Refugees as a Productive Force, National Belonging as Mutable: The Case of 1947 Partition Refugee Resettlement in Delhi, India

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Archaeologies of Immigration and Refugee Resettlement" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Many archaeologists have focused on the material ramifications of nationalist exclusion. Such works have documented how discriminatory policies impact the ability of immigrants and refugees to build new lives post-migration, and in some cases, even endanger their lives. In this paper, I explore the opposite question: what happens when immigrants and refugees are welcomed? I discuss the example of refugee resettlement in Delhi after the 1947 Partition of India and Pakistan, following which property-less individuals became productive citizens through successful rehabilitation schemes. I analyze the minimal yet effective spaces and buildings the government allocated for their use. Refugees transformed these basic allotments into thriving, modern neighborhoods within a generation. In today’s world of increasing exclusion and closed borders, this case study demonstrates how refugees with access to basic resources and social acceptance are a valuable, productive force.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Archaeologies of Immigration and Refugee Resettlement   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 23234