Ordinary states: Everyday corruption and the politics of space in Mumbai

Abstract

A B S T R A C TIn this article, I draw from fieldwork on the micropractices of hawkers' illicit dealings with low-level state functionaries in Mumbai, India, to explore how claims to city space are negotiated. I argue that what is often understood as a breakdown in urban governance is, instead, what I call an "ordinary space of negotiation" that constitutes the grounds on which claims to substantive citizenship are made. This ethnographic exploration of what practices of corruption produce has the possibility to expand how scholars think about the state and political claim making in liberal democratic contexts at large.

Subverting ID from above and below: The uncertain shaping of India’s new instrument of e-governance

“…And will there be mechanisms for re-recording if a person experiences permanent problems? Judging by prior experience about the difficult relation between poor citizens and state institutions we should expect that more technology is unlikely to flatten social hierarchies and ease access (Anjaria 2011;Gupta 2012;Rao 2013). Yet, as we shift the focus to enter the domain of implementation we can see how the UID system is evolving in spite of what would seem to be fundamental failures.…”

Hyenas of the Limpopo: The Social Politics of Undocumented Movement Across South Africa’s Border with Zimbabwe

“…When the law seems to not fully reach or discipline border crossings, it is mainly because of the process by which the application of the law is negotiated, and the way these negotiations maintain equilibrium in such border practices (Anjaria, 2011). In this sense, the interaction between border enforcement and the border's social relations does not represent a combative space.…”

“…This thesis adopts this stance, to argue that corruption represents a space of negotiation (Anjaria, 2011) where travellers, state officials and intermediaries navigate and secure claims in a border enforcement system that, by restricting low and semi-skilled movement, appears 'misaligned' with the kinds of movement and employment taking place across the region. Essentially, assisted border crossings emerge in the space that defines these contradictions and contestations.…”

“…In this sense, the interaction between border enforcement and the border's social relations does not represent a combative space. As facilitation suggests, this is a space of collaboration not of opposition, but of creativity, negotiation and transformation (Ortner, 1995in Anjaria, 2011.…”

“…In post-colonial political anthropology, corruption represents a well-explored topic (Anjaria, 2011;Blundo & Olivier de Sardan, 2006;Das & Poole, 2004;Gupta, 1995Gupta, , 2005Lindberg, 2003;Ochonu, 2014Ochonu, , 2016Pierce, 2016;Roitman, 1990;Shah, 2009;Smith, 2007;Visvanathan, 2008). Giorgio Blundo and Jean-Pierre Olivier de Sardan (2006) in particular attempted to identify and describe a variety of 'tacit codes' and 'practical norms' that structure social relations in contradistinction to the public codes and official or legal norms that should guide these relations in the West African context.…”