Place-making and cultural identity among migrants from Darjeeling region in Delhi

By Bhawana Khati | OMC 2025

Momo in sync: Migrant momo street vendors from Darjeeling serving momo to the youths from North East/Darjeeling and the local youths, a perfect example of culture, belonging and assimilation in a city. Photo courtesy of the author.

Migration is not only a movement of people but also an emotional and cultural journey. For

many migrants, creating a sense of home in a new environment involves not just finding a place to live, but also building identity, finding community, and shaping neighbourhoods. This process, widely known as place-making, becomes even more significant for migrant communities that experience cultural marginalisation or racial discrimination in their host societies.

In Delhi, India’s second-largest metropolis, migration is a defining feature of urban life. Among the city’s diverse migrant populations, the ethnic Nepali community originally belonging to the “Darjeeling region” of West Bengal, alongside the migrants from the Northeastern Region of India called “North Easterns”, stand out for their distinct cultural identities. Living in close-knit neighbourhoods and sharing deep cultural affinities, these communities have collectively contributed to reshaping the city’s social and cultural fabric. These migrants have carved out their own spaces in Delhi through language, cuisine, religious life, and the celebration of festivals. 

Understanding the Nepali-speaking community in India is essential to understand the migration and its trajectories, given the persistent misconceptions on their origins and national belonging. Despite being legal citizens of India and majorly concentrated in regions like Darjeeling and Sikkim, they are frequently misidentified or deliberately labelled as migrants from Nepal. This misrecognition becomes more acute in cities, where the migrants from this community are often perceived as outsiders. In response, many adopt the identity of “Gorkhas”, a term that asserts both their ethnic heritage and to distinguish themselves from the “Nepalese citizen” and to make their distinct status as Indian citizens. In this context, the process of place-making by the Nepali/Gorkha community, particularly in cities dominated by other cultural majorities, offers a compelling lens through which to examine questions of identity, belonging, and urban marginality.

Belonging through Clusters: Migration often leads people to cluster in areas of similar culture and ethnicity especially when faced with ethnic marginalisation. For the Nepali migrants from Darjeeling in Delhi, neighbourhoods such as Munirka, Safdarjung, and Basant Gaon have emerged as hubs for residence and community life. In these areas, migrants find familiarity and security among people with similar ethnicity, language, values, and social practices leading to nurturing and thriving belonging and cultural ties.

I came across interesting buildings named by the local community as "Darjeeling House”, one in Basant Gaon and one in Munirka Village. This is a powerful symbol of a collective presence of the migrants from Darjeeling Region. Such names not only reflect demographic concentration but also community recognition and visibility in the urban landscape. 

These clusters, however, are not just residential zones. They are dynamic cultural hubs where people gather for festivals, social events, religious meetings, and meals that evoke the tastes and smells of home. The dense networks of support among residents play a crucial role in helping new migrants find jobs, housing, and a sense of orientation in the vast and often impersonal cityscape of Delhi.

Food as expression: Food, for migrants, is far more than sustenance, it is a powerful tool for expressing identity and forming connections in unfamiliar settings. Among migrants from Darjeeling Region, traditional cuisine serves as both a comfort and a cultural statement. Perhaps the most iconic symbol of this culinary identity is the momo: a steamed dumpling that originated in the Himalayas and has now become a popular street food in Delhi. Once introduced by a few migrants from Darjeeling, the momo has gained immense popularity across the city, leaving behind long-established street foods like chole-kulche and chaat. Beyond street food, the emergence of Nepali restaurants in migrant-dominated neighbourhoods has helped create spaces where cultural identity can be maintained and shared. Restaurant “menus” featuring “Nepali thalis”, gundruk, kalo daal, and saag, now cater to both co-ethnic communities and local Delhiites, many of whom have developed a taste for Himalayan flavours. These food spaces act as informal cultural ambassadors, promoting intercultural exchange while reinforcing the migrant’s connection to their homeland.

Entering and Sustaining the Urban Economy: As analysed through the field study, most migrants from Darjeeling enter Delhi’s labour market through informal channels, often relying on social capital, their friends, family, or acquaintances already residing in the city. These former migrants play a crucial role in connecting newcomers with job opportunities, housing, and other essentials. A pattern of occupational clustering is evident, with many Nepali migrants working as domestic helpers, salon staff, drivers, security guards, or waiters. Some have moved towards entrepreneurship, opening small eateries or momo stalls. Sociologist Douglas Massey’s Theory of Cumulative Causation explains how certain jobs become strongly associated with particular migrant communities over time, what he called ‘migrant jobs’. In Delhi, the Nepali migrant labour force has carved out niche roles, especially in personal services and hospitality. Proficiency in Hindi and, increasingly, English, helps improve job prospects. While entry into the workforce may be facilitated by community networks, sustaining livelihoods in the competitive urban economy requires adaptability, resilience, and skill.

Religion and Social Bonds: Social life among migrants from Darjeeling Region in Delhi revolves around shared values, traditions, and faith. Many Nepali migrants are Christians or Hindus, and their religious institutions serve as vital community anchors. Churches with Nepali-speaking pastors, for instance, offer not just spiritual guidance but also spaces for socialising, mutual support, and collective reflection. Regular Sunday services in church and religious meetings help migrants cope with the alienation that often accompanies displacement. Hindu migrants celebrate festivals like Dashain, an important cultural festival of Nepali community, Diwali and Bhai Tika while Buddhist migrants observe Losar. Most of the migrants cannot travel home during festive seasons and often recreate the rituals in Delhi, celebrating with family, neighbours, and friends. These festivals, while attached to tradition, are also reimagined in the urban context, helping to bridge past and present, homeland and host city.

Challenges and Differences: Despite their efforts to integrate and create cohesive communities, migrants from the Darjeeling region often face marginalisation. Their distinct physical appearance, language, and culture set them apart, sometimes making them targets of racial prejudice. The experience of being “bothered” in their own country adds another layer of vulnerability. Place-making, in this context, is not only about belonging, it is also a form of resistance. It allows migrants to assert identity, claim visibility, and challenge dominant narratives that render them invisible or alien.

These challenges are further tied to the broader political aspirations of the Gorkha community. Their demand for a separate state, “Gorkhaland”, within India is rooted in decades of struggle for recognition and autonomy. The identity that Nepali migrants preserve and reproduce in Delhi is not just about culture but it is also political.The process of place-making by Nepali migrants from Darjeeling in Delhi exemplifies the power of collective identity in shaping urban spaces. Through language, food, work, worship, and celebration, these migrants transform neighbourhoods into vibrant cultural landscapes. In doing so, they not only adapt to their new environment but also enrich the social fabric of the city. Therefore, place-making is not just about survival, it is about dignity, identity, and the human desire to belong.

Dr Bhawana Khati

Bhawana is an Assistant Professor of Geography at Bhairab Ganguly College, Kolkata. Her writing draws from her doctoral research at the Centre for the Study of Regional Development, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, where she explored the livelihood strategies, social networks, and place-making practices of ethnic Nepali migrants from the Darjeeling region living in Delhi. Her study is grounded in extensive primary fieldwork.