Land acquisition and development? Aspirations and economic mobility in Singrauli

ABSTRACT This paper examines economic outcomes and aspirations of land oustees at a PSU’s land acquisition site in Singrauli, Madhya Pradesh (India). Despite more heterogenous economic outcomes based on land acquisition experiences and caste positioning, land oustees have a common aspiration for employment in the urban economy. The resilience of this common aspiration despite the uncertainty of commensurate economic outcomes points to a shared culture of aspirations that recognizes development in terms of non-agrarian futures. While lower-caste land oustees experience circumscribed economic mobility, the process of land acquisition facilitates an expansion in their capacity to navigate the future.