1. Most of India’s towns are crammed and grimy affairs
Malegaon has a population of 7.5 lacs. According to the general demographic trend, at least 60% of the population must be 25 and below. Where is good education and decent work for all these people?

2. Development and government investment is lopsided
So while Delhi might have numerous large hospitals, despite Malegaon being a thriving powerloom town, The Times of India reports that it does not have a single municipal hospital. This basic services imbalance is chronic throughout the country. Planning is just an afterthought here.

People from India’s 600,000 or so highly neglected villages are forced to go to towns to find work but the government has failed there as well. Most of the work is in the unorganized sector and the government has done little to build planned towns. If you think of planned towns, you are only permitted to think of planned, gated luxury townships built by private developers. These places are like MS Office, bloated versions of towns that come with pre-installed schools, hospitals, smooth roads, clubs, and what not. India’s real towns are in shambles.

3. The trend of ‘ghettoization’
Malegaon’s population is 65-75% Muslim. The town is cut into two parts by the river Mausam, Hindus on one side and Muslims on the other. In paces like Gujarat, Mumbai, and many other parts of the country people are choosing to live among their ‘own’. The other day actor Imran Hashmi was telling in an interview that he couldn’t buy a house in a particular Mumbai locality because he was a Muslim.