Time, Space, and the Subaltern: The Matter of Labor in Delhi’s Grey Economy

Madanpur Khadar is a large resettlement colony in Delhi’s southeast fringe, wedged between the states of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, partially abutting the Yamuna River. Its original residents were relocated here in 2000–2001 after being evicted from slums in Gautam Nagar, Gautampuri Phase II of Yamuna Pushta, Nehru Place, Raj Nagar, East of Kailash, Alaknanda, Hanuman Camp, and vp Singh Colony (Hazards Centre 2007; Jagori 2009). Since then a steady influx of renters has added to the settlement’s population. The tightly packed streets and impossibly narrow lanes of the jhuggi-jhopari (jj) colony at Madanpur Khadar resemble the morphology of