Bombay: Metaphor for Modern India

The unprecedented bouts of violence which ravaged Bombay in December 1992 and January 1993 raised agonizing questions as to how such a disaster could have occurred in India's modern metropolis. This book identifies the key characterisitcs of the city and explores the processes which have led to its conspicuous successes and hidden conflicts. The three main themes treated are labour and enterprise; claims on land, housing and health; politics and populism - the contributors dealing with the present as well as with its roots in the recent and colonial past.