“THE city belongs to the working class, and reclaiming it is our task ahead,” said R Arun Kumar, Polit Bureau member of the CPI(M), while delivering the special address at a seminar on ‘Urbanisation from the Marxist Perspective’ organised by the Central Chennai district of the CPI(M) on March 31, on the eve of the 24th Party Congress.

He called for a uniting the working-class and middle-classes to build “a beautiful city of our own,” one that guarantees education, health, shelter, and other basic rights for all. “The very demand for reclaiming makes two things clear – first, that the city has been taken away, and second, that it must be won back,” he said. “Understanding how and to whom the city has been lost is key to charting a path towards reclaiming it.”

Citing 2011 Census data, Arun Kumar noted that Tamil Nadu’s urbanisation has surpassed 55 per cent – well above the national average of 30 per cent – and cities like Chennai continue to expand. North Chennai, once a major industrial belt, has seen a shift of industries to peripheral areas like Sriperumbudur. Chennai City is expanding with the suburban areas being included into the agglomeration.  The city that became Chennai metro is now called Greater Chennai and the Corporation is also named Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC).  Similar is the case with Mumbai, Hyderabad and other bigger cities in the country.  The agricultural lands taken over do not all necessarily go for setting up manufacturing units; a sizeable part goes into the hands of real estate sector.

Arun Kumar spoke about the rising number of gig workers in the city. Raising the question as to where do these workers come from and where do they reside, he pointed out that the gig workers live in the poorer most areas of the city

Touching on the living conditions of the urban poor, Arun Kumar drew parallels between present-day North Chennai and Friedrich Engels’ 1844 description of Manchester’s working-class settlements. “Engels called upon trade unions not just to fight for working conditions, but also for housing. That responsibility remains ours today,” he said.

He recalled a time when employers – both public and private – provided housing to workers to attract rural labour. “But with neoliberal policies and rising unemployment, employers no longer have to lure anyone with benefits. In pursuit of profit, they’ve abandoned even minimal concern for worker welfare.”

The dispersal of the working class across vast urban spaces has led to a breakdown of earlier cohesion. “There are no longer worker settlements with collective spirit; trade unions too have lost live contact in residential areas,” he said, warning of the cultural vacuum being filled by rightwing forces. He gave an example of a scene from a Telugu film Gharana Mogudu where Chiranjeevi leads the workers in a protest for drinking water. Now we do not find trade unions taking up the issue of potable water for workers in their settlements. “Right-wing groups are using this disconnect to mobilise people through divisive and regressive cultural means. This is dangerous for workers’ organisations and for a party like ours,” he said.

It is not just urbanisation but also the expansion of slums that marks today's cities – with slums now comprising nearly 60 per cent of urban areas at the national level. Recognising this, the CPI(M) resolved in its 2015 Kolkata Plenum to take up the issues of slum dwellers, organise them, and fight for their rights. The CITU echoed this commitment in its Bhubaneswar conclave.

In Chennai, the CPI(M) has actively taken up the struggle for people's right to living space, and the efforts of the Central Chennai District, particularly in the case of Kesava Pillai Park (KP Park), are commendable. However, the residents' living conditions remain bad. For instance, they lack even basic amenities such as a space to dry their clothes. The 10- and 11-storey buildings have lifts, but their maintenance leaves much to be desired. Who, for instance, would guard their pet birds—chickens, for example—from being stolen? With no designated parking for autorickshaws or other vehicles that residents use for their livelihoods, the so-called playground is often occupied by these vehicles, leaving little space for children to play. These issues must be addressed, and people must be mobilised to assert their right to decent living, Arun Kumar said.

Talking on middle classes, the next bigger section in the city, Arun Kumar said the wage levels of the middle classes may appear to have gone up much higher than yesteryears, yet one shall not miss to see their EMIs also going up imposing a big burden on their backs. Buying a home is tough enough. Stress, he said, is the new epidemic. There is rising alcoholism and use of narcotics. Meanwhile, Hindutva forces offer Ram Bhajans, spiritual talks, and Hanuman processions as panaceas,” he said, warning of the right-wing takeover of cultural space.

“Our role on the cultural front is vital,” Arun Kumar asserted. We must provide progressive alternatives – initiatives like Comrade Talkies and Dialogue Channel from Tamil Nadu are excellent examples.” Films are used to sell hatred to confused, frustrated people, who are led to blame 'others' for their troubles. We must intervene in art and literature with critical, progressive content, he said”

Another pressing issue, Arun Kumar noted, is the imposition of excessive user charges by local bodies on the middle and working classes for common spaces –an issue that the Party must take up as well.

In conclusion, Arun Kumar categorised the city into three sections: working class, middle class, and the affluent elite. “The elite live in gated homes, enjoy clean water, good roads, and green spaces. They’ve monopolised the city’s wealth and resources while looking down on the poor for their unhygienic conditions,” he said.

“Our path is clear. Reclaiming the city is a struggle to unite the working and middle classes to create an inclusive city for all—with access to housing, clean water, education, health, and basic dignity,” he concluded. His speech was translated into Tamil by S V Venugopalan, district secretariat member.

Earlier, CPI(M) district secretary G Selva recalled the successful struggle for securing the rights of the people of KP Park for their accommodation, forcing the government to reverse the GO issued by the earlier government that enabled them to occupy the flats without paying a huge sum as demanded earlier.  R Murali, district secretariat member presided over the seminar. K Tamil, SFI district secretary welcomed the gathering and J Parthiban, DYFI district president proposed the vote of thanks.
 

Arun Kumar also released the book Reclaiming the City, a collection of articles by G Selva and S V Venugopalan chronicling the Central Chennai District’s urban struggles since 2019. The first copies were received by K Murugan, district secretariat member, and Priyadharshini, councillor of the Greater Chennai Corporation.