As a departmental honors student in the Jackson School of International Studies, I am required to write an extensive capstone research paper on the topic of my choosing. The focus of my research is on the construction of an elevated light rail in Bangalore, India. Construction on the Bangalore Metro Rail Project (BMRP) began in 2006. The route crosses North-South and East-West, cutting through the heart of the city and expanding outward. This is Phase I, with additional construction planned over the next decade in order to expand the route to cover more of the city. As of right now, most of the eastern leg of the route, which spans from the City Railway Station to Old Madras Road, has been completed and will begin running as early as December 2010.
I will focus on this eastern leg of the route for my investigation. The impetus for this study began last summer on a study abroad trip to Bangalore through the UW. The title of the program was "Social Justice and Activism in Bangalore" and was lead by Professor Anu Taranath. Half of this trip was spent working with a women's rights organization called Hengasara Hakkina Sangha (HHS) and the other half was spent with the Environmental Support Group (ESG). While working with ESG, my classmates and I were exposed to numerous social justice and environmental issues in Bangalore, one of which was the construction of the Metro. Generally I do not have much of an interest in mass transit systems, so I was surprised at the interest I took in the Metro and the issues surrounding it. Our colleagues at ESG were careful to present multiple perspectives on the Metro, taking us to many sites of Metro construction, introducing us to many people who were effected my it in varying capacities and encouraging us to speak with government officials and employees of Namma Metro (the company heading the project) as well as average citizens.
In investigating and learning more about this issue, I was taken aback by all of the negative effects that Metro construction had on the city. The BMRP raises many environmental, social, spatial, political and human rights concerns, yet a majority of the people my colleagues and I spoke with on our site visits and in interviews seemed to support its existence in the city. The more I learned about this issue the more intrigued and perplexed I became. I left Bangalore at the end of the program feeling frustrated and unsatisfied - I wanted to know more about this issue.
Upon returning to Seattle and preparing to write my application to the Jackson School Honors Program, I knew exactly what I would propose as the topic of my research project. I was accepted into the program and spent this past quarter researching and refining my research question. Here's what I ended up with: Why, given the plethora of negative effects that Metro construction is having throughout the city, the low projected ridership, high use of alternate forms of transportation and the inaccessibility of the Metro due to cost, do many citizens support the Bangalore Metro Rail Project? To explain why there is seemingly such widespread support for the construction of the Metro, notwithstanding the negative consequences with regard to spatial, economic and social mobility for many citizens who will most likely not even use it as a form of transportation, I will argue that the Metro functions as an aesthetic marker of taste: more than just a means of transportation, the Metro constitutes a Bourdieuian form of symbolic capital that signifies congruence with Bangalore's image into a modern, developed city.
I will be in Bangalore for about 5 weeks this summer to answer this question and see if my hypothesis is even close to being true. I will be working closely with ESG once more, working as an intern while I conduct my field research. Most of my research will be based on interviews with various segments of the population. I will also survey the rhetoric surrounding the Metro in blogs, newspapers, on websites and in advertisements. This blog will be used as a medium for recording my findings, observations and experiences. In addition to being in Bangalore, I will also spend time in Mumbai, Jaipur, Delhi and Sonapani - so get ready for some random posts from these locations as well!
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