Inclusion and Exclusion of the Urban Poor in Dhaka

Rasheda Rawnak Khan received a PhD in anthropology from American University of USA with the Hall of Nation scholarship. She had been involved in doing a collaborative research on migration with the School of Global studies at University of Sussex. Currently she teaches anthropology at Dhaka University, Bangladesh. Before joining the Dhaka University, she taught anthropology at Jahangirnagar University. She is a regular columnist who writes for national dailies. Her socio-political writings have largely been focused on the concepts of power, politics, urbanization, and governance. Besides her teaching career, she is a media personality. She is one of the directors of the film "Re-storying the Anacostia River," which was selected for some prestigious film festivals in the USA.

List of figures
List of tables
Introduction: A grey line between inclusion and exclusion

1. Understanding the politics of inclusion, exclusion and power
2. Who governs the Dhaka city?
3. Housing: A contested avenue
4. Informalization of formal utility access
5. The right to the services
6. People’s power and politics: Cooperation, compromise, compliance and conflict

Towards a conclusion
Index

This rich comparative ethnography of two poor neighborhoods in Dhaka offers a new perspective on existing ideas of inclusion and exclusion, as well as of formality and informality. By reexamining these common binaries, the author is able to make an original contribution to the anthropology of urban poverty and citizenship.
Arjun Appadurai, Emeritus Professor of Media, Culture and Communication, New York University
Urban policy often claims to include the poor. What does this actually mean? In a work of meticulous ethnography in two Dhaka neighbourhoods - one an informal settlement and the other a resettlement housing project - Rawnak Khan shows in graphic detail the contrasting patterns of community formation and political initiative. A clinical and yet moving document.
Partha Chatterjee, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, Columbia University, New York