Fights within little republics: condominiums as moral economies of urban India

Purpose This paper aims to present narrative experiences of conflict management in two condominiums in South India. Using narrative experiences, theorisation of condominiums as moral economies is developed. Design/methodology/approach Two of these condominiums selected are from South India, and their conflicts have been settled without approaching courts and legal channels. The general body meetings of condominiums are attended to identify friction points between members. These friction points are discussed in in-depth interviews with Resident Welfare Association (RWA) office bearers and residents. Findings The authors use the two cases to conclude that migrants typically living in condominiums experience in-betweenness of property enjoyment. Being multi-ethnic communities, members associate with ethnic affiliations, creating multiple publics within condominiums. This poses an additional challenge to resolve conflicts. Self-governing mechanisms to advance value addition from collective living necessitates a moral economy decision-making. As a result, the legal approach of upholding the case of one party over the other does not follow the logic of in-betweenness. Research limitations/implications Property enjoyment as a category to understand the nature of conflict in condominiums is brought out. The element of property enjoyment is a transformative experience of in-betweenness of private and collective property holding. Practical implications Municipal authorities should incorporate principles of self-governing of semi-commons into by-laws of condominiums. Social implications Better societal arrangement through multi-identity community living. Originality/value Descriptive reporting of conflicts within RWAs in India is being done for the first time. There is hardly any literature on the moral economy and in-betweenness of property experience.