[Urbanstudy] posting on combating malaria

[zainab at xtdnet.nl]

Dear Prashanti,
Thank you for your posting. Your research theme is very interesting to me
and considering the situation in Mumbai, the theme is timely.

One of the 'popular' discourses in Mumbai these days is the idea of
'cleanliness and dirty'. Urban talk constantly produces and reproduces the
notions of what constitutes 'dirty' and what is 'clean'. In an interview
with a railway coach warden the other day, she spoke with contempt against
dirty toilets which stink and dirty drug addicts who stink. The 'disease'
discourse is used to evict hawkers. Food sold by hawkers is unhygenic and
people can get sick. We need to throw hawkers away.

The situation in Goa about Malaria, which you have described, is not
exactly the case in Mumbai, but I would not be surprised if it is used
against specific groups of people in the city to 'otherize' them.

One book which I intend to read soon and I guess may be relevant to your
research is 'Guns, Germs and Steel' by Jared Diamond. The book is an
anthropological analysis of the human race and how different races were
able to dominate over the world because of weapons, certain disease
carrying germs and cargo.

All the best and keep posting! I shall look forward to them.

With regards,
Zainab