Introduction

This chapter outlines the methodological aspects of the study, rationale, and the strategic choice of case studies which helped the researcher to understand the wider remit of participatory urban governance in subaltern neighbourhoods of a postcolonial yet fast globalising city of Delhi. It introduces the reader to the neighbourhood/colony-wise set of heterogeneous community-level actors of different hues in urban India, i.e., RWA personnel, Pradhans , youth leaders and councillors, that determine the modalities of local urban politics. Most importantly, in this chapter, I evidence how I strategically selected my fields to capture the enmeshed interactions between old and new community leaders in different types of Valmiki neighbourhoods in Delhi.