Abstract: In this paper, we probe at historiographical methodologies that have culminated in the framing of heritage, as we understand it today. Conventional modes of historical knowledge production have led to the prevalence of hegemonic narratives of the powerful, making the idea of heritage very singular and monolithic. Addressing questions of agency, social hierarchy, and sustainability as they intersect with the larger overarching issue of urbanization, we put to examination the construct of these concepts itself.
In this paper, we seek to unfurl the layers embedded in addressing cultural conservation in India in the 21st century, through the presentation of two case studies: Urban Kolkata and Mumbai’s Aarey Colony forest. Kolkata was, for more than two centuries, the power center of the colonized Indian nation and its “urban” history is virtually inseparable from colonialism. In this case, we investigate the process of “recolonization” of space in postcolonial Kolkata, looking at how colonial residue lingers and what the urban responses to that phenomenon have been. Mumbai’s Aarey Colony forest, gained its name from the establishment of the Aarey Milk Colony in 1949; as a part of the process of revolutionization of dairy production in the city. The Aarey Colony is said to have been built into the “eco sensitive zone” of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park in the Goregaon (East) area in Mumbai. In this case we investigate the “forest” status of Aarey and the impact that this conflict has on the tribal communities within said forest — specifically critiquing the definition of the forest in the lexicon of urban policy in India.
In presenting these two cases, we wish to address issues of heritage, culture, and identity in the spatio-temporal context of the cities of Kolkata and Mumbai. We grapple with articulating the continuity of colonial thought in postcolonial India, specifically how it has led to current conflicts in the domain of urban policy in India.
Keywords: Heritage, Postcolonial, Historiography, Environment, Informality
