Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1981.

published_or_final_version / Comparative Asian Studies / Master / Master of Arts

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1981. / Also available in print.

The thesis is based on data collected during a twenty months period of fieldwork undertaken in Calcutta, India. The main concern is with the effects of processes of urbanisation on middle-class women's lives in a heterogeneous neighbourhood. While focusing on members of the Bengali Hindu majority comparative material drawn from data referring to the Bengali Christian and Marwari communities is incorporated. Initially the socio-economic history of different castes and communities and in particular the Subarnabanik Bene (goldsmiths and sellers of gold) occupational and ritual patterns as well as educational standards are investigated. In the following chapters the effects of socio-economic change on marriage patterns (love- and arranged marriages) and their evaluation as well as various types of marriage transactions undertaken are described and interpreted. In the course of the remaining chapters household structures, women's work in the domestic sphere and female employment as well as redefined concepts relating to segregation and seclusion are analysed. Throughout the thesis various aspects of women's ritual activities, reproductive behaviour and kinship relations are investigated in a rapidly changing urban setting. Within the given context concepts of gender- and community-identity are explored and the influence of long-term and recent economic changes are analysed. Different meanings of phenomena like dowry, seclusion or the joint family and ideologies employed to legitimise the same are described with reference to traditional and modern practice. The domestic sphere identified with women and kinship is interpreted as linked to concepts of status within the urban setting where caste and community affiliation are among a number of defining features of group affiliation such as class and regional origin. Relations between gender and community are explored within the context of the locality and its history. As an overall hypothesis the flexibility and modern content of assumedly traditional concepts and practices is demonstrated.

The thesis examines the agitations and riots that broke out in Calcutta in the aftermath of the Second World War. Through a close analysis of local outbreaks of urban violence, it hopes to contribute to the understanding of decolonization in the subcontinent. It interrogates existing chronological and conceptual frameworks through which decolonization has been understood in the historiography of the region. At the same time, the study analyses the continuities and changes in the practices of the local state apparatus, especially the police, through the transition ‘from the colonial to the post-colonial’ regime in South Asia. The scope of the study is limited to incidents and experiences in Calcutta, although it attempts to take into account relevant issues at the regional and all-India level wherever possible. The historiography of popular politics in South Asia is fairly unanimous in concluding that the immediate aftermath of the Second World War saw widespread ‘anti-imperialist’ ‘cross-communal’ protests throughout the subcontinent. In this period, many argue, people of all religions came together for the last time to fight the colonial regime. However, this moment of communal unity was quickly lost as the subcontinent plunged into communal violence on an unprecedented scale. Incidents in Calcutta are believed to exhibit this pattern very clearly. In February 1946 the city witnessed large-scale protests against the conviction of Captain Rashid Ali of the Indian National Army. However, just six months later, Calcutta witnessed massive communal riots. The Great Calcutta Killing of August 1946 set off the chain of communal violence across the subcontinent that ultimately precipitated the partition of British India into two mutually hostile post-colonial states of India and Pakistan. This thesis hopes to challenge some of these assumptions in the historiography of decolonization. It seeks to complicate this linear narrative by questioning the ‘cross-communal’ dimension of the anti-colonial protests. It also argues that the outbreak of communal violence was not as sudden as has been assumed. Rather, communal tension often co-existed with periods of united anti-colonial agitations. The thesis will also examine inter-community relations in the city in the very first years after independence. It will study how new minorities produced by the Indian nation state grappled with, and were affected by, the changed circumstances in Calcutta.

Master of Architecture / Department of Architecture / Richard Hoag / Sensory qualities of a place are those that help people perceive a place through their senses (Lynch 1976). Responsiveness of a place is its ability to provide the user with a wide range of choices and opportunities (Bentley et al 1985). This thesis demonstrates a study of sensory and responsive qualities of urban spaces through the description of two civic nodes in the city of Calcutta, India – the Dalhousie Square and the Salt Lake City Center. The demonstration technique adopted for the study uses Geographic Information System. This system, with the help of specialized computer software can manipulate, summarize, query, edit and visualize geographic information stored in a database. In this study site observations on the two civic nodes are presented as layers of information in Geographic Information System. The civic nodes selected for this study were built at different times. The Dalhousie Square is the historic city center of the city of Calcutta, built during the British rule (1776-1947) over India. The Salt Lake City Center is a mixed-use retail development designed by the Indian architect Charles Correa.

Hundreds of reporters gather and interpret news for four English-language newspapers in India's second-largest urban area Kolkata, West Bengal's state capital, which is home to over 4 million people. Journalists from The Statesman, The Telegraph-Kolkata, The Hindustan Times and The Times of India discuss how they collect their stories in Bengali, Hindi, Urdu, and many other languages and write them in English targeting a small but emerging middle-class audience. Whether these articles focus on people-centric urban planning, armed vigilantes in community disputes, dowry death cases, or celebrity culture, all of the reporting involves cultural and ethical challenges. Using semi-structured interviewing and qualitative theme analysis, this study explores how gender, class, and religion affect the decision-making practices of 21 journalists working in Kolkata.

This thesis explores state-civil society relations with respect to urban services in the context of democratic decentralisation. These issues are analysed through a comparative case study of approaches to improved services in the Indian cities of Bangalore and Calcutta. Three main areas of focus in the thesis are a) relationships between citizens' voice and local government responsiveness; b) the implications of collaboration and partnership in urban service delivery; and c) the impact of broader socio-political factors on relations between service users and service providers. At the national level, legislation attempting to revitalise local government through democratic decentralisation has had a range of consequences for urban service provision. These consequences are examined through three paths towards improving service provision. The first, led by service users, is through traditional modes of political engagement and direct involvement in local community action groups. The second path, led by the local government service providers is through internal reforms adopted to boost responsiveness. The third path is led by the collaborative efforts of service users and service providers. The consequences of national legislative attempts at decentralisation have been markedly different in the two cities. Comparing the experience of approaches to improved service delivery in each, the thesis isolates the impact of local socio-political factors on municipal local governance. Demographic characteristics, the nature of political and administrative leadership, the character of local government institutions and the status of civil society, all prove to be important determinants of the quality of service delivery. Neither Bangalore nor Calcutta have enjoyed dramatic improvements in urban services as a direct result of democratic decentralisation. The thesis argues, however, that the decentralisation process has created an environment more conducive for dialogue between service users and providers: in which users have the space to express their voice, and state actors are encouraged to listen, acknowledge and respond.

Calcutta of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century enjoyed global stature and connections as a consequence of its position within the British Empire as the capital of India. This study of Calcutta’s buildings aims to comprehend the architectural legacy of the period in terms of its construction history. The proposed thesis underlying the research is that Calcutta’s built environment bore witness to the intense traffic of ideas, people and goods characteristic of the era. The significance of the research is two-fold. It enjoys the distinction of being the first attempt to undertake a wide-ranging investigation into the construction history of a city in the Indian subcontinent, and indeed possibly anywhere in the world. Concurrently, the study endeavours to suggest a methodological approach for similar forthcoming studies in India and elsewhere, especially considering that the discipline of construction history is as yet at a nascent stage and such studies are only expected to multiply in number and scope in the coming years. The research effort trains its attention on two key aspects of construction history – human resource and material resource. The former is manifested in investigations into the training and work contexts of the professionals engaged in construction activity, i.e. the engineers and the architects. The latter takes the form of research into source and application of the commonly used construction materials. The methodology employed in the study encompasses a range of disciplines and related sources, especially drawing on architectural, urban, social and economic histories. Addressing the proposed thesis has necessitated directing research efforts towards situating developments in Calcutta in the context of and with reference to the metropolitan milieu. The analysis of the research findings and the conclusions thus drawn have served to corroborate the proposed thesis highlighting the incessant flux distinctive of the construction environment in Calcutta in the period of this study. The dissertation is expected to facilitate an enhanced understanding of Calcutta’s built environment for those entrusted with its care, especially those in the heritage and conservation sector, as well as contribute to the available pool of free knowledge furthering our understanding of human civilization.

The urban poor of the third world cities living in slums and squatter settlements often have to support themselves or augment their meagre and uncertain incomes with small-scale business enterprises. This deceptively marginal sector of the urban economy in reality plays a vital role as a major percentage of the urban population are poor. These enterprises are, more often than not, home-based due to their lack of resources. The squalid and congested living conditions in these settlements are thus further compromised by setting up these commercial endeavour, but it is essential for their livelihood as employment opportunities occupy a primary position in their list of priorities. / This thesis studies the phenomenon of people in low-income housing settlements using their own homes for income generating activities and the compromise between the various uses of the same space. A field study was undertaken in a typical bustee in Calcutta, India to help illustrate this phenomenon. Sample surveys of a number of households where small-scale economic activity takes place were taken and studied in detail. How the integration of such activities in their daily living environment shapes, changes and influences their living patterns forms the main focus of the study.