Dharavi Slum in Mumbai
- Slumdog Millionaire
The slum in Dharvi gives a general impression of a highly poor quality of life, a place where those who dwell within are unable to succeed past the limited microeconomic system in place within the slum, be this trade of pottery, a key trade, or that of a more illegal nature – alike that of drug trade and prostitution.
Conditions within the slum are of an extremely poor nature, the high population density alone a major issue, with over one million inhabitants living in the cramped five hundred and fifty acre sprawl of built upon land. Living in brick and tin shanty’s those who live within the area can expect to be vulnerable to variable and often violent weather, with the structural support of their weak established housing being tested and frequently failing, laying out those within to the elements. This alone leads to many prominent issues, be it that of quickly contracting illness due to weakened immune systems from the wet environment or developing sanitary illness such as the deadly trench foot- caused by consistent ground water and a poor level of hygiene
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Peer Reviews
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Quality of writing
The quality of writing was initially excellent and again at a very high standard at the end. More geographic terminology could have been used in the middle paragraphs to present the candidates points with greater clarity.
Level of analysis
The level of analysis can be deepened by the use of statistics as mentioned above. An even further analysis would have conveyed more insight into the negative and positive qualities of Dharavi and the effects on this on the demographically changing Indian population. In light of this point, the movement of India through the demographic transition model (DTM) and the effects of its transition from a developing country to a NIC could be included, and the strain and drive this puts on population of Dharavi.
Response to question
The response starts off fairly strong; there is a strong introduction which outlines broad problems in Dharavi. However, Dharavi can also be classed as a 'slum of hope' as it exhibits numerous aspirational qualities. However, the response does deteriorate until the last paragraph. This is because there is a lack of data, for instance 85% of Dharavi is employed (which is a much higher percentage than some inner city areas in the UK), so comparisons could have been included, which would have gained more marks. Again positive information should have been included about Dharavi, which could have been easily done by putting some depth into the pottery industry as it was previously mentioned. The last paragraph has an excellent response to the question as it contains a topical solution to problems of Dharavi, however, no negative impacts of the rehousing were mentioned (and there are several notable issues). But relevant statistics were mentioned in response to the question. Overall a more detailed response is definitely necessary to gain higher marks.
