Their aim, their reason to maintain the functionality of the globalised spaces is not the creation of these spaces but to maintain their livelihood security as income from agricultural activities is increasingly insecure. 5. The peri-urban apartment industry produces globalised spaces of residence. The names of the residential projects are indicative of this international aspiration, e.g. ‘Spanish City’, ‘Roma Paradise’. The tall buildings overlooking the remaining agricultural fields provide a stark contrast to the thatched huts of the poorer sections of society, often living close by. The proximity of these two contrasting housing concepts is a vivid example of the ‘mixed spaces’ that (Dupont 2007) identified as a hallmark of India`s peri-urban spaces. This short reflection on the different contributions of the various actors in realising globalised spaces of peri-urban Chennai underscores an important argument made in relation to social space. That is, the ability to produce space is an expression of the power of an actor. And in regard to the globalised spaces of peri-urban Chennai, the actors discussed in this sub-chapter are indeed equipped with different forms of power to decide on the actual outcome of the globalisation process. For example, the unskilled labourers are not in a position to decide on the location of a factory or Special Economic Zone. They are only in command of their manpower, which they may decide to dedicate to the assembly lines and thus the start of the global value chain in order to generate a monthly income, meagre as it may be.

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2.2.2 The co-production of peri-urban spaces The production of a particular space always interacts with the existing spaces. Social space, too, is a multi-layered reality and the production of a new space is only achieved in interaction with the existing social spaces (see section II.1). This coupling between action and space, agency and structure is called here the coproduction of space. The production of new spaces continuously reshapes the ability and limitations for those living in the peri-urban areas, for example the landowners and agricultural labourers who are now working in the factories instead of on the fields. Co-production refers to the mutual influence between the producers of space that cannot be understood in isolation. The ability to produce space is inevitably reshaped by the spaces produced by other actors. The international companies could only open their factories inside the Special Economic Zones and other enclaves created by the State Government; the factories would remain empty without the agricultural labourers leaving the fields to become unskilled workers in the new industries. It became clear that no actor could independently produce a space but is struggling with the actors linked to the existing spaces. The ability to produce a new space depends on the power to make existing actors accept the new space. The different aspects of this struggle will be further elaborated in the following empirical chapters and its six sub-chapters, V.1 to VI.3. 2.2.3 Globalised spaces as a spatial strategy In chapter II, the instrumental nature of social space was stressed. In particular, the concept of spatial strategy was developed (see figure 3), and defined as the purposeful transformation of a specific social space (including material settings, representations and meaning) by an actor with the aim to influence the actions of other people. It is now argued that the globalised spaces are an example of a spatial strategy. It can be argued that the globalised spaces of peri-urban Chennai are produced by the international companies and investors who set up their factories and link the rural hinterland to the global markets. However, it is only through the cooperation between the State Government of Tamil Nadu and the international companies that the peri-urban can actually be produced as a site of global production. The factories depend on the beneficial conditions of the Special Economic Zones and the infrastructure to export the manufactured goods. Taking into account the three dimensions of social space, the respective aspects of the factories can be outlined as follows: i): The factories have a material setting in form of the factory building, the fences around the buildings, the electricity delivered etc. ii) The factories have particular representations and regulations attached to them in terms for example of the weakened labour protection laws or the special administrative status linked with enterprises inside Special Economic Zones. iii) The factories have an emotional meaning that is able to attract workers who value the modern, global appearance of the factories (this issue is discussed in further detail in sub-chapter VI.1 on the peri-urban labour market). Taken together, these as-

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pects of the globalised spaces have particular effect on the local actors: the unskilled labourers are willing to work in the factories and landowners are willing to sell their land, abandon agriculture and convert their land to some form of industrial or commercial land use. It is therefore suggested that the globalised spaces of peri-urban Chennai are a spatial strategy, pursued by the global players, the international companies and investors. In cooperation with the State Government that profits from the increased employment, these global actors created, or coproduced, the factories that can be regarded as a specific social space which influences the actions of the local people. Landowners abandon agriculture; agricultural labourers become the unskilled workers in the factories. This allows the global actors to realise enormous profits by marketing the manufactured goods on the global market. This interpretation of peri-urban Chennai as the strategic production of globalised spaces is illustrated in figure 9.

Global actors:

International companies, investors

Globalised spaces:

Special Economic Zones, infrastructure, factories

Local actors:

Unskilled labourer, landowner

Figure 9: The production of globalised spaces (Source: own draft)

Based on this interpretation of globalised spaces as a spatial strategy, the author suggests that hypothesis 1 has been confirmed. That is: Globalised transformations are realized through globalised spaces. These spaces are produced by the State Government in conjunction with international companies and are designed to fit the interests of global or national actors. However, as this sub-chapter could hopefully illustrate, the process of globalised transformations is more complex. Beside the State Government and the international companies, the role of the local population, i.e. of landowners and agricultural labourers, is crucial. The role of these actors is further illustrated in the chapters on land acquisition (sub-chapter V.1), the land market (sub-chapter V.2) and in a village study (sub-chapter VI.2).

V ENFORCED ABSTRACTIONS AND SPACES OF EXCLUSION IN PERI-URBAN CHENNAI This chapter presents material on the realization of new regimes of exclusion that are currently enforced in peri-urban Chennai. The following three sub-chapters focus on different aspects of the peri-urban transformation through which new forms of exclusion are realized. Firstly, the empirical sub-chapters V.1 and V.2 focus on different aspects of the contested peri-urban territory. Sub-chapter V.1 will detail the land acquisition for industrial purpose. A village study from Oragadam will highlight how land-acquisition is realized and contested at the local level. Sub-chapter V.2 will look into the power of involved actors to produce the peri-urban land market as a social space that serves their interest. It will especially highlight how powerful networks of real-estate agents and land brokers create and influence the land market in a way that it creates enormous profits – for them, not for the small land-owners. Finally, sub-chapter V.3 will highlight the privatized spaces of higher education that are established in the peri-urban. Here, engineering colleges cater exclusively to those able to pay the formal and informal entry fees and in return provide entry into the higher earning positions of the companies. An interim conclusion, sub-chapter V.4, will elaborate how these new regimes of exclusion can be framed with the concept of ‘enforced abstraction’ as introduced in sub-chapter II.2. 1 LAND ACQUISITION FOR INDUSTRIAL PURPOSE “Hey Sir! Somehow you please get us back this land. I beg you and pray you! The land is everything for us. We depend on this land for our life. We get the fuel wood, fruits and the grass for our cattle from this land. If this land is destroyed where will we go? Somehow you help us to get back the land!” (T7, a peasant farmer in Thervoy, where a community forest was converted to an Industrial Park).

To make land more easily accessible for international companies, the Indian government in 2005 endorsed the concept of Special Economic Zones (SEZs), and the Tamil Nadu State Government soon made this an integral part of its industrial policy (see section IV.1.1). For the physical creation of SEZs, Industrial Parks and Industrial Growth Centres, large tracts of land are acquired by the State Government and then offered to international companies at attractive conditions. Since land ownership is often scattered in India, it is sometimes difficult for foreign investors to obtain sufficiently large and continuous land parcels to build their enterprises on (Morris and Pandey 2009). To provide the industries with these large tracts of land, the State Government created and enforced the political category of ‘land for industrial purpose’, which allows and regulates land acquisition.

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This sub-chapter aims at highlighting the following points: First, section V.1.1 looks at how the State Government produced the legal category ‘land for industrial purpose’ in order to realize land acquisition. In section V.1.2, the practice of land acquisition is illustrated with evidence from Oragadam village. This study shows how the legal category of ‘land for industrial purpose’ creates complex social effects when realized in land acquisition schemes. The enforcement of land acquisition and related compensations turn out to be highly context specific and contingent on the micro-dynamics where they are negotiated between different actor groups. Finally, section V.1.3 discusses the results of this sub-chapter within the perspective of social space. 1.1 Land acquisition and the enforcement of ‘industrial purpose’ Land acquisition is realized by the Tamil Nadu State Government by applying a policy that is based on the legal category of ‘land acquired for industrial purposes’. Two aspects of this land acquisition policy are considered here in further detail: i) The administrative and legal framework created to realize land acquisition through specific legal categories of land, and ii) The emotional representations communicated by the State Government to legitimize land acquisition and gain public support thereof. 1.1.1 Producing the legal framework for land acquisition In Tamil Nadu, land acquisition is enabled by a formal policy environment builtup of legislated acts and regulatory frameworks. The administrative category of ‘land acquired for industrial purposes’ is of particular importance in this regard. The category was created through the Tamil Nadu Acquisition of Land for Industrial Purpose Act, 1997 (Act 10 of 1999). Based on this act, the State Government endowed itself with the power to acquire land by invoking the category of ‘land acquired for industrial purposes’. Chapter II, §3 (1) of the act states that: “If, at any time, in the opinion of the Government, any land is required for any industrial purpose, or for any other purpose in the furtherance of the objects of this Act, they may acquire such land by publishing in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette a notice specifying the particular purpose for which such land is required” (Government of Tamil Nadu 1999). The act also regulates the payment of compensation, which is to be negotiated between the District Collector and the landowner: “The Collector shall be determining the amount [paid for compensation] by the provisions contained in […] the Land Acquisition Act, 1894” (ibid. chapter III, §6). This regulation is in continuation of the Colonial Land Acquisition Act from 1894, which is the premise for land attainment for SEZs in most other Indian states and legalizes land acquisition based on the argument that SEZs serve “public interest” (Mukherji 2008: 4). However, compared with other Indian states, land acquisition in Tamil Nadu is less contested because mostly non-agricultural land

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is acquired and some compensation is provided, based on the more inclusive Tamil Nadu Act for Land Acquisition. Tamil Nadu is already lauded to “show the way in land acquisition” in mainstream media (Business Standard, 08.06.2011). However, this positive image of land acquisition is heavily contested by NGOs and farmer organisations (SPMEI 2010). To facilitate the industrial development of Tamil Nadu, the State Government created in 1972 the Tamil Nadu`s State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT). This institution continues to play a central role in the development of the industrial landscape of the state, in particular as it is responsible for land acquisition. SIPCOT is currently (2012-13) in the process of developing a ‘land bank’ to provide investors with the land they need. Under this scheme, a total of 16,400 acres (6636 ha) is acquired “to boost industry”, as a newspaper reports (The Hindu, 05.05.2012) In the words of SIPCOT: “SIPCOT has created industrial complexes, parks, growth centres in various strategically located places, which occupy a place of pride in Tamil Nadu's industrial map” (http://www.sipcot.com).

Land is either sold or allotted, often for highly subsidized rates, to companies on 99-year lease contracts in order to create internationally competitive investment opportunities. 1.1.2 Government-land: a contested designation Part of producing the legal framework for land acquisition is the creation of specific designations of land that facilitate the process of land acquisition. Such is the case with the category of government land. Large portions of land in Tamil Nadu, mostly dry land, are owned by the State Government under the category of government land. This government land is also termed paramboke land or common land, to indicate that it has no specific owner and is open for use for local peasant farmers. However, according to the Land Acquisition Act, this government land can be acquired by the government without paying compensation, making this land category key to any land politics. The Tamil Nadu Government holds detailed cadastres of land categories. A respondent from SIPCOT states: “the Government has a precise account of every single cent of its land, one day the government will take it over” (C4).

The State Government is using this category to ease the acquisition of land, opposing the farmers who rely on government land for their livelihood. Government land is often farmed by landless labourers in a semi-legal manner, accepted by local politicians but without any rights if the State Government selects the land for acquisition. This is one reason why land acquisition is often associated with the displacement of the poor and landless: lacking own land, they depend on this land category for their livelihood. The conflicts in Thervoy and Oragadam (see section V.1.2) partly rest on this dispute of the correct formal designation of the land and

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the implications for the practice of land acquisition. This is illustrated by the statement of one speaker during a meeting on SEZ in Tamil Nadu: “The Government tells us that good agricultural land is in fact dry, or waste-land. And then they take it and sell it to high costs to SEZ!” (O32).

1.1.3 Thervoy village: contested government land A prominent case of land acquisition based on the designation of land as government land in peri-urban Chennai is the case of Thervoy Kandigai. This small village is located 30 km north of Chennai near Gummidipundi (see map 1), in the northern industrial corridor along NH5 to Kolkata. To facilitate the land acquisition for an Industrial Park in Thervoy, SIPCOT applied the legal category of government land to 456 hectares of land directly adjacent to the village. Though in the beginning not all villagers where opposed to the industrial development because they were expecting jobs from it, a critical minority started agitating against the acquisition and ultimately the entire village followed in the protest (T4)19. The villagers portray the land as hereditary property and fiercely oppose its designation as government land. The protests have drawn considerable attention in the media (Express Buzz, 18.02.2009). Table 18 contrasts different arguments related to government land. Government land is a contested designation. Its existence is stressed or denied depending on the spatial interest of the actors.

SIPCOT manager Thervoy activist

Argument related to government land “We will never forget a single cent20 of our government land!” “This is our ancient forest!”

Spatial interest Promote land acquisition Avoid land acquisition

Table 18: Contested government land in Thervoy (Source: Interview C4, T2)

The interviews with farmers in Thervoy illustrated their adamant opposition against the claim of the State Government that the land is ‘government land’. They even acknowledge the regulation but argue: “From here the SIPCOT land starts. All the households are evicted. Look at this tank, this also will be demolished. This tank provided water for all these people for more than 15 years. If it was a government land people would have evicted voluntarily” (T7, emphasis added).

The villagers stressed their dependence on the land: “The land is everything for us. We depend on this land for our life. We get the fuel wood, fruits and the grass for our cattle from this land. If this land is destroyed where will we go?” (T7). It 19 The internal division of the village community is also illustrated by the Panchayat leader of the village who secretly gathered 200 signatures from friends and relatives within the village to sign a ‘no objection certificate’ that allowed SIPCOT to ‘legally’ acquire the land (T4). 20 Hundred cents are one acre. One cent is ca. 40.47 sq.m.

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also is sometimes unclear to the local people that their land is designated as government land at all. They regard it as community land, often termed “grazing land”, thus indicating a form of collective ownership. The creation of legitimacy for land acquisition The sometimes forceful acquisition of land provokes protest by affected people. In response, the administration actively works to create legitimacy for land acquisition. As a SIPCOT official remarked: “The land we take is only dry lands. What SIPCOT does is 99% of dry-lands. Sometimes we have to take some wetlands for continuity. We looked there [Sriperumbudur region], there was vast areas of infertile lands” (C4).

If only infertile land was taken, the acquisition appears as a legitimate process. In fact, land acquisition is often supported by local people if appropriate compensation is provided. As one Sriperumbudur resident put it: “It [land acquisition] is OK. See, when land is with one person, this one person will be well. If companies come the benefit is for 1000 people” (S14). As a government representative said: “People are ready to give the land, we pay them price of the land […] and promise another developed land away from this place. So people are happy and ready to sell their land even though they do not get employment“(C6).

This is part of the development discourse that produces legitimacy for this process by stressing the benefits attained through development which can only happen via land acquisition. 1.1.4 Benefitting through land acquisition The legal category of ‘land acquired for industrial purposes’ turned out to be an instrument to benefit the government agencies that implement it. This is because land procured for industrial purpose is acquired cheaply (invoking the land acquisition act) and then sold or leased to companies for a higher price. This is also the background for the attractiveness of SEZs for SEZ developers, both private and public. The SEZ developers can make high profits by selling the land acquired through land acquisition to private investors who want to venture inside a SEZ. SEZs are therefore criticized as a recent example of ‘accumulation by dispossession’, because the SEZ developers in India make enormous profits when marketing the land inside the SEZ which has come into their hands through land acquisition policies (Levien 2012). As Mukherji (2007: 7) explained for SIPCOT in Tamil Nadu: “The Nokia investment in Sriperumbudur was an iconic one for the State Industries Promotion Council of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT) because land prices in the area rose from Rs. 100,000 per acre in 2005 to Rs. 20,000,000 in 2007. SIPCOT, as an industrial promoter and a land bank, became commercially viable after the success of SEZ investment in the state”.

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Accordingly SIPCOT is blamed to be corrupt and not to care about the rights of the local people. An administrative officer of the Chennai Corporation explained: “The government would not mind about this right [of local people] and the person who is sitting in SIPCOT would mind about their commission” (C6). 1.2 Oragadam village: local level land acquisition and livelihood transformations This section illustrates the micro-dynamics and negotiations between different actor groups associated with land acquisition in Oragadam village21. A decade ago, Oragadam was a small rural village situated at the intersection of two state highways (SH 57 and SH 48) about 10 km south of Sriperumbudur (see map 1 and section IV.2.1, which portrays the Sriperumbudur-Oragadam industrial corridor). It was because of Oragadam’s proximity to the emerging industry around Sriperumbudur, the availability of government land, its remote location and dominance of un-irrigated agriculture that Oragadam was considered a favourite place for industrial development by the State Government. Accordingly, SIPCOT was ordered to establish an Industrial Park, an Industrial Growth Centre and a Special Economic Zone at Oragadam. Land acquisition in Oragadam started as early as 1999, but it was the 2007 extension of the Oragadam Industrial Park that caused a massive transformation of Oragadam’s surrounding areas, summarized in map 5 and 6 (see pages 214 and 215). The land acquisition is visible in the massive changes in land use that took place from 2001 to 2012. Nearly all agricultural land was replaced by industrial estates and the state highway has been extended to four lanes and is now part of the Sriperumbudur-Oragadam industrial highway (see also sub-chapter IV.2). East of Oragadam, Daimler is building a truck factory. West of Chennakuppam, a Renault-Nissan joint venture complex is being set up. Actually, Chennakuppam was planned to be completely evacuated, with the entire land designed to become part of the Renault-Nissan company area. However, being confronted with strong protest, this plan was dropped and only the surrounding land was acquired. Table 19 (next page) provides an overview of the current land use in Oragadam and Chennakuppam.

21 From an administrative perspective, Oragadam is part of the Chennakuppam Village Panchayat and Oragadam actually should accordingly be named Chennakuppam. However, as will become clear in the following sections, Oragadam dominates Chennakuppam in various ways; the superiority of the name being just one of many aspects. The dominance of the ‘more powerful’ village name overtaking the entire Panchayat, is a hegemonic sign. However, after stressing it, the following sections will continue this established practice of the media, local population and political planning documents and Chennakuppam and Oragadam are considered together as Oragadam if not stated otherwise.

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Type of land use acres hectare Total area of Chennakuppam2,200 890.3 Oragadam Extent of land given to companies 1,300 526.1 Remaining land not acquired Agricultural land (irrigated and non100 40.5 irrigated) Water bodies (Oragadam Aerii) 200 81 Oragadam settlement area 60 24.3 Chennakuppam settlement area 25 10.1 Tanks, ponds, canals, grazing lands 515 208.4

% of total area

59.1

4.5 9.1 2.7 1.1 23.4

Table 19: Land acquisition and land use in Oragadam and Chennakuppam (Source: O41)

The transformation of Oragadam and Chennakuppam According to the Oragadam Vice President (O41), the number of inhabitants in 2012 is given as 789 persons (185 households) for Oragadam and 944 persons (225 households) for Chennakuppam. Chennakuppam actually is also referred to as the ‘dalit-colony’, the traditional area of the lower castes - a division still prevalent in most South-Indian villages. One respondent stressed: “There is a very clear divide between the people of Oragadam and Chennakuppam. All the upper caste people are in Oragadam and the lower caste people live in Chennakuppam. The remaining 100 acres of agricultural land is owned by 10 families of Oragadam and the labourers come from Chennakuppam to work in the fields” (O40).

Map 5 and 6 display the transformation of Oragadam and Chennakuppam. Oragadam is divided by the state highway SH 57, with a small part of the village being west of the highway and the bigger part on the east. Chennakuppam has been especially effected by the land acquisition, the village is now surrounded by a wall (see photo 2, next page) and map 6.

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Photo 2: Chennakuppam village and Nissan factory: worlds apart (Source: S. Homm 2012)

The land acquisition and related change in land use visible when comparing map 5 and 6 caused a massive transformation of local livelihoods. One respondent stressed: “Ten years ago it was flourishing area with rich agriculture. Many of us were agricultural labourers. Now everything is upside down. My husband is working in a company. I am working in a noon-meal centre as a care taker. Now the price of everything has gone up. We are unable to run the family with this income!” (O44).

The issue of livelihood transformation is taken up in section V.1.2.2. Beside the decline of agriculture, further changes can be observed from the comparison of the two maps. Firstly, the number of multi-storey houses has increased, especially in Oragadam, where most of the land owners are living. With the money received as compensation for land lost through acquisition, many people build new houses with more than the traditional single floor. Secondly, many shelters for migrant workers have been build, mainly at the fringes of Chennakuppam. Migrant workers mostly come from Indian states poorer than Tamil Nadu. They earn Rs. 80 per day, which is about half the amount usually paid to a Tamil worker. In Oragadam, an estimated 5,000 migrant workers are living in shelters constructed by local politicians who rent them to the job brokers organizing the workforce of the migrant workers (O25). The presence of the many migrant workers is met with suspicion by the local population. Especially their lack of sanitation facilities gives reason to worry. One respondent stressed: “A lot of people came here to work. They have no proper sanitation facilities. So they defecate outside, which causes more mosquitos” (O22). Photo 3 (next page) provides an impression of their precarious living conditions.

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Photo 3: Shelter of migrant workers, Daimler factory in background (Source: S. Homm 2012)

Thirdly, economic activity around ‘Oragadam junction’, the intersection of SH 57 and SH 48, has increased since 2001. Now, several hotels and restaurants offer their services. The most massive change however, concerns the construction of factories on the industrial areas surrounding Oragadam, see map 5 and 6. 1.2.1 Negotiation of compensation payments This section illustrates the negotiations around the access to compensations that were provided by SIPCOT for land acquisition. The compensation announced by SIPCOT was depending on the distance of the concerned land parcel to the state highway. The compensation announced was Rs. 20,000 per cent for land close to the highway and Rs. 14,000 per cent for more distant land. According to several respondents, the market price at this time was Rs. 50,000 per cent (O 33). However, even after 5-6 meetings, there were only a few who knew this fact. The landowners asked for Rs. 30,000 as compensation. Then the District Collector, responsible for the negotiation of the compensations payments, used a trick. For the last meeting, he invited only the insiders, people he had connections with and not those that usually had come to the meetings and demanded higher compensations (O33). It was with these selected persons that finally a deal was made and the acquisition process started. Considering this background of secrecy, a land-

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owner from Oragadam argued: “The acquisition could only happen with the help of the local Panchayat22 President, the MLA23 and all the other leaders” (O 33). Another issue of the compensation procedure was that the cooperation between the responsible actors from different levels favoured larger landowners. When private land is acquired by the government, compensation is provided through SIPCOT and cooperating local bodies (District Revenue Officer, District Collector and village Panchayats). The involvement of these many authorities gave rise to difficult procedures. A total of 12 documents, including patta, the land deed title, as well as tax records etc., were needed in Oragadam to obtain compensation. These procedures provide ample opportunity for fraud and corruption. As a consequence, only the better connected and powerful landholders can realize an appropriate compensation, while marginal farmers with only informal land rights tend to be left out. Local politics and patronage networks Many respondents stressed that the deal with SIPCOT was made by local politicians and their connections and patronage networks with large landowners. An important event which supports this thesis is a secret meeting at the house of the Collectors who were responsible for negotiating the compensation payments. One respondent reported about this meeting: “The local politicians, DMK24-chairman, MLA and others brainwashed the people so they feared they could not get any compensation. Also, since all the politicians and powerful people were saying this, the people felt they cannot protest for a long time. So finally they accepted the set price” (O33).

Cooperation and alliances between the powerful landowners and politicians were created to realize the land acquisition: “Forcefully they got the land from some people. Because of so much pressure, threats and blackmailing some poor people just gave their land out of despair to SIPCOT without ever receiving compensation!” (O33). One respondent claimed that: „Only those who had good relation to the Panchayat leader got a new house! All the other ones did not get anything” (O13). The respondent was especially angry with the local politicians: “The blue house, he was one who betrayed the people. The local leaders are all relatives of this family. First, […] was in charge for five years, than his mother for five years. Both were DMK. They together gave the ‘No Objection Certificate’ to the government. They received plenty of reward for this. Like the big blue house over there. Before they were living in a thatched hut only! They also did not give any of their land to SEZ. But now they lease their land to house the migrant workers making big profit!” (O13). 22 Panchayats are institutions of local self-governments at the village or small town level in India. 23 MLA, abbr. for Member of Legislative Assembly. 24 DMK, abbr. for Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, political party in Tamil Nadu, ruling at the time of negotiations.

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Another respondent used a Tamil story to characterize the role of the local politicians: “Once a king named Kattabomman was betrayed by his ministers who helped the British attack the king’s town. So in same way the inside local politicians now were betraying the people! The political influence of the leaders in our village was the reason for the oppression of the local people in the matter of land acquisition. These local leaders got enough benefits from SIPCOT, I have no facts to prove, but you see from the big house etc. what they got!” (O33).

Local struggles for land compensation: Many forms of protest and opposition formed against the pressure to give the land to SIPCOT without receiving proper compensation. Some families were building houses on land that was going to be acquired to strengthen their claims for compensation (O13). However, compensation was only given to those who could provide the 15 needed certificates. The complicated requirements for compensation made things difficult for land owners with some missing documents or less skill in dealing with the compensation administration. This led some to engage in struggles with bureaucrats to fight for their compensation: “I could not prove how I got the 10 acres, they questioned me a lot. I showed them the 1910 tax records but they did not accept. What can I do! Back then there was no proper registration system. But I have the bills showing that I paid the land tax, but they accept only full papers. I am fed up of fighting for all this. I tried continuously for four years to get the documents; the delay of the bureaucrats makes me so tired. I again went to SIPCOT about two months from now [October 2011] but they told me to get the right documents, otherwise no compensation!” (O33).

Some families waited four years to receive the compensation; they also reported difficulties collecting all the needed papers (O13). But the struggles for compensation are also creating new dividing lines and the villagers are not united on this issue: “Two years back there was an association to fight for compensation. Because of jealousy between the leaders, the association broke apart. Now we are silent” (O24).

Other cases of compensations are still under negotiation, for example the case of Bhoodan-land which is described below.

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The case of Bhoodan-land A contested case of land acquisition in Chennakuppam is related to land that was given to landless farmers under the Bhoodan-movement25. In Chennakuppam, about 32 acres of land where donated by a land-owner to 13 dalit families as part of this Bhoodan-movement in 1954 (O1). Although ownership-certificates where provided to the families who received this land, they were not accepted as being entitled to compensation by SIPCOT. An affected family who lost their Bhoodanland reported on a government official arguing: „The land was given to you by the government so the government is taking it away“(O11). In opposition, the affected families argue that their ownership should be acknowledged as the land was given to them by a private person. The acquisition of the Bhoodan-land was met by resistance as the government agencies neither informed nor compensated these families. One respondent remembered: “SIPCOT did not serve any notice upon us stating that they are going to acquire our lands. They did not even ask us our opinion or views. Without doing any such thing, they started to excavate land for about ten meters and were nearing my lands. When they came to my lands I opposed. To pacify me they told that they were not going to acquire my lands, later what happened was during the wee hours they deployed 50 bulldozers and lorries to excavate my lands. We opposed, and for that six women were arrested and jailed” (O1).

The acquisition took place and the land was fenced by Renault-Nissan, see map 6. The affected families tried to receive compensation applying legal measures. The case is illustrative of the weak position that landless farmer have in the judicative system. The following quote shows the struggle for compensation and the difficulties to invoke the relevant arguments: “We said we won’t give out lands and we went to the Chepauk meeting and we spoke. I spoke. Me and another person were forcedly taken in a jeep and were left in the Chief Secretariat. We went directly to the Chief Secretary and I asked him that whose 32 acres of land did you take? Did you do anything for that? Did you undergo any suffering for that? Did you manure the lands, did you plough the lands? The Chief Secretary told me to be silent, ‘I will pay you. Otherwise I would send you a notice’. We have not been served with any notice, we did not get any compensation. Like that we met him three times at regular intervals of six months. When again we went and asked them, they told us to take up the issue in the court. So far they have allotted 5 crores for compensation and the same is in the bank. But we have not received any compensation. When we go, they say that the judge is not there and give all sorts of reason. We have seen so many people like this. We are fed up and we have left it now. We do not know when we get the compensation. We spend Rs. 100 or 200 a day for visiting the court every month. Our advocate, government advocate is coming regularly. We haven't paid the advocate a single paisa. All those things they have acquired but paid no compensation” (O1).

It was also reported that the local Panchayat president was supportive of the claims of families owning Bhoodan-land only in the beginning, and then dropped 25 The Bhoodan-movement was started in 1951 by Vinoba Bhave who successfully convinced land-owning farmers with large land holdings to donate some part of their land to landless farmers.

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his support as he was afraid to lose his connection with other powerful landowners (O11). Other residents in Chennakuppam however, are not supportive of the compensation claims of the Bhoodan-land, doubting the legitimacy of the claim (O13). Social division between Oragadam and Chennakuppam The social division between Oragadam and Chennakuppam is changing. Since agriculture has declined, the power of the landowner in Oragadam over the agricultural labourers in Chennakuppam is taking new forms. The former land owners seem to be in a better position to form new allies with the local politicians and companies. A feeling of togetherness and cooperation exists among the upper castes of Oragadam,. This is expressed in the quote from an Oragadam respondent: “We are naidus [an upper caste]. We have good relations with the neighbours. They are all naidus too. With the slum-people, the talks are superficial.” By slum-people the respondent referred to the dalit colony, stressing the social division. This division is also the background for the claim on a labour supply cartel. The rumour is as follows: “Access to the new jobs in the companies is controlled by an elite group from Oragadam. The President, Vice president and few other leaders from Oragadam supply about 400 contract labourers per day to the companies on a commission basis. They organize the workforce but keep a large portion of the wages for their own. The companies pay Rs. 280 per day for the workers and the elite group keeps Rs. 80 per person as commission, providing the group with a daily income of Rs. 30,000. The younger generation from Chennakuppam is, however, not willing to accept this arrangement of open exploitation. They are rebellious and protest against the Oragadam leaders. On their own initiative, around 15 of them found jobs in other distantly located companies without the support of either the President or the Vice President from Oragadam. Therefore, they never paid any commission. This might also be one of the reasons for the hatred towards younger generation from Chennakuppam” (O40).

This alleged labour cartel would be a strong indication of the persisting superiority of the landowning community. However, the division is more nuanced. The perspective of landowning farmers The social division between Oragadam and Chennakuppam mirrors a division in opinion on whether the changes in Oragadam are positive or negative for the village. One respondent from the land-owning community complained about those who only stress the negative effects: “If these people complain, they are making up the story! Everybody in his heart they all know this, but they hesitate to speak out about this. When you ask them they say we received no benefits since they think that we give. There is also a jealous-factor involved” (O37).

Acknowledging the common opinion that Oragadam declined due to land acquisition he adds: “When I tell the truth, the others will say that I am mad!” (O37).

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Those farmers who had land benefitted dramatically from SIPCOTs decision to locate the SEZ at Oragadam. As one respondent expressed his thoughts: “The amount allocated by SIPCOT really was a blessing, not a curse […]. Earlier, people were dying to sell their land for Rs. 1,000 per cent. Before selling the land to SIPCOT the people here had only Koor26 to eat. Now they have rice. They did not know about AC. Now they all have. They were only having four bicycles in the whole village, now every house as a car! Earlier they suffered a lot, not always were they having enough food. Now the lifestyle is better, now they always have enough food. Earlier they had many troubles, now no more problems!“ (O37).

Other land-owning farmers are less positive about the compensation provided by SIPCOT and argue that much higher amounts could have been realized on the free market: “I am not satisfied with the compensations. The current rate is 3 crores for 1 acre. Even without the companies the rate would have been 1 crores per acre now” (O21).

The perspective of landless labourers For the landless workers depending on agricultural labour the land acquisition was a shock to their livelihoods. One responded explained: “All the members in my family were agricultural labourers. Now the companies have taken all the agricultural lands and the landlords were moved to some other places. They sold all their lands. All my children got married and displaced to various parts of Chennai. They are doing some informal jobs. The depletion of agriculture is the main reason for our children to move away from Oragadam” (O17).

But other respondents used the new emerging opportunities and also speak of some improvements. For example, one respondent from Oragadam explained: “Earlier, I was doing agriculture on our own lands. But my father sold the land before SIPCOT came. Since then, I worked on the fields of others. Since there’s no more agriculture, I work in the brick industry. I get Rs. 200-250 per day in the brick industry. Earlier, I earned Rs. 100 per day. Since the companies are here, the wages have increased” (O38).

And another respondent quickly shifted his transportation skills from agriculture to industries: “I have been working as a lorry driver in the last 10 years or more. I had to carry the agroproducts from the field to the rice mill. Now I am carrying the industrial raw materials, auxiliary goods from various parts of Tamil Nadu. I am working for a fleet owner who owns several lorries. My son is working in a driver company“ (O44).

26 Traditional starch-based Tamil food for the poor.

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1.2.2 Changing livelihoods opportunities The focus on livelihood transformations further reveals the people’s exposure to these changes in land availability. Research on the livelihoods changes in Oragadam was difficult, as respondents often portrayed their position especially negative to stress how much they have lost. Photo 4 gives an impression of the exclusion to be experienced at the border of Chennakuppam towards the industries. One respondent critically summarized the transformation: “Some 15 years ago there was only agricultural lands and grazing lands. There were lot of trees of different types such as casuarinas, eucalyptus, tamarind and other thorny trees. Wherever you see there was paddy cultivation, sugarcane cultivation and on the elevated lands the dry crops were cultivated. There were large numbers of cattle’s as there were large extent of grazing lands available. The income from agriculture and livestock farming was very good. The water bodies were plenty in numbers with full capacity of water and fishing was also done in these large and tiny water bodies. Now all those things have disappeared. It was all in the past and we have only memories of the past. Majority of the people are living below poverty line. There are no hospitals, community centres and basic amenities like public toilets and common bath rooms. In the outskirts of Pudukulam village nearly ten houses were demolished and the land was forcibly taken by the Highways Department for road expansion without giving any compensation” (O42).

Photo 4: Chennakuppam fence to industries (Source: S. Homm 2012)

Many residents in Oragadam and Chennakuppam received some compensation for land, though not all. Those who received compensation mainly improved their houses. Many adapted to the new situation and used the capital to develop new livelihoods. For example, better-off households bought cars or small trucks that

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they now employ in the construction sector or rent out as a business. Another important source of income is the lending of money to poorer families, usually for a 10% profit (O10). Some people also built shops, mainly at Oragadam junction (see map 6). For many, however the new situation proofed difficult and the opportunities linked with the industries appear out of reach. Survey on occupation and education in Oragadam and Chennakuppam To better understand the changing living conditions in Oragadam and Chennakuppam, a survey was conducted in early 2013 that asked for i) The main occupation in 2001 and 2012; and ii) The achieved education in 2001 and 2012. For the survey, every tenth house was selected based on a village map. After that, the family living in the house was consulted and interviewed about the occupation and education status of all household members in 2001 and 2012. The results of the survey are displayed in figure 10, figure 11 and table 20 on the following pages.

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Male occupation (n=164, age >10)

2001 2012 55% 50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0%

No job Education Housework Administrative Manual work Local business Company, permanent Company, temporary Agriculture, labourer Agriculture, landowning

2001 2012 55% 50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0%

Female occupation (n=162, age >10)

No job

Education

Housework

Administrative

Manual work

Local business

Company, permanent

Company, temporary

Agriculture, labourer

Agriculture, landowning

Figure 10: Occupation according to gender in Oragadam 2001–2011 (Source: own survey 02/2013)

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Male education (n=164, age >10) 55% 50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0%

2001 2012

Higher education

12th grade

10th grade

1-8th grade

No education

Female education (n=162, age >10) 55% 50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0%

2001 2012

Higher education

12th grade

10th grade

1-8th grade

No education

Figure 11: Education according to gender in Oragadam 2001–2012 (Source: own survey 02/2013)

101

0% 13%

2% 16%

2001 5% 2012 0%

56% 7%

0% 12%

0% 2%

No job

42% 5%

Education

2001 0% 2012 0%

Housework

2% 10%

Administrative

0% 10%

Manual work

7% 0%

Local business

Company, temporary

2001 0% 2012 0%

Company, permanent

Agriculture, labourer

Agriculture, landowning

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2% 2%

15% 12%

51% 57%

16% 6%

3% 9% 8% 13% 50 - 80 years

5% 6%

35% 28%

0% 2%

5% 11%

2% 7% 7% 5%

0% 2%

24% 29%

0% 0%

5% 34%

10 - 24 years 2% 7% 4% 0% 25 - 49 years

Table 20: Occupation according to age groups in Oragadam 2001–2012 (Source: own survey 02/2013)

The results of the survey highlight the fundamental transformation of the occupation patterns or livelihood strategies of the local population. Agricultural labour, formerly the main source of income, has nearly ceased in 2012 and men and women are shifting to other occupations, mainly company labour. Beside a trend to more education (especially among the younger generation), an increasing number of people, especially men and people older than 50 years, have no job at all. In 2012, 25% of men (and 34% of all >50 years) had no job. This was also stated as a reason for the high prevalence of alcohol consumption in Oragadam and Chennakuppam (O44). Working in the factories Land acquisition is in many cases given legitimacy by promising the provision of jobs for the local. This was also the case in Oragadam: “When the companies were set up, SIPCOT promised everybody a job. So the people for a long time continued to ask for jobs. One day they provided a form to fill with details for application, but they never gave any reply!” (O 33).

One reason for the companies not to provide permanent jobs to local villagers is that they are afraid of local workers cooperating and making more demands. As one respondent put it: “The companies think: If the locals start working in the company, they will get stronger, join together and start protests and ask for more amenities” (O21).

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The question of the local workers is taken up again in sub-chapter VI.1, regarding the industrial labour market. The central factor to access factories is education, which is not available to many young people in Oragadam. This is the background for a respondent who stressed: “Locals are not allowed to work in the companies. We are not qualified. Eligible people come here to work. You need ITI and Diploma to work in the company” (O23).

Despite all these difficulties, many persons were able to be employed at the factories. According to the survey (see figure 10), 28% of male respondents and 17% of female respondents were engaged in factory work in 2012 (temporary and permanent combined). The jobs in the factories, however, often consist of un-skilled duties like sweeping etc. with low remuneration. Situation of women According to the survey, women in Oragadam are mainly concerned with housework; this has hardly changed from 2001 (54%) to 2012 (44%). Agricultural labour is scarcely accessible in 2012 and women increasingly work in the factories. Some women work in the construction sector, covered under manual work (2%). In the construction sector, the daily wage is Rs. 130 for women and Rs. 160 for men. But men are preferred in the construction sector and women can only join when no men are available (O10). Female respondents further stressed that work for women is especially difficult during their menstrual period, as supervisors in the construction sector do not permit longer breaks in this case, in difference to agricultural work where breaks used to be more flexible. Also when pregnant, women are not allowed to work in the construction sector while they were able to work on the fields up until the 8th month of pregnancy (O10). A significant shift from 2001 to 2012 is the increasing number of women receiving some form of education, changing from 17% to 26%. But when comparing the education statues of women to that of men, it becomes clear that male education is still given more importance. The percentage of men that achieved 10th or 12th grade in school or finished some degree of higher education is still considerably higher compared with their female counterparts. But looking at the change in education from 2001 to 2012, the number of women educated has increased more substantially than the number of men. Food security Female respondents from Chennakuppam and Oragadam stressed that their families had more food available when they were working in the fields behind the village. One respondent explained: “My parents were agricultural labourers. We were all very happy. When agriculture was the main occupation all the vegetables, rice, milk and spinach were available fresh at cheap price.

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Now agriculture is not there. We don’t get any fresh vegetables and the price is also very high. We are unable to buy nutritious food with our income. We work in company for survival. We would have been happy if agriculture persisted” (O44).

Now, less food is available and meals are less varied, as another respondent explained: „Our quality of life used to be different. We had better food and nice side dishes. In rainy season we ate fish, snails etc. Nowadays we do not have that anymore. Our daily needs are not fulfilled” (O11).

Today, that is, after the land acquisition, also less food is shared between households as cooperation in general weakened after selected families profited from the land acquisition. Now „They think they are better!“ one respondent argued (O10). Effects for the food security are more severe for women, because of the priority given to men. One female respondent stressed that: „A woman will never allow her men to starve“. When the fields could be accessed, woman earned Rs. 30 per day and occasionally got 10kg of rice by the land-owning farmers. In addition to this work, however, they were able to cultivate some crops on their own land to supplement their nutrition. The combination of both had the positive effect that their families had three regular meals per day (O10). Other changes in living conditions The rapid industrial development brings about many changes in the environmental quality. One respondend remarked: “There is pollution from the tire-factory. It smells when they open their tanks.” (O21). Especially Oragadam junction is heavily congested and there is a lot of dust or mud (see photo 5, next page).

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Photo 5: Oragadam junction seen from south (Source: S. Homm 2012)

Further, there are some water related issues. Because of a wall constructed around the Nissan company surrounding much of Chennakuppam (see map 6), more water is stagnant at the western side of the wall, leading to increasing numbers of mosquitos (O13, O14). The drinking water supply situation, too, changed to the negative. As one respondent complained: “The former source of drinking water was taken by Nissan. It was a 3000 ft. bore-well. The water was very good. Then Nissan took it. Now, we have a tank with bad water. The central government set up three wells that are 80 ft. deep. The water is not tasty” (O21).

It has to be kept in mind though, that it is not clear to what extend these claims are part of the ‘discourse of suppression’ that was especially dominant in Chennakuppam. As a respondent from the landowning community in Oragadam stressed, also some benefits are coming to Oragadam: “The companies, Daimler and Nissan, they pay 50 lakh in taxes per year to village. The village now builds light, roads. It is all coming up now. They are just paying the taxes since last year. In Chennakuppam they build the cement road, street lighting and water tank. The Panchayat is receiving the taxes. The village is now discussing to clean up the tank that is adjacent to Nissan. The village actually meets every 3 month. Here all the village members come. Also the people from Chennakuppam, it is one Panchayat“ (O37).

Again, this is part of the positive ‘development discourse’ that is often deployed by the profiteers of the development.

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Religious traditions persist Despite the rapid industrial developments in the surrounding of Oragadam, religious traditions persist. This is highlighted for example by the celebration of the temple festival Angala Parameshwari in Oragadam and Chennakuppam, summarized in case study 1. Case study 1: Temple festival in Oragadam and Chennakuppam “The temple festival Angala Parameshwari starts two days before Mahashiverathri that is on March 8th. Few women in yellow colour saree and with yellow thread in their wrist stay in the temple throughout and they are on fasting, taking only water. Among them nine women go to the burial ground in a procession with different kinds of drums and music. They chant the name of the deity in a high pitch and they are in transience stage. In the burial ground they roll all over the mud and after digging the ground, they pick up one skull and bring it to the temple and keep it in the arms of the deity. The name of the deity is ‘Angala Parameshwari’. On Mahashivarathri day, that is March 10 th they do not sleep all night and in the morning they make Pongal and offer it to the deity. Then on March 11th on a new moon day evening, next day of Mahashivarathri, the deity is beautifully decorated with colourful flowers and jewels and taken on a procession. Many people, both men and women, go to a state of trance with drums and music. Some people in the peak of trance stage crush living cocks with their teeth and taste the blood. People splash grains, peanuts and fruits in the streets on the procession route. They dance vigorously and when the procession of the deity reaches the burial ground, the live goats and sheep’s are killed by the priests and the organs are wound around their necks. Then the deity is offered with some rituals. Then in the late evening 0n March 11 th they come out of that trance stage and come to normal, end their fasting after having bath. They return to the temple with the deity and go back to their respective places. They cook nonvegetarian food with meat, chicken and egg from the animals killed at the temple. Next day the outsiders leave the village. The villagers believe that through this temple ritual the ancestors of each and every family protect them from all kinds of evils. This is also an opportunity for the family members to meet each other and spend time among family members”. (Source: O44, Summary of Angala Parameshwari temple festival)

1.3 Discussion: Land acquisition as a mechanism for exclusion “Development is inevitable, it is going to change. So either local person has to change themselves according to the changes or they have to move” (C7, junior manager in a consultancy firm, preparing a report for Sriperumbudur region)

The quote above points to the key theme of this sub-chapter: ‘development’ as a seemingly inevitable, top-down process, realized exemplary in Oragadam village. This form of development indeed appears inevitable at the local level in Oragadam, where it is forced through land acquisition and the subsequent construction

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of huge factories by international companies. This section aims at discussing the material presented in this sub-chapter and at highlighting different aspects of the forced realization of land acquisition. Three aspects are discussed in further detail: i) The process of enforcing land acquisition; ii) The struggles about compensation payments; and iii) The implications of the land acquisition for Oragadam village. 1.3.1 Producing the social space of land acquisition From the material on the process of land acquisition presented in section V.1.1, the following points can be summarised: i) Land acquisition is based on a specific legal framework, ii) This legal framework creates a new category of land designation (‘land acquired for industrial purpose’), and iii) The actual acquisition is given legitimacy by the installation of a development discourse. These different aspects highlight the role of the State Government, represented by SIPCOT, in producing the social spaces of land acquisition. In the framework of social space developed in chapter II, three dimensions of social space were identified: material settings, representations and emotional meaning. In the process of land acquisition the second dimension, representation, plays a central role. By initiating the Tamil Nadu Acquisition of Land for Industrial Purpose Act, the State Government produced a new representation of land, which is the category of ‘land for industrial purpose’. As it was demonstrated, this category is instrumental in realizing land acquisition. The category is projected on various locations in the state where it challenges existing representation, as in the case of Thervoy. It is thus the power of the State Government to produce a specific and new representation of land which enabled its implementing institutions to realize land acquisition. Land acquisition in practice is tied to a certain formal representation, a title, on which the actors base their claims and practice. Section V.1.1 also highlighted the active production of positive emotional meaning that the State Government associates with the land that is acquired. The designation of ‘land for industrial purpose’ is highly beneficial for the State Government and SIPCOT. They invoke a public purpose but realize private/institutional profit when marketing the land inside the SEZs. This illustrates that the institutions which implement the land acquisition policies are not neutral. The connotation of neutrality appears rather constructed and serves to hide the spatial strategies of those putting the institution into practice. In chapter II, it was also stressed that the powerful reconfiguration of a specific local space by a new category can be understood as an enforced abstraction. It is argued here that the process of land acquisition can be understood as such a case. At all the locations where land acquisition takes place, the first thing is the reconfiguration of the representation: local definitions are replaced by the more powerful definitions of ‘land for industrial purpose’. This category is an abstract and uniform definition that renders all previous definitions obsolete. The category is based on the ‘violence of abstraction’, which in turn is based on the capacity to replace an existing reality with a new name, defined by a powerful actor who real-

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izes its interest in this process. It is thus suggested to understand land acquisition as enforced abstraction and the exclusion associated with it (at least in a first step) as the exclusion of locally existing definitions and representations of land. This section seeks to illustrate the social embeddedness of an enforced abstraction, that is, the complex contestations when the abstraction of ‘land for industrial purpose’ is realized through the identification and transformation of the spaces reordered and reshaped according to this abstraction. 1.3.2 Social spaces of compensation payments The material on the struggles about compensation payments illustrates that while the category of land acquisition is a uniform representation, the actual process of realizing the category is not. Instead, the local differences and stratifications become obvious as the access to the compensation payments is regulated by powerful groups and alliances between local politicians with influential landowners, see section V.1.2.1. The distribution of benefits from compensation is closely related to the existing networks of power and patronage. It also appears to be the case that weaker sections of the village society are not able to realize their claims, see Bhoodan-land, and are systematically excluded from compensations payments. Despite the seeming neutrality of the agencies responsible for distributing compensations linked with the abstract notion of ‘land for industrial purpose’, the real access to compensations is to a large extend dependent on social networks. As the local government institutions are deeply enmeshed with local level power structures, the realization of compensation depends on the activation of these networks. Actors who cannot call on them will come away empty-handed. This clientilism aggravates the social implications of land acquisition as it favours those with large landholdings and good connections. The cases of fraud during land acquisition are an important reason for the perception of land acquisition as being unjust. Especially at the local level, politicians are associated with landowners and corruption is perceived to be widespread. 1.3.3 The social space of a village transformed by land acquisition Oragadam is a striking example of a village totally transformed by industrial dynamics. The enforcement of the abstraction led to a reconfiguration of existing social spaces by changing the regulations of access: supplanting the local farmers, it is now mainly the industrial companies who can perform actions for their own benefit. The effects of the abstraction of land acquisition paved the way for the industries to enter the spaces around Oragadam village. Map 5 and 6 illustrate the change in the spaces surrounding the village. The maps are the visible expression of a locally transformed regime of access. Land acquisition enabled the entry of new powerful actors (the companies) who reconfigured the spaces of work and excluded traditional forms of agricultural labour. The livelihood transformations

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thus appear as a completely exogenous process. But the material on the changing livelihood opportunities presented in section V.1.2.2 also highlights the active participation of the local people in the production of these new spaces of work. Some villagers use existing capabilities and successfully adapt to the changing labour market. The younger generation increasingly engages in education to actively participate in industrial spaces of work, where this education is a prerequisite. The Oragadam village case study illustrates how the enforcement of land acquisition changed social spaces and with that, the livelihood opportunities available to the village residents. An important part of the ensuing vulnerability is that villages do not respond uniformly when they experience land acquisition and the loss of agriculture as a major source of income. Instead, communities are inherently unequal and marked by internal division between different social groups and power structures. Acknowledging this internal diversity, the effects of land acquisition and industrial development are not unitary but highly context dependent and household specific, as members of the village community are differently exposed and able to cope with the challenge to restructure their livelihoods when facing rapid industrial development. 2 THE PERI-URBAN LAND MARKET “The price for land will always go up. Only if a natural calamity comes it will go down. Otherwise it won’t come down. It will rise and rise.” (C2, a real-estate broker about the periurban land market)

The land market in peri-urban spaces around large Indian cities is developing so rapidly, it is already seen as responsible for producing a new type of ‘speculative urbanism’, where rural spaces are turned into urban real estate by powerful alliances between real-estate brokers and politicians (Goldman 2011). This subchapter aims at substantiating this claim and documenting how Chennai’s periurban land market is actively produced by the interaction of different actor groups. The land market in peri-urban Chennai is a by-product of the rapid industrial development (see chapter IV). Fuelled by the increasing density of economic activity, land prices have grown exponentially in many places. For example, in Sriperumbudur, an acre (ca. 0.4 hectare) of residential land with good connectivity was worth Rs. 20 lakhs27 (~28,000 €) in 2006. Until 2011, the price increased to Rs. 3 crores (~420,000 €). This sub-chapter will reveal some of the processes and institutional arrangements that constitute this dynamic of the peri-urban land market. Of special interest is the question how access to benefits from the land is contested and negotiated between different actor groups. Fieldwork conducted at different locations in the years 2010 to 2012 provides a detailed picture of the dynamics of the land market (see table 21 next page). Process of the land mar- Location

Section informed by the

27 Hundred lakhs are one crore. Rs. 1 lakh ~ 1,500 €, Rs. 1 crore ~150,000 €.

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ket

data

Industrial development affecting land prices Agriculture replaced by real-estate Rising prices, Residential development Farmers selling for low price Rising prices, Residential development Land-transactions in village setting with declining acgriculture

Sriperumbudur-Oragadam industrial corridor Malayambakkam Chettipettu

V.2.3 (real estate agents, land broker) V.2.2 (farmers with small landholding) V.2.2 (landowners)

Ukkotai

V.2.1 (landless farmers)

Sriperumbudur

V.2.2 (landowners, government institutions) V.1.2, VI.2 (landowner, landless farmers)

Ullavur

Table 21: The peri-urban land market: processes and research locations

Firstly, section V.2.1 introduces major processes constituting the land market. In a second section, V.2.2, the main actor groups involved in the land market are presented. The relation between industrial development and rising land prices is further highlighted in section V.2.3, portraying the land market along the Sriperumbudur-Oragadam industrial corridor. The concluding section, V.2.4, discusses the results by using the conceptual framework developed in chapter II. 2.1 Producing the land market It is argued here that the actors involved in the land market (real-estate agents, land brokers etc., see below) play an active role in the development of the market. As one respondent put it: “The real estate boom is due to real estate developers” (C6). According to the framework of social space, we can approach the production of the land market by analysing the establishment of three dimensions of social space: material settings, representations and emotional meaning. To understand the land market as actively produced, this sub-chapter therefore reflects on the following questions: 1st Regarding material practice linked to the land market: How is land use changed as a pre-condition to create the land market? What is the material practice of de-marcating land plots? 2nd Regarding representations and regulations: How are existing names and rights associated with agricultural land replaced by new categories? How is the admini-stration involved in facilitating land transactions? 3rd Regarding emotional meaning: What are the conflicting values and emotions associated with the contested territory? Do intermediate actors link the land with a strategic meaning to allocate land on the land market?

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The next sections elaborate on the production of these different dimensions of the land market. General processes that provide a framing for the subsequent analysis of different actor groups involved in the land market will be highlighted. 2.1.1 Material settings of the land market The land market does require land; it therefore cannot be understood in purely economic terms but the broader implications caused by the material articulation of the land market do have to be considered. Two important aspects are: Changes in land use: The visible sign of the peri-urban land market is the widespread conversion of agricultural land into real estate plots, i.e. marketable patches of land that provide a much higher return than meagre agriculture. As a first step of the conversion, agricultural land is left fallow for several years to obtain a certificate needed to allow the conversion from agriculture to real estate (which is otherwise considered illegal, see section V.2.2.4 on government institutions that regulate the land market). This material aspect of producing the land market has severe consequences for the people whose livelihood depends on agriculture. Demarcations: Claims in the land market are articulated with material enclosures of spaces. The fences and walls in the peri-urban are the tangible expression of the enforced claim of private ownership from real estate agents or landowners abandoning agriculture. The landscape is turned into a checkerboard pattern of fenced plots ready for selling, see photo 6.

Photo 6: Fencing land for real estate speculation (Source: S. Homm 2012)

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2.1.2 Representations and regulations to produce the land market The main issue when considering the spatial strategies of actors involved in creating the land market is the active generation of new representations tied to the plots to make them marketable. This involves different aspects: Market value: The land market functions because a market value is allocated to specific land plots. This monetary value is the central representations establishing the land market. This land value is actively created through the interactions of different actors who constitute the social relations of the land market. As a representation of a specific social space this value has implications for other actions performed there (including agricultural land use that has to stop). Legal status: A precondition for selling a plot is to change its legal administrative representation from farming to residential. Formally, the selling of agricultural land as residential plots is not allowed in Tamil Nadu to prevent the rapid conversion of land and maintain food security. However, leaving land fallow for one year is often sufficient to get local admission to change the legal representation, although the officially required period would be five years (U11). Knowledge: The market value is produced by actor groups (mainly real-estate agents and land brokers) who have exclusive knowledge over the land value, i.e. the central representation constituting the land market. The true market price - that is, the price a well-informed real estate agent would be willing to pay - is not readily available to lay persons. Most farmers do not have access to information on the land market, and many sell their land for prices far below market value. As one respondent put it: „Earlier there were no real estate people, so we were not aware of the future developments“ (U21). The knowledge about the market value is tied to the persons, the ‘real estate persons’, without whose presence the knowledge would not be available. Thus, the knowledge of the real estate persons about the price and location of plots enables them to produce the land market and forge land deals according to their own interests. Real estate agents and land brokers make strategic use of this knowledge. One strategy is the deliberate prevention of transparency and the maintenance of a disparity in knowledge about specific land prices. This allows land brokers to buy land for cheap from small farmers and then resell it to larger investors for higher prices. The active spreading of rumours about falling land prices to pressure farmers into selling was another strategy applied in several villages in periurban Chennai. 2.1.3 Emotional meaning shaping the land market Many farmers articulated the emotional value land has for them. One respondent stressed: “The sell was profitable, but at the same time it was sad. If no one would have built a new house, I would have left everything the old way” (U26). The dynamics of the land market are shaped by different forms of emotional meaning:

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The narrative of becoming rich: It is now strongly embedded in the mind of peri-urban people that lots of money can be made by selling land. This optimism is linked with hopes for a permanently improved life. This narrative of becoming rich is also evident in this quote: “Lots of people want to have a luxurious life by selling their lands. If a farmer sells one acre of land, with that money he builds a nice house for Rs 20-30 lakhs with air-conditioning facilities and buys a car for Rs 100,000. The remaining amount of Rs 6,000,000 is deposited in the bank at a very less rate of interest that is Rs 1,000 for Rs 100,000. Then he gets Rs 60,000 per month” (V6).

Places of investment: The peri-urban landscape itself is changed through the signs of land speculation. The signs are set up to produce a landscape of expectations regarding ever rising land prices. The peri-urban hinterland is now plastered with signs of real estate developers who announce either their interest in buying land or advertise plots for sale. Through these advertisement campaigns of real-estate promoters the peri-urban is actively produced as a site for investments installing signs promising a great ‘info tech city’ or ‘gated community plots’ in a landscape otherwise dominated by agriculture. Along the Sriperumbudur-Oragadam industrial corridor, for example, a total of 23 advertisement boards were counted along a stretch the length of 12km (March 2012). Threat to food security: The conversion of agricultural land to real estate was linked to food insecurity for almost all respondents in the peri-urban villages. Only few of the respondents believed that imported food items can substitute the loss in agricultural productions that is seen as inevitable. This concern is also prevalent in Tamil (and Indian) political discourse, and stressed by NGOs who are cautioning against unrestrained industrial developments. In response, the State Government prohibited the conversion of agricultural land to real estate and decreed that for the establishment of SEZs, not more than 10% of ‘wetland’ (land irrigated by tanks) should be acquired and turned into industrial estate (C3). Threat to agricultural livelihoods: In the villages, small farmers are often opposed to the selling of land because they regard it is a threat to their agricultural livelihood since without agricultural lands, no agricultural labour is required. This can also be seen in the following discussion between a buyer (an established landowner living in Chennai) and a seller (a small-scale farmer from the village selling the last parcel of land belonging to the family because of pressing financial need for medical treatment of a relative): Small-scale farmer: “We are suffering. We have difficulties for our food itself. It is since 2 to 3 years!” Buyer: “We can’t do agriculture, because the land is stony.” Small-scale farmer: “See, you can’t do agriculture. At least you can build and improve the land. Otherwise do some agriculture. You keep buying the land without doing anything productively!” (U11)

The small-scale farmer continues to demand some agricultural activity from the landowner who “keeps buying land”. But agriculture is abandoned and the land is

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left for speculative purpose. This arouses anger among the remaining villagers who are negatively affected by decreasing agricultural activities. Especially older and uneducated villagers have difficulties in finding jobs outside agriculture. Accordingly, a landless agricultural labourer complained about the landowners selling land: “These naidus [land-owning caste] sell their land for Rs 15,000 per cent and build houses. The property came like this and nothing else. This was the reason they all became very rich and moved to Madras. If these naidus did not move to Madras, this area would have developed!“ (U10).

This conflict between landowners and agricultural labourers is followed in further detail in sub-chapter VI.2, where the village of Ullavur is discussed as a case study of the declining relevance of agriculture in the peri-urban. Land and rural identity: Different reasons are stated against the selling of land, often linked with family tradition: “I do not want to sell my father’s property” (U27). The emotional attachment was often stressed by more wealthy landowners who kept land not for economic reasons but more as a luxury item in order to maintain a rural identity. The selling of land also creates tensions between generations and their lifestyles: “Only the present generation is happy that they are working in a company. His mother, his parents, his grandparents, they are not happy because traditional agricultural practices are lost. But this generation is happy!” (M4).

But as the selling of land provides high monetary returns, the younger generation seems to assert its position; they were quoted to tell the elders: “When the land is sold, there is lot of money, just keep quiet and listen to me!” (M4). 2.2 Actors producing the peri-urban land market For a better understanding of the production of the peri-urban land market, the next sub-sections will provide an overview on main actor-groups involved. The actor-groups are analysed considering the following aspects: i) Definition of the group; ii) The origins of power to produce the land market; and iii) The practice of producing the land market. 2.2.1 Landowners Definition of landowners Landowners relevant for the peri-urban land market are mainly farmers with land holdings of several acres.

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The origins of power to produce the land market The capacity to produce the land market is based on the legal ownership of land. To understand the current patterns of landownership, the British colonial rule (1757 to 1947) has to be taken into account. The British colonial administration introduced a land tenure system in India that was based on the experience made in Bengal. The system was called ryotwari, for the landholder (ryots) were given formal property rights and were regarded tenants of government land and had to pay revenue taxes (Jodhka 2006: 370). Land was given to dominant castes, particularly to brahmins and naidus. This allocation of landownership was also practiced in the Madras Presidency, the province of British India that constituted several states of southern India, including Tamil Nadu. The landownership was formalized with pattas: registered land titles that determined how much taxes had to be paid. The ownership of land in the peri-urban areas is to a large degree structured by these arrangements. Traditional institutions of the rural society of South India were reinforced along the dividing lines of caste by the colonial administration. The distribution of landownership is thus deeply rooted in the social fabric of the rural society. Population belonging to lower castes or regarded as untouchables were only provided with communal land that formally remained government land (paramboke land, see also sub-chapter V.1 on the implications for land acquisition politics). These specific forms of land-ownership are regarded as the constitutive institutions for the land market. The practice of producing the land market The main driver behind the surging peri-urban land market is that many landowners want to sell their land because, as stated most often, agriculture is no longer a profitable business. „People do not cultivate anymore, their occupation is gone and they sell their lands as real estate” (C6). Accordingly, “Agriculture is going down” is a common proverb in peri urban Chennai. Indeed, agricultural production has stagnated in the last decades since profitability for the landowners was reduced (Vijayabaskar 2010). Central to this is the rise in cost for agricultural labour (see also sub-chapter VI.2) and other agricultural inputs (seeds, fertilizer and electricity), while the market price for selling products (paddy rice) remained relatively low. It is in particular the industrial development that increases the opportunities for labourers to work outside agriculture. The following remarks of a landowner illustrate the trend: „There is no income from agriculture. There is labour shortage. The workers go to export companies. In the fields they have to work under the sun and do lot of manual work such as ploughing the land with drill harrows, weeding and making way for the water to reach the crops. But when they work in companies, they can work under the fan and there is no hard work” (M2).

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Without this cheap labour force, agricultural production is becoming less profitable. This is an important driver behind the willingness of landowners to sell their land. 2.2.2 Real estate agents The decisive driving factor for the peri-urban land market is the power of the realestate agents to turn farmland into profitable real estate. They are the essential actor group to change the representation of the space of rurality into a commodity: the marketable plot. The commodification of land is their business and strategy; they are the main agents thereof. Definition of real estate agents Real estate agents can pursue different types of business. The main categories are rental, sub-rental and land buying/selling, the latter of which is most relevant for this study. Rental is normally financed by charging a commission worth one monthly rent; sub-rental is mostly done for offices or companies. One respondent explained: “For small real estate agencies land deals are between Rs 1-10 lakhs. Real estate agents also act as brokers to facilitate land deals, then both sides give them 2% commission” ( C2).

The origins of power to produce the land market The central resource for a successful real-estate agent is knowledge about land and contacts to potential buyers and sellers. Especially in small peri-urban towns and villages, land records are poor and it is only through the connections of the real estate agent that the necessary papers can be brought together. Buying land is a difficult business which requires insider knowledge only these specialized agents can provide. The importance of knowledge is also illustrated in the following quotes: “Everybody is doing real estate. But you need contacts and have to know where things are” (C2). “When he knows a person is loyal, than business will be good. Trust is a critical factor for success” (C3). Real estate is regarded a risky enterprise for there can be times with no transaction at all. Therefore many real estate agencies do this as a side business while also maintaining a shop (C2). The land transactions are performed in a context of uncertainty where informal and tacit knowledge is decisive for business success. For example, there is always the danger of buying fake documents. Real estate agents need experience and good connections to government institutions providing certificates and local land brokers to avoid such incidences. People are not selling their land when they expect state agencies (e.g. SIPCOT) to acquire land for the establishment of indus-

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trial estates (as discussed in chapter V.1). The real estate agents are not that much afraid of forced land acquisition, because they are equipped with all the required papers and can easily realize compensation (C2). The practices of land transactions Real estate agents normally reside in their office in some town of suburban Chennai. From here, they visit peri-urban villages in large SUVs where they meet land brokers and local landowners to finalize the land transactions. The practice of land transactions is further detailed with the following overview on the main strategies of real estate agents to gain profits from transactions in the land market. Deceiving seller/buyer about the value of land: This is easily practiced with local farmers: “Farmers are so simple, they very often really do not know the price. The farmer does not know anybody, so he has to sell for less, say Rs. 80,000. The broker then later can sell the land to someone else for a higher price, he has many contacts, so he can sell for Rs. 110, 000. Like this he can make Rs. 30,000 profit.” (C2).

It is even more attractive if outsiders come that do not know local prices: “if someone from Delhi or Mumbai comes, they also do not know the price, so business is easy” (C2). Spreading of rumours: This strategy is part of deceiving sellers of land in regard to the price. The spreading of rumours is achieved with the support of local allies, e.g. the land brokers (see next section V.2.2.3 on land brokers), who help to deceive entire villages about the price of land. A typical case of rumours fostering land transactions was reported: “He [the real estate agent] brainwashed all the villagers saying that the land value will decrease in future, so you better sell your land now. Initially he gives only Rs. 50,000 as advance. Like that he transferred all the power of the land on his name and he became the landowner of so many acres of land. Then he sold the land for a good profit, but paid only little money to the poor innocent villagers. He prepared a fake agreement for taking the land from the villagers and later he sold the land to the college with a huge profit of Rs. 18 to 28 lakhs [27–43,000 euro] and in that way he earned more than Rs. 5 to 8 crores [0.7–1.2 million euro]” (V7).

The strategy however, was said to lose some of its strength in recent years, as farmers are increasingly better informed about the actual value of their land: “Setting rumours between the farmers is now more difficult. But ten years ago there was no communication between them” argued a real estate agent experienced in this matter (C2). Merge small and cheap plots: An important strategy in the land market is merging small plots into one large plot. This increases the land value dramatically and opens new possibilities for the investor. Often land is left idle after all small plots have been acquired while the real estate broker is speculating for an appreciation of the land price. The foreign companies seeking space for their business

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also use real estate agents as a mediator to access land. The example given by a land broker was: “The farmers sells for Rs. 10,000 to a real estate agent, who then sells for Rs. 200,000 to the government and the government sells for Rs. 300,000 to the company”(U4)

The real estate agent is in a central position to merge cheap land plots and sell it with profits to the next actor, in this example the government. Reduce the price by fast payment: Land is often bought from small-scale farmers who are in need of quick cash, for marriage of daughters or for medical purpose. Therefore, real estate agents often provide immediate cash to secure a lower price: “if the price is 1 lakh, if money need is urgent we reduce the price by paying immediately. Then only Rs. 80,000 is needed” (C2). Wait for a substantial increase in the price: Land speculation is common since the price of land is rising fast in many regions. What factors are influencing the land price real estate agents are willing to pay? A group interview with real estate agents identified the following factors: - Most relevant: Road and transport connectivity - Very relevant: Closeness to companies and hospitals - Modest relevance: Closeness to schools and colleges - Little relevance: Security (if there are other house around the plot it is perceived as safer). 2.2.3 Land broker Definition of land broker Buying and selling of land is not achieved in a ‘clean’ market devoid of social structures. Instead, land deals are much negotiated at the local level, because often opposition from prospective sellers has to be overcome with the help of local land brokers to realize the land deal planned by a real estate agent. The dividing line between real estate agent and land broker is blurred. The difference established here is constructed from a gradual difference between actors who are more localized in a village setting (land brokers) and actors more localized in urban settings who pursue land transactions primarily as business (real estate agents). Local level land brokers are important for the functioning of the peri-urban land market because only they have the knowledge and power to facilitate land deals in highly localized social spaces that are difficult to access and manipulate for outside actors. Land brokers often are landowners themselves and do their brokerage service only as a side business to earn some extra income. While the land market is characterized by a lack of transparency, they provide the sought after information. Usually, they work on a commission basis, taking 2% cent of the land deal (C2).

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The origins of power to produce the land market The capacity of the land brokers to produce the land market is based on their close ties with the village landowners and local elites. Land brokers have the capacity to influence people and build pressure to realize land deals. If a farmer is not willing to sell his land but the real estate agents want to make a profit, the land brokers use their local connections and influence to pressure the hesitating landowner. This pressure can only be exercised by the local land brokers, as the following quote illustrates: “Politicians will never come to this place at all. Only the local people generate all kinds of enmity with others. They cleverly move the coin to break the families and relations. So they push us to a situation that ok, let me sell my land and move away from here” (M3).

By implementing this pressure on a local level, land brokers are important intermediates who amplify and enforce the interests of their real estate partners at the local level. The practice of producing the land market The main practice of the land brokers is to convey the interest of real estate agents at the local level and exercise pressure to sell land. When owners of land refuse to sell, land brokers visit them and try to convince them to sell. The following case told by a respondent illustrates such a negotiation: “He [a land broker] asked Mr. Thanikachalam to sell his lands for the college. Mr. Thanikachalam got so angry and shouted at him saying that why should I sell my land? I do not want to sell and you just go off from here! I know when I want to sell and you don’t have to advise me! […] Even if I am selling my land I can sell to anyone and you do not have to tell me whom to sell my land!” (V7).

The land broker in this case did not succeed in convincing the landowner about the deal. The landowner claims his right ‘I can sell to anyone’, showing how much this right has to be fought for in a context where land transactions are far from free but instead arranged by local land brokers. The land market is realized through exercising power, even fear, among farmers who are pressured to sell their land. The following case involved some land brokers who realized this pressure on the local level; they function as crucial ‘middleman’ to enable land deals. The profit goes to the ‘developer’, or real estate agent, who is in direct contact with the companies buying the land: “See the Nokia Company took 1,000 acres of land. Do you think all the money went to the farmers? No, the money went somewhere else. Only the middlemen swindled all the money and cheated the farmers. First they approach the farmers and make a request. Then they give some time and threaten the farmers. Later they create a situation that the farmer cannot survive in that place. Then they start fixing up the rate from Rs. 500 per cent and increase to Rs. 5,000. But the developers hand over the land to companies for Rs. 500,000” (M3).

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The example also illustrates the mix of strategies applied to pressure farmers into selling their land. The threat is paired with a rapid increase of the price offered to the farmers. The quote also gives an impression of the critic and opposition the land brokers and real estate agents are confronted with. 2.2.4 Government institutions that regulate the peri-urban land market Definition of government institutions Institutions governing the land market can be differentiated in constitutive and regulative institutions (Wehrmann 2005: 159). Constitutive institutions refer to land tenure rights, land register and general rule of law whereas regulative institutions serve land management and include spatial planning acts, building laws and ethical principles of the land market (ibid. 134–136). Both types of institutions are represented by government institutions that are in a powerful position regarding the functioning of the land market. The origins of power to produce the land market The thriving land market empowers local networks and institutions that regulate landownership. Town and village institutions gain ample opportunities for corruption, patronage and long term clientilism. One real estate agent explained the dependency on the government institutions as follows: “When making a layout, the VAO [village administrative officer] gets the plan. CMDA [Chennai Metropolitan Development Agency] also has to approve. There is always some bribing involved. Often the bribe is about ten times the regular fee. And if we complain they will not give any approval!” (C2).

This prevalence of the corruption in connection with the land market is also consent in the media: “Right from the local MLA [Member of Local Assembly] to the village development officer, all are hand in glove in this at a number of places” (The Hindu, 13.10.2011). The power of government institutions is based on their mandate to enforce laws and regulations. Some of the regulations and institutions with particular relevance to the land market are: Patta, the ownership certificate: Landownership is documented with patta, a formal title deed that is sold together with the land. The importance of the patta becomes clear in case of land acquisition, as compensation is paid only to those being able to prove patta (see also sub-chapter V.1). The government/guideline value: Introduced as a tool to regulate the land market, the government value of land is an important reference point in the land market. One government official explained: “Guideline [government] value is a static factor and market value is a dynamic factor. Guideline can never be equal to market value, sometimes the market value crashes and the guide-

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V Enforced abstractions and spaces of exclusion in peri-urban Chennai line value remains. Guideline value is used to charge the stamp duty; it is just a rough cost estimate of the property value” (C6).

The government value is usually much lower than the real or “market value” of land. This difference is important for two reasons: Firstly, when land is acquired by the government, the compensation is based on the government value. Secondly, in order to save taxes, land is normally not registered by the market price but by the government price; see below. Registration office: Land transactions in Tamil Nadu have to be registered with the registration office, which has busy divisions in all small towns. They are responsible for documenting the land transactions. But there seems to be a widespread practice of only registering the guideline value, rather than the market value, in order to pay fewer taxes. This is one reason for the high amounts of ‘black money’ circulating in the land market. One respondent explained: “Many farmers sell the land through black market. To the government they show only Rs 200,000 for selling the land even if the land was sold for Rs 2 crores. All the money is unaccounted money. It is black money. Also, only when the total money is deposited in the bank he has to pay the tax. But the farmer will split the account in two or three bank account holders. So there is no loss on money through tax” (V6).

While in theory the registration offices are responsible for providing transparency in the land market, in practice they are not. Department for Town and Country Planning (DTCP): The DTCP is responsible for the approval of real estate plots. When real estate is advertised, it is always with the notice “DTCP approved” – illustrating the power of the DTCP. Due to the large number of real estate transactions the institution is said to have difficulties processing applications for approval in time. (C9). Again, real estate agents reported extra payments in order to facilitate approval of layouts (C2). The practice of producing the land market The semi-legal land market of peri-urban Chennai can only be practiced with the consent of the government institutions. This dependency of the land market on local authorities gives government officials many opportunities to engage in corruption. Important practices of corruption are: Claiming/Acceptance of bribes for approval: To develop agricultural land into a real estate layout, an approval of the Department of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) is needed. More often than not, bribing is involved if agricultural land is thus converted: “They leave it dry for one year, actually it should be 5 years, than say to DTCP, see no farming it is dry. Only then they get the approval for residential land“ (U11).

Another situation where bribes are commonly expected concerns the practice of government representatives conveying information on land designated for development, or plots that are likely to rise in value, to brokers or real estate agents.

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Acceptance of bribes regarding the measurement of the land: Often the location and boundaries of a plot are not well documented. Old village documents lack spatial clarity, or an agricultural practice like tilling has changed the contours of a field; e.g. a farmer might extend his land by tilling a neighbour’s field and increasing the land year by year. It is thus quite common that there are problems with demarcation when the sale of land is impending. In such a case, the land has to be re-measured and this can only be done by local officials. Real estate agents prefer to solve these problems together with the local Village Administrative Officer (VAO), to strengthen their position in the negotiations. One real estate agent explained their dependence on the government representative: “When I go there alone, the farmers will just not talk to me. With the VAO the farmers listen in silence” (C3). The measurement of land often involves some bribing or cooperation with local politicians. Officially, to measure land, an official application has to be made by the local VAO who then designates surveyors to oversee the measurement. This is officially done through officers from the Taluk office who informs the VAO about it. This procedure takes a lot of time, but: “To do it immediately you have to influence the people” (C3). Use of political power to secure speculative land: A less common strategy of representatives from government institutions is to use their insider knowledge and political power to obtain land at places where prices are expected to rise. One respondent with links to higher political level explained: “Yes, it [the land market] has pushed up people to corruption. I wanted to create two satellite cities. Once this came to the high level meeting everybody wanted a part of this land“(C6).

Politicians use their good connections as insiders to be the first to profit from rising land prices. Selling land to industrial enterprises: The rapid industrial development is a particular strong incentive for land corruption. As the following quote illustrates, the corruption is often not confined to taking a bribe, it rather involves the creation of an encompassing environment for investment that includes different aspects relevant for the company (land, energy, public relations): “Politicians are for making money. First, he makes several plots. Then he looks for Germans, Italians, English and Americans to start industries. Then he gets free electricity and other incentives from the government and proudly bragging that he brought the international companies to do business in Chennai. Then he sells his own small parcel of land and takes money from the foreigners for the large plots of land parcels. This is the cunning ploy of an individual politician!” (M3).

2.2.5 Farmers with small landholdings “Local people are unable to stay in their places. They are forced to vacate because of money pressure, there is urban pressure. Because of urban pressure they will slowly start moving outside their area” (C7, junior manager in a consultancy firm, preparing a report for Sriperumbudur region).

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Definition of farmers with small landholdings Farmers are defined here to have small landholdings when they own less than 1 acre (100 cent or 4,046 sqm.) of land. Their participation in the land market is not from a position of power but of need, as land is only sold when cash is required. Reasons for selling include the need to build an own house, pay for the marriage of a daughter, or cover medical expenses. From the perspective of farmers with small landholdings, the loss of land is a threat to their livelihood. One respondent explained: “The poor farmer believes the words of the developer to get a job in the company and gives his land. But finally no job, nothing and he had to move out to some place. The job in company is given to a person with the strong recommendation of the politicians. The farmer sells his land, not getting the money, no job. What would be the status of the farmer who sold the land? Tell me! The future of the farmer is in an extinct stage. Now who is living? Only the middle-men!” ( M3).

The origins of power to produce the land market Landowners owning small parcels of land have only limited command about their property. Their power to sell is often used or misused by land brokers and others to achieve participation in the land market. Marginalized landowners have to sell their land because of either economically or socially constructed pressure. One respondent explained: “See; now I need money for various requirements. So I am selling my land. Do you understand? If I do not require the money you cannot allure me to sell my land for 5 crores or 10 crores. But if I am resistant to all the temptations, then they use all political powers against me to grab the land” (M3).

Farmers with small land holdings are in a weak position and vulnerable to pressure to sell their land. This is also illustrated by the following case study. Case study 2: Forced selling of land “I was born and brought up in this village. Thirty years ago there were no companies in this area. There were only Casuarina-trees. No paddy. It is a dry, unfertile land. In 2003 I sold all my land. Real estate developers had come in the village and influenced the people by spreading rumours that the neighbours already had sold their lands. They said: ‘If you do not sell your land now you will never be able to sell your land in future!’. I believed these rumours and sold my land: 140 cents for Rs. 1.4 lakh. No registration, nothing. One signature was enough to prove the land transfer. Everybody in the village sold their lands. Now, nobody is having any lands. Only after selling the land I realized that I have been cheated. Other people had sold their lands for Rs. 50,000 per cent, but I had sold for only Rs. 1,000 per cent. Now [in 2011], one cent of land is worth Rs. 200,000. The person who purchased the land from me has made several plots and is waiting for the rise in price to sell. The plots are simply lying with fence. Now I only own this house. I work as a sweeper in a nearby company. I want to make a compound wall around the house. But the

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price of the sand and cement is high. So there is some delay in building the compound wall. My daughter is living in a rental house in nearby Chettipedu. The cost of living is also high in Chettipedu. Once Chettipedu was a village and now it is a big bazaar. My two sons are also working in a car company. They are not educated”. (Source: Ch1, a farmer with small landholdings in Ukkotai, north of Chettipedu)

The case study exemplifies the vulnerability of the local population who are unaware of the value of their land. This susceptibility to inadequate prices for their land is, as can be seen from the example, often compounded with further exposures such as to the labour market, where low or little education can only secure a small income in times where agricultural income is insecure. The vulnerability is also expressed in the following quote: “Some farmers sold their lands without even having a formal sale deed. Many illiterate farmers are exploited for very less money just by having the LTI [Left Thumb Impression]. Many farmers are cheated in this way. These poor farmers do not know the actual land value and they accept to transfer the land for any amount as they have not seen such huge money in their life. So they do not regret for losing their land. When one farmer does, other farmers follow” (Ch2).

This illustrates how farmers who do not have sufficient knowledge about the true value of their land are lured to sell their land. And if the farmers cannot write to sign the papers to sell, they can simply use their thumb to sign away their land. The practice of producing the land market The land market is not really a ‘market’ where the owner of small landholdings can choose to sell or not. It was repeatedly reported that these landowners were pressured to sell their land. Two types of pressure were mentioned: i) Pressure by family members who have a strategic interest in the selling of the land; ii) Pressure by local level politicians who have an interest in the allocation of industries. The first point, pressure by family members, can be illustrated by an example from Ponneri, north of Chennai. Here, one respondent explained: „My brother is a close friend of the owner of the engineering college and he wanted the land, so my brother sold my land to the college. In 2007 he took the land from us for only Rs. 1,200,000 and gave only a small amount as an advance. Within one month he sold the land for Rs. 3,000,000 to Rs. 4,000,000 per acre“ (V7, emphasis added).

This demonstrates how family ties are used to pressure relatives to sell land for cheap to enable the prospering of some other family business. It could be expected that with these land deals some inner family conflicts would emerge. But the family members ensured that conflicts were reduced to a minimum: „Here, all are relatives so they think that what can be done. Let them have the land. Especially among the relatives they do not want to have any conflicts. So they remain calm and peaceful. Also they [who sold the land] are comfortably living with lot of money in a nice house, sending their children to a convent for education. So this being their ambition they do

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V Enforced abstractions and spaces of exclusion in peri-urban Chennai not pick up any conflicts. After selling their lands they are working in college and so they feel proud. So they are happy with what they have now” (V7).

These examples illustrate in how far the land deals are embedded in family relations and how traditional roles of intra-family superiority seem to be transposed in the land market. If the powerful uncle demands the land, the family members give in and a narrative is constructed that gives legitimacy to the unequal transactions, like: “So they are happy with what they have now” in the above quote. In return, the uncle used his influence to provide jobs for all relatives who sold their land to the college. This shows how land deals are embedded in the social fabric of family ties including mutual responsibility. 2.3 The land market along the Sriperumbudur-Oragadam industrial corridor A case study was conducted by the author to reveal the dynamics of the especially dynamic land market along the Sriperumbudur-Oragadam industrial corridor. The case study provides spatial patterns of land value increase by considering land prizes at two points in time: 2001 and 2011. The corridor is in the centre of the industrial development reshaping peri-urban Chennai, its profound changes in land use have already been portrayed in sub-chapter IV.2 and map 4 showing the land use change along the industrial highway. As the counterpart to map 4, this section and in particular map 7 (see page 216) depicts the changes in land value along the industrial highway. The land value was assessed by dividing the land into 20 sections from north to south, which were subdivided by a vertical line drawn at 0.5km distance from the highway on the eastern and western side, respectively. Plots within 0–500m of the highway were attributed with the category I, while plots situated 500–1000m from the highway were assigned to category II. The average price of the land parcels for 2001 and 2011 was gained through interviews with different land brokers knowledgeable of the area. The increase of land according to these interviews was validated with other sources of land prices in real-estate websites: (www.magicbricks.com, www.indianrealestate-forum.com and others). The map indicates that the land value in 2001, which is prior to large scale industrial investments, was mostly dependent on proximity to villages and road infrastructure. The highest land values in 2001 are found close to the villages of Pondur, Vallakottai, Mathur and Oragadam while the more remote Appur village in the south had particularly low values. With the onset of industrial investments, land value has increased dramatically, i.e. up to 200 times the value of 2001. Land value in 2011 is more dependent on proximity to the industrial estates, especially around Oragadam, where many companies are located. The entire land seems to be devoted to land speculation. The field assistants who conducted the study on land value along Sriperumbudur-Oragadam industrial corridor gave a telling report on the dynamic land market:

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“On both sides of SH 57, vast stretches of the land are waiting for development. There is a high degree of speculation in the price of the land. People are reluctant to disclose the details on the land value. It is very difficult to approach the people without the assistance of the real estate brokers. The majority of the rural people who are living in the villages of Vallakottai, Appur and Oragadam are waiting for increase in land value. When we reached the field immediately a group of people approached us and asked: ‘Are you here to buy the land? Where are you buying the land? Why are you buying the land? For the company, or residential or commercial development?’ Then they say that they will take us to some middleman or broker. They offer some cool drinks and coffee. We could see some eagerness on their face to cover up the clients and push them to buy the land” (O40).

Along the SH 57, the land market even can challenge established institutions: the administrators of temples and panchayat welfare land. The land market is more powerful as it can effectively ignore the representations and regulations associated with these traditional land categories. The respective processes are as follows: Temple land: Temple lands are lands that belong to a temple and are leased to local farmers at low prices. The farmers have no ownership certificate and can normally not sell these lands. Along the SH 57 however, nearly 25% of the temple lands are encroached by builders and the companies. This is based on a practice where people illegally prepare a fake sale deed and sell purportedly own land, which, however, legally is temple land. The land value of temple land was not available. Welfare land: Welfare land is semi-public land that is designated for social facilities and welfare centres (community centres, day care centres, night shelters etc.) that cater to the needs of the deprived section of the local village society. Welfare land is located mainly on the western side the highway within close proximity to the villages. These lands belong to the local panchayat who administers them. They are however taken, bought and resold by real estate brokers with the help of local politicians illegally changing the land title of the respective parcels of land. 2.4 Discussion: The land market as a mechanism for exclusion The land market is not an open market where participants can choose to sell or not. The land market can only be understood using concepts of real markets (Mackintosh 1990) considering the social, political and institutional aspects of markets that constitute the mechanisms of access to benefit from any specific market. It is this embeddedness of the land market which causes an economic approach simply based on supply and demand to be rather inadequate in understanding the dynamics of the land market. Instead it is suggested here to perceive the land market as a social space, constituted by the sum of the social relations involved in the production of the land market. The coherence is not mirrored in space, as territory affected by the land market is distributed in scattered patches. Coherence is rather found in the interplay of the social relations that are simultaneously considered when understanding the production of the land market through the interplay of different actor groups.

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2.4.1 Producing the social space of the land market The author suggests that the peri-urban land market is created by its promoters to enforce the abstraction of exchange value against existing forms of traditional ownership, for example communal land used by all villagers. The abstraction of monetary value The commodification of the agricultural land leads to the replacement of a locally existing ‘use value’ by a globally compatible ‘exchange value’, a process seen as central to capitalist society by Lefebvre (PS: 296). How do real estate speculators achieve this transition? The actors producing the land market are replacing existing use values the land offers for local communities (farming, grazing etc.) into an exchange value preferred and determined by real estate agents, land brokers and land speculators. The creation of the land market as a specific social space is discussed in this section as a spatial strategy based on enforcing the abstraction of monetary value. The concept of enforced abstraction goes beyond the usual ‘market’ behaviour and aims at unravelling the mechanics of power relations in securing access to land. With the concept of enforced abstraction, we can reveal the reductive power inherent in this transformation that integrates local spaces into the global ‘language’ of money. 2.4.2 Enforcing exclusion through cooperation The material presented in this sub-chapter has illustrated how the peri-urban land market thrives through informal networks made up of trust and reciprocity between potent actors (landowners with larger landholdings, land broker, local politicians - effectively excluding landowners with small landholdings). These powerful informal networks regulate the access to the land market and prevent small farmers from getting a fair price for their land. They maintain the land market as a social space effectively closed to outsiders. It can be argued that the land market in its current exclusive form is based on ‘unsocial capital’, that is actors who use their ability to cooperate to the detriment of others (Bohle 2005). A central element to enforce this ‘unsocial capital’ and realize benefits in the land market are the networks of power which are established between the producers of the land market who are holding a monopoly of knowledge. Networks of power The networks of the actors involved in producing the land market are made up of trust, informal reciprocity and open forms of cooperation. Since many of the activities are illegal or semi-legal, it is in particular the weakness of governance of-

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ten associated with peri-urban areas (Dávila 2006) that allows the networks of land brokers, local politicians and company representatives to make enormous profit by forging largely uncontrolled land deals. An indicator of this semi-legal functioning of the land market is the large percentage of ‘black money’ invested in the land market. Though exact numbers are not available, it is generally acknowledged by officials that land deals in peri-urban Chennai are often made to invest money gained by improper means. The government institutions are deeply involved in the methods of producing the land market, as is illustrated by the close ties between local politicians and real estate agents. Often pressure is exercised by local politicians who have vested interests in the allocation of industries or the selling of particular parcels of land. The material presented in the sub-chapter has illustrated that the power of the land brokers and real estate agents depends on close cooperation with politicians and cooperation with established government institutions. The use of political authority is mandatory to realize their transactions in the peri-urban land market. This high level of dependency forges close ties between local officials and real-estate agents. Once established, these ties are reinforced by bribery and the mutual granting of benefits. The domestic domain of the family is another level of the power structures on which the land market is based. Powerful family members push other, less powerful family members to sell their land if it is in the ‘family interest’. This was the case with the engineering college for which the powerful uncle simply sold the land of his nephew, as reported in section V.2.2.5. The social embeddedness of the land market conveys land conflicts right into the family. But because of family solidarity, the conflict is hidden. It can be argued that many land conflicts caused through irregularities of the land market are silenced through kinship, i.e. by constructing the mutual accordance that the selling was fair and appropriate. A monopoly of knowledge Information and knowledge plays a central role in the regulation of the land market. Only when actors know the actual monetary representation of a specific land parcel are they able to generate benefits when participating in the land market. Otherwise they can be deceived by a real estate agent, see section V.2.2.2. Since no official values are available (the government value is often much lower than the actual market value), people rely on what they are told. The success of land broker’s methods such as active spreading of rumours about falling land prices is also illustrative of the scarce information available to the majority of the population regarding the land market. It is therefore suggested that among the actors producing the land market, the establishment and maintenance of a monopoly of knowledge is a shared strategy to secure their dominance in the land market. The monopoly of knowledge is also a reason for the exclusionary effects of the land market: because farmers with small landholdings do not have this information, they are selling below market

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value – to the benefit of the real estate agents and land broker. The maintenance of this monopoly of knowledge and asymmetry in information can be regarded a spatial strategy of the producers of the land marked to gain maximum profits. 2.4.3 Effects of the land market The before mentioned informal networks regulate access to the land market and prevent small farmers from getting a fair price for their land. It is this traditional form of land-ownership that gives the current surge in land prices a specific note of injustice which is linked to the old legitimacy of the land rights of the upper castes. The peri-urban is marked by an increasing commoditization of land (Wehrmann 2005). As noted by Arabindoo (2006) regarding land conflicts in the southern periphery of Chennai, institutions traditionally responsible for the resolution of land conflicts, such as the village panchayats, are increasingly losing their power to real-estate brokers. The opportunities to gain profits from the landmarket are huge. But the access to them is limited by the land-brokers who share the benefits among themselves. If mechanisms for a fairer distribution of benefits would have been in place, the small farmers would have a chance to benefit. Some respondents see this as a government duty: “Government should have given a reasonable price. They should have made poor to rich; instead here the middle man is made rich” (C6). A new quality of hegemony The legacy of the caste system in South India places the larger land holdings in the hands of the upper castes. The upper caste landowners have difficulties in maintaining their dominance through agriculture, as the profits from agriculture are decreasing. Sub-chapter VI.2 and the village study on Ullavur will further highlight this demise of agriculture and the fading dominance of the land owning community. But the landowners have the connections and power to cooperate with the real estate agents to turn their landownership into lasting dominance. Instead of ruling through the structures of the traditional rural division of labour (labourer working on the fields of the landowners), the landowner can sell his land and realize enormous profits, which would never be available for the landless labourer. This makes the land market a key in the maintenance and transformation of power structures. The transformation enabled by the land market is changing the feudal dominance of landowners into a new, rather capitalist dominance based on monetary superiority. The land market is instrumental in the creation of a new hegemonic class based on financial superiority and expensive private education (see sub-chapter V.3) that allows access to the better paid positions in the industrial labour market (see sub-chapter VI.1). The land market is an important mechanism to stabilise traditional power structures in peri-urban Chennai.

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3 PRIVATIZED SPACES OF HIGHER EDUCATION “To get the admission in an engineering college, for a farmer’s son, the institute asks Rs. 32,500. In addition to this, many other expenses. The best colleges do not admit the farmer’s children at all. Then where will these children go for higher education? You will know the pain only when you try to get admission for your son” (M3, farmer seeking higher education for his son).

3.1 Labour markets and education The emerging labour markets within the peri-urban spaces offer great opportunities for the qualified. The industrial compounds welcome all sorts of engineering professionals with higher degrees. The income of these workers with higher education is five to ten times that of the average manual worker who usually only has around 10 or 12 years of schooling (this will be discussed further in sub-chapter VI.1, especially in section VI.1.2.2 and table 21). College education or generally higher education is a key mechanism in regulating access to the upper-end income opportunities of the peri-urban labour market. Therefore, this sub-chapter elaborates on the availability of higher education in general, and the development of a private market for higher education in particular. However, to place the topic in context, first some background on primary education in Tamil Nadu is provided. 3.1.1 Education in Tamil Nadu The education system in Tamil Nadu is closely related to pro poor policies which stress the importance of education. One prominent example is the ‘free school meal scheme’ for primary school pupils at all schools in Tamil Nadu, which is now replicated in other union states for its success in bringing children from farming families to school. The basic education of scheduled castes (also referred to as the dalit community) and scheduled tribes (SC/ST) has improved considerably in the last decades. Basic education (six years of schooling) is now accessible for most children, and these days 90% of children in Tamil Nadu attend school until upper primary school (ASER Centre 2011). In addition, traditionally marginalized communities such as the above mentioned groups of have been supported with a quota system to support their entrance into higher education. The importance of education for the empowerment of families who now have increasing access to working opportunities outside of agriculture will be further elaborated in subchapter VI.2. The quota system, however, is often only applicable in government run schools that are said to have less quality compared to private schools (ASER 2011). Government schools were often perceived to be of inferior quality by respondents in peri-urban villages (e.g. U30). Private schooling is obviously more expensive, but its growing share of the education sector shows people’s estimation that it brings better prospects for the subsequent entry into higher education or

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good positions on the job market. This pattern of privatisation of quality education becomes even more pronounced when higher education is considered. The next section focuses on engineering colleges as this part of higher education is most relevant for the peri-urban labour market. 3.2 Engineering colleges Most of the skilled workers at the industrial enterprises have received their education at an engineering college, many of which are built in close proximity to the industrial factories in the peri-urban. The number of engineering colleges around Chennai has increased dramatically in the last two decades. Based on the excellent job prospects attributed to gaining a bachelor or master degree at an engineering college with good reputation, there exists a strong willingness to pay for higher education. The majority of the engineering colleges are now operated privately but remain under the regulation of the State Government. Private engineering colleges are a highly remunerative business and continue to grow in number. The colleges are sought after enclaves of higher education which compete for paying students. One aspect of the self-marketing resulting from this competition are the impressive entry gates to many engineering colleges, see for example photo 7.

Photo 7: Entry gate of an engineering college near Sriperumbudur (Source: Homm 2012)

The total number of engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu was 570 in 2012, with another 50 expected to open in 2013 (Times of India, 17.04.2012). However, in a recent quality check not all of the colleges fulfilled the standards required by the State Government. In 2012, permission was suspended for 60 engineering colleges, but they went to court and promised improvements, and most got clearance to reopen. The number of total seats in engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu stood at 220,000 in 2012 (according to television interview with vice chancellor of Anna University on May 21st 2012).

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What then is the relevance of peri-urban Chennai regarding higher education? According to a survey conducted by the author in 2012, an extremely dense landscape of higher education emerged in peri-urban Chennai. Firstly, from the 570 engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu, 121 (or 21%) are located in peri-urban Chennai. Secondly, out of the the total of 220,000 seats of these colleges, 96,400 (or 43%) are located in peri-urban Chennai. Peri-urban Chennai is not only home to a great percentage of all colleges in Tamil Nadu, but the colleges are also particularly large when considering the number of students. The survey also revealed that the vast majority of the engineering colleges are either funded privately or through trusts and foundations. Most colleges are independent from government funding. Table 22 and map 8 (page 217) provide an overview of the survey results and illustrate how the number of (especially privately funded) engineering colleges has increased most rapidly over the last two decades.

1940-49 1950-59 1960-69 1970-79 1980-89 1990-99 2000-09

Funded by government 2 0 1 0 0 1 3

Funded privately 0 1 0 0 7 32 74

Table 22: Engineering colleges in peri-urban Chennai per year of establishment Source: www.collegesintamilnadu.com (04/2012)

Actually, the trend from government funded education towards privately financed education is occurring all over India. However, Tamil Nadu is one of the leading states when the ratio of state owned vs. private education institutions is considered (Chakrabarti 2010: 253). As map 8 demonstrates, the colleges are in close proximity to existing infrastructure and industrial estates. These colleges are exclusive spaces of higher education and regulate entry to superior positions in the companies. One mechanism of this regulation are the ‘recruiting events’ where human resource managers of large companies visit selected colleges to directly provide jobs to outstanding students (S4). The recruiting events depend on the reputation of the engineering college and its connections to industrial companies.

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3.2.1 Regulating access to engineering colleges Access to the engineering colleges is regulated mainly through the assessment of school leaving qualifications and through a complex payment system of fees and donations. Based on the concept of positive discrimination of traditionally marginalised groups, each college has to provide a certain percentage of seats to members of scheduled castes/scheduled tribes or ‘other backward communities’. This system is called ‘government quota’ in Tamil Nadu. For members of these groups, the required school scores are lower than those for other members of traditionally more well-off castes. The 2012 annual fee for a government quota was Rs. 32,500 (469 euro). Beside these seats distributed under the government quota, colleges accept students under the ‘management quota’, which is not dependent on the caste background of the applicant. The government set 2012 annual fee for a seat under management quota was Rs. 62,500 (903 euro). However, these annual fees are only a fraction of the costs that applicants face when taking courses at a college, especially at one with good reputation. Beside the annual fees, colleges have established a complex system of compulsory donations, exam fees, entrance fees etc. Also, annual fees often exceed the rates set by the government Engineering colleges with higher reputation may demand annual fees as high as Rs. 400,000 (5,758 euro). This expensive cost of higher education makes it difficult for economically weaker sections of society to obtain degrees relevant for the better paid jobs in the peri-urban labour market. One respondent explained the difficulties of getting a seat in an engineering college: “On average, if a farmer’s son scored 70% to 80% [of possible points in the school final exam] the farmer has to spend Rs. 600,000 by the time his son completes his engineering course. So, the monthly expenses would be Rs. 150,000 per year. The government has fixed the fee as Rs. 62,500. But no college accepts this money. They ask for Rs. 100,000 to Rs. 500,000 as donation. The donation amount varies with the subjects and the groups. In addition to it, they also collect bus fare, mess fee, examination fee, library fees and books fee etc. To complete the course sometimes the total expenses exceeds Rs. 1,000,000 to Rs. 1,500,000 (15,000 to 23,000 euro). What will the poor farmer do? How can he make his son study?” (M3).

These extra costs of attending engineering (and other sought after) colleges is the foundation of a mechanism that furthers the segregation between the better-off who can afford private colleges with good reputation and the weaker sections of society who have to rely on government funded institutions or cheaper colleges with less prospects for good-paying jobs. This trend is also critiqued in the media (The Hindu, 28.8.2012). Apart from the financial difficulties, there are also other barriers obstructing access to higher education at engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu. Young people from marginalized social backgrounds seem to perceive the colleges as a space not welcoming to them. It was reported that as many as 40% of the seats reserved for scheduled castes/scheduled tribes in engineering colleges remain unfilled.

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Chief Secretary A. Padmanabhan is cited in The Hindu: “It is not that scheduled castes/scheduled tribes students have no aspiration to join engineering, but it is the absence of hassle-free process, from the stage of securing forms, a major reason for a high vacancy rate. A majority of these students are poor and hail from rural areas. They feel that the system is not sensitive enough to their hardships and concerns” (The Hindu, 28.8.2012).

As a result, the engineering colleges are less open to members of scheduled caste. This is also highlighted in the entry quote: “The best colleges do not admit the farmer’s children at all. Then where will these children go for higher education? You will know the pain only when you try to get admission for your son” (M3).

This shows that although the government is trying to support the education of scheduled caste/scheduled tribe communities, they are as yet not in the position to enter engineering courses on a large scale. A further intervention in the form of increased quota for scheduled castes/scheduled tribes is heavily contested and is anticipated to stir massive protest from other, not thus benefited, communities. 3.3 Discussion: Higher education as a mechanism for exclusion Access to jobs is socially constructed by defining formal degrees of education qualifying applicants for particular working positions. Education is therefore a key determinant in the regulation of admittance to the newly emerging peri-urban labour market. It constitutes the central mechanism to access the working positions with higher salary, see also sub-chapter VI.1 for further details. Attending courses in an engineering or management college is the precondition to entering higher level positions in a company. To understand the access to jobs we therefore have to unveil the mechanisms of admission to education. Who can acquire the necessary competence, which institutions provide the means, what are the social ‘fences’ to protect the emerging labour markets? This sub-chapter focused on engineering colleges to provide some insights in this regard. 3.3.1 The social spaces of higher education With the perspective of social space, engineering colleges can be characterised by three dimensions: material settings, representations and regulations, and emotional meaning. Considering their material, physical space, the colleges are occupying vast areas. Colleges need large tracts of land for their different buildings (teaching, canteen, dormitories etc) and possible extensions. This need for land is probably the main factor in locating engineering colleges outside of the city centre, in the suburban and peri-urban spaces surrounding Chennai, where land is cheaper (see map 8). The physical proximity to the industrial dynamics is also a factor in this regard. Considering the representations and regulations that consti-

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tute the social space of the engineering colleges, the social function of the colleges is decisive. The colleges serve as intermediating, transitory institutions linking and separating the industrial labour market from the workers seeking employment. The engineering colleges are spaces that represent higher education and this representation can be somehow passed on to the student who attends its courses. This ability to represent higher education is turned into a commodity by the managers of the private engineering colleges and effectively marketed. This also leads to the third dimension constituting the social space of the colleges, emotional meaning. Colleges are perceived as spaces of upward social mobility and they present themselves as such. The photo of an entry gate (photo 7, page 130) also illustrates this aspect of a college: those who enter this college await a life full of opportunities. 3.3.2 The social effects of marketing education The possibility of empowering formerly disadvantaged rural people through newly available education is only viable if this opportunity is accessible to an increasing percentage of the disadvantaged. . Many families from a socially marginal position make huge investments to have their children participate in the new, degree driven labour market (especially sub-chapter VI.2 will further elaborate on this aspect). However, with the success of private education, this is becoming increasingly expensive and out of reach for households with lower financial resources. Though the state has made important contributions in the field of access to primary education, higher education seems increasingly inaccessible to those not equipped with the necessary financial resources. Weaker sections of the society normally do not have the means to finance higher education of sufficient quality, despite a complex system of positive discrimination for traditionally disadvantaged castes. This policy of positive discrimination in education is getting less relevant as the quality and reputation of the more expensive private colleges is often higher compared to government colleges accessible through the quota system. The most relevant mechanism regulating access to higher education nowadays is thus the ability to pay the diverse fees, donations, etc. required. This makes financial resources a powerful mechanism of segregation: on the one side, this leads to children of better-off families being admitted to top education facilities and working positions with high salaries, while, on the other side, children of less prosperous families can only afford to attend the less priced colleges whose degrees only qualify for middle or lower level working positions. They thus remain excluded from the opportunities enjoyed by the better-off. This segregation is perpetuated by the increasing privatization of education in a market based system where only those able to pay are in the positions to obtain the needed qualifications. The increasing number of private colleges in peri-urban Chennai reinforces this mechanism of segregation and exclusion.

VI LIVED DIFFERENCE AND LOCAL STRUGGLES FOR INCLUSION IN PERI-URBAN CHENNAI This chapter centres on the third research objective followed in this study, which is to reveal possibilities for inclusive development. Therefore, the on-going changes in peri-urban Chennai are documented, analysed and evaluated from the perspective of different parts of the affected population and their opportunities to participate in economic developments. Questions followed in this chapter accordingly are concerned with the possibilities and challenges for inclusive development. What arrangements deny sections of society access to spaces they would like to enter? How is access to livelihood opportunities reconfigured? Are these exclusions produced by globalised transformations or are they rooted in the traditional order of society? What are the social spaces of traditional society and how are they challenged by globalised transformations? To analyse local people’s action and perspective, chapter VI builds on the concept of lived difference, see sub-chapter II.3, which puts the agency of people in the centre of attention. Agency is framed as challenging dominant, exclusionary forms of society (enforced abstraction) through the notion of difference. This provides the research with a theoretical background to explore the transformations of livelihoods under globalization as summarized by hypothesis 3: Inclusion and empowerment are realized in new spaces. Chapter VI portrays selected peri-urban struggles for inclusion and looks at the establishment of new spaces for action, spaces actively produced in difference to existing dominant spaces. The struggle for inclusion is captured in this chapter by covering three aspects of the peri-urban transformation. First, sub-chapter VI.1 explores the contested social space of the emerging peri-urban industrial labour market. How do specific actor groups realize their access? In what ways are social spaces of work contested between actors who maintain or establish an abstraction to regulate social groups and actors who challenge this abstraction with lived difference? Second, sub-chapter VI.2 focuses on a traditional rural village. Here, traditional forms of exclusion are challenged by the empowerment of the landless-labourers who develop new livelihoods outside the social space of agriculture and the hegemony of the land-owning community. How are traditional social spaces replaced by new arrangements? What are the new lines of conflict? Third, sub-chapter VI.3 presents the governance structures in the peri-urban and reflects on their obstacles to enable inclusive development. What is the contribution of governance to support inclusive development? The sub-chapter will elaborate on different aspects of the struggle for inclusion and the opportunity of marginalised groups to participate and benefit from the rapid peri-urban developments.

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1 THE EMERGING INDUSTRIAL LABOUR MARKET “I made my children study Tamil. In Andhra [abbr. Andhra Pradesh, Indian State north of Tamil Nadu] there are no job opportunities. In Tamil Nadu is the future! Andhra is nothing. You don’t get jobs there easily. In Tamil Nadu you get a job if you have some experience” (S14, father of a family that moved from Andhra Pradesh to Sriperumbudur).

This sub-chapter illustrates the struggle for opportunities regarding the emerging industrial labour market in peri-urban Chennai. The aim of this sub-chapter is to discuss the labour market as a set of specific social spaces where certain groups of people struggle for access despite existing regimes of exclusion, i.e. enforced abstractions that prescribe and limit their opportunity. It is argued that these opportunities are contested and negotiated between those managing access to the social spaces of labour (job broker, management staff) and those seeking access (different types of workers). The labour market is framed as a struggle between a) actors producing social spaces of labour they can benefit from; and b) actors who contest the practices associated with these spaces and aim for more inclusive arrangements. For example, an alliance of factory managers and job brokers organize access to work in a highly unsecure manner, where workers can be laid off without notice. These practices are contested by workers who demand permanent employment and better working conditions. To understand the contested access to the labour market, this chapter considers the factory as a specific social space – associated with specific representations, formal rules of access and emotional images (see sub-chapter II.1) that are relevant for the workers, in particular in terms of access to jobs. To analyse the mechanisms that control access to the labour market this sub-chapter focuses on two aspects. First, access to jobs is reflected considering different social identities that determine a person’s access to specific social spaces of the labour market (section VI.1.1). Second, the contested social spaces of the labour market are approached by highlighting how different actors structure access to factories and negotiate working conditions (section VI.1.2). First, some background on the emerging industrial labour market in periurban Chennai is provided to illustrate the importance for changing livelihood opportunities. Data published by the Tamil Nadu Industries Department (2012) provides some information on employment in Tamil Nadu industries, but only on industries managed by SIPCOT28. Table 23 (see next page) covers all Industrial Parks, Industrial Complexes and Special Economic Zones administered by SIPCOT (see table 11 for a complete list of SEZs, including those administered by SIPCOT). The table in particular compares investment and employment inside peri-urban Chennai with remaining Tamil Nadu.

28 In total there are an estimated 27.90 million workers employed in Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu Labour and Employment Department (2012), with the State having a population of 72.14 million according to the preliminary results of the recent census Census of India (2011).

1 The emerging industrial labour market

Part 1: Investment and employment inside peri-urban (and suburban) Chennai Name of industrial area Rs. crores million euro employed Siruseri Info. Techn. Park 10,881 1,586 156,551 Sriperumbudur Ind. Park 16,382 2,388 91,634 Oragadam Growth Centre 17,052 2,486 62,704 Hi-tech SEZ, Sriperbdr. 8,547 1,246 48,530 Irungattukottai Ind. Park 8,816 1,285 23,129 Hi-tech SEZ, Oragadam 3,208 468 17,561 Gummidipoondi Complex 831 121 13,795 Pillaipakkam Ind. Park 5,081 741 12,838 Thervoy kandigai Ind. Park 6,707 978 4,800 Mappedu Ind. Complex 261 38 700 Foodwear, Irungattukottai 100 15 100 Sub-total 77,866 11,352 432,342 Percentage total investment/employment 79% 79% 80% Part 2: Investment and employment in remaining Tamil Nadu Name of industrial area Rs. crores million euro employed Hosur Industrial Complex 4,499 656 26,450 Ranipet Industrial Comp2,071 302 26,421 lex Perundurai Ind. Growth 2,152 314 19,342 Centre Cuddalore Ind. Complex 954 139 6,809 Cheyyar Ind. Complex 626 91 6,598 Thoothukudi Ind. Complex 4,776 696 5,000 Manamarai Ind. Complex 2,391 349 4,478 Gangaikondan Ind. Growth 1,183 172 4,112 Centre Nilakottai Industrial Park 554 81 2,509 Pudukottai Ind. Complex 60 9 2,476 Engineering SEZ, Perun209 30 1,932 durai Bargur Industrial Park 591 86 1,795 Granite SEZ, Bargur 147 21 994 Transport Engineering 400 58 950 SEZ, Ganaikondan Engineering SEZ, Ranipet 35 5 145 Sub-total 20,648 3,009 110,011 Percentage of total invest21% 21% 20% ment/employment Overall total 98,514 14,361 542,353 Table 23: Investment, employment in industrial areas in Tamil Nadu Source: Tamil Nadu Industries Department 2012

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Table 23 shows some basic patterns of the peri-urban labour market. First, periurban Chennai is the main industrial growth pole in Tamil Nadu, not only in terms of investment (see section IV.1.2 for industrial investments) but especially in terms of generated employment in the industrial sector. Of the total of 542,353 jobs in industries in Tamil Nadu (in areas managed by SIPCOT), 432,342 or 80% are in peri-urban Chennai, a clear indication of the significance of Chennai’s periurban spaces for the industrial development in Tamil Nadu. Second, the table illustrates the importance of the Sriperumbudur-Oragadam region; the industries located in this area are providing 220,429 or 51% of all peri-urban industrial employment. The significance of this region for globalised transformations is also highlighted in section IV.2.1 which portrays the Sriperumbudur-Oragadam industrial corridor. Third, the table highlights the importance of the IT-corridor (see map 1) with 156,551 jobs in the Siruseri Information Technology Park alone. The industries located in areas managed by SIPCOT represent a large share of the total industrial sector in Tamil Nadu, however, exact figures for total employment are not available. The majority of the employment listed in table 23 can be attributed to relatively unskilled manufacturing jobs in the car or telecommunication industries (no exact figures were available on the precise qualification of the workers). If not indicated otherwise, the material presented in this sub-chapter concerns this majority of semi-skilled workers. However, section VI.1.2.2 will highlight the working conditions and higher payments available for skilled workers holding the needed degrees like a Master in engineering or similar. Besides the direct employment in large international factories, a vibrant economy of ancillary companies has developed which supplies the ‘mother’ companies with all sorts of preproducts. These ancillary companies are also located in the peri-urban, often in close distance as this proximity is in the interest of the large factories. A manager of a small ancillary factory explained: “Hyundai made a gentleman agreement that they want the ancillary units within the distance of 25 km. In four hours the products should reach Hyundai” (Ch6).

Work in these ancillary units is less attractive than working in the factories directly. The manager of the small company continued: “The multinational companies are giving more salary. We give less salary because our company is small and developing only now. The locals like to work only in MNC’s [multinational company]. So we bring people from outside” (Ch6).

The material presented in this sub-chapter concerns mainly the majority of unskilled labourers employed in manufacturing industries in peri-urban Chennai. The next section starts by presenting the relevance of selected social identities that where found of special relevance.

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1.1 Social identity and labour conditions Social identity is understood here as a shared and routinized behaviour of persons belonging to a specific social group, say men or women or a specific caste. Within each society, particular identities are constructed over time with a more or less shared understanding of a social role associated with particular social identities (Haslam 2001). In debates on identity politics, the hegemonic character of such identities is stressed (Kobayashi 2009). This is because identities prescribe certain behaviour that structures the actions of those subjected to this essentialist construction. Part of such a constructed identity is the perception that certain social spaces are more appropriate for a particular group than others. Access to labour and livelihood opportunities is then structured by social identities because social roles determine the perception of what type of work is suitable for a particular person. Social roles are shared frameworks of appropriate behaviour, and according to the concept applied in this study they determine the capacity to act when an actor enters a specific social space (see sub-chapter II.1). This includes questions of gender, culture and caste. These social identities can serve as an obstacle in terms of access. Such is the case for the social identity of Indian women who are seen as belonging to the domestic space of the household and not industrial factories. In this way, constructed social identities structure the access of particular groups to the labour market and limit livelihood opportunities available to them. The next sections will reflect only on selected social identities that are shaping access to the labour market: first, the discrimination and harassment faced by women; second, the opposing identities of local workers vs. outside workers (from other parts of Tamil Nadu) and third, a brief look at migrant workers (workers from other Indian states). 1.1.1 Women working in factories Women constitute a large share of the industrial workforce. For example in Nokia factory near Sriperumbudur, it was reported that 70% of the workers are women, but mainly as low-level jobs on contract basis (Dutta 2009). This section approaches the position of women working in factories by considering their contested social identity. One aspect is that women, after marriage, are expected to take care of household matters at home and therefore often stop working in a factory (U5). A telling example to illustrate the relevance of the traditional social identity prescribed to women can also be found in the ‘City Master Plan 2006’, where population is classified according to ‘willingness to work’. The percentage of women within this category is much lower: e.g. numbers given for 2011 is 90% for male and 30% females (CMDA 2006: 14). To understand this pattern we have to grasp the social creation of male and female roles at a smaller, more private scale. Women face a difficult social role: while at home they are expected to conform to the norms of the traditional role of women, in the company they are ex-

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pected to be a modern worker. One example is the need to change clothes when entering a company. Women travelling in public, mostly buses, are wearing the traditional sari. But this clothing is not accepted in some companies where particular on-job clothing or trousers are required. As no rooms for the changing of clothes is provided for women, they are forced to change clothes somewhere outside -a situation perceived as uncomfortable and vulnerable (S1). Women working in factories face different forms of disadvantages, for example they are less supported in terms of career development. One respondent complained that “in 2004 four ladies were sent to Korea to get trained on this work. But now there are no such opportunities for ladies. Only gents’ staffs are given opportunities to go to Korea” (S19). And another respondent stressed that in factories “Women are placed only for the low level jobs” (S42). It was also reported that women only work in factories until marriage, after marriage they are expected to care for the household (U18). But despite these difficulties, factory work of women has become an important source of income for many families in peri-urban Chennai. In Oragadam (section V.1.2), 10% of women are engaged in temporary factory work, nearly as much as men (12%, see figure 10 in section V.1.2). The availability of factory work is also one factor for the increasing emphasis rural families give to the education of their daughters to enable them to access jobs outside agriculture (U18). This question will be discussed further in sub-chapter VI.2 regarding Ullavur village, were many young women have been seeking employment outside agriculture since the availability of factory work provides this opportunity. Dangerous passage to factories Besides being the locale for discrimination in working condition, women perceive the factory as a space of insecurity in terms of harassment and dignity. The first insecurity women face is the passage to and from the factory. Public buses in the very early or late hours are perceived as insecure and inappropriate for women as there is the danger of sexual harassment and even rape. Women have to rely on company busses which most major companies provide to off-set the inefficiencies of the public transportation system. Women from villages that are not served by these company buses often do not work in factories as the travel is perceived as too insecure or inappropriate (see also sub-chapter VI.2 on Ullavur village). This insecurity is not confined to harassment actually experienced by women. Equally important is the possibility of harassment linked with the passage to factories which threatens the reputation and dignity of women. Traditional families will request their daughter to remain at home so as not to risk the unblemished reputation required for a good wedding.

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Sexual harassment in factories Sexual harassment is the most serious aspect of female vulnerability in the social spaces of industrial labour. For women, the factories are not safe. Cases of sexual harassment are repeatedly reported in newspapers (The Hindu, 29.11.2012) and were mentioned in interviews (S42, S1). Sexual harassment is a serious threat to the reputation and dignity of a woman working in factories. The acknowledgement of being harassed is avoided, as admitting to being a victim of sexual harassment exposes women to the danger of losing their status in the community. This is due to the widespread Indian belief that women are often seen as responsible for and guilty of sexual harassment. The same argument is stressed by Chaudhuri (2007: 227), who discussed sexual harassment of health workers in Kalkutta: “Sexual norms continue to blame women for provoking harassment, on the one hand, and perceive certain forms of behaviour to be normal among men, on the other. Many young women reported that they did not complain because they feared being blamed for provoking the incident or feared the loss of their reputation if they complained”.

This mechanism is also effective to suppress complaints of women working in the peri-urban factories, as is illustrated in case study below. The most important factor for women to endure harassment in the workplace might be economic necessity or vulnerability. The multi-sided reasons to keep working for a company despite being harassed, as well as the forms of harassment and the pressure on a woman to remain silent are all evident in case study 3. Case study 3: Sexual harassment of women in factories “I am 32 years old and I am married with 2 girl children. I am living near G. railway station. My children are studying in a private school. The elder daughter is 11 years old and the younger is 6 years. My husband is a construction worker. He is a drunkard. If he is in good condition he will go to the work spot in a lorry along with other workers. He gets Rs. 350 par day as wages and brings home only Rs. 100 to 150, not on all days. My mother lives in T. And I have 2 younger sisters. They are also in T., both of them are married. I have no father. I got this job through a broker. I paid Rs. 25,000 as commission by pledging my gold chain. I was on a training period of 3 months. During the training period I was trained to fix up screws and nuts. I studied till 10th grade. As a trainee I received Rs. 5,500 plus incentives. My supervisor (woman) taught me all the knacks for survival in this job. I was sexually harassed in the first two months and I stopped going to work. But I could not run the family with my alcoholic husband. We were starving for food and I started selling small jewels and utensils for food. As there was no other choice, again I went to the same broker and got the same job. After training I was in the wiring section. Then I was shifted to packing section and again to wiring section. In the second year I was working in the switch box for lights section. In the 3rd year I was moved to car radio section. I am now in the car air conditioner section.

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Till now I am undergoing the torture of sexual abuse in the form of looks, touches, pressing, indecent conversation and behaviour. I was told that a young girl committed suicide after being raped. This happened four years ago and the management suppressed within the family of the victim. This is my 6th year and I am now drawing a salary of Rs. 9,000 plus incentives. The co-workers are very friendly and cooperative. Now I know how to handle these lustful men, mostly senior technicians, machine operators, supervisors, who have crossed their 40 years of age. The young workers are very protective and helpful. My family situation drove me to put up with all these harassment. Some women with family support leave the job immediately. But now with my earning, my children eat good food, wear nice dresses, speak English, study in a good school and are living a comfortable life. My relatives, neighbours and friends respect me and there is a good name in society. I attend the social functions such as marriages and others with dignity. I have a two-wheeler. I bought it last tear on a second sale for Rs 15,000. […] I have a bank account and I am able to save some money. My house was a thatched house 10 years ago and it was the family property of my husband. Now I have built a concrete house with one living room, cooking space, bathroom and toilet. I have a television, refrigerator, fan, wardrobe, gas connection, grinder and an immersion heater. Other than the sexual harassment, there are no other problems in the company if you are a smart, efficient and sincere worker. Women are placed only for the low level jobs. In another 6 months I will be the supervisor of one of the many sections. My husband still drinks, but my children have learnt to adjust the situation. Once my children grow, are nicely educated and find a job for themselves, I can get them married with my savings. When I got married my parents-in-law were with us. But because of my husband’s drinking habit and disturbance, they left for their native place.. Now I visit them every year in Jan and May and stay for few days. I used to buy lot of eatables and clothes for them and visit them with my family. They are very happy and proud of my job. They also come and stay with me for few days occasionally. My mother and may sisters also visit me sometime. [Asked whether she would like her children to work in MNC's] “No, No, Never. I do not want my children to work in MNC's or in software companies, or call centres. I want them to become either school teachers or college teachers”. [Regarding the sexual harassment] “Nobody in my family knows about my situation in the company. I have not disclosed this information with anyone. Thanks for this opportunity to make an outlet to express my inner feelings!” (Source: Woman working in multinational car factory, S42)

The case study illustrates the structural context in which women are exposed to sexual harassment in companies. The supervisors and the other “lustful men” enjoy unconstrained power and are safe from persecution. The story about a rape that was silenced on the order of ‘the management’ illustrates the (female) perception of the supervisors as well protected and powerful actors who cannot be challenged. Further, it is the economic vulnerability, the family background that drives her to join the company again. At the end of the case study the respondent stressed that she never disclosed her sexual harassment to any family member, an

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aspect that aggravates the structural vulnerability of woman in Tamil Nadu where talking about sexual harassment is a taboo. Despite the negative experiences, the factory is also a space of empowerment and economic independency. This is expressed in the way she proudly lists her achievements and the respect given by her parents. 1.1.2 Outside versus local workers ‘Outside workers’ is a term used in peri-urban Chennai to denote workers who come from other parts of Tamil Nadu to seek unskilled work in peri-urban industries. The relevance of the social identity of outside workers is constituted by its opposite, the category of ‘local worker’. And it is against the ‘local worker’ that many company managers have some reservation and in turn prefer workers from outside. One respondent explained this reservation against local workers: “The companies think: If the locals start working in the company, they will get stronger, join together and start protests and ask for more amenities! The company doesn’t want that” (O21).

Local workers are seen as less willing to work hard and difficult to control for they have local ties and networks they can draw on to resist the managers. One manager from a mid-size company (about 50 employees) in Sriperumbudur explained his preference: “Local people’s mind-set is difficult. However, for money they work. But outside workers are often more skilled, they bring more quality. I prefer to give jobs to trained people instead of giving job to locals. Training them is too expensive” (S7).

In opposition to this negative social identity of local workers, the perceptions and expectations towards outside workers are much more positive. A job broker who hires people for large companies (see also next section VI.1.2 on contractors) explained the prevailing positive opinion about outside workers: “Companies prefer outsiders because they often are better workers. Locals often are lethargic, when expected to work 8 hours they only work 6, they want to take more holidays. Also, the outsiders abide to the policies of the companies while the locals question them. Basically, outsiders are here for working” (O35).

This positive social identity of outside workers is firmly established and makes it difficult for local workers. A coping strategy of local workers to avoid the effect of this category is to claim to be from outside when attending a job interview (O15). What is the inside perspective of outside workers? What is the social background of their positive reputation? A household of outside workers living in Sriperumbudur (husband since 15, his wife since nine years) explained their shift from rural Tamil Nadu to the industrial space around Chennai. As she explained: “Over there it was just a village. In the old village there was only agriculture. My husband came here working as a security guard. Than he did a diploma and became operator and now

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VI Lived difference and local struggles for inclusion in peri-urban Chennai he is technical staff working as supervisor. Before I came here I did not know about industries! I am so happy and proud when seeing the big factories. They provide jobs and livelihood for so many people! […] In the village the food was fresher; here the vegetables are all with the chemicals so the taste is different. Also here it is very expensive. Everything is available. But it needs to be paid! Now there is increase in price, but not in salary. […]At the village you get all these natural things, but others you miss. Farmers now, even when big rain comes, they sometimes commit suicide. So here it is better. Also, in agriculture, when the yield is lost, everything is lost. But here, if you have salary, if you put one month hard work in the company, it is not lost. I am very happy living here and even when my husband moves to another place I will stay here!” (S9).

The quote highlights the precarious living conditions in rural India where indeed many farmers commit suicide because of dire living conditions and debt obligations29. In contrast to the difficulties and weather dependence associated with agriculture, the respondent stresses the agency that she seems to experience in relation to factory work (“if you put one month hard work in the company, it is not lost”). The husband also improved his position in the factory tremendously (security guard – supervisor) by hard work and extra education. The outside workers bring a positive emotional attitude towards the industries (“I am so happy and proud when seeing the big factories”) which certainly make them sincere workers. This positive attitude and dedication to work in the industries might be responsible for the social identity of ‘outside workers’ as it is constructed by the local managers and contractors. In comparison, local workers face more difficulties gaining access to the factory. The relation and possible tensions between both groups of workers was not researched with further detail. However, some outside workers reported good relations and support from local families (S9), however, certain local workers highlighted increasing concerns for security with increasing numbers of outside workers (S14). 1.1.3 Migrant workers ‘Migrant workers’ is a term used in peri-urban Chennai to denote workers that migrate, mostly temporarily, from other Indian states to work in Tamil Nadu. In difference to the outside workers who come from other parts of Tamil Nadu, migrant workers are faced with a negative image among parts of the local population. They are warned against as dangerous, or causing environmental pollution (for example in Oragadam, see section V.1.2). The migrant workers are very diverse, ranging from the manual labourers working in Oragadam for Rs. 80 per day to the educated industrial workers living in Sriperumbudur or other cities where they form the base of the thriving renting business (S5). The case study below gives a short impression of the life of some average migrant workers in Sriperumbudur.

29 The cumulated number of Indian farmers who committed suicide from 1995 to 2010 stands at 256,000, The Hindu 29.10.2011.

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Case study 4: Migrant workers in Sriperumbudur “We are working for a Samsung supply company, melting plastic without safety equipment. We work eight hours in different shifts. Usually seven days a week but some Sundays are free. If we miss a day there is no payment. The company provides us a house where we can live and the canteen has good food. The salary is Rs. 5,500 per month for beginners and Rs. 8,000 per month for those with more experience. We got the job through a contractor in Bihar, there are no job announcements, you need to know the contractor. Before most of us worked in Delhi but there are less jobs available. The chances for improvements are less, too much competition. In Tamil Nadu there are less qualified people, so good chances. We enjoy working in Tamil Nadu, sometimes we visit the sea at Marina Beach in Chennai. But there are problems with the Tamil language and even more important is the food: only rice and vegetable curies, no chapattis!” (Source: Group interview with 15 migrant workers in Sriperumbudur, S9)

The working conditions of the migrant workers are often precarious compared with the local workers. However, given their willingness to work hard, they are increasingly engaged for different employments, often in sectors requiring little education like construction. 1.2 Negotiating the social space of work This section discusses different actor groups that are involved in the production of the social space of the factory and in the different mechanisms that structure access to labour. This includes: i) The positive emotional meaning of the factory; ii) The importance of higher education as a prerequisite for higher salary; iii) The role of contractors who control access to the labour market for the less qualified sector; and iv): The struggle of the workforce for better working conditions including the questions of unions. 1.2.1 The emotional meaning of the factory The image of the factory, the emotional aspect of its social space, is mainly positive. Most young people announced their hope to enter this space or stressed to be proud working for Hyundai or Nissan (S16, S43, O16). This positive perception of the factory is part of the production of the social space of the factories that is done by the workers; they imagine the factory space in a particular way that makes it attractive to enter. In opposition, the spaces of agriculture and agricultural labour are negatively framed and associated with hard labour and suffering: “Nobody wants to work in the field. They [the younger generation] feel proud to say that they are working in companies” (S14). Many respondents referred to the factories as an area of salvation, of personal pride, modernization (S16, S43, O16). This image of factories is also felt to give glory to whole regions, and in-

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dustrial centres like Sriperumbudur are now proudly referred to by local residents: “Nowadays everybody from all over India is coming to Sriperumbudur to work here. Sriperumbudur is now a mini-India. I am very proud to be from this city!” (S17). And one resident from Oragadam remarked: “We are proud to be from Oragadam since now this place is known worldwide. One day, Sonia Gandhi [from Central Government] came to inaugurate an automotive research centre, we felt very proud” (O37).

Compared with agriculture, work in factories is much more connected with modern, sought after lifestyles. One respondent explained: “When people work in companies they wear pants, shirts and have a nice appearance. The lifestyle and the dressing culture have also changed. They do not want to look dirty with the muddy and soiled dresses when they work in the fields. So they do not prefer to work as agricultural labourer. They also think that working in the companies is a high profile job” (T3).

The attractiveness of the factories in peri-urban Chennai is related to this emotional meaning of the social space of the factory. The positive connotation linked to factories makes the workforce willing to join the international companies – even when working conditions are hard to bear (see also below section VI.1.2.3 on the struggle for better working condition). 1.2.2 Skilled workers and labour conditions Most of the workforce in the industrial factories is engaged in semi- or little skilled jobs requiring only basic education, i.e. at least 10 years of school in most factories. These workers with only average education make Rs. 5,000–10,000 per month (see also next sub-chapter VI.2 on the village of Ullavur for a discussion of the job prospects of village people). To get a better paid job in a company, education is the key qualification, which is however not accessible to many of the rural families (see also sub-chapter V.3 on the privatized spaces of higher education). In difference to the average workers, the persons who completed a Bachelor or Master in engineering at a college with good reputation have access to the higher paid positions. They can get a job as manager or technician with a monthly payment five to ten times higher than that of the average worker with only 10 or 12 years of school education. A survey that was conducted to assess the link between education and salary for employees at large international companies (e.g. Hyundai) illustrates the close correlation between higher education and higher payment in Hyundai factory near Sriperumbudur (see table 24, next page).

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Salary per month euro30 Rs. 100,000 1,404 60,000 842 50,000 702

Age

Education

Years of education

35 25 32

NA NA NA

NA NA NA

50,000

702

35

12+2+2

Engineer Assist. manager Assistant manager Technician Engineer

50,000 50,000

702 702

34 26

48,000

674

30

45,000 42,000

632 590

32 32

Senior Executive Engineer

40,000

562

33

Diploma in Automobile Engineering Master in Engineering Master of Business Administration Bachelor in Computer; Master of Business Administration NA Bachelor in Engineering; Certification in Hardware NA

40,000

562

29

12+4

Junior Engineer Junior Engineer Junior Engineer Engineer Junior Engineer Junior Engineer Junior Engineer Apprentice

40,000

562

27

35,000

491

27

35,000

491

29

Bachelor in Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE) Bachelor in Engineering; Master in Mechanical Engineering Bachelor in Mechanical Engineering Bachelor in Engineering

34,000 30,000

477 421

29 26

NA 12+2+2

29,000

407

29

26,000

365

29

7,500

105

22

Apprentice

5,500

77

19

NA Diploma in Electronic Engineering and Polytechnic Diploma in Mechanical Engineering and Polytechnic Diploma in Electrical Engineering and Polytechnic Diploma in Electrical and Electronic Engineering Bachelor in Mechanical ITI

Position Manager Dep. Manager Asst. Manager Technician

12+4+2 12+3+2+2 12+3+2 NA 12+4+1 NA

12+4+2 12+2 12+4

12+2+2 12+2+2 12+2+2 12+2

Table 24: Position and payment in Hyundai factory Source: personal communication (12/2012)

The working conditions for these skilled workers are much different from the unskilled workers. Skilled workers often are living in Chennai and travel to the industrial centres on a daily basis. 30 Based on the exchange rate from 04.01.2013, (1 EUR = Rs. 71.21).

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1.2.3 Contractors The preceding section discussed the position of skilled workers, who are hired directly by the company. In opposition, unskilled workers are brought to the factory through contractors or ‘job brokers’ who are in direct contact with the companies and serve as sub-contractors to hire people for short periods, depending on the demand of the large company. The salary for the workers is paid through the contractor. The company only has to deal with a few contractors who handle the entire workforce for them. Contracts provided by the contractors are only temporary; in construction this means a mostly daily, for many jobs in the companies a weekly or monthly basis. Work organized through the contractors is informal and without taxes or other social security payments. The opinion of a low-level manager regarding contract labour in industrial companies is telling: “Sure it is better for the companies! If they would make contracts with the workers, then they would need to answer to the government, pay extra taxes and more issues. With the contractors, the company does not have to do anything!” (O36).

There are different types of contractors, the most important general types are ‘local contractors’, who organize the workforce at the local level, and ‘interstate contractors’, who organize labour from other Indian states, like Bihar, Orissa for unskilled (construction sites etc.), or Punjab and Uttar-Pradesh for more semi-skilled labour (O35). Local contractors Local contractors hire people living in towns and villages of peri-urban Chennai for temporary jobs. They directly come into villages or simply leave their contact pinned somewhere or have them published in a local newspaper. Contractors supply the majority of the workforce to the companies. It is estimated that in the Sriperumbudur region, for every permanent worker there are nine workers organized by a contractor (The Hindu, 27.05.2012). The companies outsource their recruiting and leave all negotiations to the contractor, including the settlement of salary disputes. From the perspective of the local people, contract labour is rather unsecure in terms of assignment and payment, and the possibilities to improve labour conditions are limited. For example, there are about 20 contractors operating for Hyundai Company. The company pays Rs. 220 per day for the employee and the contractor takes Rs. 40, sometimes Rs. 60 as commission and provides only Rs. 180 per day to the worker (V3). In this case, the profit for the contractor would be about 25% of the salary provided by the company. A worker explained the role of contractors and the position of the labourers: “If the company requires large numbers of labourers, that is more than 500, then there is tough competition among the contractors. There is no labour union, no rules, no conditions. If the quality of the work is unsatisfactory, then workers will be replaced with the help of the contractors” (V3).

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One respondent argued: “Also I can not ask for full salary, they [the contractors] will just replace me!” The respondent had been working for a company for 2.5 years (a company with total of 16 branches in the area, also Oragadam) but they kept him as a contract-worker because it was cheaper: “If I had been employed as permanent the company also would have to pay all the insurances. The contract workers get very little health care. When accident no help” (S19).

The father of the respondent continued: “They are abusing the people. My son is working there; they promised him a good salary but never paid. The contractor promised a salary of Rs. 10,000 but then in reality he gave only Rs. 2,600, but he worked 26 days the month! We approached the contractors and the management but they refused to give” (S19).

This highlights the powerful position of the contractors in regulating the terms of access for the workforce. They work outside the direct responsibility of the factory management and formal labour laws. Inter-state contractors People from all over India are channelled to the factories of peri-urban Chennai by inter-state contractors. In an interview, two such inter-state contractors explained their job: “Around every six month we go up to Punjab or Bihar to recruit new workers, but basically we manage here [Sriperumbudur/Oragadam area]. We also take care of the living conditions of the workers. We organize a place for living for the workers, but food they take on their own. Many workers stay in Oragadam. Contracts are on monthly and sometimes weekly basis. Normally a worker takes 1-2 month holidays in a year, for this time we find a replacement for the company. That is like the companies prefer. In the first week it is hard for the worker but they adjust” (O35).

There is fierce competition between inter-state contractors. Contractors with connections to Bihar, for example, bring workers and charge the companies less than contractors who recruit from Punjab. The salary provided by the contractors per month was Rs. 8,500 in 2005 and Rs. 10,000 in 2011 (O35). But the salary varies from company to company. Like the local contractors, the inter-state contractors take commission from the worker’s salary in return for providing the job. The rate of this commission is a little lower when compared to the local contractors but still it is a remunerative business: when a worker gets Rs. 9,000 the inter-state contractors take Rs. 500 (O35). 1.2.3 The struggle for better working conditions Many workers argue that the rigid working conditions are because of the intense competition for jobs requiring only average education: „It´s not easy to get a job in Nissan. Every day more than two hundred people apply for a job” (O16). This

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is one factor explaining the high acceptance of hard working conditions, including long shifts and unsecure employment through the contractors. The following quote illustrates the struggle for better working conditions. The respondent was a female worker in a factory near Sriperumbudur: “I joined there [in the factory] in 2003 as an operator. Initially the working hours were eight with three shifts, then they had changed the same to ten hours to two shifts. The three shifts were divided as two shifts for women employees and the night shift for the male employees, later they have changed it as morning and night shift with each ten hours. In 2003 when I joined I was given a salary of Rs. 2,500 per month - currently I am earning Rs. 10,500. Our company HR [human resource manager] mostly prefers people away from the city because they come from a poor status in want of money and employment and that they would not terminate from employment easily. Every year compliments such as horlicks [local energy drink], soaps etc. are given for employee welfare, but there is no significant raise of salary here. This is the main disadvantage. Another point is that the working hours are extended. We have shifts like evening 6 p.m. to morning 6 a.m. which is very tiresome. There are no much of leave facilities for employees. In case an employee takes leaves and permissions say for more than ten days, then there would be no excuses, the management would note this and terminate the employee from job” (S19).

The quote illustrates the working conditions where the workforce is appeased by receiving little gifts, but quickly fired when the leave is too long. This dependency makes the struggle for better working conditions difficult. The following highlights different aspects of this struggle. Cultural practices at the work space Definitions of what constitutes appropriate working conditions are rooted in the perceptions of the workers. The relevance of such cultural practices is evident in the importance that Tamil workers place on the performance of specific religious practices, which are instrumental for them to achieve a good work space. This is indeed an aspect of struggle between the management and local workers. It was stressed that Tamil workers are avoided by some recruiting agencies and job brokers of international companies since they are known to celebrate all Tamil festivals and demand extra holidays (S19). A case illustrating this conflict was reported from Hyundai near Sriperumbudur (Palanithurai and Ramesh 2011: 155). Here Tamil workers wanted to celebrate the traditional ‘Bijoya dasami pooja’, where working equipment is placed in front of a god to receive blessing. One of the managers confronted the workers by tearing down the picture of the god the workers had installed. This led to massive protests from the workforce (ibid: 155). Obviously, the social spaces of work produced by international companies are based on international standards that collide with traditional religious practices of the local population.

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The quest for a permanent position Given the precarious state of contract labourers, most workers aspire to a permanent position with more security. One respondent explained: “The workers wanted to be employed as permanent. So the managers gave us a uniform like the permanent workers have and promised after two years you will become permanent, like this they tell. But when this finishes they said sorry you will only become permanent when you have this education” (S19).

The permanent position is a dream of most workers that attracts them, but is rarely realized. Managers shaping working conditions Managers and other supervisors are shaping the working conditions in the factories. Workers repeatedly stressed the power and ignorance of the managers regarding the problems of the workforce: “When we have some issues and reach out to our managers they do not pay much attention. For example they send cabs for us to reach office and when these cabs are almost worn out and not safe we complain the same to the manager, but he does not take any notice of it and inform the same to managing director, he just ignores them and tells that if the employees wish let them use the cab. Let them seek their own transport to office! This is their comment” (S19).

The managers seem not to care much about the working conditions. What the respondent also stressed was the unreliability of managers and the tricks they applied to get workers: “They hire higher educated people. Promise to pay Rs. 40,000 after two years, but then only Rs. 20,000 they pay. But then after two years they will not raise” (S19). Unions To improve working conditions, the contract workers try to form unions. But this is met with opposition from the management level. “In the industrial corridors of Sriperumbudur and Oragadam, the word trade union is taboo. There have been instances of both contract and permanent workers having been shown the door for trying to raise issues including those relating to wages, work conditions and confirmation” (The Hindu, 27.05.2012).

A recent case from a Hyundai ancillary company highlights this. After the contract worker of the company joined a union they were all dismissed (Times of India, 18.09.2012). One respondent explains: “The people who work longer they want higher salary. They contact the union to get higher salary. But then the manager just tells them to leave, give them some 1-2 lakh and employs a new person!” (S19).

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The unions seem to be a rather weak player in the negotiations about the working conditions. But the struggles about labour conditions in Tamil Nadu are getting more intense. An indication is the appearance of radical and illegal Naxalite trade unions that are secretly joining the workforce (Times of India, 05.07.2012). 1.3 Discussion: Labour markets and inclusive development The peri-urban industrial labour market can be framed as part of the intersection between the traditional social spaces of rural society with the globalised spaces of production and marketing that are realized through the cooperation between the State Government and diverse national and international companies (see also chapter IV for a general discussion of this topic). The labour market, however, is of particular importance given the interest of this study in globalised transformations defined as the increasing dominance of actors from a geographical level closer to the global (see also section II.1). While some authors posit an increasing polarization associated with the industrial development triggered by Special Economic Zones (Banerjee-Guha 2008) the research in peri-urban Chennai provides evidence of a more nuanced picture. While most better-paid jobs of skilled labour are going to families traditionally better equipped, this process is not uniform. Many formerly rural poor who migrate from other parts of Tamil Nadu to periurban Chennai (see ‘outside workers’) are now profiting from low paid jobs for unskilled labour in factories or associated business, most of all construction (see also section V.1.2 on the changing livelihood opportunities in Oragadam village). Therefore, the industrial labour market can play an important part in achieving inclusion, because of the opportunities it provides for many less- or unskilled workers. However, because of existing regimes of exclusion (e.g. the precarious contract labour), the potential for inclusive of the industrial labour market is not fully realized. With the concept of social space applied in this study, the question of inclusive development in the industrial labour market can be framed as the struggle between spatial arrangements that invoke abstractions to realize exclusion or arrangements that enable lived difference and the improvement of working conditions. 1.3.1 Enforcing abstraction in the labour market It can be assumed that the benefits realized by exporting goods from the periurban factories to global consumer markets are shared between the high and lowlevel managers, while the workforce receives only a meagre remain. This resonates with the hypothesis one: that globalised spaces are produced with the aim and effect to channel benefits for the actors situated a higher level (see also chapter IV). The industrial labour market is an important part of the globalised spaces produced in the peri-urban factories. It was Duncan (2002) who already made the point of linking the subordination of Tamil workers in colonial plantations with

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the establishment of abstract space. What he discussed for the 19th century can be linked to the workplaces of multinationals: the factories are spaces of work that require the complacency with international work standards and are linked to the abstraction of international competition. The realization of this abstraction is achieved not directly in the companies but by their associates: the contractors who arrange the labour force and keep it in an unsecure state, as discussed above. The low level management staff, operators, supervisors, and contractors are in a particular strong position. They are responsible for the ‘local labour control regime’ (Neethi 2012) by regulating access to the factories. The contractors, in particular, use their power to realize enormous profits and thereby maintain insecure labour relations. To sum it up, the peri-urban labour market seems to be highly unregulated and open to excessive misuse of power, a feature shared with the land market (see sub-chapter V.2). The local contractors therefore constitute a central factor impeding inclusion and fair participation in the labour market. Access to labour and social identities The material presented in this sub-chapter has highlighted different social identities that structure the workforce in many dimensions. While those recruiting are looking mainly for skill and obedience; the people themselves have more characteristics which endow them with a particular position in the social space of the labour market. Social identities are often constructed as dialectic sets of social groups of workers: Local worker – outside worker, female – male worker, skilled – unskilled worker, migrant worker – Tamil worker. These social identities determine a person’s position in the labour market as they are invoked when contractors decide to engage a person or not. The preference of contractors or outside workers is an ostensive example. Education and working conditions The section on skilled workers and labour conditions highlighted the importance of education to access better-paid positions of the industrial labour market. The salaries available to those with master degrees from reputed colleges are five to ten times higher compared with unskilled labourers (see table 24). The industrial labour market has created beneficial spaces of work for those able to obtain the needed qualification. This positive correlation between higher education and higher income is in opposition to findings from other researchers which stress the limited potential for career development in industrial labour markets associated with Special Economic Zones in India (Cross 2010).

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Women working in factories The material presented in the sub-chapter highlighted the discrimination of women who face diverse adversities in the factories. The findings also illustrate how the obstacles that hinder women from entering beneficial spaces of the labour market are linked with their social identity. On the one hand there exists the traditional role of the woman as a housekeeper, and on the other hand this social identity is challenged by the new role of the woman as a worker. From their position, the factory is a social space marked with particular adversities. Livelihood improvements based on industrial labour are only gained through cooperation with other female workers to face the harassment in the factories. The findings from the case study and other interviews on the position of women are brought together in figure 12, which illustrates the social space of the factory from the perspective of women based on the framework developed in sub-chapter II.3. Livelihood and social space: Social space of the factory

Livelihood assets Social capital:

Family ties, limited access after marriage

Human capital:

School education now available to all women“

Financial capital:

• •

Women seen as not appropriate (‘housewife’) Women particularly vulnerable (harassment)

Needed for bribing of brokers

Livelihood strategy Working in factories with limited exposure to harassment,

Livelihood outcomes Limited but significant contribution to economic income

Cooperation with other women to minimize exposure

Reconfiguration of social space: Women’s social identity: an abstraction fostering exclusion

Working in difference to the established social identity of women: enabling economic inclusion

Figure 12: Women in the social space of the factory (Source: own draft)

The social identity of women can be regarded as an abstraction that limits the actions available to them. However, this form of exclusion is challenged by the lived difference that is realized in new spaces of female work. Women actively challenge the social identity that limits their livelihood opportunities. They work towards a reconfiguration of social space to overcome their exclusion from the social space of the factory.

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1.3.2 Lived difference - the agency of the workforce This study follows the new emphasis in the literature on labour geography that the worker is an important factor in the creation of the labour landscape and its conditions of work (Castree 2007; Lier 2007). The workers are socially embedded agents who participate in the negotiation about their work. This intention resonates with the approach of this study to highlight the agency of those affected by globalised transformation. The sub-chapter accordingly looked into the livelihoods of different actor groups and highlighted the active role of social groups in shaping working conditions (including women, outside workers and migrant workers). In addition, the current hype for education among young Tamils is one such example of an active engagement that shapes the future workforce. The positive image held by many young Tamils regarding the factories makes them invest heavily in higher education (see also sub-chapter V.3), which provides the foundation for sustained industrial development based on a pool of skilled and educated workers. Despite the difficulties and hard working conditions of the industrial labour market, most respondents maintained a positive opinion. Respondents repeatedly stressed the good accessibility of unskilled employment in the industrial labour market. They acknowledged that working conditions in the industrial labour market are poor when compared for instance with government jobs. But it is much more difficult to get such a government job: beside good connections and formal educations, also expensive bribing is often necessary. One family from Oragadam argued: „We do not have enough money to bribe them [to get a government job]. Therefore it is good that there are so many private companies. There it is easier to get a job“ (O13).

This accessibility of the industrial labour market for the many relatively unskilled people is important: compared to other labour markets, it is relatively open. The social space of the industrial labour market is a new space which, as postulated in hypothesis 3, is instrumental to achieve inclusion and participation in the industrial development. 2 ULLAVUR VILLAGE: CHALLENGES FOR LANDOWNERS – EMPOWERMENT OF AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS This sub-chapter aims to illustrate the argument of chapter VI, that globalised transformations are linked with struggles for opportunities and access which challenge existing regimes of exclusion. The argument is applied here to the struggle of marginalised landless labourers in Ullavur village. In Ullavur, the traditional social relations of rural society are characterised by the hegemony of the land owning community over the landless labourers. The families owning the land where the masters and labourers the servants working in the fields. This subchapter focuses on how this hegemony of the traditional order is challenged by the

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industrial developments that take place only few kilometres away from the fields of the village. In Tamil, Ullavur denotes ‘the very remote village’. Indeed, Ullavur is remote; the only road leading to the village is covered with potholes. However, despite its remoteness, the village has been undergoing a fundamental transition in the last decade. Especially for the last few years (~ since 2008) the proximity to the factories has been having an impact on Ullavur, changing the occupation of many villagers, influencing the land use and driving a dynamic land market. In contrast to Oragadam (see section V.1.2), Ullavur is not directly affected through land acquisition by SIPCOT or other industrial estates. Instead, Ullavur is transformed more indirectly through the rapidly changing landscape of opportunities surrounding the village: the new jobs accessible in the factories, the proximity of industrial areas allowing some land speculation etc. Ullavur is now somewhere between its earlier rural remoteness and not yet part of the industrial complexes and factories of Oragadam and Sriperumbudur. This transient situation of the village is also visible in map 1 (see page 210), with the location of Ullavur some 10 km southwest of Oragadam. It was because of this location and situation between these two worlds that Ullavur was chosen as a study site. This case study aims at contributing to our understanding of the social change associated with the shift from a purely agrarian village to a typical peri-urban village where the influences of agriculture and industries intersect in multiple ways. 2.1 Ullavur village According to the 2001 Census31, Ullavur has a total area of 533 hectares and is home to 1,493 people living in 329 households. Ullavur falls under the jurisdiction of nearby Walajabad city (see map 1). Ullavur is a typical village of periurban Chennai: the main crop is wet rice cultivation, recently also vegetables for nearby city markets are produced, but not on a large scale. The village economy is based on the traditional division between land-owning, upper caste farmers and landless labourers belonging to the dalit community, which is regarded as ritually unclean in the traditional Hindu society and accordingly is living in a segregated settlement. This antagonism, which is typical for the rural village in Tamil Nadu, is further illustrated in the next section VI.2.1.1. Because of the proximity to the industrial areas, agriculture in Ullavur turned unprofitable. For a few years now (especially since ~2008), agricultural labourers have the opportunity to work in nearby factories and are demanding higher wages. This made for many landowners to abandon agriculture, leaving their fields fallow. It is estimated that the area effectively used for agriculture decreased from 1,500 to 800 acres (607 to 324 ha). This massive change is illustrated in map 9 (see page 218) by contrasting land use in Ullavur in 2004 and 2011. 31 The figures for 2011 were not available at the time of writing.

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The proximity to the growth centres of Oragadam and Sriperumbudur also induced a rapid development of the land market. As a real-estate agent explained: “Ullavur has good connectivity, can be reached from many cities: Wallajabad, Chengalpet, Oragadam and the railway station of Pallasivaram. And very important: SIPCOT area of Oragadam is only 5 km away. The future area extension of SIPCOT will be even closer! Now the companies are there. Renault-Nissan is only 5 km away. From Oragdam to Wallajabad a 4lane road is coming, Sriperumbudur-Oragadam 6-lane will come and so comes the development!” (C3).

The price of land increased from Rs. 500–1,000 per cent (40.5 sq.m.) in the year 2000 to Rs. 10,000–12,000 per cent in 2011 (U6, C2). A second important reason for the dynamic land market is the demise of agriculture: “If agriculture is not profitable anymore, they sell the lands” (C3). The increasing number of real estate layouts (the visible expression of the land market) surrounding Ullavur is also observable in map 9. Especially in the south of Ullavur, towards the state highway between Walajabad and Chengelpettu, rising land prices have led landowners and real estate agents to engage in land speculation. Most findings presented in this sub-chapter were generated in Varadhapuram, the western part of Ullavur (see map 9). The dynamics in Varadhapuram are regarded as representative for the village of Ullavur, even if some sections deal explicitly with the dynamics taking place in Varadhapuram. 2.1.1 Traditional division of land and labour The ownership of land in Ullavur is to a very large degree structured by ancient institutions of the rural society of South India. That is, the land belongs to land owning castes who have a legitimacy of ownership that is almost divine and remains deeply rooted in the social fabric of rural society. In Ullavur the landowning caste, also referred to as the ‘upper caste community’, are Naidu, a common caste of Tamil Nadu. . This upper caste community is in possession of the majority of the land around the village. Historically, the ownership of land is closely related with the British colonial administration that introduced a system in India called ryotwari, where landholders (ryots) were given formal property rights (Jodhka 2006: 370). In the Madras Presidency, land was given to dominant castes, particularly to Brahmins and Naidu. This land ownership was formalized with pattas: registered land titles that determined how much taxes had to be paid. A member of a Naidu/upper caste family provided another narrative: “At the beginning, there were no different castes. There were just landlords and labourers. And one happened to have a lot of land, the other one didn’t. The landless then went to the landowners and asked them for work on their lands. They said ‘Just give me any kind of work, I’ll do anything. I just want food for my work’. So there was a boss and a subordinate” (U14).

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From the division in land ownership emerges a division of labour: the landless labourers, or dalit community32, work on the fields of the landowners and the landowners. The labourers can traditionally keep about half of the produce from the fields. Land-ownership is thus the basis of rural hegemony, which has varied social articulations as the next section will illustrate. The division between the landowning upper caste community and the dalit community also led to segregated settlements. This is illustrated in map 10 (see page 219), which portrays Varadhapuram, a part of Ullavur. The settlement for the upper caste community is in the north of Varadhapuram, the dalit community in the south. Map 10 also highlights the changes in Varadhapuram by contrasting the situation in 2004 and 2011. The cultivation of wet rice near the village stopped, the land is now left fallow and a real estate layout was created. The reasons behind the land use change are further discussed in section VI.2.2, which presents the shifting patterns of occupation. Map 10 further displays the spatial extension of the dalit community settlement in contrast to the settlement of the upper caste community. Here, houses have already been abandoned in the 1970ies when many of the landowners migrated to Chennai where they could obtain jobs in the administration and the decline of agriculture slowly commenced. 2.1.2 The hegemony of landowners and the social divisions of caste In Ullavur, different types of social stratification are linked with the division of land ownership. As part of the hegemony of the landowners in Ullavur, only food was paid for agricultural work until the 1990ies. This point was often stressed by landless people: how could they have ever bought land in the past, given that they were always placed in a position where they could have no income. Acting in opposition to this arrangement, the landless secretly began to sell products on the market to gain some financial income, though this was deemed inappropriate by the land-owning community (U14). Land is not the only aspect of village stratification. Two locations further illustrate the hegemony of the upper caste community: the temple and water tank in Varadhapuram (see map 10). To protect the perceived ritual purity of the Hindu temple, the upper caste community in Varadhapuram does not allow members of the dalit community to access the temple. In return, the dalit community started to build a temple on their own, although the temple is not finished as yet (2013) due to lack of funds. Similarly, the water bodies in the upper caste community are not open to members of the dalit community. It was reported that during a recent drought, which exhausted the water body in the dalit community settlement some women went to the water tank adjacent to the upper caste temple in Varadhapuram to wash clothes. This led to a dispute, 32 Dalit is a designation for social groups at the lower end of the caste spectrum in India. Also residents in Ullavur (from both communities) used this term and not the broader category of scheduled castes. While discrimination based on caste is officially prohibited in the Constitution of India, various forms of discrimination continue Michael (2007).

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and ultimately the dalit women had to leave and pay a fine to the upper caste community for this infringement of their territory (U30). There are many other existing divisions in the village: for example, there are two bus stops, one for dalits, and one for members of the upper-caste communities. Also, two ceremonial crematories sites are maintained (see map 9). During the 100-day working schemes conducted as part of the NREGA-programme33, the shifts of those working are separated according to membership of upper caste or dalit community. Members of the upper caste community are not comfortable visiting the ‘dalit colony’, though they are traditionally allowed to do so. 2.1.3 Ullavur in the peri-urban context The traditional social order of Ullavur is marked by a strong division which has been based on land-ownership ever since agriculture was the main occupation. But the impact from the surrounding peri-urban spaces challenges this order as new opportunities become available at the factories. Many of the younger generation in the dalit community can access jobs of unskilled labour in factories which require only 12th grade schooling education. Directly west of Ullavur is a sugar factory, in addition to a shoe factory and other employment opportunities in the brick manufacturing south of Ullavur (see map 9). 2.2 Shifting patterns of occupation The social roles and the division of labour attached to caste are still strong in Ullavur. However, the traditional order and dominance of the landowning, upper caste community is increasingly challenged as more and more members of the dalit community gain economic independency through jobs outside of agriculture and the sphere of the landowning community. This is best illustrated by taking a closer look at the decreasing importance and changing patterns of agriculture in Ullavur. 2.2.1 Working in agriculture “Agriculture is going down” is a common word in all of peri-urban Chennai. In Tamil Nadu, agricultural production has stagnated in the last decades because profitability was reduced. Ullavur is a typical village to illustrate this trend. The industrial development in the peri-urban is central to the demise of agriculture in Ullavur. The income opportunities in the industries led to a sharp rise in the cost 33 Based on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) from 2005, this scheme guarantees 100 days of work for unskilled labour in rural India for public work projects.

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for agricultural labour. Landowners reported that average pay for agricultural labour was Rs. 25–30 per day in the 1980ies; Rs. 50–75 per day in the 1990ies and since 2–3 years („after the companies came“), the wages reach Rs. 100 day (women) and Rs. 200–250 day (men) (U26). See also figure 13.

Wages in Rs. per day

250 200

200 150 100

75

50

30

0

25

men 100

women

50

1980-90

1990-2007

2008-2011

Figure 13: Wages for agricultural labour in Ullavur (Source: Fieldwork in 2012;U26)

The wages stated were reported by land-owners and constitute part of their lament about the rising costs of agriculture. Agricultural labourers reported lower wages for the current (2008–2011) time, only Rs. 50–60 for women and Rs. 100–150 for men (U23). Landowners also complain that prices for other agricultural inputs (seeds, fertilizer and electricity) increased as well, while the market price for selling products (paddy rice) remains low. Although land availability has increased (due to decreased use for paddy cultivation), livestock production in Ullavur is stagnant. Due to rising labour costs families cannot afford to employ labourers to take care of the animals (U6). Furthermore, the government is blamed for low procurement prices in the dairy sector, which is rendering production unprofitable (U6). Another reason for the decline in agriculture is a falling groundwater table probably caused by excessive pumping by a nearby brick company. The case was brought to the local authorities but allegedly dropped because of bribing by the company owner (U6). Effects of the decrease in agriculture are felt in all aspects of Ullavur society. The demise of agriculture is a threat to the livelihood security for the landless labourers: “Before the implementation of the factories, there was a lot of work here. Now, there is no more work” (U20). Especially people with little education are scared of a future with no agriculture: „The ones who work in the fields are suffering. There’s no profit.” (U24). The continued abandonment of agriculture is criticized by those depending on it: “We will not allow them to give up all the agricultural land!“ stated some landless labourers to protest against the selling of land by the landowners in Ullavur (U5). For some agricultural labourers, paid work is only available through projects like the 100-day working scheme funded

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by the government (see photo 8, where labourers are digging out the foundation of the irrigation water storage basin, Ullavur Aerii (see map 9), as part of such a working scheme). Participants are mainly older, uneducated labourers.

Photo 8: Participants of 100-day working scheme in Ullavur (Source: Homm 2011)

But this is only the perspective of those dependent on agricultural labour. For those able to work outside of agriculture, the perspective is quite different, as the next section will elaborate. 2.2.2 Working outside agriculture When doing a transect walk, a farmer described his feeling regarding the transformation of Ullavur while we were looking past fields now left fallow within sight of the massive apartment buildings of Hirco Palace Garden (see section IV.1.5 and map 3) looming at the horizon: “I am shocked and surprised because the change is coming so fast. But I am happy that this happens at all, I never imagined this change to come. My children and future generation can earn money in the factories. I leased land to a farmer [30–40 cent] but could only get Rs. 200 per month. The same went to the labourers. In the factories, money can be made so easy, around Rs. 5,000 in one month alone!” (U3).

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It is the general perception among the younger generation in Ullavur (but especially for young men) that access to simple factory work is relatively easy when having the 12th grade school education (U17). However, most jobs are rather uncertain and provided through job-brokers who keep part of the salary as provision (see also sub-chapter VI.1). Still, many can generate a monthly income of Rs. 3,000 to 5,000 - see also table 25 for an overview of access to work in Ullavur, in particular regarding age and gender. The companies that people from Ullavur access are mostly located nearby (shoe-factory, zipper-factory, beer-factory and sugar-factory). Only few people work in a multi-national company in Oragadam or Sriperumbudur. Busses come to pick up workers for shifts and the improvement in infrastructure is seen by many as a reason for the economic integration of Ullavur. Besides working in factories, also other opportunities have increased with the economic development in the peri-urban spaces surrounding Ullavur. The occupations reported include: repairing electrical items, selling construction wood, land broker services and others. However, for those who lack the needed mobility and education, the situation is difficult since the decline of agriculture is taking away opportunity to work, especially for older women (see table 25, next page). Also, Ullavur is rather remote, making access to jobs difficult. One respondent complained: “There are only two company buses that come to the village. We can just profit from the companies if more buses come” (U24). Access to livelihood security strongly depends on gender. Both young and old man have much better access to jobs. Most young men (under 35 years) reported to have easy access to a factory job with wages of Rs. 3,000 to 5,000 per month. Older men (above 35 years) only had limited access to factory work but enjoyed much better access to other manual work outside agriculture compared to women. This work includes constructing, wood cutting, and carpenter services that are provided in nearby villages or small cities. For young women (under 35 years), access to factory jobs is possible but limited. After marriage, they are expected to remain home and take care of the household (U5). Elder women (above 35 years) are most vulnerable regarding the demise of agriculture, since without adequate schooling they can only work in the fields, and doing so for several decades can sometimes lead to poor health conditions (U30). Furthermore, they have less opportunity to engage in other manual work, as men are preferred by employers. Also, their salary is less when compared with men, see figure 13. Agricultural labour in Ullavur is now mainly done by older, analphabetic women as the younger generation and men have access to other work outside agriculture. The differences regarding access to employment outside the agricultural sector are summarized in table 25.

2 Ullavur village: challenges for landowners – empowerment of agricultural labourers

Main occupation Income

Literacy Valuation of situation Access

Women (age < 35) Factory work

Women (age > 35) Agriculture

Men (age < 35) Factory work

Rs. 3,0005,000 monthly income Literate Positive

Rs. 50-90 /day daily labourer

Rs. 5,0006,000 monthly income Literate Very positive

Work in factories possible, but only until marriage.

No access to factories due to lack of schooling. Poor health condition caused by hard fieldwork, fewer jobs available in agriculture.

Illiterate Negative

Work in factories possible. Career opportunity limited but existent.

163

Men (age > 35) Manual work (constructing, wood cutting, carpenter ) Rs. 150-300/day daily labourer Illiterate Positive No access to factories due to lack of schooling. Access to daily labour jobs were wages are higher than in agriculture.

Table 25: Access to labour: gender and age differences in Ullavur Source: own survey (11/2011).

The lack of opportunities for older people is only compensated if younger members of the family have access to the industrial labour market and are supporting the rest of the family. If this is the case, the demise of agriculture is seen as a benign shift away from the hardship of fieldwork: “Elder people can rest, now, that the children can work. They don’t have to go to the fields daily anymore. My son is going to the company. Now, we’re doing ok. I can rest a little now. I am old” (U26).

The changing patterns of access to work provide the context for other social changes: education becomes more important, landowners lose interest in agriculture and members of the dalit community are empowered by new opportunities outside the agricultural sector. These trends are presented in the next section. 2.3 Social change in peri-urban Ullavur The social change induced by the peri-urban transformation was researched in greatest detail in Varadhapuram, a part of Ullavur. Varadhapuram is made up of two settlements, one for the dalit community, one for the upper caste or landowning community, see map 10. The map also displays some manifestations of the social change occurring in the village. While the upper caste community is stagnant and houses are abandoned, the settlement of the dalit community is extended

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and a new temple is under construction. The settlements are divided by some scrub land which until 20 years ago no dalit was allowed to pass (U14). However, for a few years now additional footpaths exist and the children from the dalit community are allowed to use this footpath when they go to school (U30). It is also just a few years ago that children are no longer separated by caste when attending school (U30). The transformation of the upper caste, or landowning community, started earlier than the industrial development in the peri-urban. It was already in the 70ies and 80ies that because of the availability of better working opportunities in Chennai, large parts of the land-owning community left Varadhapuram. Family ties played a central role in bringing more and more members of the upper caste community of Varadhapuram to work in Chennai, in particular as administrative officers in the Corporation of Chennai Municipality (U2, U9). Some houses and agricultural fields of the land-owning families were given to the custody of befriended families who took care of the houses and remaining land (U9). Other houses in Varadhapuram have been completely abandoned and are falling into disrepair. Map 10 displays the high number of abandoned houses in the settlement of the upper caste community, see also photo 9.

Photo 9: Abandoned houses in Varadhapuram upper caste community (Source:. Homm 2011)

The landowning community sustains their cultural attachment to Varadhapuram and regularly arranges religious festivals when many relatives come from Chennai to the village to celebrate their cultural roots in the rural traditions. In opposition to the dwindling presence of the landowners, the dalit community of Varadhapuram is empowered by the new economic opportunities. Most of the younger people of the dalit community in Ullavur and Varadhapuram are well positioned to access the new industrial labour market. The education policies of

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the State Government, which positively discriminated members of the scheduled castes, enabled a considerate proportion of the dalit community to finish 12th standard (in Walajabad), which is the minimum requirement for simple, unskilled factory jobs. Many of the young generation in the dalit community of Varadhapuram found jobs in one of the nearby factories. Some found work in the sugar factory (just 3 km west of Ullavur) which opened about 15 years ago (U16), others in one of the many companies in Sriperumbudur or Oragadam, which is also not too far (see map 1) though the bus connection is limited. Now that the dalits find jobs in factories, they are less dependent on the landowning community and their standard of living is improving. This is also evident in the extension of Varadhapuram settlement (see map 10). Here, many families built concrete houses and the population increased (1980ies: 40–50, 2011: 150–200 people (U30, U14). Some of the new houses are colourfully painted - a stark contrast to the former thatched huts which provided basic shelter (see photo 10 with thatched hut in background).

Photo 10: Concrete house in Varadhapuram dalit community (Source: N. Maib 2011)

Living conditions for the dalit community in Varadhapuram have improved during the past decade, with many families now having concrete houses, television, better clothing and nutrition (U30). Another significant impact of having access to work outside of agriculture is an increased importance of education for many families of the dalit community, which is also the theme of the next section.

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2.3.2 Education With the new economic opportunities available for the dalit community, new social spaces are created by taking these opportunities and overcoming the traditional dominance of the agricultural order. Now the main struggle of the dalit community is to provide the young generation with the necessary education to gain access to better paid jobs in the factories. This was often stressed: „I want my daughters to go to school and to get good jobs” (U20). Or: „I have a lot of hope for the future. I really want to encourage my sisters also. I always motivate them to study. The education is everything I have” (U23).

This is the new dream, now possible with the new economic opportunities open to landless families. This dream is further illustrated by the following case study which looks closer at the importance of education in one particular family of the dalit community in Varadhapuram. Case study 5: Struggles for education and livelihood opportunities The family lives in a small hut that was used earlier as a cow barn, it is very basic. The family started building a house with a government loan (Rs. 1 lakh) but could not finish due to lack of further funding. The parents live together with their four daughters and one son, none is married as yet. The father is working as a daily labourer in Athur, 15 km away, and has no regular income. The income in Athur, Rs. 150-200 per day, is better than in Ullavur where agriculture is decreasing, here only Rs. 100-150 is paid. The mother has a sick, painful knee and is now unable to work outside the house. When she was young, she was taken from school after seven years. Now, she wants her children to study hard to make the most out of their lives: „I want my daughters to go to school and to get good jobs.” While two of the daughters are working in companies, all daughters finished 12th grade in school, two are visiting colleges. The parents place special emphasis on the education of their children. The oldest daughter is working in a factory and provides the largest share of the family income and is doing a master through distance learning in the evening. The second oldest daughter was befallen by a serious, yet unknown illness that limited her mental development while still in school. The third daughter finished 12th grade in nearby Walajabad and is now in second year in college. Once she was working in a nearby factory, but the working conditions were too bad, overtime, pressure, harassment by male supervisors, and she quit the job. Further, woman working in factories are not safe, she says: „They are under a lot of pressure. Some girls get touched. They also get insulted”. Now, in 2012, she is studying bank management through a distance study at the Madras University. She aims at a job in a bank in one of the cities in peri-urban Chennai, not too far from Ullavur. Beside her experience in the factory it is the pressure from her older sister and mother that make her study. The older sister always pushes her to learn. The youngest sister is still in school but she is studying hard to get sufficient high marks to be eligible for an IAS (Indian Administrative Service) job. The son holds a master from an IT-college and is working in Tam-

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baram (major city towards Chennai). Only at the weekends he comes home to live with the family. The family is aware of their social position as member of the Varadhapuram dalit community: „There is some partiality between the different castes; there have been very little changes”. Acknowledging this position the mother argues: „A lot of us have dreams here. But we cannot do much in our situation“. But as the daughter points out: „In the factory, there was no partiality“(regarding the different caste). And the mother adds that now in Varadhapuram “Younger people have a good awareness. They respect us; they treat us well” while referring to themselves as „lower caste people“. Although being aware of their own traditionally marginalised position as lower caste people, the mother is confident for her children’s future as they are all studying well. With all the companies now coming up they will get good jobs. Though living in the little cow barn, she is optimistic and told us: „You come back to India. Next time you come to my house, we have AC. I want to put AC in the sleeping room”. (Source: Focus family in Varadhapuram, quotes from U18, U23, U20)

The case study illustrates the importance placed on the education of their children. The hope the family has for their children is based on the opportunities available in the factories, where the traditional division of caste is not discriminating them: „In the factory, there was no partiality” emphasizes the daughter while referring to the divisions of caste that kept the dalit community in a position of segregation and discrimination as long as they were working only in the fields of the landowning, upper caste community. But with the increasing availability of jobs outside agriculture, their social identity as dalits is increasingly losing its relevance. The next section presents material on the changes in power relations between upper caste and dalit community members resulting from this availability of employment outside of the fields of the landowners. 2.3.3 Shifting power relations The struggle of the dalit community for independency from the dominance of the land-owning, upper caste community already began in 1980ies. Back then, some dalit families started to secretly sell some of the crops they produced and harvested on the fields of the landowners. A member of the dalit community explained: “By then, they paid us with food for our work. We stored some of the harvest and sold it in the city. Like that, we could save some money. With that money, we bought some lands to cultivate for ourselves” (U20).

This was only a first step. Now, the economic opportunities of working in the factories have empowered the dalit community more fundamentally by becoming more independent from the land owned by the upper caste families. This shift in power relations is deeply unsettling for members of the upper caste community.

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The traditional benefiters of the division of labour are opposed, even afraid of the new roles of the dalits. The traditional space for the dalits was the agricultural field where they were expected to work. Now, they leave this space and “behave like landlords themselves”, as one member of the upper-caste community complained (U14). This looming conflict between the dalit community and the landowning community is a sensitive issue that was not openly debated in the village. People generally avoided the topic in open discussions. The castes are not only separated in terms of settlement but also in the way their communities were framed, using the terms “we” and “them” to talk about the other community. The conflict between the communities was not openly addressed but instead framed as a general ‘Indian problem’. However, some respondents were quite explicit. For example, one upper caste respondent expressed his feelings towards the rising economic independency of the dalit community in Ullavur: “The dalit becomes a boss. But I cannot accept him as a boss. He becomes a boss, so I feel bad. His respect for me goes down” (U14).

The rise in population of the dalit community and the extension of their settlement is also feared: “They come to us and say: We are more than you!” (U14). The landowning community feels the new empowerment as inappropriate, and stress the traditional order: “We have given them [the dalits] everything. The land, the house. So they should not behave like a landlord. I will always see them as labourers” (U14).

Underscoring their opposition against the new order, landowners stress that in the old times the labourers had a better working attitude, a different mind: “Earlier the labourers gut up around 2 or 3 a.m. for working in the fields. They had no pumps but worked hard to bring all the water manually to the fields, carrying buckets from one of the many wells. Now labour is not willing, they want huge money” (U9).

The quotes illustrate that from the perspective of the landowning community, the traditional, natural order is lost. The labourers are seen as spoiled, requesting ‘huge money’, and thereby making agriculture unprofitable. 2.4 Discussion: Industrial development and the opportunity for inclusive development in rural society Lefebvre’s thesis that “every society produces […] its own space” (PS: 31) can be used to understand the spatial arrangements of Ullavur and Varadhapuram. The village represents a typical traditional, Hindu village of Tamil Nadu. That is, the spaces of the upper-caste community are separated from the lower caste or dalit community who are not allowed to enter the settlement of the upper caste community. The upper caste community owns the land and the dalit community constitute the landless labourers working on their fields (Breman 2007). Taking the perspective of social space, the agricultural fields are ‘fields of power’ in which members of the dalit community have been/are working according to the rules and

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representations produced by the more powerful land-owning, upper caste community. The spatial segregation in terms of settlement and division of labour can be regarded as an expression of the traditional rural society that has produced its own peculiar space, i.e. specific social spaces that frame the actions of the members of the village society. As it was argued in sub-chapter II.2, the spatial order imposed by the upper-caste community can be regarded an ‘enforced abstraction’, that is, a spatial order based on the concept of ritual cleanliness that excludes members of the dalit community and relegates them to the fields as the space that corresponds with their social identity of ‘untouchables’. In the narrative that one upper-caste member provided, this division between the land-owning farmers and the landless labourers is naturalized, it just “happened” that some of the people migrating to Ullavur remained landless, and the landless than begged the land-owners to work on their fields. This unequal relationship is constitutive for ‘The poverty regime in village India’, as argued by Breman (2007) and others stressing the exclusionary forces of caste (Government of India 2011). This traditional social division is expressed in many spatial arrangements presented (e.g. section VI.2.1): the segregated settlements, the two bus stops, the two crematories and the different shifts during 100-day working schemes. These spatial arrangements mirror the social relations of the traditional patron-client relation between land-owning community and the landless labourer of the dalit community. They are made up of specific social spaces and include the three dimensions. The division between upper caste and dalit community i) is material in the form of physical distance between the settlements and other spaces of segregation; ii) is constituted by representations and regulations in that certain actions are linked with certain spaces, e.g. labourers are expected to work in the fields, landowners are expected to keep the land and develop agriculture; iii) is based on emotional meaning of specific spaces that belong either to upper caste and can be ritually polluted by members of the dalit community (see e.g. the conflict about the water tank in Varadhapuram) or are part of the dalit community and members of the upper caste community do not/did not enter them. The material presented in this sub-chapter shows how this traditional division of labour and the specific social spaces associated with it are still partially in place in Ullavur. But it also shows how these traditional social spaces are being increasingly challenged by the dalit community as new spaces of work have become available outside the village and outside the social spaces produced and dominated by the landowning, upper caste community. 2.4.1 Dissolving traditional social spaces of landowners’ hegemony The ability to produce space was defined in chapter II as an expression of the power an actor or actor group does hold. In Ullavur, it can be demonstrated how this power to produce space was the predominant domain of the landowning community, but this traditional hegemony is now challenged by the development of the peri-urban economy, in particular the jobs in the industrial labour market

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(see also sub-chapter VI.1). The essentially feudalistic structure of rural society in Ullavur is now in transition due to the increasing number of landless labourers who find new opportunities in the peri-urban labour market, factories and other small business. Based on these still marginal economic opportunities, the landless labourers challenge the traditional hierarchies and hegemony of the upper caste, landowning community. The social spaces of the traditional order are losing their relevance, as the young women from the dalit community said in the case study: there is no ‘partiality’ in the factories, referring to the traditional discrimination of dalits in the social spaces of agriculture. This traditional discrimination of the dalits in Ullavur is not relevant in the spaces of work in the industrial factories. The abstraction of ritual uncleanness is no longer able to maintain the hegemony of the upper caste community. The dalit community is empowered by the experience of caste-neutral spaces in the factories and is increasingly able to produce space according to their own interests, and thereby transforms Ullavur: extending the settlement, building a new temple (see map 10) and aiming for higher education (see case study). The difficult situation for the landowning community finds its expression in the massive change in land use from cultivated wet rice to fields left fallow around Ullavur (see map 9). Their houses are abandoned and the rural village has lost its importance as the generator of agricultural surplus but has become a social space of memory where cultural traditions are maintained when the family members come together to celebrate the traditional rituals. The traditional social spaces of landowners are losing their relevance. This transition towards partial economic independency of the dalits seems to deeply unsettle the land-owning community: “The dalit becomes a boss. But I cannot accept him as a boss. He becomes a boss, so I feel bad” (U14). The upper caste community appears to be afraid of an independent dalit-community that will not show the traditional respect to the landowning community, fearing that “his respect for me goes down”. This illustrates how the social role is still incorporated in spatial relations: the dalits should not have their own land. The peri-urban transformation challenges this traditional hegemony of the landowners and provides members of the dalit community with access to new social spaces outside the traditional social spaces of the rural village. 2.4.2 New social spaces and livelihood opportunities Vijabaskar (2010) remarked: “a first step towards addressing caste-based inequalities and oppression involves dalits moving out of their caste-based occupations like agricultural labour” (ibid: 42).

It is in this line of thinking that the transformations taking place in Ullavur can be understood as a source of empowerment for those who have been cast in the traditions of a rural society. Based on the increasing integration into industrial forms of labour relations, through jobs outside the agricultural realm, new livelihood op-

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portunities emerge for the landless labourers who were otherwise caught in a position of subordination and dependency towards the landowning farmer on which land they worked, often for generations. As suggested above, this traditional division of labour and associated spatial arrangements can be framed with the concept of enforced abstraction. It is suggested here, that the new social spaces now available for the dalit community can be understood as a manifestation of lived difference, as introduced in chapter II. The new livelihood opportunities available to the dalit community correspond with the concept of lived difference: Lived differences challenge social spaces structured according to a dominant abstraction. They include the development of access to and new capabilities for the performance of actions in these social spaces to gain benefits for marginalized people/groups. The new livelihood opportunities for the dalit community in the periurban factories, outside the dominance of the landowners, are accordingly regarded as a manifestation of lived difference. With the industrial labour market developing in the peri-urban, the dalit community, as a traditionally marginalized group, now has access to new social spaces that empower them to challenge the traditional social space in the village produced by the landowning community and structured by the abstraction of ritual uncleanness. Figure 14 summarizes the social spaces and livelihoods available to the dalit community of Ullavur. Livelihood and social space of dalit community in Ullavur: Social space of dalit community

Livelihood assets Traditional:

Limited access to land and education

New:

Increased access to land, younger generation has 10 or 12 years of education (relevant for factories)

Livelihood strategy

Livelihood outcomes

Traditional:

Traditional:

in the fields of landowning, upper caste community

Agricultural labour, secretly selling some harvest

New: Empowerment in

New:

New:

Traditional: Subordination

neutral spaces of work: “no partiality” in peri-urban factories

Working in peri-urban factories, other jobs outside of agriculture

No financial income, high dependency on landowners Financial income, increasing independence from landowners

Reconfiguration of social space: Traditional enforced abstraction: Dalit community: ritually unclean. Only agricultural labour accepted

New lived difference:

Dalit community equally accepted as unskilled labourers in industrial factories

Figure 14: Traditional and new social spaces for the Ullavur dalit community. (Source: own draft)

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Education played a central role in enabling the dalit community to access the industrial jobs, which require 10 years of schooling even for unskilled labour. Without the public education schemes and the positive discrimination for scheduled castes in Tamil Nadu, the empowerment of the dalits could not have happened. But provided the necessary education, members of the dalit community in Ullavur are benefitting from the globalised transformations in the peri-urban spaces surrounding the village. This implicates a power shift in Ullavur, not in absolute but in relative terms, as for the first time members of the dalit community are not by definition placed below the landowning community. The field has, to some extend at least, been levelled. 3 PERI-URBAN GOVERNANCE STRUCTURES “Nobody thought that Sriperumbudur is going to be developed. But then Hyundai and Nokia came. It led to too many ancillary industries… and created employment, in turn population and pressing for services. I think it is a vicious circle.” (C8, senior official from Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority)

This sub-chapter aims at illustrating selected relations between peri-urban government structures and the challenge of inclusive development. The main argument is that the current government structures in peri-urban Chennai are too weak and scattered to effectively promote inclusive development. 3.1 Coordination between government agencies The peri-urban, ill-defined as neither urban nor rural, continues to be in danger of “falling between the stools” as policymakers have difficulties devising policies to effectively target this multi-sided space (Dávila 2006). One reason for the weak government structures in peri-urban Chennai is their administrative status which delinks the peri-urban from the city. Although the dynamics taking place in Sriperumbudur and Oragadam are directly related to the ‘mother city’ Chennai, these spaces are outside of the Chennai Municipal Area, as well as the wider Metropolitan Area, which that covers large parts of the peri-urban but misses some of the most dynamic locations (see map 1). Because of the rapid growth in locations directly adjacent to Chennai, the core city of the Chennai Municipal Area (also called Chennai Corporation) was extended from 176 km2 to 462 km2 in 2011 to include these areas. However, the larger Chennai Metropolitan Area that stretches into the peri-urban remained at 1189 km2 (see map 1). Inside the Metropolitan Area, the powerful Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) is coordinating different aspects of development. The peri-urban areas outside the Chennai Metropolitan Area, including the growth centres of Sriperumbudur and Oragadam, are governed by the respective local government bodies. These include

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the Kanchipuram district government and the State Government of Tamil Nadu, both of which are known for asserting comparably weak government structures and law enforcement in the peri-urban areas. Table 26 provides an overview of the different administrative levels involved. The administrative division between rural and urban bodies makes administration more difficult for the transient peri-urban spaces which are situated between the rural and urban. Administrative level State District Taluk District panchayat Panchayat union Village panchayat City municipal Corporations Municipalities Town panchayat

Number of respective administrative entities in Tamil Nadu

Rural bodies

Urban bodies

32 385 31 385 12,524 10 152 529

Table 26: Administrative levels in Tamil Nadu34 Source: www.tnrd.gov.in/databases/Villages.pdf; www.tn.gov.in/dtp/townpanchayats.pdf; www.tn.gov.in/cma/municipalities/municipalities_gradewise.html;

In the peri-urban spaces around Sriperumbudur and Oragadam neither the local governments, nor the Kanchipuram district government is enforcing strict development regulations. The responsibilities of the State Government are also limited (see also sub-chapter V.1 and V.2). In theory, the responsible agency is the Directorate of Town and Country Planning (DTCP), which is under the control of the State Government and has its jurisdiction over entire Tamil Nadu except for the Chennai Metropolitan Area. However, the Directorate of Town and Country Planning seems not to be taking a coordinating role and the growth in the peri-urban spaces remains largely uncontrolled. For example, only little land-use planning or zoning exists. This is in contrast to the Chennai Municipal as well as the Metropolitan Area, where detailed land-use regulations and other policies are in place.

34 Districts and Taluks (subdivisions of districts) are administrative divisions with a broad range of responsibilities, including the implementation of national and state policies. Panchayat unions are constituted by representatives from the village panchayats and form the local government at the Taluk level.

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One senior official from the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) criticised the lack of concerted government in the peri-urban. Focusing on Sriperumbudur, she argued: “There are so many industries coming up. They have to identify the areas for residential development. […] There should be a holistic plan and it has to be drawn. But who has to bell the cat? Who will do it? CMDA already indicated that DTCP will do it. But they do not have adequate staff. […]” (C11).

There exists continuous friction between different government authorities. In fact, a large number of authorities share the responsibility for steering the peri-urban but there appears to be a lack of coordination. For example, there is little cooperation between the Tamil Nadu Urban Finance and Infrastructure Development Corporation (TUFIDCO) and SIPCOT. Both have independently funded a study on the regional developments of the Sriperumbudur region. This overlap is detrimental to coordination, as a senior official complains: “It is all done in isolation and lack of coordination. Lot of people are working in the same area. They do not have the sectoral agency. TWAD35 looks after the water for entire Tamil Nadu. No priority. The local body is weak and do not have the capacity to execute. In fact zero. SIPCOT has given the project to a consultancy. TNUIFSL 36, TUFIDCO, too many studies and too many agencies […]. Lot of money is wasted on parallel studies!” (C11).

This quote highlights the weak coordination between the different government agencies. An overlap in responsibilities by institutions on the state level results in unclear mandates as is illustrated for example by the multiple studies ordered by different consultancies on similar topics. This weakness of state level agencies is aggravated by the situation of local government bodies (panchayat unions, village panchayats etc.), as these are often poorly equipped to deal with the new emerging challenges of a rapidly transforming peri-urban economy and society. Faced with these shortcomings of administrative institutions at the state or district level, hope is placed on local self-government. The solution that ‘small is beautiful’ is followed by many NGOs who see themselves as the better advocates of the people against a corrupt and selfish government. One example which illustrates the quest for local government is a panchayat activist who established a ‘Trust for Village Self Governance’. The activist strongly argues for strengthening local institutions: “The need of the hour is strong panchayat, strong panchayat leadership, empowering the local panchayat, empowering the local governments. But unfortunately, government is not doing that. Government is always carried away; they are running behind Hyundai or SEZ, they don't bother about the local people. That’s why I am preparing a movement and, not to fight with anybody but demonstrate local strength” (V8). 35 TWAD, the Tamil Nadu Water Supply And Drainage Board is providing water supply and sewerage facilities to the entire state of Tamil Nadu except Chennai Metropolitan Area. 36 TNUIFSL, the Tamil Nadu Urban Infrastructure Financial Services Limited is a PublicPrivate Partnership in the urban sector, between the Government of Tamil Nadu and the Indian financial institution. Together with TUFIDCO they are implementing infrastructure policies of the State Governance.

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Though the trust is successful and more and more villages are following his example, the dynamics and exclusionary tendencies associated with industrial development are much stronger. The activists poetically framed his action and commitment for local institutions as a struggle against globalization: “I am struggling. It is, say, swimming against tsunami. The current is so big. Globalisation and other things are so big. People like us we swim. We know that we may be washed off. Our confidence is yes I will fall, but I wall fall as a seed. I know that I fall. But I am having a satisfaction that I am burying as a seed. This will germinate” (V8).

This quote illustrates the difficult situation of local panchayat initiatives: the power is with the international companies who often have more direct connections to political decision makers. The peri-urban spaces around Chennai are under no clear jurisdiction and the power of local initiatives is limited. This is further illustrated when considering the case of Sriperumbudur (section VI.3.2) or the project of making ‘Greater Chennai’, a new administrative unit that includes the periurban (section VI.3.3). 3.2 Turning Sriperumbudur town into “India’s Shenzhen” Government agencies responsible of steering peri-urban Chennai increasingly employ private consultancies to devise blueprints for the development of cities and regions. There is a trend towards privatization of planning. This is especially the case for Sriperumbudur, which is undergoing rapid development since major industries have opened their factories in the surrounding of the town. The population increased from 16,156 inhabitants in 2001 to 29,710 in 2010 (TUFIDCO 2010) and is expected to grow even faster with more factories planning to locate in the area. Owning to its rapid growth, Sriperumbudur is touted “India’s Shenzhen” in local media and serves as an example to highlight the positive aspects of agglomeration economies in the 2009 World Development Report of the World Bank (Homm and Bohle 2012). In absence of sufficient planning capacity within the responsible agencies, a private consultancy was authorized to draft a City Development Plan for Sriperumbudur (TUFIDCO 2010). The trend to outsource public spatial planning to private agencies and thus entrust it to private actors is critiqued (Goldman 2011). The privatization of planning can become a catalyst for a development paradigm that openly accepts new forms of exclusion. This seemed to be the case with another consultant authorized by SIPCOT to draft a Sriperumbudur regional development plan. According to the responsible project officers, development in the areas around Sriperumbudur will be regulated through something they call ‘urban pressure’, which implicates that those who cannot benefit from the development leave the area and try their luck in a different spot. They argued: “That kind of urban pressure means that whoever is having money they can push the people to what they want. Actually if a person stays back and if he retains his land, what happens is he will not be able to make money out of it. If he sells it and goes, probably elsewhere he can

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VI Lived difference and local struggles for inclusion in peri-urban Chennai go and make some capital investment, he can put up a shop, use this money to make his life better. But if he stays there he will stay there without any economic betterment” (C7).

The quote illustrates a logic of exclusion that can enter the peri-urban governance and development planning when too much emphasize is placed on economic development without considering the possibility of developing the capabilities of the local population and supporting inclusive development. 3.3 The making of Greater Chennai The dynamic economic developments in the area adjacent to the Chennai Metropolitan Area (especially in the Sriperumbudur-Oragadam corridor) have started a discussion on how to strengthen peri-urban governance. The preferred option is to expand the Chennai Metropolitan Area into ‘Greater Chennai’ and create a new authority, i.e. a new administrative unit that includes the peri-urban. The State Government and the many associated institutions are by the time of writing (early 2013) discussing different options for the creation of this Greater Chennai region. Proposals are ranging from an area including 4,400 km2 up to 8,800 km2 (The Hindu, 22.06.2012). The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in cooperation with the Tamil Nadu State Council put forward the proposal of a ‘MAP region’ (about 5,000 km2), a version of Greater Chennai where the outer limits are constituted by the towns of Marakanam, Arakonam and Pulicat (TUFIDCO 2010). Figure 15 provides the outline of this MAP region and gives an impression of how this proposal for a Greater Chennai is based on a simple ‘hub and spoke model’ that links smaller peri-urban towns with Chennai as the ‘mother city’ The idea of the MAP region is advocated as follows: “The vision is to take a Regional Perspective and integrate nearby towns with Chennai based on a hub and spokes model, with Chennai as the hub and towns like Marakkanam, Arakkonam and Pulicat (MAP) as spokes. These towns, among others, should be linked to Chennai with high-speed rail and road transport corridors. Connecting these clusters and towns to Chennai and its engines of growth can produce tremendous benefits to all citizens in the MAP region” (TUFIDCO 2010: 26).

As yet, there is no news regarding the implementation of these plans. However, the hub and spoke model in its current form highlights the trend to approach the peri-urban spaces only from the urban centre. The spokes are only directed at Chennai and connections between the hubs are missing. The peri-urban spaces in between appear as remote rural periphery, despite the actual dynamics that have already created a dense web of interrelations between the peri-urban towns and villages.

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Figure 15: Envisioning Greater Chennai Source: City Development Plan for Sriperumbudur, TUFIDCO 2010: 27

The question emerges in how far the creation of the MAP region and in particular its reliance on a hub and spoke model or in general the plans for a Greater Chennai will be able to foster inclusive development that also creates opportunities for marginalized sections of society, such as uneducated farmers and the like. Taking up this question, the newspaper The Hindu interviewed an architect involved in the Bangalore regional plan who criticized the weak governance associated with the larger Bangalore region and cautions against similar shortcomings in Greater Chennai. The architect argues that after the creation of the larger Bangalore region, a multiplicity of planning agencies shares responsibility for the area and… “Each one is pulling the city in a different direction and regional planning process has not effectively taken off. Declaring a large area as an urban region has helped developers most. They can now easily change agricultural land to urban use, which would have been difficult otherwise. It will do well for Chennai to put in place a governance structure before seeking to create super-sized cities” (The Hindu, 22.06.2012).

This concern resonates with other authors who stress the dangers associated with creating larger planning regions for Indian cities. They claim that this often only resulted in unconstrained developments and ‘speculative urbanism’ (Goldman 2011), where networks of powerful actors can realize profitable land deals or other projects to the detriment of weaker actors not protected by institutions ensuring the enforcement of relevant rules and regulations. Simply extending the limits of Chennai into Greater Chennai seems not sufficient to address the weakness of governance structures associated with the peri-urban spaces.

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3.4 Discussion: Peri-urban governance and inclusive development In the rapidly developing megacities of the Global South, it is often through powerful alliances between global actors and local government representatives that exclusionary development projects are realized (Shatkin 2007). These forms of cooperation are possible because of weak government structures as discussed above. It was already argued by Arabindoo (2006) that the peri-urban spaces of Chennai are left unregulated on purpose, as there is “a growing need to retain a regulatory fuzziness in the peripheries in light of the spatial preferences of global capital” (ibid. 54).

Arabindoo, in her study of a small village on the southern fringes of Chennai, acknowledges that weak government structures lead to more exclusive development outcomes. She argues that the authority of government structures in the peri-urban “remains considerably limited in the role it can play in determining the spatial development of the areas within its remit. Worse is the condition of the panchayat unions, which remain ridiculously minuscule and prey to the predatory desires of metropolitan planning authorities. With the latter openly declaring their intentions of partnering with the privatised and globalised actors, peri-urban areas become key pawns in the real-estate gamble” (Arabindoo 2006: 54).

Her argument was developed considering a village at the fringe of the Chennai Metropolitan Area, but it is as well applicable to the peri-urban spaces that are the focus of this study. The multiplicity of administrative institutions can be either a promoter of development schemes that are exclusive in their effects (in the sense of enforced abstraction) or as a supporter of inclusive development, by enabling and steering local initiatives and opportunities (in the sense of lived difference). The realization of lived difference depends on the creation of capabilities for the weaker sections of society to be supported by an inclusive, not dominating form of urban governance. However, in its current conditions, the weakness of peri-urban governance is promoting forms of development that favour the interest of speculators and real-estate developers. The lack of law-enforcement and continual corruption between government agencies and private actors results in forms of unconstrained development that favours networks of the powerful to the detriment of poorly informed and less connected actors. One possibility to strengthen inclusive development and protect weaker sections of society might be the empowerment of local government structures that could compensate some of the shortcomings of the administration discussed in section VI.3.1. Ultimately, the project of Greater Chennai appears more symptomatic of the weakness of peri-urban governance structures than as a solution to them.

VII CONCLUSION: PERI-URBAN TRANSFORMATIONS AND SOCIAL OPPORTUNITY The study was based on the objective to develop an alternative perspective on the peri-urban transformations, transcending the economistic approach followed by the World Bank in its 2009 World Development Report. It could indeed be illustrated that the industrial development has diverse causes in and effects for the social relations between the different sections of society, leading to shifting patterns of hegemony and empowerment. The three hypotheses leading this study have been confirmed in the empirical chapters of this study and different aspects discussed at the end of each sub-chapter. This final conclusion aims to summarise and relate the main findings and contribute to a better understanding of peri-urban transformations in India. Firstly, sub-chapter VII.1 revisits the research objectives and discusses in particular the opportunities the peri-urban transformations might hold for marginalised sections of society. Secondly, sub-chapter VII.2 reflects on the conceptual approach followed in this study. Thirdly, sub-chapter VII.3 provides a brief outlook on future research priorities regarding Chennai’s peri-urban spaces and sums up policy recommendations. 1 GLOBALISED TRANSFORMATIONS IN PERI-URBAN CHENNAI This sub-chapter revisits the research objectives, identifies transcending issues, and illustrates how globalisation, exclusion and inclusion intersect in peri-urban spaces. 1.1 Benefits from globalised spaces One research objective of this study was to identify actors and processes that are instrumental to globalisation in peri-urban Chennai. This section revisits the issue of globalised spaces with a related, more normative question: which actors are actually benefitting most from the establishment of the globalised spaces, i.e. the factories and Special Economic Zones driving the industrial growth in peri-urban Chennai? Are the main winners the global players, the international companies and investors that have been identified as the drivers of the globalised transformations? Or does the local population now have novel opportunities to work and receive an income outside the harsh realities of agricultural live? The author would like to stress two seemingly opposing arguments in this regard. Firstly, the globalised spaces in peri-urban Chennai can be regarded as ‘geographies of postcolonialism’ (Sharp 2009) - given the historic background of foreign powers in

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creating profits. Secondly, the study supports the argument that the globalised spaces of industrial production are also instrumental in generating local employment and empower traditionally marginalised sections of society. The argument that globalised spaces of today can be seen as ‘geographies of postcolonialism’ is based on the enduring primacy of foreign powers – the global players – in the creation of economic profit in peri-urban Chennai as highlighted in the beginning of chapter IV. While in colonial times workers were exploited in the peri-urban plantations and fields of the landowners who shared their surplus with the colonial powers, today the workers in the international factories ‘manufacture’ the profit for the foreign investors that enjoy the advantages of Special Economic Zones but pay only minimal taxes to the government. As a conceptual approach regarding the globalised spaces of the past, Duncan highlighted the exploitation of colonial workers through the establishment of regimes of control that he described using the concept of ‘power landscapes’ (1992). The social effect of a power landscape “[...] lies in the fact that they are easy to grasp both emotionally and intellectually, for they can be visited, touched, venerated, and often most importantly, taken for granted as right and natural” (ibid: 81).

The author suggests that the emerging peri-urban landscape of Special Economic Zones, international factories and residential apartment projects can be regarded as a contemporary form of a ‘power landscape’ that serves to legitimise and naturalise the dominance of the global players. However, though the author would like to stress this historic continuity in the foreign production of peri-urban Chennai, the findings from the study also indicate benefits for the local people, at least for some sections of society. The global financial crisis of 2008 sparked an economic slowdown in many countries. In India, too, yearly economic growth decreased from an average of over 9% before the financial crisis to only 5.0% in 2012 (The Wall Street Journal, 31.05.2013). Given the rising unemployment in many of the ‘first world’ industrialised countries, the investments of international companies in Tamil Nadu is appreciated by the majority of the population– and not seen as a form of post-colonial exploitation. This positive perception could be confirmed in sub-chapter VI.1 regarding the peri-urban labour market, which highlighted the increasing employment opportunities for those with higher education but also for the many unskilled labourers. “India’s Shenzhen”, the region surrounding Sriperumbudur and Oragadam, is indeed a striking illustration of how much the arrival of the international companies can spur economic growth and open up employment opportunities. This dynamism was also the point of departure for the World Bank and its enthusiastic appraisal of the agglomeration advantages, see introduction. However, as was stressed, this positive economic perspective of the peri-urban transformations remains incomplete when the social dynamics associated with the industrial development are not accounted for. Globalised spaces can indeed be a driver of economic growth – but we also have to understand the resulting opportunities for the local people to access resulting benefits and develop their capabilities.

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In conclusion, it is important to approach the peri-urban transformation with a critical perspective of the global players and highlight the exploitive tendencies of post-colonial patterns of industrial production. However, this negative picture is incomplete given the real benefits which parts of the local population enjoy through the increasing labour opportunities and the weakening regimes of traditional forms of exclusion. The approach followed in this study was therefore to consider the actions of the international actors but at the same time highlight the different ways the local population is dealing and struggling with the transformations – some more, others less successful. Based on this inclusive perspective, two important arguments can be made: A first argument is the inherent co-production of the globalised spaces. That is, the increasing dominance of the global actors in shaping change at the local level–the definition of globalised space –cannot be achieved without local allies. As discussed, these allies include the State Government, landowners selling their land, agricultural labourers working as unskilled labourer in the factories. Provided this power to co-produce the globalised spaces, these actors can indeed realise a specific benefit for them – meagre as it may be. Consequently, those who cannot partake in the production of the global spaces are the most vulnerable. This includes in particular older people without the normally required minimum of ten years of school experience for unskilled factory labour. Section VII.1.2 provides a further discussion of the mechanisms responsible for the social exclusion of particular sections of society. A second argument emerging from the findings of the study is the fluid, dynamic nature of the peri-urban society: the benefits from the co-production of globalised spaces are not simply distributed to the different sections of society, but the benefits themselves are responsible for transforming the very relations between these different sections of society. This has been illustrated with the new empowerment of the dalit-community in Ullavur village, where the landless agricultural labourers have started to work in the industrial spaces of the international companies and now have the chance to overcome the traditional social order of caste that relegated them to the fields of the landowners. The author sees as a central argument of the study that the global spaces expose and challenge the traditional order of the Indian society by creating new opportunities for marginalised sections of society. This opportunity for inclusive development resulting from the globalised transformations is further elaborated in section VII.1.3. 1.2 Mechanisms of social exclusion Earlier studies regarding the peri-urban have highlighted that endowment and assets of the local population are profoundly changed and challenged by peri-urban transformations, often leading to the marginalisation of weaker sections of society (Tacoli 1999: 3). This study confirmed this argument and highlighted specific mechanisms of social exclusion and marginalisation particularly relevant for periurban Chennai: decreased access to work for those depending on traditional agri-

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culture as a livelihood activity when agriculture is abandoned (see Ullavur in subchapter VI.2), livelihood and food-insecurity related to the loss of land through acquisition for industrial purpose (see Oragadam in sub-chapter V.1), or the loss of land caused by unconstrained activities of real estate agents and land brokers who deceive inexperienced farmers with small landholdings (see sub-chapter V.2 regarding the land market). While the better off build new webs of access, for example by attending the expensive private engineering colleges, see sub-chapter V.3, the weaker sections of the peri-urban society are excluded from economic opportunities and rely on precarious means of coping. The study has highlighted both traditional and contemporary forms of social exclusion and dominance, according to the second research objective of the study: to identify mechanisms that lead to the systematic exclusion of marginalised parts of the local population from beneficial spaces of work and education in peri-urban Chennai. It is the aim of this concluding section to reflect on the mechanisms that allow actors to create these regimes of exclusion. A first argument to be derived from this study is the weakness of government institutions in the peri-urban. Peri-urban governance is generally cast between politics targeted for distinct spaces (urban or rural) as well as certain economies (agrarian or industrial). As a result, politics and institutions especially designed for the peri-urban are lacking and do not further inclusive development, see subchapter VI.3. One reason for the weak peri-urban governance structures that emerged from this study is the declining relevance and power of local institutions in comparison to the new global players who often negotiate directly with the State Government. For example, peri-urban land governance used to rely on town and village institutions like the panchayat committees. These structures often are contradictory to the regulatory interest of the international companies and thus left out in important decisions. This could be confirmed for peri-urban Chennai where local people are not protected by institutions that guarantee fair compensation or the transparency of the land market, as discussed in sub-chapter V.1 and V.2. An understanding of economic development as suggested by the World Bank in its 2009 report does not take into account these extra economic constraints on development processes (see also Homm and Bohle 2012). In opposition to neoliberal notions of market driven development, the findings of this study point towards the necessity of reinforcing statehood in fragile peri-urban spaces to ensure fair access to opportunities from the globalised transformations. This also highlights that economic development without the appropriate institutional background does not produce the often expected trickle-down effects but produces marginalisation of parts of the local people. It also points to the need of civil society organisations and critical NGOs who highlight shortcomings of the development, for example regarding land acquisitions. The state and its varied institutions in Tamil Nadu are crucial for establishing equal access and participation in economic development. A second argument that emerged from the study is the ability of actors and networks to impose new regimes of exclusion in the context of weak peri-urban governance structures. Networks of powerful local actors establish semi-legal

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institutions that work in their particular interest and to the detriment of weaker actors who are effectively excluded. These actors operate largely outside the government sphere of regulations and use mutually beneficial networks of cooperation and clientilism to create benefits for them, for example in the land market or in cases of land acquisition (see sub-chapters V.1 and V.2). The erratic and weak enforcement of the rule of law empowers those actors who do not depend on it. Building on their ‘unsocial capital’, these actors use their ability to cooperate to the detriment of others (Bohle 2005). Forms of clientilism are often associated with rapid development in weak government settings (Hicken 2011), and the findings from peri-urban Chennai do support this thesis. Considering the cases of social exclusion presented in this study, the author suggests that it is important to understand the formation of these networks that effectively make use of the weak enforcement of laws and regulations in the periurban. These networks are an important factor in aggravating the exclusion of weaker sections of society. 1.3 Opportunities for inclusive development It was the third research objective of this study to reveal opportunities for inclusive development and empowerment by documenting struggles of marginalized people to access benefits associated with globalised transformations in peri-urban Chennai. In this regard, the study points towards two important findings: firstly, the weakening of traditional regimes of caste based exclusion in peri-urban villages and secondly, the need for a plurality of social identities as a precondition for social development. The first argument regarding caste based exclusion should be seen in the wider Indian context. The India Human Development Report 2011 stresses this discrimination and argues: “For historical reasons, Indian society is segregated into castes, and some of them are economically and socially deprived to a great extent. It is therefore essential to bridge the caste gaps and ultimately eliminate all forms of discriminating social barriers” (Government of India 2011: 3).

As argued in chapter II, forms of social exclusion are deeply engrained in the traditional rural society of Tamil Nadu that uses caste as a social category to prescribe certain behaviour for members of a specific caste. In many peri-urban villages, members of scheduled caste or dalits are expected to work as agricultural labourers on the fields belonging to the upper caste landowners. Notably subchapter VI.2 on Ullavur village highlighted how many of the traditional agricultural labourers are increasingly gaining independence from the upper caste or landowning community. Since the jobs in the international factories are not restricted by caste, but instead require limited education and experience, they provide a new chance for households to diversify their income. Though the income as unskilled labourers in the international factories is low, it provides a crucial alternative to those who could previously only rely on work as agricultural labourers.

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This resonates with a hope for liberation of the traditionally marginalised dalit communities expressed in the Indian discussion: “A first step towards addressing caste-based inequalities and oppression involves dalits moving out of their caste-based occupations like agricultural labour” (Vijayabaskar 2010: 42).

This finding corresponds with the aim of this study to extend the understanding of the peri-urban transformations beyond the economic and consider the social change. This perspective was instrumental for the finding of this study, that the peri-urban transformation is a source of empowerment for agricultural labourers who have been cast out in the traditions of a rural, feudalistic society. By challenging the traditional regimes of caste based exclusion, the industrial development provides new opportunities for them. The second argument derived from this study is the broadening of social identities associated with the globalised transformations reshaping peri-urban society. This argument corresponds with the first argument regarding the liberation from caste-based discrimination. Sub-chapter VI.1 highlighted how social identities are constructed over time and imply a more or less shared understanding of a social role and behaviour associated with it, for example regarding appropriate spaces of work. One example was the struggle of women to work in industrial spaces of work despite coming from a rural background where the shared expectation requests women to stay at home and take care of the household. The same mechanism can explain the perceptions regarding the member of the dalit community in a rural village as discussed in sub-chapter VI.2. The author suggests that the challenge of inclusive development is fundamentally linked to the question of social identities. The strict invoking of traditional social identities can be seen responsible for the limitation of actors who are bound and reduced to a particular social identity. This perspective corresponds with the perspective of ‘identity and violence’ that was introduced by Amartya Sen (2006). In his book ‘identity and violence’, he argues that identities have the inherent danger to exclusively defining a person, limiting the scope of actions accepted by society. In opposition to this tendency, Sen stresses the plurality of actual identities that an individual holds to constitute his social self. Identity in this sense should not restrict a person but broaden his capabilities. This corresponds with the aim of this study to stress the difference between development as only economic growth and development as an open, inclusive process that furthers the capabilities of the local people. For example a member of a backward rural community can maintain his rural connections while flourishing as a manager in an international company. The broadening of social identities can be seen as instrumental for a social development enabling all members of society to fully develop the capabilities they are endowed with.

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2 EVALUATION OF THE CONCEPTUAL APPROACH Globalised transformations, understood as the increasing dominance of global actors in shaping change at the local level, is occurring in many places of the Global South. The general framework for the analysis of globalised transformations, i.e. the conceptual approach developed for this study, was aiming to serve as a universal approach to assess the social dynamic of these transformations. It is argued that in the German geography literature, the fields of economic geography and development studies are only poorly connected (Ouma and Lindner 2010). This study worked on these themes and linked the industrial development in the peri-urban with questions regarding the real opportunities enjoyed by marginalised sections of society – a central concern of geographical development studies (Bohle 2011). Three challenges of developing the conceptual approach are discussed in the following sections. These are, firstly, the link between theory and empirical research (section VII.2.1), secondly, the spatial perspective of the theory (section VII.2.2), and thirdly the possibility to formulate a right to inclusive development (section VII.2.3). 2.1 Linking theoretical concerns with empirical questions One challenge of the conceptual approach outlined in chapter II was to effectively link the theoretical concerns of Lefebvre’s theory of the production of space with the empirical research. It can be seen as an advantage that Lefebvre’s theory highlights both structural components (the notion of abstraction) and the human agency and creativity (the notion of difference) and uses society’s spatiality as an integrating perspective (social space). In particular the research design elaborated in chapter III allowed to systematically approach the economic transformations in the peri-urban as the intersection of abstract economic processes and the concrete struggles of affected people. The societal consequences of economic change, the nexus of industrialisation and social change could effectively be approached through an analysis of the changing spatiality of society. The approach considers economic processes without the restrictions of a narrow economic analysis. This advantage is also stressed by Brenner and Elden (2009a): “Lefebvre is thus advocating, simultaneously, the development of a spatialized analysis of political-economic processes under modern capitalism and a spatialized critique of the conceptual abstraction deployed within the modern social sciences” (ibid: 361).

This dedicated openness of Lefebvre’s theory, its avoidance of ‘conceptual abstractions’, can be seen as an advantage. The theory proved adaptable to conceptualise a broad range of transformative processes. It however also implies a certain analytical fuzziness. The conceptual approach developed encountered this conceptual fuzziness with the author’s own, rather rigid and systematic definitions regarding globalised spaces, enforced abstraction and lived difference.

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This step was necessary to gain an operational framework applicable to structuring the empirical material, but some of the openness and creativity of Lefebvre’s thinking was abandoned therewith. 2.2 A spatial perspective on social change A second challenge of the conceptual approach was to ensure that despite taking a spatial perspective, not too much importance was placed on spatial processes, and to maintain spatiality as an instrument for the analysis for social change. Although the ‘spatial turn’ brought a renewed interest to space in the social sciences (Döring and Thielmann 2008), it is important to avoid the ‘territorial trap’ (Lossau and Lippuner 2004: 1) of giving space an independent explanatory power. The conceptual framework suggested social space as an analytical tool for the study of societal processes. The author suggests that the empirical chapter could indeed illustrate that the concept does not downplay the agency of actors but rather is an effective instrument to understand their actions, precisely through an analysis of their articulation in space. The notion of ‘lived difference’, i.e. the independent production of space despite existing dominant structures, allows to theoretically ground the inherent plurality of space as stressed by Doreen Massey (2005). Accordingly, the conceptual approach developed and applied in this study can contribute to the discussion within development geography to gain an adequate conception of space and spatiality for the analysis of societal change in the Global South. Such a concept is needed to capture the role of space as an instrument of power, as the product of social relations and negotiations, as an interpreted and imagined space (Bohle 2007: 813). 2.3 Towards a right to inclusive development A third challenge was to adequately incorporate the perspective of the local people subjected to globalised transformations. It was outlined in the introduction that in the mainstream economic approach, as for example in the World Bank report (2009), this perspective is lacking, resulting in a serious omission regarding the social dynamics associated with the peri-urban transformation. The conceptual framework developed in chapter II responded to this shortcoming and allowed to empirically grasp the perspective of the local people. The author suggests that the framework does also point towards a right to inclusive development that demands the right for local people to actively shape the consequences of globalisation at a local place and realize benefits and human security (Bohle 2009). Today, many proponents of a right to the city seek inspiration from Lefebvre to make normative claims. The right to the city requests a right for everyone not to be excluded from the possibilities that the city can offer (Brenner et al. 2011). It is a right to societal encountering, summarized with the notion of centrality from where weaker sec-

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tions of society should not be excluded (Schmid 2011)37. The author suggests that his conceptual approach allows formulating a related right to inclusive development for those experiencing globalised transformations. The normative content of this right centres on the independent ‘production of space’ by local people despite the dominant structures linked with the globalisation process. In opposition to the hegemony of enforced abstraction, the right to inclusive development stresses the opportunity for lived differences, see chapter II. The difference which used to be the reason for exclusion has to be accepted and embraced to achieve inclusive development, for example ensuring access of women or members of the dalit community to better positions in the industrial labour market. In cases where global players redirect benefits towards levels higher up on a geographical scale, the realization of the right to inclusive development implies that benefits accrue to lower, localized levels of people. This right to inclusive development also provides a normative foundation for the livelihoods approach. Researching livelihoods with the perspective of inclusive development takes the people-centred, agency-focused aspect of the livelihoods approach further by focusing on people’s ability to independently define how to participate in globalised transformations. Taken back to politics, i.e. the normative action, the challenge for society is to enable marginalised people to access new opportunities emerging from the globalised transformations. In relation to the industrial labour market, this would refer to supporting education as a prerequisite for many jobs. The right to inclusive development therefore emphasizes the importance to strengthen local people’s capabilities and is instrumental to the understanding of development as suggested in the introduction: development not as economic growth but as an open, inclusive process that furthers and extends the capabilities of all people living in an area that is being developed. Development should not only be shaped by global players but also the local people struggling for livelihood security and better living conditions. 3 OUTLOOK This outlook provides a brief summary of recommendations regarding future research and policies in peri-urban Chennai from the author’s perspective. 3.1 Recommendations for future research Several aspects of the transformations in peri-urban Chennai could not be assessed in adequate detail. These issues should be assessed in future studies on peri-urban Chennai. The following provides a short overview of themes regarded of particular relevance. 37 The city of Paris, where Lefebvre mostly lived, exemplifies the exclusion of marginalised parts of its population in the periphery, the so called ‘bonlieue’.

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Ecological change Apart from a few localised aspects, the ecological effects of the industrialisation process where not covered by this study. It was apparent, however, that the quality and quantity of water was a key issue for both farmers and residents. In early 2013, the water reservoirs in peri-urban Chennai were hitting a new low since 2004 (Times of India, 21.04.2013). Future research should address the availability of this crucial resource and highlight the contestation of water use between different actors. How can the water requirements of industrial companies, farmers and residents be balanced? Which changes in land use are relevant for the landscape potential for rainwater harvesting? A crucial is the contamination of groundwater by industrial effluents. What is the degree of pollution? Are health risks involved? Social capital and civil society The study highlighted important aspects of social change linked with the industrialisation process. One aspect that would warrant future attention is the changing nature of social capital in many rural communities. What are the social or innerfamily effects of abandoning agriculture? Another question would be to understand the role of the peri-urban civil society. What are the functions of NGOs to support the weaker sections of society? Does the industrialisation process provide a chance for more civil engagement? For a better understanding of the social change it would also be important to gain a better understanding of the new livelihood activities emerging in the peri-urban villages and towns beside the jobs in the factories. Gender identities With the new employment opportunities, established gender identities are challenged. But how are the conflicts on gender identities articulated? What are the expectations regarding the personal development of young men and women? The cases of sexual harassment discussed in this study also highlight the systematic discrimination of women in the industrial spaces of work. Future research should aim at better understanding the responsible factors and point out ways for safer working conditions. Governance structures This study has highlighted important features of the peri-urban governance structures. However, many questions remain open. What is, for example, the role of the different political parties (DMK and AIADMK) in the State Government? How do the political structures influence the relation of political decision makers with

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international companies and other interest groups? An important issue is the strengthening of governance structures in the peri-urban. What are the main obstacles in this regard? What chances are linked with the creation of the ‘Greater Chennai Region’? Data basis For a better understanding of the peri-urban dynamics, the availability of reliable and comprehensive data is decisive. Future research might profit from more direct information exchange with companies, though attempts made for this study were not successful. 3.2 Policy recommendations Peri-urban Chennai will continue to experience economic growth and industrialisation. However, there is no guarantee that this will lead to rising levels of welfare among the different parts of the peri-urban population. The following provides some tentative policy recommendations that might support the development towards more inclusive forms of economic development. Strengthen peri-urban governance structures It is important to strengthen peri-urban governance structures to reduce the power of informal networks of corruption and patronage, i.e. parallel structures that work to their own advantage by weakening the rule of law. This is important to secure fair access and transparency in areas like the land market and appropriate compensation in cases of land acquisition. If Tamil Nadu aspires to be an emerging economy, effective governance structures are key to navigate the peri-urban transformation associated with rapid industrialisation. Effective governance is needed to secure participation of marginalised sections of society in the industrialisation process and enable what has been called in this study ‘inclusive development’. Make companies assume responsibility An important corollary of effective peri-urban governance is the avoidance of responsibility by peri-urban companies. Responsibility includes different aspects, e.g. safe working conditions inside the companies, and measures to minimize environmental pollution. The current employment strategy through job brokers effectively externalizes the responsibility for workers who are left without any social security. Companies should in particular be made accountable for providing

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safe working conditions for women. The current insecurity and discrimination limits their ability to fully participate in the peri-urban development. Maintain agriculture Despite all the glory associated with industrialisation, agriculture will continue to be a key sector of employment and is instrumental for national food security. Regarding the allocation of public funds, infrastructure and the provision of electricity and water, agriculture should not be marginalised in favour of the industries. Only a diversified economy is resilient and able to guarantee employment. Work towards inclusive development To achieve a fair distribution of the benefits associated with the industrialisation process, it is important to work towards inclusive development. Foremost, governance structures need to be strengthened to guarantee their protective functions regarding all sections of the peri-urban society. The State Government should develop a better understanding of who are the losers and most vulnerable in the industrialisation process and provide these sections of society with effective support to achieve livelihood security for all citizens. As a long-term development, the increasing industrialisation should be accompanied by increasing welfare measures including health insurance and basic retirement pension. The current policy regarding Special Economic Zones, in particular the weakening of labour protection laws and low tax rates might be detrimental to inclusive growth in the long term. The ‘state of exception’ produced in these zones effectively weakens the protective functions of the government and fosters a development path leading to possibly increasing social polarisation. It is doubtful if emerging economies really should engage in extending Special Economic Zones. These zones can also be regarded as a risk for democracy and political legitimacy given that the government on purpose curtails its authority and protective functions. Governments, companies and civil society should make concerted efforts to render the benefits inherent in the globalised transformations accessible for all sections of society. Therefore, it is important not to fallow the narrow receipts of economic analysis as provided for example by the World Bank in its 2009 report on economic geography. Instead, a more comprehensive understanding of the complex social dynamics outside the purely economic view is needed. The author hopes that this study provides some first insights in this regard.

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ANNEX I Glossary of Tamil and Indian terms Bhoodan-movement, started in 1951 by Vinoba Bhave who successfully convinced land-owning farmers with large land holdings to donate some part of their land to landless farmers. Cent, ca. 40.47 sq.m. Hundred cents are one acre. Crore, a common unit in the South Asian numbering system equal to ten million. Rs. 1 crore ~150,000 €. Dalit, designation for social groups at the lower end of the caste spectrum in India. While discrimination based on caste is officially prohibited in the Constitution of India, various forms of discrimination continue. Taluk, administrative subdivision of district. Districts and Taluks (subdivisions of districts) are administrative divisions with a broad range of responsibilities, including the implementation of national and state policies. Koor, traditional starch-based Tamil food for the poor. Lakh, a common unit in the South Asian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand. Hundred lakhs are one crore. Rs. 1 lakh ~ 1,500 €. Panchayats, institutions of local self-governments at the village or small town level in India. Patta, formal title deed of land. Pongal, one of the most important Tamil celebrations related with the end of the harvest season (at the end of the Tamil month Tai, in mid-January). Pongal is celebrated by boiling milk and rice and is especially vibrant in rural communities. Decorated bulls are traditionally chased through the village at Mattu Pongal, the second day of the Pongal festival.

200

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II List of abbreviations AIADMK, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, currently ruling party of Tamil Nadu CMDA, Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority DMK, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, political party in Tamil Nadu, current opposition DTCP, Directorate of Town and Country Planning IP, Industrial Park MGNREGA, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) from 2005, this scheme guarantees 100 days of work for unskilled labour in rural India for public work projects. SEZ, Special Economic Zone SIDCO, Tamil Nadu Small Industries Development Corporation Limited SIPCOT, State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu Limited TNEB, Tamil Nadu Electricity Board TNUIFSL, the Tamil Nadu Urban Infrastructure Financial Services Limited is a Public-Private Partnership in the urban sector, between the Government of Tamil Nadu and the Indian financial institution. TWAD, the Tamil Nadu Water Supply And Drainage Board is providing water supply and sewerage facilities to the entire state of Tamil Nadu except Chennai Metropolitan Area. TUFIDCO, the Tamil Nadu Urban Finance and Infrastructure Development Corporation

201

Annex

III List of interviews

1

C1

Administration

2

C2

3

C3

4

C4

5

C6

6

C7

7

C8

8

C9

9

C10

10

C11

11

C12

12

Ch1

13

Ch2

14

Ch3

15

Ch4

Organisation / Sector of work

Position

Major Issues discussed

Interviews in Chennai Chennai Metro- Senior Peri-urban governance structures, politan Develop- manager industrial development challenge ment Authority (CMDA) Real estate Real estate agency Real estate Real estate business, land deals, in Chennai agent cooperation with local politicians Real estate Real estate agency Real estate Real estate business, land deals in in Tambaram agent Oragadam and Ullavure, cooperation with land brokers Administra- SIPCOT Senior Role of SIPCOT in steering intion manager dustrial development, Sriperumbudur area, land acquisition, government land for industrial purpose Administra- Chennai Depart- Senior Peri-urban governance structures, tion ment of Town and manager political corruption, land markets, Country Planning involvement of politicians (DTCP) Industry - Consultancy Junior Development planning for Sripemanager consultants rumbudur region, cooperation of private consultants with State Government Industry - Private consultant Leading Development planning for Sripemanager comapany consultant rumbudur region, cooperation of private consultants with State Government Administra- Urban Finance Senior Peri-urban governance structures, tion and Infrastructure manager financing of infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (TUFIDCO) Administra- Tamil Nadu Ur- Vice presi- Peri-urban governance structures, tion ban Development dent financing of infrastructure fund (TNUDF ) Administra- Chennai Metro- Senior Role of CMDA in steering industion politan Develop- manager trial development, Sriperumbudur ment Authority area, infrastructure challenge (CMDA) Industry - International Skilled Labour conditions, access to worker companies workers, labour, role of education, relation with managers, unions Agriculture labourer Agriculture landowner Agriculture labourer Administration

Interviews in Chettipedu Landless Land transactions, farmer Agriculture Landowner Land ownership, history of Chettipedu Agriculture Landless Change of livestyle farmer Administration Panchayat Land acquisition, legal disputes councillor around land, agriculture Agriculture

Date

Pages

General category

Nr.

Index

15.11. 6 2010 02.11. 4 2011 03.11. 4 2011 23.11. 4 2011

03.03. 7 2012 23.11. 9 2011 02.12. 2 2012 05.12. 1 2012

05.12. 1 2012 07.12. 7 2012 15.12. 3 2012 19.01. 2011 25.01. 2011 19.01. 2011 01.02. 2011

4 2 5 7

202

Annex Organisation / Sector of work

16

Ch5

17

Ch6

Administra- Administration tion Industry - Industry worker

18

M1

19

M1

20

M3

21

M4

22

M5

23

O1

24

O2

25

O3

26

O4

27

O10

28

O11

29

O13

30

O14

31

O15

32

O16

33

O20

34

O21

35

O22

36

O23

37

O24

38

O25

39

O31

Position

Major Issues discussed

Date

Panchayat president Manager of manufacturing unit

Real estate, industrial development Local economy, supplier networks, working conditions

21.11. 5 2011 21.11. 2 2011

Pages

General category

Nr.

Index

Interviews in Malayambakkam (in table 4 included in other peri-urban) Agriculture labourer Agriculture labourer Agriculture landowner Agriculture land owner

- Agriculture - Agriculture - Agriculture - Agriculture

Agriculture - Agriculture landowner

Landless Land and job market farmer Landless Land and job market farmer Landowner Local politicians and links with real estate Landowner Land transfers, transformation of rural landscape, local politicians and with real estate Landowner Land use change, land transactions

Interviews in Oragadam and Chennakuppam Agriculture - Agriculture Landless Chennakuppam, land deals, land labourer farmer acquisition Agriculture - Agriculture Landowner Appur (a village south of Oragalandowner dam), land use change, land transactions Agriculture - Agriculture Landless Chennakuppam, land deals, land labourer farmer acquisition Agriculture - Agriculture Landless History of land use labourer farmer Agriculture - Agriculture Landless Female perspective on land use, labourer farmer job changes Agriculture - Agriculture Landless Local power struggles, coping labourer farmer strategies to land loss Agriculture - Agriculture Landless Chennakuppam village transforlabourer farmer mation, land acquisition Agriculture - Agriculture Landless Access to water and sanitation labourer farmer Agriculture - Agriculture Landless Social capital labourer farmer Industry - Industry Labourer Labour conditions worker Industry - Industry Service Labour conditions, rental market worker sector Agriculture - Agriculture Landowner Negative aspects of land acquisilandowner tion Agriculture - Agriculture Landowner Positive aspects of land acquisilandowner tion Small busi- Small business Labourer Labour conditions, social change ness Small busi- Small business Labourer Labour conditions, social change ness Administra- Administration Village Chennakuppam village transfortion President mation, land acquisition, local politics Agriculture – Agriculture Landless Land acquisition, protests labourer farmer

06.02. 2011 06.02. 2011 16.02. 2011 20.02. 2011

1 5 6 9

20.02. 2 2011 03.02. 2011 01.02. 2011

2 0 1 5

01.02. 2011 05.02. 2011 01.11. 2011 28.10. 2011 05.11. 2011 05.11. 2011 05.11. 2011 05.11. 2011 12.11. 2011 12.11. 2011 22.11. 2011 13.11. 2011 13.11. 2011 13.11. 2011

2 2 4 2 2 2 1 2 1 3 3 2 1 2

24.10. 2 2011

203

Annex

40

O32

41

O33

Agriculture - Agriculture labourer Agriculture - Agriculture landowner

42

O34

43

O35

44

O36

45

O37

46

O38

47

O39

48

O40

49

O41

50

O42

51

O43

52

O44

53

V1

54

V2

55

V3

56

V4

57

V5

58

V6

59

V7

60

V8

61

V9

Agriculture labourer Industry manager Industry worker Agriculture landowner Industry worker Small business Industry worker Administration

Organisation / Sector of work

Administration Agriculture landowner

Major Issues discussed

Industry

Landless Land acquisition, protests farmer Landowner Chennakuppam land acquisition and other land deals, corrupt politicians Landless Rural transition, society, woman farmer perspective Job broker Labour market, access, job broker

Industry

Labourer

Agriculture

Small business

Landowner Positive aspects of land acquisition, village transformation Labourer Cultural change since abandoning agriculture Labourer Social change, rental market

Industry

Labourer

Administration

Village panchayat vice president Landless farmer Landless farmer Labourer

Agriculture

Date

25.10. 1 2011 30.10. 4 2011 13.11. 2011 12.11. 2011 10.11. 2011. 18.11. 2012 10.11. 2011. 14.11. 2011. 20.06. 2012 26.06. 2012

1

Livelihood transformations in 20.05. Oragadam 2012 Temple festival near Oragadam 20.06. 2012 Additional remarks on survey 20.06. sheets, livelihood transformations 2012 in Oragadam, discussion on food security Interviews in various other peri-urban locations Agriculture Landowner Agriculture, social change 15.01. 2011 Industry Manager Social change 16.01. 2011 Industry Labourer Job contractors, labour conditions 19.01. in international factories, 2011 processes of job brokerage University Lecturer Infrastructure, traffic problems in 19.01. peri-urban 2011 Agriculture Landowner Water markets and peri-urban 15.01. access to nat. resources 2011

2

Industry

Agriculture - Agriculture labourer Agriculture - Agriculture labourer Industry - Industry worker

Agriculture landowner Industry manager Industry worker

Position

Pages

General category

Nr.

Index

Labour conditions

Job contractors, village power structures Land use in Oragadam, occupation patterns

Local Labour markets, water managepolitician ment, industrial development Landowner Land transactions, family affairs in land market Panchayat Peri-urban development, village president governance, exclusive development, environmental issues busi- Agriculture, small Landowner Agriculture, social change, vilbusiness lage economy

2 2 4 2 2 1 1

1 3

1 2 7 4 1

Administra- Administration tion Agriculture - Agriculture landowner Administra- Administration tion

09.02. 2011 09.02. 2011 25.02. 2011

8

Small ness

20.02. 2 2011

7 2 5

204

Annex Organisation / Sector of work

62

S1

NGO

63

S3

64

S4

65

S5

66

S6

67

S7

Industry manager

68

S8

69

S9

Small busi- Small business ness Industry - Industry worker

70

S10

71

S11

72

S13

73

S14

74

S16

75

S17

76

S18

77

S19

78

S20

79

S31

80

S32

81

S34

82

S41

Industry worker

- Industry

83

S42

- Industry

84

S43

Industry worker Industry worker

Position

Major Issues discussed

Interviews in Sriperumbudur NGO (Village President Labour conditions in factories, education and land acquisition, exclusion, caste liberation society) conflicts NGO NGO (Village President Land acquisition policies, corrupeducation and tion liberation society) Administra- University / engi- student Education sector, fee and donation neering college tion system Small busi- Small business Hotal Rental services, local developness manager ment Real estate Real estate Manager Real-estate in Sriperumbudur - Industry

Administra- Administration tion Small busi- Small business ness NGO NGO (Village education and liberation society) Small busi- Small business ness Industry - Industry manager Small busi- Small business ness Industry - Industry worker Industry - Industry manager Administration NGO Administration Real estate

Administration

15.11. 9 2011 17.11. 1 2011

08.11. 2011 08.11. 2011 8.11. 2011 Recycling Business oportunities in ancillary 12.11. company services, job markets, industrial 2011 development Shop ow- Rural-urban migration, job mar- 20.11. ner kets, rural traditions 2 011 Migrant Rural-urban migration, labour 30.11. workers conditions in factories, job bro- 2011 ker, housing conditions Panchayat Social exclusion of lower castes, 02.12. president corruption of town politics 2011 Shop ow- Land acquisition policies, corrup- 26.10. ner tion, information by SIPCOT 2011 President, Protest against land acquisition 30.11. protest 2011 march Shop ow- Rural-urban migration, land 02.11. ner markets, 2011 Supervisor Labour conditions in factories, 29.10. unions, education 2011 Young Changes in lifesty, perception on 06.11. people Sriperumbudur 2011 Migrant Labour conditions, housing 06.11. workers 2011 Supervisor Labour conditions in factories, 24.02. unions, job brokers, the struggle 2012 for permanent jobs Panchayat SIPCOT establishes new SEZ 28.02. president 2012 President Agriculture, village power struc- 11.02. ture 2012

1

Pollution of industrial develop- 24.02. ment 2012 Housing market 26.02. 2012 Junior Labour conditions in factories, 26.11. engineer at unions, job brokers, personal 2012 Hyundai perspective on work Unskilled Situation of women in industrial 22.12. worker factories 2012 Unskilled Access of factory work for un- 28.12. worker skilled but motivated young men, 2012 social capital

2

NGO (Village education and liberation society) Administration Village admin. Real-estate

- Industry

Date

Pages

General category

Nr.

Index

1 1 2 4 2 3 4 2 2 2 1 1 6 6 2

1 2 2 1

205

Annex

85

T1

86

T2

87

T3

88

T4

89

T5

90

T6

91

T7

92

T8

93

T9

94

T10

95

T11

96

U1

97

U2

98

U3

99

U4

100 U5 101 U6 102 U7

103 U8 104 U9 105 U10

106 U11

General category

Organisation / Sector of work

Position

Major Issues discussed

Interviews in Thervoy (in table 4 included in other peri-urban) Small busi- Small business Salesman Village protests against land ness acquisition Agriculture - Agriculture Landowner Village protests against land land owner acquisition Administra- Administration Teacher Government perspective on land tion acquisition, corruption Agriculture - Agriculture Landowner Internal division of village reland owner garding compensation Agriculture - Agriculture Labourer Change of lifelihood, perspective labourer of small farmers Agriculture - Agriculture Group Village protests against land labourer discussion acquisition Agriculture - Agriculture Landowner Emotional attachment to land, land owner village protests against land acquisition NGO NGO Expert Political struggle of village for compensation NGO NGO Expert Political struggle of village for compensation NGO NGO Expert Political struggle of village for compensation Administra- Administration Member of Political struggle of village for tion Legislative compensation Assembly (MLA) Interviews in Ullavur and Varadhapuram Agriculture - Agriculture Landowner Land use change, land market, land owner rising labour costs Agriculture - Agriculture Landowner History of rich family land owner Agriculture - Agriculture Labourer Transect walk labourer Real estate Real-estate Land bro- Village land deals ker in village Agriculture - Agriculture Labourer NREGA scheme, labourer Agriculture - Agriculture Landowner Land deals, changes in agriculture land owner Administra- Administration Village Perspectives for village develoption administra- ment tive officer (VAO) Agriculture - Agriculture Landowner Rich family history landowner Agriculture - Agriculture Landowner Rich family history landowner Agriculture - Agriculture LandowVillage history, land transaction landowner ner, old context, land use transformations person in the context of rising real estate prices. Agriculture - Agriculture Landowner Land deal landowner

Date

Pages

Nr.

Index

01.02. 2011 01.02. 2011 01.02. 2011 28.01. 2011 01.02. 2011 06.02. 2011 06.02. 2011

3

19.02. 2011 19.02. 2011 19.02. 2011 20.02. 2011

2

7 5 4 4 5 7

2 2 1

09.10. 1 2011 09.10. 1 2011 10.10. 2011 24.10. 3 2011 09.10. 2 2011 10.10. 2 2011 24.10. 2 2011 09.10. 1 2011 09.10. 1 2011 28.10. 4 2011 10.10. 3 2011

206

Annex

107 U12 108 U13 109 U14 110 U15 111 U16 112 U17 113 U18 114 U19 115 U20 116 U21

117 U22 118 U23 119 U24 120 U25 121 U26

General category

Organisation / Sector of work

Position

Agriculture landowner Agriculture landowner Agriculture landowner Agriculture labourer Agriculture labourer Industry worker Industry worker Agriculture labourer Industry worker Small business

Agriculture

Landowner Village history

Agriculture

Landowner Mechanisation of agriculture

Agriculture Agriculture

Landowner Caste structure, perception in village Labourer Land deals, labour situation

Agriculture

Labourer

Industry

Labourer

Agriculture land owner Industry worker Agriculture labourer Industry worker Agriculture landowner

Industry Agriculture Industry Small business

- Agriculture - Industry - Agriculture - Industry - Agriculture

122 U27

Agriculture - Agriculture landowner

123 U28

Administra- Administration tion Administra- Administration tion Agriculture - Agriculture labourer

124 U29 125 U30

Major Issues discussed

Dalit situation, labour situation

Date

Pages

Nr.

Index

08.10. 2011 08.10. 2011 11.10. 2011 11.10. 2011 22.10. 2011 23.10. 2011 24.10. 2011 29.10. 2011 29.10. 2011 01.11. 2011

1

Working conditions, dalit perspective Labourer Young people perspective, education, Labourer Agriculture transformation and livelihood insecurity Labourer Village stratification, education and labour situtation EntrepreVillage transformation, perineur in urban economic opportunities, wood social change business Landowner Labour opportunities in village 01.11. 2011 Labourer Education and labour situation in 06.11. dalit community 2011 Labourer Agriculture transformation, time- 06.11. line of village developments 2011 Labourer Perception of working conditions 06.11. 2011 Landowner Selling of land, livelihood trans- 07.11. formation, gender issues relating 2011 to work Landowner Village transformation, peri- 10.10. urban economic opportunities, 2011 real-estate market Agricultu- Agriculture opportunities, eco- 09.11. ral officer nomic prospects 2011 Election Election prospects 10.10. activist 2011 Various Various short notices collected 20.11. during fieldvisits 2011

4 2 2 4 2 2 2 5

5 2 3 5 6 2 0 2 1 8 443

Total number of pages in dinA4

2

207

Annex

IV Oragadam questionnaire Outline and defintions of the questionnaire Please list all members of the household older than 10 years, including the respondent, and indicate the respective education and occupation. Please use the given categories and insert the respective number. Categories for occupation (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11)

Categories for education (achieved in respective year)

Agriculture, landowning Agriculture, labourer (incl. location) Company labour – temporary (incl. location) Company labour – permanent (incl. location) Local business Construction worker (incl.location) Administrative job Housework Education (school, college, university) Other, please specify No job

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

No education 1-8th grade 10th grade 12th grade Higher education

Definition of categories for occupation: The occupation that contributed most to the income of the person in that year should be noted (except the person is undergoing education). Each household member living in the sample house in the respective year should be included. (1) Agriculture, landowning: A person who owns land (having sales deed inside the core family, that is father, mother, brother or sister owning more than 1 cent) in Oragadam/Chennakuppam village on which agriculture is practiced and the person is managing the agriculture or being directly involved in it. (2) Agriculture, labourer: A person working on agricultural land (land owned by a person outside the core family that is father, mother, brother or sister) and is receiving in kind payments or wage for labour. Please include location where the occupation takes place. (3) Company labour, temporary: A person temporarily engaged in company labour (not construction), not having a contract that extends the time of six months. Please include location where the occupation takes place. (4) Company labour, permanent: A person permanently engaged in company labour, having a contract that extends the time of six months. Please include location where the occupation takes place. (5) Local business: A person working in local shop or other private business (taxi, food etc. own brick industry, money lending). (6) Construction worker, other manual work: A person working in construction or other manual work (brick industry). Please include location where the occupation takes place. (7) Administrative job: A person working in administration job in Oragadam/Chennakuppam or outside. Including teacher, local politician, police or other administrative service, but outside company. (8) Housework: A person working mainly at home, cooking etc. supporting the family. (9) Education (school, college, university): A person currently undergoing education, visiting school, college or university. (10) Other: Please specify (with one word), but only if no category is applicable. (11) No job: Only if person is not involved in any job.

MAPS

210

Maps

Map 1: Peri-urban Chennai: Transformations 2001–2011 (notes next page)

Maps

211

Map 2: Special Economic Zones and Industrial Parks in Tamil Nadu. Source: http://www.sezindia.nic.in 04/2013, SIPCOT website; Draft: S. Homm; Cartography: M. Weigelt. Notes for map 1: Draft: S. Homm, H.-G. Bohle; Cartography: M. Gref. The map was published first in Erdkunde, Homm and Bohle (2012). Sources: https://maps.google.de; http://www.collegesintamilnadu.com/; http://www.sipcot.com-/industrial_complexes.htm; http://www.sezindia-invest.com/; http://www.chennaicorporation.gov.in/; http://www.cmdachennai.gov.in/; Sriperumbudur - City Development Plan (2010); own field research 2010-2012.

212

Maps

Map 3: Residential apartment projects in peri-urban Chennai Source: Author’s survey (02/2013). Draft: S. Homm; Cartography: M. Gref.

Maps

213

Map 4: Sriperumbudur-Oragadam industrial corridor 2001–2011 Source: Field survey in 2011/12. Focus group discussions for 2001 by assistant K. Elangovan, Google earth images for reference. Draft: S. Homm; Cartography: V. Rossow, M. Gref.

214

Maps

Map 5: Oragadam and Chennakuppam 2001 Source: Field survey in 2011/12 and focus group discussions for past situation supported by assistant K. Elangovan, Google earth images for reference.

Maps

215

Map 6: Oragadam and Chennakuppam 2012 Source: Field survey in 2011/12 supported by assistant K. Elangovan, Google earth images for reference.

216

Maps

Map 7: Land value along the Sriperumbudur-Oragadam industrial corridor Source: Field survey in 2012, focus group (real estate agents) discussions for 2001 situation supported by assistant B. Subramanian, Google earth images for reference.

Maps

217

Map 8: Engineering colleges in peri-urban Chennai Source: Year of establishment and location retrieved from www.collegesintamilnadu.com by assistant M. Schmude. Number of seats assessed online and by telephone consultations conducted by assistant Dr. G. Selvam. Number of students accumulated from total enrolled in 2012 for the different course of the respective college.

218

Maps

Map 9: Ullavur: A rural village abandoning agriculture Source: Field survey in 2011 and focus group discussions for 2004 situation supported by assistant K. Elangovan, Google earth images for reference. Cartography: G. Bräuer-Jux. Design: S.Homm 2013.

Maps

219

Map 10: Varadhapuram section of Ullavur Source: Field survey in 2011 and group discussions for 2004 situation supported by K. Elangovan, Google earth images for reference. Cartography: G. Bräuer-Jux. Design: S. Homm 2013.

Empirical research on the societal and spatial impacts of global change has concentrated either on rural or urban contexts, especially on megacities. The peri-urban spaces in between are largely left unnoticed, although experiencing the most profound and dynamic transformations. This book presents the first comprehensive study on spatial dynamics of industrial development and social change in this context, taking peri-urban Chennai, the thriving industrial hub in southern India, as an example. The book combines quantitative and qualitative findings to analyse the implications of rapid industrialisation: a dynamic land market, changing labour conditions, strained governance structures and the demise of an agrarian social order. In order to systematically approach this transformation an innovative conceptual framework is developed from Lefebvre’s theory of the production of space. Following the notion of inclusive development the book explores the contested spatial dynamics of development, contrasting strategies of global players with the local struggles of the vulnerable striving for livelihood security in the peri-urban spaces of today.

ISBN 978-3-515-10877-5

9

7 83 5 1 5 1 08 7 7 5

www.steiner-verlag.de Franz Steiner Verlag