What are the obligations a resident must adhere to in order to be “accepted” by a residential society? Are there rules that bar a resident from free speech? Or those that uphold certain religions over others?
A recent letter by the Residents’ Welfare Association (RWA) in South Delhi’s Jangpura Extension to former Union Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar and his daughter Suranya has kicked up a row. In the letter, the Congress veteran and his daughter were asked to “apologise or move out” of the colony over the latter’s alleged remarks against the consecration ceremony at Ram Temple in Ayodhya. Suranya Aiyar had allegedly said in a Facebook video that she would go on a three-day fast to protest the inauguration of Ram Mandir, built on the site of Babri Masjid, demolished by kar sevaks in 1992.
It is the responsibility of an RWA to see that there is cordial relation between all the residents and "we do not appreciate a resident rant which may disturb the peace in the colony or hurt religious sentiments of the residents", read the letter signed by Jangpura Extension RWA president Kapil Kakkar. He accused Suranya of "hate speech" and requested her to follow the norms of a “good citizen”. He also requested Mani Shankar Aiyar to "condemn" the act of his daughter, saying the RWA will highly appreciate it since it was not in good taste for the colony.
This is not the first time a person has been outcasted by a residential society over religion. Perhaps, it is a rather common practice that people have to go through across many cities while finding a home for themselves. Homeowners, who often come together in the form of an RWA, often become vehicles of arbitrary and discriminatory rules about who can rent and who cannot. More often than not, these lines are drawn on the basis of religion, caste, gender or even marital status.
How powerful are RWAs?
RWAs are not official organs of the government. They are voluntary management bodies formed under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, elected by residents of a gated colonies or apartment complexes. They came into existence as the demand for housing co-operatives rose with cities expanding. Over the years, they have become a mainstay of metropolises like Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Bengaluru. Apart from administrating security and logistical concerns, they also play an important role in raising local issues.
RWAs often work as quasi-government bodies. This was particularly seen during the Covid-19 pandemic when RWAs played a crucial role in amplifying government campaigns on ground. However, every now and then, they make headlines for coming up with diktats driven by personal bias or discrimination against some. Even in the most diverse and ostensibly cosmopolitan neighbourhoods, some common tendencies include refusing bachelors, pet owners, non-vegetarians, Muslims and Christians.
Muslim tenants face the worst
A report by Article 14 from 2021, stated how brokers in Delhi and Mumbai consistently conceded that they refuse certain prospective tenants, especially Muslims. Apart from citing their own biases during the interviews, some of them reportedly said that they felt Muslim tenants could be a “liability”. Religious discrimination in housing societies is almost like an open secret where a tenant is judged by their names. For Muslim prospective tenants to find a house, then, requires “a very good profile”, the report cited a broker as saying, because otherwise they have to fight a lot and still have no success.
During the Covid-19 lockdown, when a congregation of the Tablighi Jamaat turned out to be a major hotspot for the viral outbreak, many Muslim residents across the country faced the brunt of discrimination based on religion, further inflamed by media trials. The discovery of Covid-19 cases among Jamaat members stirred a vicious hate campaign against Muslims in general, who were boycotted and even attacked in some areas. It made it tougher for many Muslims subsequently looking for houses to find brokers or homeowners or neighbours who welcome them.
After the release of the controversial film ‘The Kerala Story’ last year, there were similar reports of Muslim prospective tenants being unable to find homes. In Mumbai, a 20-year-old Muslim woman had alleged that she had been facing trouble finding an apartment allegedly because of her faith. Mumbai, a city that prides itself on its cosmopolitan character, is notorious for its discrimination against Muslim tenants. Many celebrities, including Urfi Javed, Emraan Hashmi, Aly Goni and others have also opened up over the years about facing such harassment by society members because of their religion.
Legal rights v. societal norms
Ahead of the Ayodhya Ram Temple inauguration, many RWA bodies across cities took it upon themselves to organise programs, arrange live streaming of pran pratishtha and distribute pamphlets with instructions on how to celebrate the occasion. In Delhi and several other cities, houses and vehicles had saffron flags with picture of the temple and “Jai Shree Ram” written on it. Many residents felt they were forced to celebrate the event regardless of whether they wanted to or not.
RWAs have no statutory powers but they are governed by a Memorandum of Association outlining their goals and functions. They are recognised as a legal body that can sue or be sued. With more and more gated colonies and apartments coming up in cities, these collectives have become powerful. While it still does not give them the right to moral policing, discussions on WhatsApp groups and a majority vote by the society members often become sufficient to arm-twist a resident.
Aiyar’s case went a step further. She was criticised despite being a Hindu. She was accused of not celebrating a Hindu event and instead protesting against it despite being a Hindu. Speaking to PTI, RWA president Kakkar said, "What kind of Hindu is she who is demeaning her own religion. We asked her to regret her provocative statements. We will not ignore it."
The RWA letter was also shared by Bharatiya Janata Party’s IT cell chief Amit Malviya who said it was a “terse letter” that should “serve as a message for everyone, who think abusing Hindu beliefs is par for the course.”
Aiyar clarified in a subsequent video posted on Facebook that she neither lived in the colony represented by the RWA nor did she receive any "notice" from it. The 49-year-old criticised the media for spreading "toxicity and confusion" and said that she studied abroad and was involved with activism with people of all political backgrounds. She said that her reasons for disagreement were expressed by her in a previous video. "I made a spiritual presentation of my own pain about this by fasting peacefully in my home."
"What matters is that whatever point of view we put forward, whether people are able to see some sense in it. And if at the end of the day, at the end of this process, in India, we can even just find a more civilised, a more thinking and a more sincere way of talking and feeling about these things, then we would have achieved something," she said.
In recent years, RWAs have also been criticised for going beyond the scope of their regulations by introducing unjust rules. But with politicians supporting the RWA in such incidents, where does one draw the line?
