From Large Villages to Small Towns: A Study of Rural Transformation in New Census Towns, India

Since the release of the census 2011 data, much has been written about the ‘unprecedented’ emergence of new census towns (CTs), their spatial distribution, their role in urban growth and possible reasons for their emergence. However, little has been talked about the process of transformation of the concerned settlements from ‘rural’ to ‘urban’ using field information. The current study is an attempt to bridge this gap. Taking the case of Sehara, a new CT in the state of West Bengal, the article argues that the process of structural transformation of economy in such settlements is not necessarily unidirectional and agriculture plays a strong role in this process. Fluctuation of non-farm employment makes such towns an ‘undecidable category’. The study also reveals that the towns like Sehara have little regional importance when the concerned region is dotted by several big villages.