Contextualising Home and the Homeless in Delhi

Abstract

In the changing world of social realities ‘home’ is one expression which simultaneously conveys ‘meaning’ as well as ‘feeling’. Drawing from data gathered through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions, this article aims to locate the centrality of ‘home’ as a space integral to human habitat and the civilisational ethos. The author argues that the notion of home, homeless, and homelessness is structural and cultural. The whole makeup of the social structure is such that the homeless are not only forced to live on the fringes, but are made to believe that being homeless is their personal responsibility and, that, they have no choice but to be homeless.

Keywords: home, homeless, meaning-making, structural, cultural

DOI: 10.32444/IJSW.2023.84.4.475-486