ABSTRACT
This chapter examines in specific detail the neighborhood structure of Dumka, a small city in eastern Bihar, because we believe such a structure is typical of many north Indian cities, particularly those which retain an indigenous character. One aspect of neighborhood composition which has been given greatest attention in Western cities is the development of areas based upon ethnic groupings. However, a number of other distinctive neighborhoods or paras did grow up. On the southwestern fringe of the town lies a group of five neighborhoods, Kewat Para, Mehtar Para, Kandu Para, Dom Toli and Musselman Para. One excellent example is the Bengali neighborhood in Kanpur, which although called the Bengali Tola, has no residents who are Bengali. The Bhagalpur Bengali Tola is centrally situated, south of the Ganges River between the Court area to the east and a locality called Monsoor Ganj on the west.
