Segregation in Hyderabad: Introspecting Multiple Indexes and Multiple Patterns

Abstract

Segregation based on caste, religion, and ethnicity exists primarily in the urban housing market in India even in cosmopolitan urban centres like Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, and Hyderabad. The present study maps segregation in Hyderabad and explores its intricate linkages with access to public amenities. This study examines caste-based segregation in urban space using multiple indexes like dissimilarity index (DI), isolation index, interaction index, correlation analysis, and mandal development index (MDI). It is observed that there is no clear link between caste-based DI and MDI. The correlation of MDI and caste-based DI illustrates that it is the location (core or periphery) that decides the level of infrastructural development. This investigation of the link between residential segregation measurement of DI and MDI leads us to conclude that the historical factors are equally crucial along with the social identities to explain urban segregation and discrimination.