Social Enclosure and Poverty A Study of a Selected Urban Community of Dhaka (Hardcover)

This book is about the Bihari community of the Geneva Camp of Mohammadpur, Dhaka. The key research questions of this work are whether this select Bihari community suffers from any 'social enclosure' and whether it causes their poverty. The book probes into their ethnic components such as language, ritual and culture to examine whether their 'social enclosure' and poverty are functions of these ethnic components. It examines their household characteristics, and traces whether they suffer from educational, occupational and income discrimination, and if that is so, then what are the nature, extent and forms of such discrimination. It also looks at the trend of mobility: whether it is upward or downward. Findings show that because of their ethnicity, they are enclosed, both socially and economically, not only by the state and its people but also by some of their own exclusionary practices. Ethnicity and cultural differences of the Biharis are the major reasons of being treated as a different group from the mainstream society. Consequently, they have been deprived from the opportunity of education resulting in lower position in income levels. There is found downward or no-mobility among the people of this community. It is seen that the living condition of these people in general is better than those of the local people of some strata. In this camp they have the advantage of using electricity at a very low cost and have a regular supply of water. Most of them, although attached to some of their traditional occupations, have a steady earning from the informal labour market. They are able to spend good amounts in food and clothing. Despite these, as Biharis constitute a minority community, 'social enclosure' occurs owing to their ethnic identity that in turn causes their poverty.