ABSTRACT
Introduction In one of my many conversations with Raiz Khan we fall into a heated discussion about capitalism, as he is curious to understand how I, having grown up in the West, understand it as an economic philosophy and social reality. A Muslim who migrated to Delhi in 1986 from the State of Bihar, and subsequently evicted from his basti, or informal settlement, behind the Rajghat Powerhouse, Raiz Khan has survived and even thrived in the resettlement colony compared to his neighbours – in part due to his political savvy, and also due a successful clothing business he started off the colony’s main square. He embraces capitalism but he makes clear limits in his defence of it, especially when the conversation veers to the ‘worldclass city’:
This world-class city thing is only for capitalists. It won’t benefit the poor in any way, be it in education or with job opportunities. . . . The government paid no attention and just dumped us here straight away. . . .
