In the bustling heart of Delhi, Purvanchalis—migrants from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and adjoining regions—form over a quarter of the city’s population. The electoral strength of Purvanchalis is undeniable, with the ability to influence political outcomes in several constituencies. Yet, they remain marginalised, grappling with systemic neglect that manifests in crumbling infrastructure, rampant crime, insufficient educational facilities, and inadequate healthcare.
Purvanchalis constitute 26% of Delhi’s total population, according to the 2011 Census, making them one of the largest communities in the city. Their influence is particularly strong in East and North East Delhi, where multiple assembly constituencies fall under their electoral dominance.
However, the political promises made to them often fail to materialise into tangible developmental benefits. Many Purvanchali-dominated areas continue to face civic issues such as uncovered drains, fly infestations, and erratic water supply.
Civic issues and crime
The most endemic of the issues is the amount of crime that these constituencies witness across the board. The slightest of quarrels and squabbles in these constituencies have, more often than not, required a visit to the hospital. Some are discharged with a stitch or two, while others are transferred to the mortuary. According to residents, these situations have mostly been borne about by the lack of employment opportunities for the younger generation in these areas.
Seated at the rampart leading up to his shop at Sonia Vihar, Ramesh Kumar waits for the afternoon lull to die down — business has been fairly slow due to the cold wave. Most of the usual customers steer clear of the area as the sun sets earlier, making it fairly unsafe at nightfall.
“Business has been extremely slow here. Ever since the winters set in, I have been seeing fewer and fewer customers at my shop. It is not even because of the cold. It’s just that people are afraid of coming to this area after it gets dark. It becomes a hub for drug addicts,” he said.
More importantly, however, the ward under the Karawal Nagar constituency in North East Delhi has been facing a spate of issues arising from the innate increase in the number of drug abusers.
“Most inhale smack, solution, and other substances which can give them a cheap high. Unfortunately, the downside to them getting addicted to all of this is the spates of violence that our community faces each day here, said Parvesh Singh, a resident of Khajuri Khas. “I cannot really blame them either. Most of them are young with little to no education. They do not have any other way to earn money. Snatching and robbery are the only way.”
Most households in these areas hail from low to middle income groups. While the latter have an easier time navigating through the national capital’s status quo, the former’s journey is not the easiest. Lack of access to quality education coupled with incessant poverty has led them into a rabbit hole of misery that includes a lot of substance abuse and crime for easy money.
“None of the parties campaign here based on real issues. They have still not been able to fix the traffic situation at Sonia Vihar. It is almost fantastical to think that they will be able to do anything about the crime situation here,” said Zeenat, a resident of Sonia Vihar Delhi.
Education: The root of the problem
Presently, the lack of jobs has become increasingly worse among the Purvanchalis. Areas where they are significantly more in number are facing an abject crunch in the number of permanent jobs being available for the young.
“I work as a labourer around these parts, helping out any shop that needs my help. It is not permanent, but it pays for my needs. There is nobody here who will hire me or any other person on a permanent basis. The lack of jobs here has led many of my friends also to take to snatching and other crimes,” said Mohammed Hashir, a resident of Wazirpur.
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However, more importantly, there remains an abject lack of educational institutions in Purvanchali-dominated areas as well. To put matters into perspective, the densely populated North East district has some of the least number of schools or educational institutions present within it.
On February 16, 2024, the Directorate of Education had submitted an affidavit with the Delhi High Court illustrating that the government only has one school for over 2,763 students in the district. On the other hand, the affidavit also highlighted that 48 schools are operating out of 24 buildings, catering to a student force of 1,32,607 students.
Lacking sufficient infrastructure for the ever-increasing demands of the growing populace, the lack of schools is only turning out to be a cause for concern for the younger generations. Many of them have had to retract their admissions as well owing to the lack of academic growth. On the other hand, many had shifted to private educational institutions; however, not everyone was able to sustain paying the fees.
“Earlier, I used to study at the government school near Ghonda, but later my parents moved me to a private school near Loni. However, after the riots, our business collapsed, and they had to withdraw my admission. Since then, I have been working at my parents’ shop,” said Brijwasan Thakur, a resident of Khajuri.
At present, many new parents are grappling with a different kind of dilemma. Due to the lack of adequate infrastructure for children, schools have restricted their student intake. Shanti Singh, a resident of Gokalpur and a mother of two, is deeply worried about the quality of education her children will receive.
“I work as a house help in other households. My elder son is studying in a government school here, but he says he isn’t learning much because of the overcrowded classrooms. I also visited the government schools near my house to inquire about my younger son’s admission. They just told me to come next year, as admissions are based on a ‘first-come, first-served’ system. Now, I have to save up money to pay for admission to a private school, at least for one of my children,” she said.
“The lack of skilled teachers and proper infrastructure has left many of us confined to manual labour. Inevitably, this has driven some of us toward substance abuse,” said Dhananjay Gautam, a resident of Karawal Nagar.
Healthcare neglect
Similarly, Purvanchalis have also received the harsh end of the stick when it comes to healthcare as well. Despite being the most densely packed area in all of the national capital, most of them lack any access to hospitals. More often than not, to experience affordable healthcare, they have to travel for at least 15 minutes to reach any government hospital.
“Travelling to a different district just to get an affordable check-up done is not fair at all. Not to us, or anybody else. We have been wanting a hospital since forever, but nobody is willing to help us,” said Rahul Sharma, a resident of Gokalpur.