Community Building and Exclusion: The Role of Food in University Hostels in New Delhi

Abstract

In this paper, I seek to explore the social nature of food in university hostels in India’s capital city of New Delhi. With the increasing migration of students from smaller cities and towns to bigger cities searching for employment and education opportunities, hostels have become a preferred choice of accommodation because of their affordability and security. For many marginalised and economically poor students, these hostels are the only spaces where they can afford to live and eat. At the same time, hostels and university campuses have recently been in the spotlight as sites of resistance and social action. Discussions and debates around hostel fee hikes and food politics mean that there is a need to understand what hostel food represents for migrant students. While there is an attempt by universities to use hostel food to promote togetherness and belongingness, hostel food is also met with counter meanings. A study of hostel food offers us a lens to better understand the sources of contestation within the university and the reasons for protests by migrating students living in hostels.