School of Social and Political Science

Description

Historically, bazaars have been central to South Asia's economic and social life, acting as marketplaces for financial speculation, commodities and meeting grounds, and post-independence, it has taken a popular character, particularly electronic marketplaces spearheading pirate modernism, ‘jugaad’ innovation and tinkering. Such postcolonial media practices have unwittingly created an alternative to corporate and even sometimes state-supported infrastructure of high modernism, and intellectual property. However, in recent years, boosted by the lockdown economy and DPI (Digital Public Infrastructure), the place of urban bazaars as a third space of technological innovation has been mainstreamed. Through instant payment systems, virtual repair, warehouse models and home delivery, many bazaar traders work for e-commerce platforms or provide tertiary services that big platforms sidelines, such as WhatsApp and Facebook marketplaces, custom delivery services, and money markets. Empirically, bazaars such as Delhi's Lajpat Rai market, Palika Bazaar and Nehru Place have been the focus of my research for more than a decade; while a sense of autonomy of physical commerce is on the wane, there is a heightened sense of nation building through digital discipline that pushes video game traders and street vendors to uptake many of the new changes in a less defeatist spirit. This paper will outline the evolving relationship between DPI, capitalist platforms, and bazaars as many aspects of physical commerce move online.