Malvya Chintakindi, Anthropology, “Pursuing the ‘Good Life’: Intersections of Caste, Class, and Gender in Urban Slums of India”.
As noted in her abstract, Chintakindi’s dissertation research “examines how Dalit women workers in India’s informal labor sector envision and pursue their aspirations for a ‘good life’ while navigating multiple forms of discrimination. Dalits, historically known as ‘untouchables’ and excluded from India’s caste hierarchy, face severe societal discrimination, with women experiencing heightened vulnerability due to their gender.”
Through ethnographic fieldwork in Hyderabad's urban slums, including participant observation and interviews spanning 50 women workers, Chintakindi’s dissertation project investigates “how the intersection of gender, caste, and class shapes these women’s daily experiences, dreams, and capabilities. Despite facing severe societal stigma and earning less than half of men’s wages for similar work, these women demonstrate remarkable resilience in crafting futures for themselves and their families.”
Chintakindi’s work aims to reveal how—despite significant constraints—Dalit women maintain dignity and pursue opportunities. While existing research often portrays these women as passive victims, her project “reveals them as active agents who develop sophisticated strategies to navigate urban spaces and social barriers.”
Dreams Deferred: Navigating Aspiration and Constraint in Urban India’s Margins
by Malvya Chintakindi, PhD Candidate, Department of Anthropology
At age 33, Renuka’s face carried the weathering of a life spent crossing multiple thresholds—between others’ homes and her own, between caste boundaries that marked her as both essential and polluting, between dreams of education and the harsh reality of survival.