Negotiating income and identity in cities: a case of ethnic migrants living beyond slum in India.

Ethnic communities constantly fear of being stripped of their cultural identities, which intern their preference of shying away from settling in slums. The difficulty arises from the highly contingent conceptualization of 'slum', as an agglomerate of poor seeking income. The paper investigates paradox of identity embedded in insecurities among ethnic migrants who lack recognition by the state and society. Data was collected using observation, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions. Constant comparative method (CCM) together with thematic sampling was used for data analysis. The finding suggests that alienation of ethnic migrants is a consequence of constant negotiation of their identity in response to 'self-society-State'. It recommends slum to retain independent social space for ethnic community and society in a composite culture. To overcome the challenges of identity, income, and insecurity among ethnic migrants, the paper proposes a convergence model to integrate co-existence of multiple identities for public entitlements, welfare, and social acceptance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]