Series: Young India, Mobile India

Housing Matters

“Students and Bachelors are not allowed (as tenants).”

A notice board put up at the entrance of a residential building caught my attention. “Students and Bachelors are not allowed (as tenants).” I muttered, “What non-sense! This is an age of mobility. Students and young professionals move to different cities.” This city is a perfect destination for students and bachelors-the young professionals. It is an educational hub with three universities and mecca for employment with the setting of Special Economic Zones (SEZ).

A young man, a qualified engineer and a management graduate, noticed my interest in the notice board put up. He said, “Bachelorhood and working in private company or a start-up are two disqualifiers for a young man who is house hunting in India.  A bachelor who is a government employee stands a better chance.” 

“Then what is SEZ all about?” I asked. 

A frustrated shrug was the response. He said, “They are providers of employment opportunities. But at the end of the day we need a place to stay. As we search for an apartment on rent, this notice is the ground reality.”

With a laugh he continued, “And of course there is a one- word descriptors for young men- nuisance.” Residents and the Management of Residents of Apartment call parties with loud music as nuisance, irregular work timings as nuisance and food packets thrown around as nuisance.’

“To top it all, a member of residents association said that property is devalued if bachelors are tenants.” He laughed cynically.

While a city attracts young men- students and professionals (currently I am not talking about women)-, such notices informs that the city does not welcome them. A country intending to reap benefits of demographic dividend has the challenge of settling this ‘nuisance’ created by migrating population of young men- students and professionals.

This conversation is about two things.

First, it is about the housing facility for the young professionals who are migrating for professional reasons and contributing to economic development. Migration brings up the issue of exclusion and integration. It poses the challenge of how prepared a society is to accept and integrate those who are different from us. In this case it was family as ‘us’ and bachelors as ‘others’. The notice board- Students and Bachelors are not allowed is a representation of a movement towards exclusion. Secondly, this conversation is also about the institutional identity of a professional. Supposedly, government employee can be trusted and so is safe as a tenant. What happens to the professionals who set up a start-up or are with organizations which may be not so well known.

A move towards integration will need to address the questions: What is regular and acceptable?  What is safe and secure for society? Society finds safety and security in what is known and familiar. In this case a template for regularity, acceptability, safety and security is derived from the institution of family. The everyday life of a family is known and familiar. The bachelors’ routine becomes a nuisance as it disrupts the much familiar routine of a family. The nuisance which is a qualifier of this young migrating group is applicable to all- the institution of family included.  The point here is not to exclude a particular group but to understand how one can engage with sets of routine which are different from the others. 

Though the economic opportunities beckon a migrant, the socio-cultural infrastructure will facilitate optimum productivity. It will also develop a cohesive society.

The notice board can read- All tenants and owners of apartments are jointly responsible for the peace and harmony of the residents.