Nikhil Rao, Wesleyan

From debates over informal settlements to gentrification, contested spaces are central to ongoing discussions of cities in South Asia. Such spaces thus lie at the heart of any understanding of urban modernity in the subcontinent. Underlying such contested spaces, literally, is land. While there is a rich literature on agrarian lands in South Asia, less is known about changing regimes of land use and occupation – both by the state and by other actors – in urban settings. Drawing upon instances of attempts by the state to determine and regulate the status of urban lands from late 19th and 20th century Bombay, this paper seeks to offer an historical perspective on the unstable and shifting relationships between land, ownership, and property in the South Asian city. From debates over informal settlements to gentrification, contested spaces are central to ongoing discussions of cities in South Asia. Such spaces thus lie at the heart of any understanding of urban modernity in the subcontinent. Underlying such contested spaces, literally, is land. While there is a rich literature on agrarian lands in South Asia, less is known about changing regimes of land use and occupation – both by the state and by other actors – in urban settings. Drawing upon instances of attempts by the state to determine and regulate the status of urban lands from late 19th and 20th century Bombay, this paper seeks to offer an historical perspective on the unstable and shifting relationships between land, ownership, and property in the South Asian city. From debates over informal settlements to gentrification, contested spaces are central to ongoing discussions of cities in South Asia. Such spaces thus lie at the heart of any understanding of urban modernity in the subcontinent. Underlying such contested spaces, literally, is land. While there is a rich literature on agrarian lands in South Asia, less is known about changing regimes of land use and occupation – both by the state and by other actors – in urban settings. Drawing upon instances of attempts by the state to determine and regulate the status of urban lands from late 19th and 20th century Bombay, this paper seeks to offer an historical perspective on the unstable and shifting relationships between land, ownership, and property in the South Asian city. From debates over informal settlements to gentrification, contested spaces are central to ongoing discussions of cities in South Asia. Such spaces thus lie at the heart of any understanding of urban modernity in the subcontinent. Underlying such contested spaces, literally, is land. While there is a rich literature on agrarian lands in South Asia, less is known about changing regimes of land use and occupation – both by the state and by other actors – in urban settings. Drawing upon instances of attempts by the state to determine and regulate the status of urban lands from late 19th and 20th century Bombay, this paper seeks to offer an historical perspective on the unstable and shifting relationships between land, ownership, and property in the South Asian city.