Development of Social Spaces Through Infrastructural Development
Munish Alagh
Jatin Christie
Urbanization,
defined as the economic and demographic growth of urban centres essentially
entails the growth of the percentage of urban population in total population of
a nation physically. Urbanization, as a
phenomenon, is in a state of frenzy for sociologists, psychologists,
behavioural scientists, and economists. With burgeoning urbanization, there
have been discussions all around about urban ecology—a notion whose connotation
extends beyond preserving natural environments only. Urban ecology refers to an
understanding of how social environments are created and how people form groups
and group norms alongside the social spaces they dwell and they interact in. One
very important form of communication that we consciously and many times
unconsciously indulge into is proxemics—communication via space. Proxemics explores how human beings use the space around them and
communicate through it. It states of a person having Intimate Space (physical
touch to 1.5 feet distance), Personal Space (1.5 to 4 feet), Social Space (up to
12 feet distance), and Public Place (25 feet or up to what naked eye can see).
Depending on different cultures, we allow or disallow people to enter our
intimate, personal, and even social spaces. It is interesting to note that we
interact most of the time with reference to spaces as much as we do so with
words and gesture.
In this paper, our focus is on the Social Space. Social
Space can be defined as, the combined use and perception of space by
distinct social groups, as opposed to personal space.
Social space provides an environmental framework for the behaviour of the group;
it is culturally complex, flexible multi-configured, networked, and reflexive.
The
reference to urbanization without discussing infrastructure development is
incomplete. Be it metro cities like Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai or even the
upcoming Ahmedabad, one has to note the metamorphosis that these cities have
undergone in social, cultural and infrastructural changes. Mumbai has come a
long way from being a city of seven different islands to being the commercial
capital of one of the largest growing markets in the world. Bengaluru, on the
other hand, boasts of not only infrastructural icons like Microsoft, Google, or Infosys buildings
and campuses, but it also has a real flavour of a miniature globe in it.
Nevertheless, one has to mention that while cities are making exponential
growth in social and other infrastructure, there are still pockets even in
these big cities which are devoid of any signs of such changes.
This
case aims to understand urbanization, and how social and other infrastructure
have developed in Ahmedabad. It aims to highlight a deprived Muslim ghetto
called Juhapura-Sarkhej area in this mega
city where the urbanization chariot has not reached on its own in a natural and
distributive way. The area has seen decades of non-development, but now with
the interest and acumen of the local populace it is slowly catching up with the
rest of the city areas.
The
paper highlights how urban infrastructure development has come up in this area
in the last few years and how this has contributed in changing the physical as
well as mental landscape of this Muslim-dominated locality in Ahmedabad. The paper explores the association between
urban infrastructure development like a modern school, a retail store, and a
recreation park with the development of social space
The
infrastructure development stated above refers to:
- Hearty Mart—a departmental store owned by a young
and enterprising member of a prominent Muslim sect.
- Crescent School—an
urban and sophisticated learning centre catering to the knowledge palate
of the local populace.
- Muskan Park—a adventure park aiming to bring energy
and synergy in the area
The study site
entails a 3 km stretch from Vishalla
Circle to Sarkhej Police Station (called as
Juhapura)
Why this area?
The history of
Ahmedabad shows that the city has come a
long way from being the “Manchester of India” to the modern day “Metro City.”
The city today witnesses big malls, luxurious hotels, corporate houses,
overbridges, underpasses, magnificent landscaping, and prominent roads. The latest
developments in the city are the Kankaria Lake Front, the BRTS, and the
upcoming River Front Development Project.
The infrastructure
development of Ahmedabad should be traced along with the development of its
roads. It all started with the Ashram
Road, and then moved to the C. G. Road, followed by the 132 feet Ring
Road, and the S. G. Highway.
At present, Ahmedabad is expanding exponentially on the periphery of the 200
feet Ring Road. Almost all areas of Ahmedabad are greatly expanding with hospitals, ATMs, and
other necessary infrastructure too coming up..
However, the backwardness
of Juhapura co-exists with prosperity! Juhapura has been treated like a
step-child. For years the area has not witnessed any infrastructure development—basic
and otherwise. Juhapura has a population of 3 lakhs but what is missing or are
found in small measure are:
- Streetlights
- Gutter line
- Town-planning schemes
- Water supply
- Internal roads
Thus, supermarkets,
malls, banks, ATMs, and other important amenities of the day seemed a distant
dream.
Juhapura – Past and Present
Juhapura, a Muslim-dominated
area lies on the western outskirts of Ahmedabad near Sarkhej. It is situated
along the National Highway
8A that goes towards Saurashtra and Kutch.
Previously it used to be known as Jivapura and also as Sankalitnagar.
To rehabilitate
1972 flood victims, a colony of 2,248 homes was developed; this was known as
Sankalitnagar around which Juhapura
developed. It was a small suburb with a small
population until the early '90s. And as late as 1992, a large number of
Hindus mainly from Dalit, Bhoi, and Thakore communities lived there.
Most of the Hindus
moved out of Juhapura after the communal violence that broke out post Babri
Masjid demolition in 1992. Jeevan Bhoi was one of those who lived in Juhapura till 1992.
"After that it was frightening to live there," he says. "Many of
my Muslim friends assured me that nothing would happen, but as I could not be
at home for most part of the day, it worried me about my family's safety,"
he adds.
Again,
the communal riots of Gujarat in 1992–93 and
especially after the 2002 communal riots, large numbers of Muslims migrated to
Juhapura from Hindu-dominated areas of Ahmedabad for a safe haven. From 1992–2002,
Juhapura largely remained riot prone and downtrodden. It was deprived of basic
amenities, and though it became a pre-dominantly Muslim ghetto, it was avoided
by effluent Muslims.
Post-2002
communal riots, even the effluent Muslims shifted their base and moved to
Juhapura. This changed the social dynamics of the area and it started getting
attention from various corners. This migration of Muslims with deep pockets
caused a construction and housing boom in the area with housing prices
skyrocketing.
The Present Status: Coming up of Structures
There is a popular Bengali
song written by Rabindranth Tagore which goes on like this, ‘If nobody comes at your beck and call to
help your or support you, you go alone and do it (Ekla cholo re…).
Juhapura has also
probably picked up a cue from this song and has charted its own plan of urban
development.
People from the
community have come forward and have taken up the challenge of creating modern
infrastructure, and through them social spaces in and around this area. Today
this stretch boasts of Hearty Mart (a modern supermarket), a multiplex, Havmor
restaurant, modern schools in English medium, and two upcoming malls. Many of them are owned by Muslim entrepreneurs.
Based on these structures, we present three such cases of development of social
spaces through infrastructural development.
Case 1.
Hearty Mart: Faith, Hope, and Development
Juhapura has traditionally been a locality carrying
the stigma of being a riot-prone, media-unfriendly area, and has always been
highlighted for notoriety and civil disturbance. Perhaps that is the reason why
no big brand (supermarkets, etc) ever tried entering this area which houses
more than 5 lakh of some of the prominent people of the city.
When Hearty Mart was launched in 2004, the
area was still trying to cope with the tragedy of the Gujarat Riots of 2002.
This unfortunate incident saw many prominent Muslims shifting their base to
Juhapura. Suddenly a locality which was never considered to be family-friendly
became a preferred destination as a “safe
haven”. Still the problem remained as the educated people shifted
but the basic amenities were simply below par. People had to move to areas like
Paldi, Vasna, and Shyamal to meet their needs.
With a booming real estate, the area promised development,
but still it remained devoid of basic amenities like a proper organized retail
outlet which could provide convenience of purchase to the residents. Adanis had
opened their supermarkets across Ahmedabad, but for an obvious reason avoided
Juhapura.
It was in this gap that Nadeem Jafri found a huge
opportunity to start an organized food-grocery store in the area in early 2004.
Vishala Circle
was the fastest developing area within Juhapura, as it was not cramped, and we
could speculate a good growth of the area in near future.
With the vision
of bringing convenience to the locality, Jafri
started Hearty Mart in February 2004. It was modeled as an ideal neighbourhood
store and positioned as Sabse khass ghar ke paas; it was a store which
was equipped to cater to all their basic needs—a one-stop solution for their daily
requirements of groceries, cosmetics, foodgrains, and so on Thus was destined to bridge the gap between
demand of daily needs and the options of supplies available.
However, the initial journey of Hearty Mart
was not smooth.
Initial Problems
It is said that
one problem leads to another; even Jafri faced
certain problems which he could never anticipate while he was planning to open the
shop here. Business operations were really difficult because of the negative
feelings people had toward the area; vendors and suppliers were reluctant to
support and give merchandize on credit. To break the ice win their trust, Jafri
organized get-togethers and also gave them advances and post-dated cheques. Even
the residents were reluctant to visit the shop and footfalls were few in the
first year.
The problem was
that:
· Most
of them had migrated from other areas and they preferred to go back to the
retailers from their old area for purchases. There was no shop patronage for
Hearty Mart.
· There
was a lot of skepticism and suspicion on the future of Hearty Mart because they
were all aware about the area and its image.
Promotions that Built
the Brand and People’s Confidence
With some promotion and loyalty programmes, Jafri
succeeded in having some loyal customers. Some of the initial promotion efforts
included:
- Putting up of signages and banners at prominent places in the area
- Use of auto-rickshaw-mounted
loudspeakers to spread awareness about the store
- Newspaper insertions
- Invitation to prominent people from the area on the day of the launch
·
Taking
specific orders for specific merchandize
from customers even when there was no demand for the overall product category.
This made the customers feel special.
·
Launching
schemes like free-gifts and discounts on purchases of more than Rs 1000.
·
On
completion of 100 days, 500 gms of sugar with a personalized letter was sent to
all the prominent customers. This was unique to the area.
·
Introduction
of loyalty cards and free home delivery. Again this was new to the area as
there was no proper organized player who could make such offers and provide
such services
His faith in
business and his efforts helped him gain their confidence. He slowly found that
more and more residents became his patrons, and that helped him during the
difficult initial phase of the business. The footfalls started increasing and
the customer-base grew.
Contribution of
Hearty Mart in creating a Social Space:
The success of
Hearty Mart at Juhapura broke the myth that the area was not conducive for
business. Many hesitant entrepreneurs, who closely watched the success of the
mart, are now successful businesses in
the area.
The development
of the area post-Hearty Mart is as follows:
- Hearty Mart is a prominent
landmark of Sarkhej–Juhapura Road.
- A good organized neighbourhood
store in the area promises a convenient abode for the residents. Presence
of Hearty Mart at Elecon
Tower, ensured that
all the flats of the 10 floor high-rise building were sold at a premium;
which the builder could not sell before as people were reluctant to
purchase an apartment in a high rise after the earthquake.
- Though Subhiksha across India
has closed down; it was success of Hearty Mart that encouraged Subhikhsha
to set up its shop in Juhapura. In fact it became the first big retail
chain to open its shop here.
- A private bus stop has developed
just before Hearty Mart.
- Lots of media coverage of Hearty
Mart brand has perhaps inspired a leading Mumbai-based non-veg restaurant to
open its outlet here.
- Axis Bank has opened its ATM in
the premises of Hearty Mart. Hearty Mart has rented them 100 sq ft for the
ATM as a shop-in-shop concept. This is important looking at the fact that
the area had no Bank or ATM since last many years. The ATM has been
accepted well by not only the Hearty Mart customers but also by the local
public staying in the area.
- Radhe Developer has announced a 3
BHK premium apartment project “Imperial
Heights” bang opposite
Hearty Mart. It would have all the modern facilities for lifestyle
seekers. Again a unique residential scheme for the area which none would have thought of before.
Today almost 4 lakh
Muslims live in Juhapura and that is why perhaps it has been termed as the
largest Muslim neighbourhood in Gujarat.
Contrary to its image of being crime-ridden and riot-prone, it has been of late
a preferred area of Muslim professionals, artists, government officers of IAS
and IPS ranks, and businessmen. It is needless to say that they have
contributed in the development of the area in their own special way.
Today, Vishala Circle is perhaps the best
locality for many Muslims in Ahmedabad, and they are ready to pay a premium for
an apartment here.
Hearty Mart is not solely responsible for the
infrastructural development that took place around it, but it has definitely succeeded
in creating a social space for the Muslim community staying in the
neighbourhood.
Case 2 : Crescent School
As stated
earlier, Juhapura is an urban ghetto with poor streetlights, poor drainage and
sewerage system, , poor internal roads, and water supply mainly through
borewells.. What is worse is that there is lack of awareness among the people for
the need to demand these facilities.
In addition,
schools in this area are few, and with
6,000 students seek admission in the first standard, choices are limited;
although the demand for quality education is quite high given the changing
class structure of the population. Moreover, there is a need to provide safe
and secure environment for these students. During the 2002 riots commuting to
and from the school was a major concern
for the parents as many had their children studying in far-flung schools like
the Delhi Public School and St. Xavier’s school which do provide quality education. People, especially the middle class, look for
amenities nearby, which include schools, and this needed to be fulfilled in Juhapura.
In fact there was a
demand for “quality education in proximity,” which is waiting to be fulfilled.
Responding to this
demand Asifkhan Pathan an educationist, set up Crescent
School. In the very first
year there were535 enrolments. Currently, the school operates standards 1 to 5
in the English mediuim and standards 1 to 6 in the Gujarati medium. Crescent is
not an Islamic school. It had initially taken non-Muslim staff (Christians, and
Hindu) but they all left because of mostly social pressure or social exclusion or
ostracization they faced for working in Juhapura. But that apart, the
initiative taken by the school are a tie
up with Euro Kids for kindergarten (KG) and Sr. KG classes; SmartClass which are net-enabled
classrooms with LCDs; and a Rs 12 lakh budget for teachers’ training at Calorex
Foundation. Moreover, the student–teacher ratio is a favourable 30:1.
Cresent stands
for quality education. What the parents of the children want is that cultural
values be instilled in the children, specially moral values of their religion, keeping
in mind the present day environement. When we went around the school, we noticed
that there was in-depth interaction between the students and the teachers from the
KG to the primary level. Teacher in fact
were giving practical examples to the students from their daily environment.
The school follows a modern and contemporary curriculum that promotes overall
and holistic development of its students. However, Crescent also aims to instil
basic Islamic moral values among them through a uniquely designed English alphabet
where each letter represents an Islamic artifact or value and also other
distinct norms like using asalam e
valekum as a greeting.
Case 3 : MUSKAAN
PARK
SPRAT stands for Society for Promoting Rationality. It is an
NGO working in several areas of Ahmedabad with an aim to understand the reality
of deprivation of minorities and how it can respond to their problems through
interventions at individual, community, and societal levels.
One of the
important facts that SPRAT aims to cater to is the problem faced by people due
to lack of infrastructure available to them; both physical as well as social.
SPRAT has aspired to build a happy, peaceful, and harmonious society, which is
tolerant, inclusive, and empathetic to all.
Juhapura has had
a long-standing tiff with the surrounding areas, which are non-Muslim. This is mainly due to the seeds of distrust
and suspicion that certain section of the society have sown in minds to fulfil
their vested interests and ambitions.
Muskan Park was
envisaged in Juhapura, almost adjacent to Vejalpur, with the intention of
promoting communal harmony by engaging the youth of various communities, castes,
and classes in healthy recreation, and friendly competitions. The idea was to
break the ice between the two communities and enable them to share not only the physical
space but also the mental space to eradicate suspicion and develop a sense of
camaraderie, solidarity, and mutual respect.. The main motto of Muskaan Park, which is spread over 2500 sq.m, is “Shared Pursuits.”
Objectives of Muskaan Park
- Communal and social harmony through
affordable recreation
- Health and happiness through
pleasurable activities
- Promote environment of peace,
safety, and security
- Eradicate hatred, discrimination
from communities
- Engage people in shared recreation
Focus
- Health through adventure and
exercise
- Enable appreciation of science
- Communal harmony
The park looks
to create a good social and physical environment around in the area.
Muskan Park model was
based on following perquisites:
- It should be scalable
- it should be modular
- it should be replicable
Therefore
recycled waste was used in Muskaan. This gave the park a very rugged look, but also made it affordable and replicable.
Materials like
tyres, wooden planks, steel rods were used to make equipments like see-saws,
swings, slides, and so on. The park is not made up sophisticated material, is
not perfect, and so can be easily replicable. There are no gears and no
electricals. In fact, Muskan
Park follows the policy
of selective
neglect.
Initial Response
The initial
response of the neigbouring community was not good. People staying in the
nearby areas raised their compound walls to create visual barriers. Some
changed the entrance of their houses so that it did not face the park. The
number of non-Muslim users were less than 10 %.
There was some subtle unrest and apprehension among the people in the
surrounding areas. . Even the Muslim community did not give a positive response
to the park initially.
However, as time
went by people understood the meaning of the park and why it had come up. The
initial inhibitions given way to the mingling of communities and castes and the
park has moved toward becoming a place to spend time and for recreation.
Different spaces within the park
The park wants
to create spaces for people belonging to all age groups and so they have
created separate spaces for children, youngsters, and senior citizens in the
park. These spaces house recreation material suited to the needs of the
targeted age-groups. These spaces have been separated by different colours.
Help from corporate world
The park has
been generously supported by AUDA-AMC, ONGC, BSNL, IOC, TORRENT-AEC, GED, and a
number of small and big corporate houses. Amul too intends to set up shop
there.
Muskaan Park has
acted like a bridge between the two communities and has gradually emerged as
being a social space in this ghetto where people can come and relax, spent
time, spent time on recreation, and shed inhibitions.
Observations From the above cases
it can be observed that a holistic and
overall development is strictly the need of the hour. It is also true that
there are always few pockets that get neglected during development. But what
comes out from the three cases is that if the community or local inmates shows
grit, enthusiasm, resilience, and acumen, any neglected area can embark on its journey toward
development—both external as well as internal.
We strongly believe
that Juhapura is fast churning out newer social spaces for its residents to
encounter, operate, flourish, and nurture newer bonding and relationships.
Also, the upcoming and developing urban infrastructure has started providing
better quality of work and life to the people of this area and surrounding
areas.
Conclusions
Thus there is definitely
a link between urbanization and development of strong and healthy social
relationships through creation of new social spaces. A park, a school, a mall,
a hotel, or any such common property resource has no religion and are simply
places for a community to mingle, interact, meet, share and indulge in
recreation. However, when we look at development of such infrastructure in
Juhapura, it has allowed the local community, especially the Muslim community,
to find their own social space.
People find it
easy to emulate success because there is a proven path to follow and it also
increases confidence. The cases discussed in this paper—Hearty Mart, Crescent School
and Muskan Park— show that they have enabled other
entrepreneur and business entities from within and outside the community to
invest in local infrastructural development.
We hope that
this infrastructural development will not only change the face of the area but
boost confidence of the local people to freely mingle and interact with each
other in the newly found public places, which over time will become comforting
social spaces.
We also feel
that while on the one hand a city can fully develop through self initiation of
local community, on the other there is a strong requirement for public–private
partnership and also a strong need for government
support to foster holistic development.
