Public discourse on the city is shaped by this imagination, recognised as ‘the city’, whereas informal settlements, despite containing a majority of the people, are treated as an aberration whose marginality is portrayed as ‘the city within the city’. Even with empowered city government, we come face to face with another problem inherent in all urbanisms: how can people be recognised within cities as bearers of rights? Second, a marginalised population is conducive to political exploitation through mobilisation of vigilante violence in urban areas to serve vested interests, as evidenced in Thomas Blom Hansen’s study: Violence in Urban India: Identity Politics, ‘Mumbai’, and the Postcolonial City.