Ekta Chauhan on urban inequality: The tale of Delhi's unauthorised farmhouses
'Sheher Mein Gaon' reveals how green is the colour of money in Delhi, exploring the profound class divide between Sainik Farm and Sangam Vihar
The Oxford English Dictionary defines ‘farmhouse’ as ‘a house attached to a farm, especially the main house in which the farmer lives’. In Delhi, however, the term has taken on a dramatically different meaning. Today, ‘farmhouses’ refer to sprawling luxury estates owned by the city’s affluent elite. Located in areas like Sainik Farm, Chhatarpur, Sultanpur and Mehrauli, these properties are far removed from agriculture and instead symbolize status, exclusivity and opulence.
As the city expanded in the 1950s, rural and forested areas in south Delhi became attractive for their proximity to the city centre. One such area that saw rapid development was next to Deoli village: Sainik Farm. In 1961, the Delhi Sainik Cooperative House Building Society introduced a scheme to allot subsidized land for defence personnel (hence the name ‘sainik’). Land was allotted through the 1970s and 1980s to veterans of the 1962, 1965 and 1971 wars to ‘relieve them from mental agony’ and aid in their rehabilitation.
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