Publications

This review examines the book Urbanisation and Urban Policies in India: Trends, Patterns and Emerging Perspectives by Ram B. Bhagat and Mohammad Izhar Hassan, highlighting its interdisciplinary contribution to understanding India's urban transformation. It explores how the book bridges global urban theory with India's empirical realities, critically engaging with debates on migration, inequality, segregation, and urban governance. While commending its comprehensive demographic and policy analysis, the review also argues for a deeper engagement with contemporary critical urban scholarship on spatial inequality and marginality. The review positions the book as a significant contribution to ongoing debates on the changing nature of urbanization and the future of urban policy in India.

This chapter looks at the relationship between inequality, labour migration and development in India. It examines migration-inequality-development relationship with a focus on those who are left behind in the process of structural economic transformation and livelihood change in India. While recent years have witnessed substantial rise in labour mobility in India, socio-economic inequalities often mean migration options are not available to all individuals and households, nor are the outcomes same for all members of the participating households. This chapter reviews the implications of labour migration on the left behind populations in India, and intersecting role inequalities play in the process. The paper also identifies the potential implications of being left behind and argues for the need to better understand and address the socio-political and development implications of these processes.