Territorial Stigma and Political Invisibility: Governance Failures in Hyderabad’s Bastis

• In Event: 40821 - Community and Urban Sociology Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 21. Urban Governance II: Self-Governance and Community-Led Strategies

Abstract

This paper examines how territorial stigma and political invisibility intersect to shape governance failures in Hyderabad’s informal neighborhoods, commonly referred to as basti’s. Drawing on ethnographic research and in-depth interviews, I demonstrate that these communities are simultaneously hyper-visible as “slums” marked by infrastructural deficits, and yet politically invisible to municipal authorities and policymakers. By employing the concept of territorial stigma, I show how negative place-based labels reinforce cycles of neglect, depriving residents of crucial civic amenities such as water, sanitation, and reliable electricity. At the same time, the Basti residents’ limited access to formal political avenues due to bureaucratic hurdles, lack of documentation, and corruption amplifies their marginalization and lack of voice in local governance (Anand 2017, Graham and Marvin 2001).

Through case studies from a Hyderabad Basti and other comparable settlements, the paper foregrounds residents’ lived experiences of infrastructural inequity and political neglect, illustrating how caste and gender dynamics intersect with spatial disadvantage. The findings highlight that territorial stigma not only emerges from external labeling but also shapes state interventions leading to patchwork governance solutions that exacerbate socioeconomic and infrastructural vulnerabilities. This study concludes by considering potential policy implications and community-led strategies that challenge the stigma, urging a reevaluation of how urban marginality is produced and sustained by state actors. It contributes to urban sociology by connecting the symbolic power of place-based stigma to the everyday realities of governance on the ground.

Author

• Yeshashwini Kadiri, University of Kent