The curious case of a state’s selective benevolence

A fairly common occurrence in many of our daily lives is the trip to the local thelawala to buy something. Fruit, vegetables, chaat, momos, litti or paav bhaaji, socks, headphones or inflatable toys—there’s almost always an informal street vendor selling something nearby in urban India. Rarely do these vendors have any kind of formal paperwork or permissions allowing them to ply their trade (although efforts have been made towards licences in some states in the last decade). Yet, they continue to function, a natural part of India’s cityscape. However, from time to time we see upheaval in their …