University of Bath PHD Living in the shade of others: intermediation, politics and violence in Dhaka city Jackman, David Award date: 2017 Awarding institution: University of Bath Link to publication Alternative formats If you require this document in an alternative format, please contact: [email protected] General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal ? Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 04. Oct. 2021 Living in the shade of others: intermediation, politics and violence in Dhaka city David Jackman A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Bath Department of Social and Policy Sciences March 2017 Copyright Attention is drawn to the fact that copyright of this thesis rests with the author. A copy of this thesis has been supplied on condition that anyone who consults it is understood to recognise that its copyright rests with the author and that they must not copy it or use material from it except as permitted by law or with the consent of the author. This thesis may be made available for consultation within the University Library and may be photocopied or lent to other libraries for the purposes of consultation. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS List of figures .............................................................................................................. 5 Conventions ................................................................................................................ 5 Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................... 6 Glossary ....................................................................................................................... 7 Acronyms .................................................................................................................... 9 Abstract ..................................................................................................................... 10 1. Introduction ...................................................................................................... 11 2. Understanding order ........................................................................................ 18 2.1. Social orders ..................................................................................................... 18 2.1.1. The organisation of violence ................................................................................... 18 2.1.2. Intermediation .......................................................................................................... 24 2.2. The dynamics of intermediation ....................................................................... 29 2.2.1. The politics of intermediation .................................................................................. 29 2.2.2. Understanding clientelism ....................................................................................... 32 2.3. Conclusion........................................................................................................ 37 3. Intermediation in Dhaka city .......................................................................... 38 3.1. Caste, labour and leadership............................................................................. 39 3.1.1. Caste and occupations ............................................................................................. 40 3.1.2. Labour, sardar and the state .................................................................................... 44 3.2. Party politics and violence specialists .............................................................. 49 3.2.1. The ruling coalition, goonda and mastan ................................................................ 50 3.2.2. Mastan and the urban poor ...................................................................................... 55 3.3. Conclusion........................................................................................................ 58 4. Methodology ..................................................................................................... 58 4.1. Theory and early days ...................................................................................... 59 4.1.1. Research questions and approach ............................................................................ 59 4.1.2. Exploring, research site and gatekeepers ................................................................. 61 4.2. Research in practice and analysis ..................................................................... 68 4.2.1. Negotiating research and ethics in the field ............................................................. 68 4.2.2. Data, validity and analysis ....................................................................................... 75 4.3. Conclusion........................................................................................................ 83 5. Karwan Bazar and the kangali ....................................................................... 83 5.1. Karwan Bazar, some pavements and a park ..................................................... 84 5.1.1. Karwan Bazar .......................................................................................................... 84 5.1.2. Some pavements and a park .................................................................................... 91 5.2. The kangali: urban discourse and debates ........................................................ 95 5.2.1. Being ‘rootless’, ‘floating’ and ‘kangali’ ................................................................ 95 5.2.2. Urban research and the kangali ............................................................................... 99 5.3. Conclusion...................................................................................................... 101 6. The changing face of urban order ................................................................ 102 6.1. The decline of mastan gangs .......................................................................... 104 3 6.1.1. Picchi Hannan and the era of mastan .................................................................... 104 6.1.2. RAB and the further rise of party politics .............................................................. 110 6.2. Intermediaries and the ruling coalition ........................................................... 114 6.2.1. Controlling the streets ............................................................................................ 118 6.2.2. Violence and its threat ........................................................................................... 124 6.3. Conclusion...................................................................................................... 129 7. Labour leaders, politics and factions ............................................................ 129 7.1. 21st century jobbers ....................................................................................... 130 7.1.1. Labour and political factions ................................................................................. 130 7.1.2. Market labourers and leaders: the jupri group ....................................................... 133 7.1.3. Thieves, waste workers, beggars and sex workers ................................................ 139 7.2. Inequalities and injustices .............................................................................. 143 7.3. Conclusion...................................................................................................... 146 8. Demonstrating a capability for violence ...................................................... 147 8.1. Fighting the ruling coalition ........................................................................... 149 8.1.1. Jupri vs. the sardar (plus the police and the Chattro League) .............................. 150 8.1.2. Supporting the opposition ...................................................................................... 154 8.2. The politics of savings ................................................................................... 158 8.2.1. Becoming a boro bhai ........................................................................................... 159 8.2.2. Savings, violence and mobilisation ....................................................................... 164 8.3. Conclusion...................................................................................................... 167 9. The tools and strategies of the weak ............................................................. 167 9.1. Exploiting ‘defiled surpluses’ ........................................................................ 168 9.1.1. ‘Defiled surpluses’ ................................................................................................